Abyssal Awakening

Looking at Allura from behind, Alice could tell that there was a deep anger simmering beneath the surface.

'The rogue Hunters didn't even finish him off but instead left him in this state…' Alice thought to herself while glancing back at the house.

To her, this was her worst nightmare. She didn't know if her resistance to the Abyss would disappear one day and this would become her fate.

She had long lost count of her fear when being injected with Abyss Blood, the fear when watching her own body mutate and change before her very eyes.

Shaking her head, she glanced at Ria who had a bitter expression on her face. She didn't know what to say either as she didn't expect to see such a sight.

As for Gin, he was calm since he had no ties to the man but expressed his annoyance towards the rogue Hunters.

"Nolan said they came for his boat. They should still be down this channel. From the looks of things, they attacked pretty recently too so we should be able to catch up without too much issue." Allura said as she pulled out a cigarette.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed out before glancing back.

"I'll leave a few of the weak ones to you two. I'll deal with the rest of them myself."

Hearing this, Alice and Ria nodded as they weren't going to stop Allura from venting her anger.

Tapping the ground with his fingers, several skeletal birds appeared from the ground as they took flight.

"I'll see if I can track them down." Gin muttered as Allura nodded her head before leaning against a wooden pillar. She had her eyes closed and didn't say another word.

'I suppose this kind of cruelty is not unique to the Zenia family… It was like that back at the Slaughter Docks and the same here.' Alice thought to herself.

With no one being able to ignore the side effects of the Abyss except for her, there is always a guillotine above the heads of every one who drinks the cursed blood. Someone could sneak a large dosage into your drink or food without you knowing, stab you with a needles like what happened to her during her birthday celebration…

The threat of the Abyss is something that no one can deny.

'Can I evolve my fire to the point it can heal people? Since I'm the only known person that is unaffected… Can I extend my protection using Sigils?'

If this was possible, she could stop incidents like this from happening in the future.

She was not oblivious to the cruelty that the Zenia family shows to others, not just to herself. Their legacy of blood was built upon a mountain of corpses of people who died a horrid death. She was just the one lucky enough to survive due to her body.

'Allura." Alice called out suddenly as Allura glanced up.

"Mnm?"

"Do you think I can… stop side effects from happening using my fire? You know how it can burn away Sigil powers and stop them from using their abilities? If I can find more Sigils that'll manifest the potential of my blood, would it be possible to 'burn' away the side effects?" Alice asked as Allura was silent.

She hadn't thought of this before but now that Alice had mentioned it, there was indeed the possibility. But it was uncertain as Alice's condition was something not even her master could explain.

"It's possible. But how would we even find beasts that'll give you the Sigils you need? Considering the nature of your last hunt, the Blood Maiden was a special beast created by the Cult's experiments. I doubt you can run into a beast like that anytime soon." Allura shrugged.

"True…" Alice sighed, it was not going to be as easy as she thought. Not only that, but if she was to take a healing ability for others as one of her Sigils then her own fighting power would be decreased as a result.

"Well don't be discouraged. I'm sure something will pop up for you." Allura reassured since she has Cayla helping her. If it was anyone else, Allura would say it's impossible.

But with Cayla curating Alice's bounties and helping her find the right target, it was simply a matter of time for her to find the target she needs.

"Found them. They're just on the outskirts of the Slaughter Docks and seemingly sailing out to sea. It's a rather sizable group so they might've recruited a few people from the Slaughter Docks. I don't see anyone too strong but there are probably a few that'll be too much for these two to handle." Gin said as she glanced towards Alice and Ria.

"That's fine. I'll take care of the majority. Just make sure Alice and Ria don't get hurt." Allura nodded as she stood up and made her way over to Alice and Ria.

"I don't suppose you want me to carry you there as well now do you?" Allura asked with a smirk, lightening the mood.

"I'll pass. You already have your hands full and I'd rather not be seen being carried by someone else." Gin coughed as it would be an embarrassment for him if he let that happen.

"Lead the way then."

Nodding his head, Gin wrapped himself with dark energy before soaring into the sky with Allura following closely behind.

Flying across the sky, Alice could barely keep her eyes open with how fast they were going. And in the blink of an eye, they were now hovering above a boat that was sailing in the middle of the Abyss Waters.

"Careful not to drop into the water. Keep away from the edges and feel free to knock them in if you have to." Allura warned as she dived down headfirst.

Landing on the boat, she took a deep breath and scanned the deck with several Hunters looking at her in confusion followed by wariness.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Who the hell are you?!" One of the Hunters shouted with a frown.

"This is a nice boat you got there. Care to tell me how you got your hands on it?" Allura asked with a smile as she could already tell that these were the people who stole Nolan's ship. After all, his signature emblem hadn't been removed yet and it was clear to see.

"This is Harvester's business. If you have an issue, you can take it up with my boss, we're simply Harvesters doing what we're told." One of the Harvesters replied as he had a bad feeling about this woman. There was something about her that warned him not to annoy her.

After all his years as a Harvester, there were people who seemed reasonable but wouldn't mind killing you in a heartbeat.

"Harvester business you say? Very well. You seem like a reasonable man, can you answer me one simple question?" Allura smiled.

There were a few Hunters who were aiming their abilities towards Allura but hadn't made a move yet.

"Who was there when you acquired this ship from a man called Nolan?" She asked simply while trying her best to control herself.

She knew that some of these people were recruited from the Slaughter Docks so there were no need to kill them all.

Furrowing his brows for a moment, the man felt conflicted. On one hand, it was his employer who was paying an exorbitant amount of money for this trip and to protect the ship. Yet on the other was a group of four, three were hovering in the air and this woman was giving him the chills.

Taking a deep breath, he sighed and raised his hand.

"I wasn't there when it happened. I was recruited from the Slaughter Docks for a high price. If you have an issue with my boss then it's no business of mine. You can talk with him." He shook his head and stood to the side.

"Galagar?! It's just one woman! Are you crazy?" One of his friends shouted as Galagar glanced over.

"Most of the people here were hired from the Slaughter Docks except for the Hunters and the boss. They already had the boat when they hired us." Galagar explained as he leaned against the railings.

"I see… Thank you. You're a smart one." Allura praised with a smile as she gestured for Gin to come down with Alice and Ria.

"Well if there are any issues with this boat, the employer failed to mention it so it's none of my business. Please, do as you wish." Galagar gestured for Allura to do whatever she wanted.

As Alice landed on the deck, she noticed that most of the Hunters here had 4 Sigils with a few having only three.

"Seems like we'll be rather diplomatic with this one. No need to fight unless they make the first move." Allura chuckled as she made her way to the captain's quarters.

Just when some of the Hunters were about to stop Allura, a single glance was enough to send chills down their spine.

The fear that rooted them to the stop reminded them of their first Hunt when faced against a beast that could kill them with a single swipe.

It was at this moment they realised that this woman was dangerous!

Opening the door, Allura ducked down slightly as she was too tall for the door frame and stepped inside. She could see three people standing around the desk who simultaneously turned to her in confusion.

"Who the hell are you?" The captain asked with a frown as he was wondering why it was rowdy outside.

"Just a passerby. Say, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to an old man called Nolan would you?" Allura asked as she grabbed one of their chairs and sat down.

"You see, I couldn't help but notice you have one of his boats. In fact, I might even go as far as to say this is probably his last boat. Now, how do you think I felt seeing dear old Nolan about to die because someone fed him a bunch of Abyss Blood and left him to die?" Allura asked as the Captain understood that she was hostile.

Without hesitation, he activated his Sigil and a metallic stinger erupted from his body, piercing towards her.

*BANG! CRACK!!

Flicking the stinger with her finger, Allura shattered it with ease as she narrowed her eyes.

At that moment, all three felt a heavy weight crushing against their body as their legs gave out, causing them to collapse on the floor.

"Now, how do you think I should take revenge?"