Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 296: Ambushing The Seraphim

Sitting on a tree, Alice sighed in boredom while observing the location in front of her.

Fissures.

A weak ripple in the boundary of the realm where there was a high chance to establish a pathway between the Abyss and the Surface.

Looking at the 'arena' in front of her, Alice couldn't help but groan in annoyance while recalling Kaden's warnings regarding the Seraphim.

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"Once it senses that a fight is unfavourable, it'll look for a way to escape. That's why Seraphims usually make their home near a fissure that allows them to run easily. The six winged Seraphim is extremely experienced in doing this so you must not let it leave.

"When you see it open a rift to escape, disrupt it using Void Flux. That's the biggest tip I can give you for this battle. Other than that, just try to avoid her attacks if you can since you don't have the body to withstand her strikes."

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After teleporting her to the location, both Kaden and Allura stepped away to observe the situation without interrupting the Hunt.

Meaning right now, it's all up to Alice.

She had already made a mental note of the 'weak points' of the fissure within this area. Locations where the air seems to distort. Any attack that absorbs energy from the surroundings would cause this tear to open and if you are caught in it, it'll tear off anything attached to you.

Alice had to keep an eye out for these fissures along with the Seraphim's bombs.

'The best way to finish this hunt would be to kill it in one go. If I stack Resonance, Partial Bloodline Release together and use Void Flux – Cleave, a successful hit should be able to kill the beast. Or at least force it to draw some blood.' She mused to herself while tracing her finger along her bracelet.

While she may think this, her opponent was still a Six Star beast! It wasn't something she could take likely.

Shaking her head, Alice took a deep breath and focused her mind.

For this hunt, she's been given a supply of healing vials two offensive vials that boost her speed and strength. Drinking more than two wouldn't give her more benefits but rather force side effects to occur.

For tools to assist her… Nothing!

Before she could continue her train of thought, a chill went down her spine as she subconsciously manifested Void Fang in sword form.

Cold sweat dripped down her head as the space around the fissure revealed a pair of delicate hands that tore it open.

[Seraphim of the Void – ??????]

Seeing the beast this close, Alice was once again reminded of just how insane this hunt truly was. Even with all of her tricks and trump cards, Alice was still only a three Star Hunter at the end of the day.

She had no right in challenging a six Star beast that could end her with a single breath.

But despite this danger, she curled her lips into a fearless grin.

Tensing her hand around the handle of Void Fang, Alice narrowed her eyes.

Standing up before entering a crouching stance, she judged the distance between the two before enveloping the Seraphim in her Zone Stance.

'Right on the edge, it's possible.'

Her strongest attack with the highest output she could muster!

Pulling out two vials of blood, Alice poured the contents into her mouth as a foreign flood of power began flowing through her body. Lightning began to crackle around her limbs as her eyes gained a golden hue.

Activating her resonance, the crown manifested above her head.

She had a short gap to activate all of her enhancement abilities before the Seraphim would spot her. And in that time, she had to make sure her strike landed!

'No more hesitation. It's now or never.'

Taking a deep breath, Alice activated her Partial Bloodline Release along with her first Sigil.

Violet flames burst forth from her body as she exploded into action!

Within the darkness of this forest, a single streak of violet and gold rushed towards the Seraphim.

Snapping her eyes open, the beast turned towards Alice's direction but Alice was already in front of her!

Void Flux – Cleave!

An arc of violet flames rushed forth, shredding the space along its path while the Seraphim found themselves unable to move!

Spatial Lock!

Gritting her teeth, the Seraphim wanted to activate her first Ability to escape into the void but it was too slow!

With no other choice, she mustered all of her strength and sacrificed her left arm to escape death!

*KRKK!!!

Watching her blade tear through the Seraphim's arm, Alice didn't stop the attack. This was her chance to kill the beast before she could counter!

"Where the hell do you think you're going!" Alice shouted, watching the Seraphim's body begin to blur.

Without care for her own safety, five Void Fluxes manifested around them, detonating and preventing the beast from running away!

Stomping her heel against the beast's leg, Alice slammed the pommel of Void Fang against the beast's throat before going for a downward cleave.

*CLANG!!!

A scythe blade pierced through the realm, blocking Alice's strike!

"Tch!" Clicking her tongue, Alice kicked against the Seraphim and jumped back.

Slamming her hand down, her third Sigil manifested on her body as a swarm of blood enveloped the arena.

But before she could continue her momentum in this fight, a chill went down her spine as she trusted her instincts and swung her blade behind herself.

*BANG!!!

Parrying the Seraphim's attack, Alice noticed that she had created a portal to swing the scythe rather than teleporting herself.

'So that's possible too. Interesting.'

Now that the initial ambush was over, Alice understood that the Seraphim was on guard against her.

Jumping back to create more distance between them, she marked down the location of the scythe strike with a mote of blood.

Observing her opponent, the Seraphim was silent as she glanced at her left arm. The flesh pulsed and attempted to regenerate but it was no use.

"Confused aren't ya? Why won't my arm come back? It's a little something I like to call Violet Flames. They use the Abyss's power as fuel. Meaning so long as I hit you, it'll constantly feed off of your body." Alice grinned. It was an attack inspired by Allura's Sigil that made it impossible for her to heal mid fight.

By supressing the flame's destructive power and exchanging it with tenacity to continuously consume the flesh, she was able to recreate the anti healing method that Allura employed.

Of course, there was a slight issue with this and that was for them to cut off the flesh being eaten by the flames or simply overpower the flames with the rate of healing.

Since she chose tenacity, the flames lacked the power to rapidly consume the body in its entirety. It can only hold on and prevent healing.

She hoped that by telling the beast, she could apply some pressure and force the beast to be wary.

'Thankfully the healing doesn't seem to be that crazy. My flames can keep up and stop her from getting her arm back.'

However, her joy was short as the Seraphim exploded with a purple and gold aura.

*BANG!!!

Cracking the ground around her, all of her wounds began to regenerate rapidly even with the hindrance of her Violet Flames.

"Me and my stupid thoughts." Alice muttered with a forced smile.

Seraphim's Sixth Ability!

"You're really not holding back huh? And here I thought we'd do a little meet and greet. I'll show you my first few Sigils while you do the same. Instead we're going straight to the sixth." Alice shrugged as she reactivated her Partial Bloodline Release.

She had to finish this fast before her Resonance ran out. After using it continuously in the Abyss, she's gained the ability to exhaust its uses like a battery. The overall duration didn't change much but she could space out her uses unlike before where she was one and done.

Before she could even approach the Seraphim, a scythe blade appeared in front of her!

"Sh*t!" Leaning her body back, Alice managed to narrowly dodge the strike before making it down with a mote once more.

Twisting her body, she launched a ranged Void Flux – Cleave towards the Seraphim.

Seeing this, the Seraphim simply flicked her finger and a ripple opened up, swallowing the attack.

"!!!"

Widening her eyes, Alice immediately rolled to the side, dodging the cleave that came down from above!

'So she can return my attacks back to me if I'm not careful. Yo~ Core, got any tips for me?' Alice forced a smile while parrying another scythe strike.

She could tell that if she was using the Blood Flame Blade, it would've shattered by now from the attacks of the Seraphim!

Each of her attacks harnessed the power of the Void, aiming to shred the defences and durability of anything it touched.

Thankfully, Void Fang was a blade that manifested itself from Alice's blood. So long as she had blood to spare, the blade will stay intact!

'I don't have anything to say to you. Even if I was to do something f*cking Velouria would just intervene. Let this be a test for you as well. If you can't face this b*tch on your own I'd rather the two of us just die than to keep watching you stumble around.' [Alice] scoffed, causing Alice to let out a laugh.

'Fine if you say so then I'll do just that. But why don't we form a ritual for now?' Alice grinned.

'Hou~? Don't give me something boring like manifesting me like last time. You've seen how that ended.'

'It's nothing boring like an exchange of power. But rather a partnership. If I kill this Seraphim, help me learn more about you and the origin of this power.'

Hearing this, [Alice] was silent before letting out a laugh.

'Alright, I'll play this game with you. If you can kill this Seraphim without my direct interference, I'll help you out. But it'll be no fun if you're the only one getting something out of this.

'So with the rule of Equivalent Exchange, if you fail, I'm taking back some of my control over this body.'

'Alright, no take backs.' Alice grinned as a ritual was established between them.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the Seraphim in front of her.

It wasn't just her Sigil on the line now. It was a chance to learn about her Core and the power that inhibits her body.