Abyssal Awakening

"Dammit! Stop her now! Block her attack! KILL HER!" Haerun roared out in a panic as he jumped up, trying his best to interrupt the arrow but he was too far away to stop what was inevitable.

His eyes were bloodshot as he could feel his heart leaping out of his throat. He could see his goal slipping further and further away as Ria had clearly planned this from the beginning!

How she continued to attack the beast and contributed as much as she could before this final blow!

Even though the final blow was not decisive to who gets the Sigil, there was now a very high risk that she could overtake him in contribution and doing so meant everything he had planned had gone to waste! This opportunity, the tools and the manpower! Everything! Gone to waste!

"Stop!!!" He shouted, practically begging as failing this hunt meant his next hunt would be much harder.

When would he find another chance like this? Where a weakened Storm Leviathan would try to evolve to the next stage? He could already imagine it, his peers and those weaker than him overtaking him as he would become stuck on his fourth Sigil, unable to get a fifth unless he killed another Storm Leviathan.

A desolate future awaited him as the arrow burrowed deep into the Leviathan's head.

With its resistance to lightning now practically nullified, the arrow tore apart its scales without an issue as the node detonated within its head.

*BANG!!!!!

An eruption of lightning exploded from its skull, breaking apart its bones and ripping the flesh, causing the beast to roar out in pain but it was not over!

From the initial explosion of lightning, a chain reaction erupted across its body with every single node detonating at once before synergising with the Thunder Caller Arrows.

Their property was to redirect nearby lightning, transforming it into a spear with greater power!

*CRRR!!!!

Countless spears of lightning shredded through the Leviathan's body as blood poured from its wounds. Bones snapped in half as they were unable to withstand the damage and the Leviathan's body collapsed in on itself with his structure now in shambles.

A storm of lightning brewed within the beast's body as it roared out in desperation, trying to seek any sort of protection but it was futile.

*BANG!!!!

With a final spike piercing through its neck and tearing the head from its shoulders, the corpse of the Leviathan slammed into the waters as nearby ships tried their beast to steer away.

Despair haunted Haerun's mind as he landed on his ship with a loud thud, cracking the plants.

Looking towards the corpse of the Leviathan, he couldn't feel the Abyssal power filling his body. He couldn't see the Sigil manifesting itself on his skin, he couldn't feel the rewards of his bounty.

His breathing slowly increased as anger filled his mind.

Panting heavily, he snapped his gaze towards Ria who was falling towards the Leviathan after losing most of her strength.

"GRAB HER! BRING HER TO ME! I WILL SHOW HER A WORLD OF PAIN!" He roared, pointing at Ria as the five star Hunters around him rushed towards her, all of them activating their Sigils so that they could capture her as fast as they could to appease their master.

Meanwhile, Ria was unable to move as a wave of lethargy washed over her mind. She could feel a string of power rushing towards her from the corpse of the Leviathan as a smile appeared on her face.

With this, she knew that she had gathered enough contribution points to enjoy the reward of her bounty.

Ignoring the pain that was manifesting on her body, she could see Alice sailing the boat towards her as she prepared to intercept the Hunters aiming to capture her.

Closing her eyes, she entrusted the rest to Alice.

Even if she wanted to, she could not fight back anymore.

Narrowing her gaze, Alice jumped from the boat and rushed towards where Ria was going to land. Looking over to the Hunters, she could see 4 five star Hunters aiming for Ria as there was no way for her to fend them off, even with her second Sigil. Their speed and power were more than enough.

However, if Allura hadn't appeared yet then there is a slim chance that she could make it out alive.

'Fu… I can do this. Allura gave me the option of eating this shard if I need. I have to fight my way out so that she can go on her own journey without worrying! I don't want her to keep worrying about our safety!' Alice thought to herself as she opened her mouth and threw the whole crystal in.

###

"IDIOT! What the hell is that girl doing!" Gin shouted, preparing to rush down but Allura held him back.

"Calm down Gin, Alice has this covered. Surely you can piece it together by now, that Alice is no ordinary person." Allura smiled as she watched everything calmly.

"I know she's not ordinary dammit! She has a fire that cancels the powers of the Abyss! But this isn't ordinary either! The essence of a Blight Caller dammit! She just ate enough blood to kill a man!" Gin shouted back, he knew they kept their secrets but he couldn't help but worry every time he saw Alice do something borderline suicidal.

"Allura! I know you have things calculated and planned within your mind. But as an old man whose granddaughter has been thrown into the thick of things yet not know anything, do you know how hard it is for me to watch this happen?! How can I go with you to clean up loose ends if my mind is filled with worries of their safety?!" Gin shouted, unable to hold himself back.

He had tried to ignore everything that had happened, convincing himself that Allura had it planned and that everything would be okay but he couldn't do it. He simply can't watch them continue doing reckless things that through his experience, would be considered suicidal.

". . . Alright. But you can ask Alice yourself if you are worried. It's her secret that I have no business in sharing.

You just need to know that I keep in mind all of the factors before encouraging them to do things." Allura nodded, understanding Gin's anger.

Gritting his teeth, Gin took a deep breath and sighed.

"Fine. We're going to have a talk and Ria deserves to know as well. Call me paranoid, call me old fashioned. But I don't want Ria to journey with someone who she doesn't know anything about." Gin huffed as Allura chuckled.

"Honestly, at this point, Ria probably knows more than you but less than me. Their fight against the Cultist might've made Alice reveal more than she wanted and had Ria keep a secret."

Hearing this, Gin was speechless as he had been kept in the dark on all of this.

"Dammit… She's beginning to act like you with each day you two spend together." Gin sighed as he massaged his eyes.

"Just keep watching for now. We'll interfere if we have to."

###

Just as the Hunters were about to reach Ria, a dark shadow intercepted them as Alice caught Ria before she crashed onto the Leviathan headfirst.

She was currently wearing a black and purple dress with the same hood that the figure was wearing when she first activated the shard.

Her hair was slowly turning into a deep shade of blue on the edges as she glared at the Hunters who were sizing her up.

The fact that she was fast enough to intercept them meant that her speed was on par if not slightly faster.

Fulton had a frown on his face as he recognised her to be Alice.

"Hand her over to us. Do it now and we'll spare you. Surely you don't think you can handle the four of us while protecting her." Fulton warned.

"The Hunt is over. The prey is dead. Trust me when I say that you'll regret it if you continue. Is this really worth throwing your life away for?" Alice warned as she snapped her finger.

Flaming orbs appeared around her as they transformed into the familiars that she had conjured before but this time they had been mixed with her second Sigil.

Instead of a black flame, a violent purple fire now made up their body and they were far more aggressive than before.

The Four Hunters could feel their instincts warning them of the strange purple fire, a feeling of rejection and disgust.

"Stop talking and fight! We have orders to retrieve the other girl but this one can die!" One of the Hunters frowned as she activated her Sigils.

Her body became wrapped in a strange spectral blue energy, her limbs becoming semi-transparent and revealing the bones within her body.

Rushing towards Alice, countless floating skulls erupted from behind her as blades shot out of their mouths, ready to kill Alice in one fell swoop.

Seeing the female Hunter act first, the others followed up with their own powers.

Narrowing her eyes, Alice jumped back and placed Ria on the back of the Leviathan before clasping her hands together.

Separating her hands, a black orb could be seen between her palms.

Aiming it towards the first Hunter, Alice disappeared and swapped places with one of her familiars that was closer to the Hunter.

"Too easy!" The woman grinned as she swiped towards Alice, releasing a wave of skulls that slashed towards her, ready to tear her to pieces.

But Alice was prepared. She had seen everything using Cayla and ducked under the first swing before snapping her finger.

The orb in her hand expanded into a spike that erased the ghosts in an instant as it had been mixed with her second Sigil! The powers that ate away at the abilities originating from the Abyss manifested itself in the orb as Alice rushed into the woman's guard, using her as a meat shield against the orbs before slamming her hand into her throat.

"Wai-!"

Before the woman could cry out, a familiar manifested itself and tore her throat out with the flames burrowing deep into her body like a parasite.

Jabbing her elbow into the woman's chest, she sent her stumbling back before activating her flames and having it manifest as a familiar that clawed its way out of the woman.

"Who else wants to throw their life away?"