Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 381: Selen's Trump Card

Pushing back the onslaught of roots, fire and briar thorns, sweat dripped down Alice's face as she realised the tree was getting faster with each passing moment.

Due to the effects of her fire, neither of them could use their Sigil abilities against the tree.

If Alice's control of the violet flames and her red spider lilies were considered to be level 1, the tree would be level 5.

It was on a whole different level!

*BANG!!!

Slamming her staff down, Selen attempted to freeze the time around them but flames burned away her powers in an instant.

Within that instant, five roots shot towards her but they were different than usual. On the tip, syringe like spikes aimed to pierce her body as Selen realised they wanted to drain her of blood!

Twisting her body, she managed to dodge three but two were about to hit.

*CLANG!!!

Creating a blood mirror above Selen, Alice appeared and kicked the two roots away before dragging Selen into her mirror.

Sliding across the floor, the two glared at the tree that was now focused on defending itself once more.

"Do you have anything to burn this damn thing to the ground?" Selen asked as Alice furrowed her brows.

Swapping Sigils only works once and once it's been replaced, it'll stay like that for hours. Right now, she couldn't afford to get rid of her second, third or fourth.

Granted, she ate the blood of the guard so she's equal to a six Sigil Hunter but those Sigils can only be assigned once. If something bad occurs and she's already replaced them, it'll be difficult to escape the predicament.

"Depends but if it doesn't work I won't be able to do anything about it. It's a trump card ya know?" Alice forced a smile.

Hearing this, Selen furrowed her brows as she let out a sigh.

"Can you buy me a bit of time then? I'll activate my resonance." Selen asked as Alice furrowed her brows and nodded her head.

"I'll certainly try."

Taking a deep breath, Alice slammed her palm down as a pool of blood began to expand across the area.

From the blood, weapons manifested and shot towards the roots that surged towards Selen.

Detonating it into a brilliant display of flames and explosions, Alice glanced back and saw Selen with her eyes closed.

In front of her, she held her staff.

'Seems like her resonance has something to do with the power of time. If I just defend, it'll be easy for the tree to overwhelm me.'

Crouching down, Alice set down a node next to Selen before dashing towards the tree.

Snapping her fingers, she created three Void Fluxes next to her and fired it at the largest root she could see.

*CRACK!!!

Slapping her attack out of the air using a smaller root, the tree tunnelled the large root into the ground, aiming for Selen but Alice was ready.

Clasping her hands together with a Void Flux, she activated the node she set around Selen.

*BANG!!!

A dome of flames and flowers burst out from the ground, creating a barrier of sorts that prevented any roots or thorns from hitting Selen.

Using this chance, Alice aimed her third Void Flux at the cocoon.

Adjusting its shape for penetrative power, she narrowed her eyes and fired.

The recoil of the blast caused the pool of blood around her to scatter but it was within her calculations. Controlling the blood, she had them flank the modified Void Flux and warded off the thorns.

Spider lilies blossomed along the trunk as they formed a protective net.

Upon coming into contact with the Void Flux, it began to twist and snap.

However, Alice noticed its goal.

By having it twist and snap, it was able to reduce the spin on her attack, thus reducing the penetrative power. Before it lost more momentum, Alice forcefully detonated the spark.

*BOOM!!!

Looking at the cloud of smoke and flames, Alice narrowed her gaze before bending her body back.

Above her, a spike thorn began to slowly retract.

"!!!" Cold sweat filled her back as Alice could feel her head beating against her ear.

If she was any slower, that thorn would've pierced her body.

The Zone that she had established around her body warned her at the last moment and she instinctively bent back. Yet it was this exact move that saved her life and prevented the thorn from tearing off her head.

Just as Alice was recovering from her initial dodge, two more thorns rushed out as she dodged the first but was struck by the second.

"Arg!" Gritting her teeth, Alice created a dagger and cut off a piece of her forearm that the thorn struck.

However, her cut wasn't deep enough as she could see roots burrowing into her flesh.

"Gods f*cking dammit!"

The speed of these thorns was far too fast for Alice to defend using the automated defence of her Shard of Kara. Yet her Zone wasn't stable enough to control the shard with pinpoint accuracy.

Taking a deep breath, she didn't hesitate to create a Void Flux and aimed at her arm.

*BANG!!!

Destroying the roots that were trying to reach her main body, Alice jumped back to create some distance before more thorns could strike her.

Since she had used the Void Flux, her regeneration was slowed down by the flames but compared to having roots inside her, this was the more preferable outcome.

As the dust cleared, Alice could see a single arm reaching out from the cocoon that had controlled the briar thorns.

A strange darkness covered the arm similar to her first Resonance and slowly blended back into her natural skin tone.

Grabbing the edge of the cocoon, the arm tore away at the chunks as a woman's figure began to reveal herself.

Dishevelled crimson hair, the same shade as the red spider lilies that blossomed on the tree. A pair of unfeeling red eyes with the pattern of the lilies printed upon her face.

A visage similar to that of a mix between Velouria and Alice herself. The outfit consisted of briar thorns digging into her flesh and a curtain of blood that acted as fabric.

Stepping out of the cocoon in her bare feet, the woman glanced around cluelessly while raising her hand.

Seeing the blood drip down her arm, she opened her mouth and licked the blood before curling her lips up into a smile.

"Alice! Get out of the way!" Selen shouted while Alice was frozen by the appearance of the beast.

Hearing Selen's shout, Alice immediately dove into a blood mirror and Selen pulled out her staff and aimed it towards the beast.

In her resonance form, Selen's hair turned into a crystalline white. Adorned with a marble coloured and black dress with straps of fabric hovering around her as though it was underwater, she rushed forward.

With each step she took, the sound of a clock hand ticking could be heard as she weaved through the countless thorns that the beast sent towards her.

Taking another step, she pivoted on her foot and stabbed her staff into the ground. Biting her finger, she drew a line along the shaft of the staff before circling the beast in an anti clockwise motion.

A barrier manifested around the staff while Selen reached the next zone and created a second staff.

Once again, she drew a single line of blood upon the shaft of the staff.

Noticing what she was trying to do, the beast began to send more thorns towards Selen but Alice wasn't going to stand by and do nothing.

Slamming her hand down, orbs of blood appeared around Selen. Just as the thorns were about to reach her, an orb would intercept and transform into a mirror, sending the attack elsewhere.

While she may struggle with dodging thorns while they were rushing towards her, positioning her mirrors around someone else was a different matter!

Giving Alice a side eye, the beast furrowed her brows ever so slightly before aiming her hand towards Alice.

Sensing danger, Alice rolled to the side and fired a Void Flux towards where she was standing out of instinct.

*BANG!!!

Colliding with a pillar of thorns that pierced through the ground, flames erupted beside her but Alice made sure to keep most of her attention on Selen.

While she may be a master at controlling her body along with slowing the time around her, without Alice's help, she would've been stabbed by several thorns already!

Upon placing the twelfth staff, Selen jumped back and slammed both her hands against the ground.

A ritualistic circle manifested around the beast as illusionary glyphs appeared above each staff. Blue energy flooded into the room, forming a barrier with each point being anchored down by a staff and above, space cracked apart.

[There's no doubt, this is indeed the power of Miralith, the Abyss Lord of Time. Selen's formed a ritual but the Lord should be sealed. How is she able to bring out its power?] Cayla frowned.

A Sealed Abyss Lord cannot die nor can they exert their powers with few exceptions such as Tiamat. And even then, they are limited to a minuscule fraction of their abilities. Miralith certainly doesn't belong to this tier, even if it can control certain aspects of time.

However, Selen was able to bring out its power.

Either the Zenia's have found a loophole or Miralith's bindings have become loose!

From the crack of time, a pair of illusionary claws tore apart the entrance as a colossal beast revealed its head.

With a pair of jagged horns, two pairs of eyes and a wingless draconic body that seemed to shimmer between skeletal form and flesh, the Sealed Abyss Lord of Time manifested in the banquet hall!

[Abyss Lord of Time: Miralith – ?????????]