Abyssal Awakening

Waking up early in the morning to catch the first boat back, Alice was shocked to spot Selen waiting by the docks, scanning her eyes across everyone who was taking the first boat back to the Silverwind Valley.

In her hands, she held a small device. A compass that continuously spun around the centre every time someone walked past.

'Sh*t… Is that used to track me down?' Alice thought to herself.

If she was here now it meant that she had arrived in this town last night and discovered what had happened to Jyn and Rita.

Furrowing her brows, Alice wondered if there was any way to get onto the boat while evading Selen's notice.

There was the potential option of creating a mirror to teleport onto the boat but her range of control was limited without Cayla.

Attempting it would cause sloppy results and may even inadvertently alert Selen of her presence. Out of all of the guards within Erick's entourage, Selen was the one Alice was most on guard against.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice had an idea as she conjured an orb of blood above her palm.

Aside from her four Sigil that granted her the ability to teleport, Alice had her first Sigil that could cause hallucinations.

If she were to control the output properly, she should be able to trick Selen's senses and make her perceive the compass incorrectly.

It was a little risky since she'll be in close proximity with Selen but the success rate was slightly higher than using her teleport. Just slightly.

Naturally, this won't stop the pursuit any time soon since they'll discover that she was the only one who took the orphanage quest. But by the time they discover this, Alice would've gotten used to her current predicament and prepared her own countermeasures against Erick's guards.

Whether that be trying to eliminate some of them within the Inverted World or taking care of them outside as she did with Rita and Jyn, it was an unexpected surprise but a very welcome one.

Without staying for some breakfast, Alice made her way down to the docks and stopped by the gates. Once the guards weren't looking at her, she began to spread a thin blood mist towards Selen, allowing the wind to push it towards her.

The mist was thin enough so that it wouldn't be easily noticed but with enough exposure, it should be potent enough to give her the gap she needed to trick Selen.

Focusing her mind on wrapping Selen with the mist, Alice snapped her finger and activated her first Sigil.

Giving it a moment to take effect, Alice walked towards the boat as cold sweat filled her back.

She was watching Selen from her peripherals, making sure not to make eye contact.

The moment she walked past Selen, Alice could see her checking the compass. Unsure of whether or not the hallucinations worked, Alice clenched her fist inside her sleeve, ready to pounce if things turned south.

Thankfully, Selen ignored her as Alice sighed in relief and got onto the boat.

In case the compass lingered, Alice focused as much as she could on maintaining the hallucination while supplying a constant flow of blood mist.

'I was half expecting her to jump you.' Alyss crossed her arms while Alice agreed.

'Either way, it's a simple journey back now. Hopefully, the branch manager should have the information ready since it's been a while. Any longer and they might prepare to leave.' Alice sighed while Cayla sat in silence before opening her mouth.

[O'master mine… I don't think your illusion worked.] Cayla furrowed her brows, surprising Alice.

'Eh? What do you mean?'

[When you walked past her, she had reset the compass. Seems like she was never truly under the effects of the hallucination. Though I'm sure as to why she would… help you in this regard.] Cayla crossed her arms in confusion.

Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows as she too was confused as to why Selen would reset the compass. If her hallucination didn't work then a fight should've broken out. But Selen let her go.

Why?

'Who cares. At least it works in our favour. Plus we won't be able to know unless we talk to her directly and I'll be honest, that's a pretty stupid idea.' Alyss shrugged. There were too many unknown factors for them to draw up a proper conclusion.

Nodding her head in agreement, they could only hope that this buys them enough time before she was discovered to have taken the quest.

###

Watching the boat leave, Selen sighed before waving her hand in annoyance.

Dispelling the blood mist, she began to take a walk around the town since she needed to waste some time before going back.

If she returned too early while being empty handed, Erick wouldn't take it nicely.

'To think she's brave enough to try to get past me with just a simple hallucination. This resolves the debt I owe her for taking care of Jyn and Rita I suppose.' Selen thought to herself while storing the compass in her pouch.

Regardless, she could only hope that the one eyed girl leaves Silverwind Academy as soon as possible and changes her identity.

She may have killed Jyn and Rita while cleaning up the area, but the Zenia's won't let her go this easily. They'll track her down and tie up the loose ends.

But this moment of distraction while they track her down might give her the chance she needed. The chance to break free from the Zenia's and escape the radar.

###

After a long journey back to the main island, Alice registered the success of the quest with the Guild and got her reward. She simply reported that there was a slight issue with the beast guarding the place and that it had killed everyone inside.

Their fight had destroyed the building and nothing could be recovered.

Once the quest was marked down as completed, Alice booked an appointment for a four star Hunter exam and noted her fourth Sigil belonging to a Void Spectre, a ghost like beast that could tap into the Void.

Of course, it was far inferior when compared to a Six Winged Void Seraphim but letting them know the truth wouldn't do her any good. Just letting them know a rough estimate of her ability was good enough.

Thankfully, there was an examiner ready in the guild so she took the test immediately.

Her opponent, a five star Hunter with the power of lightning and clones.

"The exam is rather straightforward. Please withstand the onslaught using your Sigils to the best of your abilities. Once enough time has passed, I'll deem it satisfactory and you'll get your four star license." She explained while holding a pair of swords.

One was in standard grip while the other in reverse grip.

Nodding her head, Alice created a single blade mimicking the appearance of Void Fang and held it by her side.

Since it was an exam focused on surviving an onslaught, Alice decided to take this moment to further practice her Zone control.

Taking a deep breath, she deployed her Zone to the limit of her reach.

Seeing that Alice was taking it seriously, the examiner nodded in appreciation since there have been too many Hunters who take it easy and get eliminated straight away.

But if Alice is taking it seriously from the get go, then it'll be her job to use everything she's got. She can't allow a young seedling to get destroyed by her negligence when she takes four star commissions in the future.

*BANG!!!

Lightning crashed down on the examiner as she activated her first resonance!

A black and white crystal began to cover her body while purple lightning crackled across the jagged spikes protruding from her skin.

Her eyes transformed into a golden colour while the sclera turned black.

Beside her, a phantom similar to her appearance but more bestial hovered with the same weapons.

"Watch out!" She warned, rushing towards Alice with a crackle of lightning.

Seeing the examiner appear to her side while the phantom flanked the other, Alice narrowed her gaze and slashed towards the examiner with her blade.

*CLANG!!!

Parrying the strike, the examiner stabbed towards Alice with her spear weapon but blood mirrors flickered to life around her.

Both of the phantom's strikes and her's were diverted away from Alice!

However, she didn't let her surprise ruin her guard. While Alice may need to survive, it didn't stop her from fighting back!

Blocking a kick aimed towards her stomach, the examiner wrapped her arm around Alice's leg before replying in kind, kicking towards her head.

Leaning back to dodge the kick, Alice was pleasantly surprised by the examiner's reaction speeds.

Focusing her senses, she realised that the examiner had also deployed her own Zone! Its boundary was slightly beyond her current reach but the edges were incredibly stable!

Snapping her finger, Alice created a miniature Void Flux between them to force some distance as she narrowed her gaze at the examiner.

Instinctively, Alice could tell that the examiner was holding back while trying to get a feel for how strong she was.

If that's the case then…

Taking a deep breath, Alice brought her blade to her side and focused her gaze. Her Zone condensed and stabilized as she prepared to use Void Flux – Cleave!

Feeling a chill down her spine as though she was looking at a beast that was ready to strike, the examiner was surprised a four Sigil Hunter could give her this kind of feeling.

In the many years she's spent as an examiner, the number of times that this had happened could be counted on one hand!

Revealing a satisfied smile, she entered an offensive stance as lightning crackled around her.

She was going to go to her top speed immediately!