Abyssal Awakening

Twisting her body, Alice kicked her other foot into Lyra\'s chest before following up with a slash with her makeshift twin blade.

However, her follow up attack was blocked.

Alice understood that her replication of Lyra\'s fighting style was rudimentary. She needed to fill the gaps with her own flare. Integrate the moves into her own fighting style.

With a gap being created between them, Alice sheathed her blade before entering a low stance. Rushing forward, she pulled her blade out of the sheath as a wave of violet flames rushed forth.

*BANG!!!!

An explosion of vibrant flames lit up the arena! A storm of flaming dragons rushed up into the sky before crashing back down.

Within this violent storm of flames, Alice dashed towards Lyra without fear.

The Blade Dancer was silent despite seeing how her ice was having no effect against the flames.

Looking up at the flames, the Blade Dancer raised her twin blade and stabbed it into her own chest, surprising Alice who felt a chill down her spine.

Three motes of light erupted from Lyra\'s body as black armour started to coat her body. An elegant black dress fluttered behind her while a black crown appeared around her head, covering the upper half of her body.

Pulling out her blade, Lyra broke the blade in half, turning her twin blades into dual swords instead.

Blood dripped from the edges and froze over upon coming into contact with the cold mist around her body.

Manifesting her Resonance, a burst of energy erupted out. A field of ice flowers bloomed around her.

Twisting her body, she slashed down with her sword!

At that moment, through the view of Cayla, Alice felt as though the world had frozen over.

A singular wave of ice energy, a cascade of frozen lights and countless reflections through the ice shards. Its crystalline tendrils extending outwards, parting the flaming sea and plummeting the temperature in the arena in an instant.

Within the centre of this wave pulsed an ethereal light that cast an iridescent glow against the flames. Even the air itself wasn\'t safe as shards of ice materialised in the air and floated down.

In the wake of this energy, all that remained was a frozen tundra of ice and snow. The one raging inferno was quelled by the woman clad in a black dress within this land of cold.

Holding her dual swords, Lyra finally curled the corner of her lips up into a small smile and gestured for Alice to respond to this attack.

A layer of ice had already formed across Alice\'s body and she found herself unable to move from her spot.

Glaring at Lyra, Alice simply laughed.

*CRACK!!!

Forcefully tearing herself from the prison of ice, blood poured from her body, staining the frozen crystal in crimson.

Seeing this, Garret widened his eyes in shock as this girl was crazier than he expected!

Just as he was about to make a move to stop this trial, he noticed all of the blood around the arena surging towards Alice, mending her wounds.

\'What the…\' Furrowing his brows in confusion, Garret decided to keep watching.

###

Alice knew her flames weren\'t going to be enough to defeat Lyra. Even though it countered Lyra, she was still too weak to put it to full use. Therefore, she decided to not hold back anymore.

Controlling the blood to converge around her body, her Sigils lit up with an ominous glow as her left eye mirrored her right.

Her hair was now dyed in a violet hue while the blood that surrounded her body transformed into an elegant black dress with flames flickering around the edges.

Activating her resonance, the crown above Alice\'s head started to repair itself as she supported a cruel grin on her face.

"Yo~ Champion. I\'ll admit, I can\'t beat you in technique. But how will you deal with this?" Alice asked, her personality flipping to the other side as her restraint was removed.

Aiming her hand towards Lyra, Alice snapped her finger.

Two motes of fire flickered to life around Lyra as they collapsed into a single spark. Void Flux! Alice\'s personal skill, one that she could use freely while in her Resonance form.

Lyra wanted to jump back but her reaction was too slow.

Erupting into a blinding ball of light that destroyed everything around it, Lyra could only sacrifice her right arm in order to avoid complete destruction!

Tumbling back from the attack, she stabbed her sword into the ground to stabilize herself but Alice\'s face appeared in front of her.

She was hanging upside down from the thread and stabbed her dagger towards Lyra\'s mouth.

Bending herself back, Lyra managed to dodge at the last second but another mote appeared beside her.

*Click

Snapping her finger once more, Alice detonated the Void Flux before flipping through the air.

Flicking her wrist, a thread of blood stretched from one side of the arena to the other. Sitting down, she crossed her legs and glanced down at Lyra whose Resonance form was on the verge of being dispelled.

Yet despite all of this, Lyra regained her composure as she dropped her ice sword to the side. Biting the tip of her finger, she began to draw a ritual circle in front of her.

Seeing this, Garret was shocked. Lyra the Blade Dancer, a Hunter who can kill anyone she faces just by using her fighting techniques. Rarely could people force her to use her Resonance never mind a ritual!

\'Even though this trial has been scaled down, Lyra is still not someone you can contest against easily. And yet… This gal has actually forced her to activate a ritual!\' Garret thought to himself in excitement, his hands almost crushing the railing he was grabbing onto.

To force Lyra to use her ritual was making her admit that she was inferior!

Slamming her foot down, a garden of frozen flowers and vines bloomed as in the centre of the flowers, swords crafted from ice manifested themselves and shot towards Alice.

Understanding that this was a mere distraction, a wave of boredom appeared in Alice\'s eyes.

"If you want to use your move, go for it. Why would I stop you?" Alice chuckled softly, snapping her fingers.

In an instant, countless motes of fire appeared on the blades, each collapsing into a Void Flux and detonating all at once.

"So go for it." Alice gestured with her hand.

Pausing for a moment, Lyra took a deep breath and dismissed the distraction.

Around her, giant arrows started to manifest themselves as Lyra adjusted her posture.

A giant crystal bow appeared before her. Pressing her right foot against the grip of the bow, her hand pulled the bow string back.

Upon the manifestation of the bow, the ambient energy surrounding the arena surged towards her while the arrows acted as containers for this energy. Collecting, condensing and then amplifying the power that she could draw from the Abyss.

Struggling to contain the power, the arrows started to unravel themselves into thin strands of crystalline thread that coiled towards Lyra\'s bow.

While Lyra was charging her attack, Garret became was in a dilemma. The power that was being displayed right now could devastate the entire arena!

But if he was to interfere, he wouldn\'t be able to see what Alice had planned to do in retaliation.

His inner fighter was telling him to sit back and watch while his responsibilities warned him to stop this fight right now.

He had already seen the power hidden behind Alice\'s Void Flux and he knew she was already suppressing herself greatly!

Even six star Hunters would struggle to demonstrate the level of control that she had just exhibited.

Just as he was about to interfere, Lyra shot him a warning glare while the other statues in the arena all turned their gaze towards him, rooting him in place.

"!!!"

Alice\'s demonstration had invoked a reaction from the arena!

Never in the record of the Academy had this happened before and now, he was witnessing history being written before him!

With no other choice, he could only take a step back and watch.

As Lyra pulled back the bowstring as far as she could, fractures started to appear on her body as parts of her Resonance armour broke off.

Yet she continued to pull the back without care.

Reaching the apex, the ritual circle around her printed itself across the entire arena!

Alice couldn\'t help but let out a hearty laugh, spreading out her arms and welcoming this strike.

[Spirit of the Abyss heed my call, bring forth the power held within this vessel.]

[I offer my heart, my wisdom, my will and my soul to the dark mother.]

[All who value their lives should flee. All who watch in awe shall bow.]

[Hearken, sinner. The dark mother has heard your name.]

A feminine voice echoed throughout the arena as a simulation of Lyra\'s contract was formed! Upon the finalization of this contract, a secondary burst of energy erupted through the arena as Lyra released the arrow.

*BANG!!!

The arrow burst forth and, in an instant, shattered the arena and the parts of the walls around them. It was as though the realm itself was bowing before the might of the arrow as the space warped from its speed.

Without even touching the arrow, Alice could already feel her skin tearing apart from the energy it exuded but her smile only grew wider.

She had watched the manifestation and finalization of the contract. She had seen the steps required and the movement of energy. She has imprinted the instructions upon her mind.

\'To show my gratitude for this lesson, allow me to give you my all.\' Alice thought to herself and aimed her fingers towards the incoming arrow.

There was no need for her to reach out to the Abyss for a contract at this moment. No, there was a far better candidate.

Snapping her finger, her second Sigil flared to life as it stretched across her body.

Opening her mouth, Alice formed her contract. There was no need to revere the target. No need to sing its praises. All she needed was a simple instruction.

[Feast o\' flame of mine.]