Abyssal Awakening

Looking at the collapsed Luke who was twitching every so often, Alice couldn't help but feel sorry about his current state.

But it's a ritual that all of them have gone through whether that be through Allura or through Kaden.

The fact that his body could still twitch was a good sign, it meant it was still intact to some extent.

As for Ria, she was enjoying herself by poking his bruises and wounds. Each poke would cause his body to twitch and her smile would grow wider ever so slightly.

"De…mon…" Luke forced out, causing Ria to poke him harder.

"Stop playing around with the kid. It's your turn next." Kaden called out as he massaged his neck. It was going to be a little annoying to deal with Ria since her speed was high but it wasn't anything impossible.

Cracking her knuckles, Ria had a confident grin on her face as she prepared to face Kaden.

Since their last interaction, she had focused on improving her overall firepower being a long ranged support but that doesn't mean she couldn't handle herself in a one on one fight.

"Don't take me lightly, you'll be surprised." She boasted.

###

". . ."

Looking at Ria who was even more beat up than Luke and was motionless next to him, Alice wanted to facepalm. If she hadn't boasted so hard at the start, maybe Kaden would've taken it easier on her.

As revenge, Luke was poking Ria's wounds while she was trying her best to do the same thing but was unable to.

The fight went in her favour at the start. She would keep her distance, firing a constant stream of lightning strikes and whenever Kaden tried to catch her, she would use her speed to reposition herself.

She was even able to damage the arena, creating craters with each attack and her Resonance let her land a good hit into Kaden's palms, scuffing up his skin slightly.

The fact that she could even mark the skin of an Abyss Lord was praiseworthy but what came next could only make Alice look away.

She couldn't retreat fast enough and was used as a punching bag for Kaden. Not only that, but he also threw her around like she weighed nothing.

Looking at the human shaped indentations on the walls and floors, Alice shivered thinking about her fate.

"Seems like it's only you left. I got pretty high expectations considering you went to Ayr and saw me in my prime." Kaden forced a smile while warming up his shoulders.

Feeling the hostility in his gaze, Alice realised that he was going to take revenge for her Pink Apron comment.

"It's not like I asked to go there ya know? It just kind of happened and who knew you would wear something cute like that?" Alice laughed awkwardly while Kaden forcefully teleported her to the arena while fixing the damages.

"Hou~ Is that how we're doing things? You didn't need to comment about it but you chose to. Surely you've prepared yourself for the consequences right?" Kaden narrowed his eyes.

Swallowing her saliva nervously, Alice conjured a swirl of blood before changing her outfit to the one that Velouria made for her.

Seeing the Ayrian crest upon the jacket, Kaden's gaze softened before returning back to normal.

Naturally, this didn't escape Alice's notice. After interacting with Kaden in the past and knowing what he was like, it was clear the current him was someone who hides his true feelings. But every so often, those feelings flow out.

There was also a hint of seriousness in his gaze. Perhaps it's because she's donning the crest of Ayr perhaps it's because he suspects she saw the reality of what happened in the past.

Either way, Alice didn't want to let him down. She wanted to show him everything she'd learnt during her time in Ayr. Everything he taught her and everything she's mastered!

*BANG!!!

A crimson and purple aura burst out from her body as Void Fang was summoned to her hand.

Partial Bloodline Release!

Stomping down, Alice conjured a blood mirror and teleported next to Kaden who was surprised she had learnt the abilities of the Sealed Abyss Lords as a smile crept up on his face for a split moment before returning back to normal.

A wall of shadows erupted from the ground, blocking Alice's strike while golden chains manifested around her body and her outfit switched.

"Let's go!" Alyss shouted with a grin as she coiled her leg around the wall, swinging her body to the side and slashing towards Kaden's head.

Bending his body back, he managed to dodge but sensed danger from below and quickly guarded with his hand, blocking her kick.

"Tch!" Transforming Void Fang into a spear, Alyss vaulted herself above Kaden before switching over to Alice who aimed her finger.

Void Flux!

The improved variant that focused on speed and penetration power, enough to even break the specialised training room in Ayr!

Sensing a chill down his spine, Kaden wrapped a veil of shadows around the orb, allowing its spiral motion to pull the veil towards itself and slow down the rotation before detonating within this blanket.

Seeing Kaden break apart her new attack so quickly, Alice revealed a bitter yet expectant smile. As the strongest caster of Ayr, it's only natural that he's capable of this much.

Zone Stance – Offensive Zone!

Transforming Void Fang back into a sword, Alice released a series of slashes towards Kaden whose gaze was focused and parried the attacks using his shadows.

Raven feathers shot out from Alice's shadow but she was ready.

Defensive Zone!

*CLANG!!!!

She managed to parry these feathers but the power surpassed her original expectation.

Even with Partial Bloodline Release, the force still flung her into the air.

She could see Kaden purposefully slowing down his casting process, matching her improvement as he aimed towards her falling body.

Before the shot could be fired, metal manifested and slammed into the back of Kaden's knees, causing him to fall back slightly and aim away from Alice.

A bullet of shadow barely missed Alice as she could sense the power behind that bullet.

'If I was hit by that I'd be seriously injured. Is he testing how well I'm doing or is he trying to kill me??' Alice asked inwardly while creating a platform of blood for herself.

Turning Void Fang into a bow, she pulled back on the string and created three arrows containing different variants of Void Flux.

*BANG!!!

Firing them all at once, she snapped her finger and blood mirrors appeared in front of them.

When she first got the blood mirrors, she discovered that she could increase their speed upon teleportation!

Meaning…

Countless shards of mirrors appeared next to Kaden as he couldn't tell which one the arrow was going to come out from.

Without hesitation, he twisted his body and created a swirl of shadows, causing the arrows to bounce off the surface but Alice had planned for this.

Each of the arrows burst into blood mist and integrated themselves with his barrier as she activated her second Sigil.

Little by little, red spider lilies began to blossom in his shadow, consuming the energy to fuel themselves as his barrier disappeared, surprising Kaden.

He was on guard for her violet flames yet this time it was flowers?

Taking advantage of his confusion, she expanded one of her mirrors and appeared behind him.

Crimson energy spread across her blade as Alice focused her gaze.

Void Flux – Cleave!!!

*BANG!!!

Watching the streak of crimson energy explode towards Kaden, a hopeful feeling emerged in Alice's heart but that feeling was soon crushed when Kaden blocked the attack using his hand that was covered with shadows.

'Alice switch with me!'

Without asking why, Alice did just that as Alyss took over and quickly ducked down.

Her Void Flux – Cleave was sent back!

Twisting her body, Alyss punched towards Kaden's stomach who blocked with his elbow.

Grabbing her by the arm, he lifted her into the air and tried to slam her into the ground.

*BANG!!!

Before she hit the ground, Alyss slammed her heel towards Kaden who blocked with his spare hand.

However, his original momentum in throwing Alyss was lost as she flipped away and slid across the ground.

Recalling Void Fang, she transformed it into a spear before taking a deep breath.

Her hair shifted colour into a bright violet colour as black armour manifested around her body. The familiar violet flames erupted around her as Alyss charged towards Kaden.

'First resonance.' Kaden thought to himself as he was familiar with this form. Alice had revealed it previously when they sparred.

Flicking his hand, a serpentine leviathan burst out from his shadow and rushed towards Alyss who dodged its charge.

Looking at the leviathan from above, Alyss clenched her hand as hard as she could, gathering the flame to the blade.

*HAH!!!!"

Letting out a shout, she released a slash that decapitated the beast while running up the head.

Unphased by this, Kaden summoned a hydra using his mimicry. Energy gathered towards its mouth as Alyss felt a chill down her spine. It was preparing for a breath attack!

'Let me deal with this.' Alice smiled as Alyss nodded her head.

Closing her eyes, the resonance broke apart as Alice smiled towards Kaden.

The flower in her left eye began to glow as the obsidian crown manifested above her head!

Despite being a four star Hunter, Alice had two Resonances!

The first belonged to Alyss and was the one she originally awakened with.

The second belonged to her!

Red spider lily patterns appeared across Alice's body and travelled up her cheek while a white dress appeared around her. Void Fang transformed to match her resonance as she made a cut on her arm.

Splashing her blood in front of her, a wall of briar thorns and spider lilies began to bloom.

*BANG!!!!

However, it proved to be lacking when it came to defensive measures which was fine for Alice.

Her resonance didn't have the tenacious nature belonging to Alyss's Resonance. Instead, it had raw offensive capability!

'Remember the feeling, the flow of energy.'

Alyss had already proved that this was possible during their clash with Enris. But this time, she wasn't replicating a weapon.

She didn't have the blessing nor the required Sigils. But she could make shortcuts like she did with Void Flux. Her improved understanding of casting, optimising and adjusting her own abilities.

Taking a deep breath, she slashed towards the Hydra who was still releasing its breath attack upon the wall of briar thorns.

Replication - Executioner's Blade!!!