Abyssal Awakening

*CLANG!!!

Right before Egil's fist could collide with Alice, Bo intercepted him. Forcing himself between them, he tried to cut off Egils arm with his hand axe but the aura wrapping around Egil's arm protected it.

However, this moment was enough for Alice to recover. Reaching forward, she expanded the shield in front of them.

"Hm?" Noticing something strange while Egil jumped back, Alice glanced at her hand before shaking her head.

Even though she wanted to ask Bo something, they didn't have the luxury of talking right now. Egil didn't allow for it!

*BANG!!!

Once he stabilized his body from jumping back, Egil rushed towards the two of them once more.

Compared to earlier, his speed was increased by threefold! With this increase in speed, he appeared in front of Bo in the blink of an eye and launched a punch towards him.

*CRACK!!!

Parrying the punches using her shields, Alice frowned upon seeing the barrier cracking even though she had diverted most of the impact.

But Egil was familiar with Alice's artifact now.

Twisting his body, he unleashed two quick kicks towards Bo.

One of which was dodged by Bo while the second was forcefully blocked by Alice's shield but the resulting impact shattered the barrier and sent Bo flying into the sky.

Gritting his teeth, Bo adjusted his posture in the air.

If things continued like this, it would only be a matter of seconds before either he or Alice gets hit!

Alice's shield was barely keeping up with Egil's strikes but it was beginning to slow down. The damage it's been accumulating since the start of this battle has made it slow in deploying the barrier.

Furrowing his brows, Bo was at a crosswalk of options.

On one side, he should do his job as the representative and simply try to dodge Egil's strikes while Alice protects him. That way, she can win the Warrior's Honour the 'proper' way while Egil loses.

On the other, he wanted to fight back as hard as he could. He's been taking it relatively easy on Egil despite his grudge because this was not his match and Torgeir reminded him not to get emotional.

But so what! He wasn't someone who'd just let himself get thrown around like this!

Resonance!

At that moment, Bo's hair turned silver as jagged white bones manifested around his body.

His flesh turned black while the Sigil markings glowed a menacing red.

Bones became his armour, covering his arms, torso and legs while tattered clothing fluttered around his waist.

A bestial mask appeared on his face as his hand axes underwent a transformation.

Seeing Bo use his Resonance, Torgeir furrowed his brows and sighed.

This was why he was unsure if this was the correct choice for Alice.

If the duel continued like this, it would simply be a duel between Egil and Bo. No longer was the focus of this fight on Alice's capabilities as a shielder.

Right now, she was simply a slight annoyance a little better than the standard shield.

'There's about a minute left.'

Egil, while being a liability due to his past record, was still a Warrior who was attuned to five spirits. Not only that but within those of his level, he's practically unmatched in terms of raw physical power.

Had it not been for his personality and past records, he would've been known as the ideal Warrior.

Bo, on the other hand, was akin to a wolf. He preferred to work with others and once he latches onto his prey, he won't stop until they're dead.

It's why he warned Bo not to get carried away before the fight began but it seems like his words were ignored.

Letting out a sigh, he glanced at Bo who was darting around the arena. Egil was forced to defend as he couldn't keep up with Bo's speed.

However, Bo couldn't do any damage to Egil who was able to endure everything with his physicality.

"Huh?" Pausing for a moment, Torgeir furrowed his brows as he noticed something abnormal with Bo's movements.

Even if he's fast, he shouldn't be able to make these kinds of turns in mid air…

Furrowing his brow, Torgeir calculated Bo's path.

'Two turns into a slash. That should be the optimal path.' He concluded for Bo's next attack.

Egil was the same as he turned his body to counter.

However…

*BANG!!!

Egil's fist struck the empty air as Bo was able to dash out of danger at the last moment! Flickering around the arena as though he could fly, Egil began to lose track of him!

'What is going on…' Torgeir widened his eyes.

###

Curling his lips into a shocked smile, Bo continued to dash around the arena while increasing his speed as much as he could.

Every time he felt like he should make a turn, a small platform would appear right by his feet, allowing him to dodge.

At first, it was sloppy. The platform was slow and sometimes it might even fail to deploy correctly.

Therefore, he ignored these at the start.

However…

At that last moment, when Egil had predicted his movement and Bo could only prepare himself to be hit, the platform manifested right below his feet. The timing when his knees were bent so he could exert his full power to dodge!

It was Alice!

He didn't know how she was doing this but this worked out better for the both of them!

Cranking his speed up to max, Bo understood that Alice was beginning to understand his movements. How he prepared his path and when he wanted to attack.

The moment he even shows the slight indication of wanting to strike, the platform would manifest at the right angle where it would allow him to charge towards Egil!

*CRACK!!!!

Slamming his axe into Egil's aura that protected his body, a crack was formed! The balance was tipped in their favour!

Narrowing his eyes, Bo dodged Egil's counter as jubilation filled his chest. This was the first time he felt this free when fighting. It was as though the air had become his domain. He was able to move however he wanted and fight at his full potential!

'I was wrong about you Alice!' Bo laughed inwardly.

During this fight, she has earned his respect and admiration! The foresight to be able to place footholds exactly where he wished at this speed was simply monstrous!

Egil may have not noticed but Bo understood the reality. This entire arena has become Alice's personal playground and he was simply her most effective pawn!

###

Sweat dripped down Alice's face but there was a wide smile on her face.

'It's working!' She thought inwardly.

During the brief exchange earlier, she noticed the way the fragments of her shard deployed the shields.

Similar to the shield that Torgeir had his soldiers place around the arena, each fragment acted as a 'node' that expanded the barrier. By being in close proximity with other fragments, these barriers resonate with each other and connect.

But this wasn't the important part. The important part was the fact that by fragmenting the shard further and allowing smaller deployments, she reduced the stamina it took to recover the damage!

She didn't need a strong shield that could block every attack. She just needed it to be good enough to divert the power even if it breaks!

Panting heavily, Alice could feel her body screaming out in pain as her stamina was being tapped into every time her shard broke apart and repaired itself.

If she was using her energy to fuel the shard, this would've been much easier. But because she couldn't, her stamina was being constantly drained. Despite not fighting against Egil and instead acting as support, Alice felt more exhausted than when she was fighting against Lords!

Alice circled around the edge of the arena, making sure Egil didn't put his focus on her.

With the shards as fragmented as they are right now, she was in more danger than ever. But by giving Bo the freedom of movement he desired, he was taking all of the aggro!

'How much time is left???' Alice questioned as each passing second felt like torture.

Bo was keeping Egil occupied with his rapid attacks while Alice was pushing her concentration to the max!

To understand Bo's intentions, where he wanted to strike, how he wanted to move and where her shards needed to be wasn't easy. She didn't have the kinetic vision provided by Cayla nor the time slowing abilities of Selen.

But what she did have was instinct! She had to put herself in the mindset of Bo. How would she try to optimize the way she would attack Egil?

What does she consider to be a 'dead' path?

She had to take this into account every time she made a platform for Bo otherwise the foothold wouldn't deploy properly!

There were instances where her thoughts and Bo's became mismatched. But with each failure, Alice began to understand Bo better!

She didn't know how long till the end of the duel but she didn't have the leisure to care about that right now. She had to maintain this 'grid of control' or else Bo would get hit and it'll be her loss!

Defending against Bo's relentless onslaught, veins bulged across Egil's body. He wanted to counter but couldn't find the chance!

'Not like this… I can't end things like this!'

He had to win. If he didn't win, he wouldn't be able to join the squad. If he can't join the squad, it'll take too long for him to earn achievements in war. If he can't earn achievements in war then…

It'll be too late!

"I WON'T ALLOW MYSELF TO GO DOWN LIKE THIS!!!" Egil roared, the crimson energy flaring from his body.

The flood of energy that erupted from his body rushed into the arena, submerging both Bo and Alice in its influence.

At that moment, both Alice and Bo felt their movements come to a halt!

This gap was exactly what Egil needed as his fist slammed into Bo's chest, breaking apart the armour and sending his body crashing into the walls.