Abyssal Awakening

With Gin steering the boat, Allura helped clean up the surface of the boat before gesturing for Ria and Alice to gather around her.

"Now that we're approaching the hunting zone, I want to take this time to give you a brief lesson." Allura smiled while sitting against the railings.

"What kind of lesson?" Ria asked, curious as to what else she needed to know.

"Lesson on picking Sigils. You see, even though Lightning Ascent is one of the best Sigils you can get, if there is another that synergises with your skills sets more you can go for that one instead, you don't have to pick Lightning Ascent." Allura explained as she pulled out a poster from her jacket.

The poster depicted a young man wearing a suit of armour, wild short hair and a grin on his face. The key detail regarding him was the black and white lightning that coursed around him while manifesting as a spear in his hands.

"Malicus, genius of the Neliphem family. He's what you would call a pioneer as he went against the standard methods for choosing your Sigils that synergised well with one another. The result of which allowed him to control a new kind of ability yet he is technically limited to just 'one' Sigil now." Allura explained as she pulled out an old newspaper extract showing his wounded body.

Placing it on the table, she revealed his back that was covered by one large Sigil that stretched across his body.

"As you know, the Abyss's powers manifest in the form of Sigils across your body. Depending on what kind of ability it grants, the placement of the Sigil may change though that is merely speculation. There are hundreds of theories on why the Sigils appear on certain parts of the body and unfortunately, I don't have the answers to that.

All I know is that what he has is not just your average Sigil that combined thanks to resonance." Allura shook her head.

"The most likely scenario is that he chose Sigils that overlapped one another in terms of power and gained what he has today. Without meeting him and fighting him directly, I have no way of knowing." She shrugged as Malicus deserved the title of Genius since he discovered a secret of the Sigils that no one else in history had discovered.

"So if you find something else that fits you better, trust in your guts." Allura smiled as she was also directed to Alice.

The fact that her choice had allowed her to discover a new kind of power that could go against the Abyss was proof that they should trust in their instincts. After all, this was their life, their choices and Allura wanted them to live without regrets.

"I see… I mean what else can it give me?" Ria asked as from the way Allura worded it before, Lightning Ascent is the best it could offer.

"Well other than Lightning Ascent, the Leviathan can give you Sigils that boost lightning effectiveness as well as making your target extra weak to lightning. All things considered, you should look over all the choices and pick the one that resonates with you the most."

She was mainly warning them regarding the possibility of strange Sigils such as the one that Alice got. With how the Abyss was changing after Kaden implanted the Eye in Alice, she couldn't reject the notion that the Sigil would start the change as well.

The established structure of the Abyss was beginning to change as though welcoming the dawn of a new era.

"While we're waiting to arrive at the battle, Ria you should take this time to practise some archery while Alice can do the same since you'll be using the bow to kickstart your contribution to the hunt. The faster you can rack up your contribution the better since we'll be at a disadvantage the longer we stay." Allura chuckled as she had found some bows left behind by the Hunters.

Creating some fire with her Sigil, Allura had them float around the boat at high speeds while Ria tried to land her shots.

Alice was joining in as she felt rather relaxed with the bow.

Maybe it was instinct, but whenever she held a weapon, it felt natural for her. Almost as though she knew exactly how she should use it to take the life of another.

Aiming it up at the fire, she pulled back on the string and released the arrow. Piercing through two of the fireballs, Alice picked up another arrow and repeated the process.

Even when Allura adjusted the speed, she was able to hit them with relatively high accuracy.

Meanwhile, Ria was struggling once the speed increased. All of her arrows missed as she scratched her hair in frustration.

She didn't want to lose against Alice but she didn't know how Alice was so accurate with her weapons despite only using her dagger most of the time.

"How are you so good? It's the same when you used the threads, it's like you've been using them for years." Ria sighed as she picked up an arrow and tried again, barely missing the fireballs.

"Erm… It just kind of happens. Once I get into the flow of things, my body just kind of moves by itself." Alice explained as she wasn't sure either.

Creating a dagger, she swung it around her body for a short while before flicking it towards the fireballs, piercing two of them while piercing a third on the way back.

"It's like… If you see a road and you're driving the carriage. You see a turn to the right so you turn right, you see a turn to the left and you turn left. I just have to go through with the motions in my mind." Alice explained as best as she could.

Everything she did with a weapon was focused on taking the life of her opponent. She didn't know how she became like this but after arriving in the Abyss, this mindset had shown itself more than once.

The bloodthirst she feels when she fights, the sadistic pleasure and the maniacal grin on her face as she feels the life of her opponents disappear within her hands, it was strange. Scary even.

Almost as though she was taking a backseat while something else entirely took over and fought the battles she fought.

"Some people are just suited with weapons while others are better with their bodies. Isn't that why you chose to become a physical fighter Ria?" Allura chimed in as Ria nodded her head.

Just like Alice, she felt at ease when fighting in hand to hand combat.

'Perhaps Alice sees the world like I do when I fight with my arms and legs…' Ria thought to herself. However, for her, it was a mixture of instinct and muscle memory. She had lost count of how many times she had sparred with her grandfather and Allura, each battle served to hone her instincts and improve her chances of survival.

"You also have to take into account how you approach battle. Ria, you react fast to changes while Alice observes. Try to observe the fireballs, learn their movement pattern and predict their movement." Allura explained.

However, there was another reason that Alice was able to reach this level of precision and that was due to Cayla. Even if she was to fight in close quarters combat, the fact that Cayla can boost her perception to the point the worlds seems to move slowly is a huge boon to her that'll only grow as she continues to get stronger.

"Hmm… alright!" Nodding her head, Ria took a deep breath and focused up.

Narrowing her eyes at the fireball, she pulled back her arrow and held it there. Observing the movement, she didn't move a single muscle and spent the next moments watching without a word.

"Remember how they moved before. Look for a pattern. See how they try shake off your aim and the reasoning behind their dodges." Alice's voice rang out as Ria let go of her arrow.

Watching it fly through the air, it pierced two of the fireballs dead centre.

"Yes! Gotcha b*tch!" Ria shouted out in joy as she turned to Alice and raised her hands expecting a high five back.

Remembering this motion, Alice smiled and high fived Ria.

"Congrats." Allura smiled, feeling happy that they were helping each other out.

'This is how it should be.'

"Once you get a hang of this level, we'll be moving to harder levels where the fire moves faster and becomes more erratic okay?" She called out while enjoying the breeze.

Despite the fact that they were sailing above the Abyss Waters, Allura felt at peace.

"We'll be sailing for about a day before we catch up. They'll be moving slower to drag the Leviathan away into what I can assume to be a trap that'll make it easier for them to kill the beast. I've sent a bird ahead of us and its already found some shipwrecks, they're running out of boats." Gin called out as Allura nodded her head.

"That's probably why they were in a rush to get their hands on as many boats as they could. It'll be good news for us if they're almost gone by the time we're there. I'd appreciate it as well if the Leviathan wiped them out so these two won't have to worry about the others fighting them for the kill."

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Standing on a large warship with a frown, a man with long black hair and a pair of purple eyes watched in silence. He wore fancy suit and tie and tapped his fingers away at the railing.

"How much longer will this take? We've been out at sea for 3 days now and this beast still isn't close to death. How many Hunters have we lost already?" He asked while glancing back at his attendant.

"I'm sorry young master, but if we go any faster there is an inherent risk that you will not be guaranteed a Sigil. Even if this Storm Leviathan has lost most of its powers trying to reforge its body so it can reach the next stage, it is still not an easy beast to weaken." The attendant reported as the man sighed and nodded his head.

"The reinforcements should arrive soon, once they arrive we'll be able to bring this hunt to a close young master."

"Alright. I can't stand it any longer out here so they better make it quick."

He was Haerun Mariya, second son of the Mariya family and the one who was contending against Ria for the Sigil of the Storm Leviathan.