Abyssal Awakening

Had it not been for her violet flames, this would\'ve been her main form of attack aside from her Sigils.

Brushing off the flames with a single swipe of her twin blade, she brought her fingers to her mouth before exhaling.

*KRRR!!!

Sensing danger, Alice jumped back just in time to see all of her blood being frozen in an instant while a cloud of cold mist manifested in front of Lyra.

\'Ice powers huh? Tsk.\' Alice thought as she snapped her finger.

Immediately, all of her blood erupted into a brilliant violet flame that melted the ice before lashing out at her.

Surprised by the cancellation of her ability, Lyra twisted her body and twirled her weapon around her, creating a storm of ice to counter Alice\'s flames.

If the flames were normal flames, this would\'ve been enough. Unfortunately for Lyra, her flames weren\'t normal flames!

Latching onto the ice, the fire roared out in defiance while Alice circled around, setting up the perfect environment for her hunt.

Landing on one of her threads she observed Lyra\'s fighting style carefully, engraving it into her mind.

The way she moved, how she swung the blade and how she reacted to the flame\'s attacks.

But the more she watched, the deeper her frown grew. Even though her flames were able to counter her abilities, she was able to weave herself through the swirl of fire with ease and even redirect it using the movement of her blade.

Alice couldn\'t find an opportunity to attack, and if she was to force it, she\'d only be exposing herself instead.

"!!!"

Widening her eyes, a spear of ice speared in front of her as Alice immediately swung herself back using her threads. Watching the spear pass over her head, she knew that she couldn\'t stay passive.

Her instincts were telling her to go all in and disregard her safety.

In this battle, she must be willing to take hits if she wanted to defeat her!

If she gets hit, hit back 10 times harder. If she gets cut, cut them back! If she loses an arm, take both of theirs!

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

Landing on the arena floor, Alice stomped her foot down and a pool of blood manifested around her.

She had wanted to pull the Blade Dancer into an illusion, but it wasn\'t working. Perhaps it was because she wasn\'t \'alive\' and couldn\'t be poisoned. But she was limited to two of her Sigils if she excluded her Resonance and one Sigil Resonance for now.

Feeling a chill down her neck, Alice realised that Lyra had disappeared from her entrapment and appeared behind her, blade ready to swing down!

\'She\'s faster than before!\'

Rolling forward to avoid the strike, Alice couldn\'t recover her posture before hastily parrying the next attack with her blade. Each strike that Lyra sent out caused Alice to stumble back some more, making it harder and harder to recover.

No matter how many blood spears she sent out, Lyra was able to avoid them effortlessly.

For Alice, Allura was an insurmountable wall that couldn\'t be surpassed even with technique. Alice could reassure herself saying it was a difference of Sigil.

But for Lyra, Alice was outclassed in every aspect. Technique, composure, movement, speed, power everything.

Alice knew that Lyra had only showcased one Sigil ability so far! Two at most but not more.

Narrowing her eyes, Alice decided to risk it.

Lunging into Lyra\'s attack range, Alice focused her senses to their limits. She needed to keep track of the twin blades movements, her footwork and how Lyra dodged. She needed to consider all of this if she wanted to land her first strike against her!

Reinforcing her arm with her blood and metal, Alice used it as a shield against the twin blade. Ignoring the fact that it had cut into her arm even with all the protection she prepared, Alice slammed her shoulder into Lyra\'s chest, forcing her to take a step back.

Slashing up with her blade, violet flames roared out as Lyra side stepped the flame. But her weapon was stuck in place.

Curling her lips into a grin, Alice took advantage of this moment and grabbed onto the twin blade! Using as a bar, Alice jumped up and twisted her body, slamming her heel into the side of Lyra\'s head.

*BANG!!!

Crashing into the ground, Lyra recovered from the kick as she stared at Alice who was bloodied and exhausted but the fire in her eyes refused to extinguish.

But there was something else that surprised the Blade Dancer.

A strange black metal started to morph around Alice\'s wrist as it connected itself onto the handle of her blade.

At that moment, Alice created her own twin blade and twirled it around her body before entering a similar stance to Lyra.

Taking it as a challenge, Lyra stood up. Her Sigils appeared across her body as markings could be seen on her neck.

Staring at one another, the two had a rare moment of silence before all hell broke loose. Both combatants rushed towards one another as Alice mimicked Lyra\'s fighting style.

###

Department Head of Garret. The most powerful combatant within the Academy and the man whom the students call the Mad Demon.

He is a tall Hunter with a muscular physique. Each muscle looked as though it was chiselled from the hardest stone. He had short, untamed white hair that flared outwards and a goatee. He wore a pair of round red-tinted glasses that hid his fierce eyes radiating with power that seemed to pierce through anyone who met his gaze.

He wore a simple black shirt without any designs, a pair of baggy pants with a long black ribbon around his waist. The ribbon was adorned with blood flowers that was printed onto the fabric.

Red rope is tightly wound around his ankles, leading to a pair of wooden sandals. And finally, bandages wrapped around his arms.

Sitting in his office, Garret watched the students train in the facility and yawned in boredom. Even though they were talented, far more than what he exhibited when he was younger, they couldn\'t interest him.

They lacked a certain flare to them that simply didn\'t get his blood pumping.

Thinking about this, he couldn\'t help but think back to the recording that Xinbei had showed him. The technique, intuition and eagerness displayed by the girl clad in lightning stirred something inside him.

No matter what, he wanted her to pass the exams so that he could watch a fine Hunter realize their potential. He wanted to see a new addition to the Hall of Champions.

*BANG!!!

Bursting into his room, a woman struggled to catch her breath.

"S-sir!" She called out in a panic.

"Calm yourself. Did some idiot hurt another trainee?" Garret asked as it was rather strange for her to be this nervous.

"No sir. Theres *Pant* There\'s an outsider challenging the Hall of Champions!"

"The f*ck did you say?" Garret blinked, standing up in surprise.

The Hall of Champions, the pride and hardest challenge within the Combat Department. A special trial left behind by their predecessors at the time of their graduation from this Academy. Each a legend of their time.

The room was left untouched and unguarded as there was no need to guard it. The door to the trial will not open to anyone who did not meet the basic requirements imposed onto the room.

The only requirement they have discovered thus far was that coming into contact with the doors allowed the \'room\' to read your history and combat experience. This\'ll determine whether or not you are worthy to challenge the Hall of Champions.

The other requirements were still a mystery to them but those who reached the pinnacle of the Combat Department at the time of Graduation could challenge this trial.

There was nothing to gain within the Hall other than to prove yourself.

"Did they find a new requirement in order to enter the hall?" Garret asked, wondering if someone from the Theory Department had discovered something but the woman shook her head.

"Forget it. Look after these brats. I\'ll check out the situation myself." He sighed, taking a step out of his room and immediately disappearing with a burst of wind that sent the woman stumbling back.

He wanted to see just what kind of dumb b*stard would challenge the Hall of Champions without proper preparation.

And if things start to look bad, he\'ll need to intervene and take them out of the trial.

Upon arriving at the Hall of Champions, he could see that a few Seniors of the Combat Department was guarding the Hall, preventing people from entering the spectator stands while the woman earlier was sent to bring him over.

"I know the situation, make sure people don\'t come in. I\'ll deal with it." Garret nodded, stepping through the secondary door.

There could only be one challenger at a time while the secondary door led to the spectator stands.

Upon entering the Hall, Garret wasn\'t quite sure how he should describe the situation. He recognised the summoned Champion, Lyra the Blade Dancer. A Hunter who was close to the realm of Abyss Lord yet was just short of reaching that pinnacle.

A woman who could be called the upper tier of six star Hunters.

And yet… There was someone else who was able to keep up with her techniques!

Not only that, but she was even replicating Lyra\'s prized fighting style close to perfection. It was as though she was looking at a younger clone of Lyra. Her understanding was shallow but she was catching up.

Blood poured from her wounds, but the smile only grew wider.

Just seeing Alice\'s current expression caused a chill down Garret\'s spine. It felt as though he was looking at a beast, unafraid of death, wanting to take at least an arm with them before they succumbed to their wounds.

Would she be able to catch up to Lyra? He wanted to find out.

And if she could, he wanted to poach her into the Department!