Abyssal Awakening

The two continued to climb up only for the Champion to knock them back with a single breath. But with their goal being behind the beast, they had no choice but to keep going.

"Gah! Dammit! How the hell does Allura expect us to get past this b*stard! All he needs to do is breathe and we'll get knocked back! So damn humiliating." Ria slammed her hand against the ground in frustration as this was the first time she felt the gap in strength was simply insurmountable.

The difference between this Champion and Allura was that Allura held back so much she actually gave them a chance. The wall was so high that she knew it was impossible from the start.

But the fact that Allura has allowed this beast to stay here means there was a chance they could get past yet they haven't even forced it to uncross its arms.

Alice has the same thought as she too was confused about what they're supposed to do in this situation.

'Does Allura want me to use my second Sigil? I thought she wanted me to avoid using it for now until I've fully grasped how it worked. But I don't see any other way to get past that beast…' Alice thought to herself as she had relied on the violet flames far too much despite not knowing a single thing about it.

All she knows is that it's a manifestation of her own potential. A reflection of her blood and body. Yet she has no clues on how to control it other than the fact that it has a negative opinion towards creatures of powers belonging to the Abyss.

And if she was not careful, the flame could easily go wild with her being unable to wrangle it back under her control.

'All Allura said was that the task is to get past the beast and reach the gate… Not how we're supposed to go about the task… Though it seems like the beast has its senses locked onto us.'

Crossing her arms, Alice closed her eyes and contemplated her options.

"Ria." Alice called out.

"Hm? What's up?"

"What do you think Allura wants us to do? She never asked for a specific method which means we can probably think of something outside the box." Alice asked as Ria tapped her chin.

"Well… I can say for sure that I can't just run past the beast. Even at my fastest, he can track me easily. Then there's your flames but Allura has told you not to use them too much so unless she wants you to ignore her, I don't know what else we can do." Ria shrugged.

Staying silent for a bit, Alice opened her mouth.

"Do you think she wants us to dig a tunnel under the beast?"

". . . The f*ck?" Ria raised an eyebrow, surprised at how strange the idea was.

"I guess it wouldn't work. Not with the beast keeping an eye on us." Alice sighed.

With no ideas left, she was suggesting the first thing that came to mind.

Leaning against the wall, Ria sighed as she also tried to think of some ideas that they could use. There was no point in continuously running up only to get blown off expecting something different.

"What if we tried to go in two separate directions? I'll start off slow then the moment he turns to you, I'll go at full speed and see if I can get to the gate." Ria asked but Alice shook her head.

"If you get pushed off the edge I won't be able to catch you and you'll have to start from the bottom. Remember what Allura said?"

"Right…" Ria nodded, understanding that they couldn't really afford to climb up from the bottom.

"But we if we try a one vs one? I can see if I can get his full attention even for a single moment. And that moment will be your queue to climb up and run."

Hearing this, Ria furrowed her brows but knowing Alice, she wouldn't suggest this if she didn't think she could pull it off.

"No harm in trying."

With them settling on a plan of attack, Alice took a deep breath and climbed up.

Since Allura never said what method was allowed, Alice assumed that everything was allowed. No matter what she did, so long as she could buy Ria some time, they could pass this part of the test.

'When I travel alone with Ria, I won't have Allura looking out for me. Which means it's up to the two of us to survive any hard encounters we come across. Allura probably wants to see how I plan to deal with a beast with my flames. Even though they're hard to control, it's a strong asset and something that'll allow me to contend with a six star beast.

Even if it's just momentarily.' Alice thought to herself.

As she reached the edge of the cliff, she narrowed her eyes and swung herself up before throwing her hook against the ground and holding on as tight as she could.

*BANG!!!

As a gust of wind slammed into her body, she was almost flung over the edge but managed to hold on.

She could hear the mechanisms on her glove creaking as it was pushed to its limit but she continued to hold on.

Trying as hard as she could to pull herself closer to the ground, she was unable to as it seemed as though the Champion had an endless supply of air in his lungs.

Biting her arm, she tried to control a sliver of blood to fly towards the beast but it was blown back without being able to get any closer.

'Think… Think! What can I do? I doubt the flames can reach him right now…'

Unable to keep holding on, Alice reached down and grabbed the edge before sheltering herself from the wind.

Taking deep breaths to calm herself down, she could sense Ria's doubtful gaze.

"Keep to the plan. Let me think of something."

Narrowing her eyes, Alice peaked her head over the edge.

'He seems relaxed… I suppose Allura might've imposed a time limit that's why he's not in a rush. He doesn't seem to care that I'm holding onto the edge so long as I'm not trying to get to the gate.'

An idea surfaced in her mind but she wasn't sure if she should go through with it. After all, Allura had reminded her not to harm herself if she could help it.

'F*ck it, it's not like I have any other ideas.' Alice frowned.

Grabbing her dagger with her left hand, she transformed it into a stake before adjusting her grip on the edge with her right and stabbed down.

"ALICE!" Ria shouted out in shock as she didn't expect Alice to stab the stake through her own hand!

Ignoring Ria for now, Alice turned the stake into a hook and pinned her right hand to the ground. Blood flowed out of her body as even the Champion was confused by her own gesture.

However, it was all a part of her plan.

Lifting herself up, she could feel a gust of wind slamming into her body once more but she was able to hold on without being blown back immediately.

The wound in her hand started to tear as blood poured out of her hand.

Gritting her teeth, Alice tried to hold on as long as possible before taking shelter once more.

"Alice stop! We can try something else. You're only hurting yourself at this point!" Ria frowned but Alice shook her head.

"Do you trust me?" Alice asked with a smile.

Seeing this, Ria could only scratch her hair before sighing.

"Fine. What do you want me to do then?"

"Stick to the plan. The moment I have his full focus I want you to run." Alice grinned before pulling herself up once more.

Repeating this process, even Allura was confused by what Alice was planning as she was simply making the wounds on her hand worse with each attempt.

'What is that girl planning…' Allura tapped her chin while watching the scene unfold. She was watching from one of the mountain peaks with her legs crossed.

She could tell that Alice was buying time, but she didn't know what the end goal was. It wasn't like the Champion would exhaust himself by breathing repeatedly.

'Ria is waiting by the side. She doesn't seem to know what's going on either.'

Shaking her head, Allura continued to watch silently to see how Alice was going to resolve this issue.

Pulling herself up one last time, there was a grin on Alice's face as she narrowed her eyes at the Champion and laughed.

"You know… With enough monotony and futile attempts, even a six Star beast will overlook certain actions." Alice smiled as her second Sigil manifested around her eye.

With each attempt of trying to climb over the edge, she had the pool of blood under her right hand slowly make its way to the Champion! This was the only way she could imagine herself taking the Champion by surprise.

In that moment, an array of purple flames erupted forth from the ground, surrounding the Champion in an instant before caving down in an attempt to consume the beast.

*BANG!!!!

Slamming his four arms down, the Champion created a wall of flames but was surprised by how tenacious the violet fire was. The moment in came in contact with his flames, it would assimilate a portion of the fire into its own body, fuelling itself.

*URAHHHH!!!!!

The violet flames fought back in anger as it lashed out at the beast.

Taking this chance to pull herself up, Alice grabbed her dagger and drank a vial of healing blood to heal her hand.

Focusing with Cayla, she made sure to dodge the moment a gust of wind was shot her way to avoid getting knocked off.

'I have to fight him here and now!'

Throwing her dagger towards the Champion, she watched as the beast regained his composure and dark crimson energy erupted from his body. A shockwave exploded forth, extinguishing Alice's flames in an instant as it was destroyed through pure brute force!

Not letting up this chance that she managed to get, Alice charged towards the beast while making a cut along her arm. Swiping horizontally, another wave of flames rushed out.

However, this was just a diversion as Alice charged in behind the flames.

At the same instance, Ria rushed out, noticing the pressure around her had decreased with the beast focusing on Alice.