Abyssal Awakening

However, infecting the Apostle of War was much easier said than done.

First, she couldn't use the blood she created with the third Sigil. If she does, the potency wouldn't be high enough to overwhelm the Apostle who's slowly getting her power back.

Second, the instant she senses the third Sigil trying to invade her body, she'll purge it like what she did with the sword.

Alice needed to be careful with how she approached this using her blood. If she makes her intentions too clear, it'll give away her plan.

Third, unfortunately, Kazira is already on guard against the blood so making her fall for the same trick twice was going to be difficult.

And lastly, the most important aspect was still the fact that she had to use her own blood within her own body. If she loses too much at once, a gap will appear in her defences.

'She doesn't know the full details of my abilities yet.' Alice calmed herself, but Alyss suddenly coughed awkwardly.

'Erm… She… Might know.'

'??? The f*ck do you mean she might know?' Alice widened her eye as this was their best chance against her.

'You see… When she ate your blood, I might've given away the fact that it's made from our blood.' Alyss glanced down as she got too excited during that moment.

Hearing this, Alice immediately face-palmed and had to scrap some of her ideas.

If Kazira understood that the key was her blood, she'd do everything in her power to avoid it.

"Bold of you to divert your attention!" Kazira shouted in annoyance upon noticing Alice's half-heartedness.

Dashing forward in a split second and breaching the boundaries of Alice's Zone, she twisted her body and unleashed a whirlwind of strikes!

"Tch!" Creating a set of dual blades using her blood, Alice redirected the strikes while allowing the blades to chip some blood into the air.

Turning it into blood mist, Alice wanted to see if she could make Kazira breathe it in.

But to her shock, the instant the mist was about to touch Kazira, it looked as though it came into contact with an invisible barrier.

Seeing this, Kazira curved her lips up into a wide grin.

"I knew it." She chuckled, seeing the panic in Alice's eye.

This battle is over, victory was hers! The girl has no other methods of killing her!

###

"What the hell is going on…" A man muttered as his smile twitched.

He hovered just outside of a city surrounded by an Eldritch barrier. A confusing tangle of multiple influences within a single zone.

And in the heart of it, the signs of Divinity.

He knew that things were bad but to this extent?

By establishing a ritual of this size, the casualties are already off the charts. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if everyone inside was dead, yet the fact that the barrier was still intact meant the ritual wasn't over!

Someone was still fighting it on the inside.

Or at least that was his original expectation.

Upon further inspection, he couldn't help but notice that several people were actually fighting against both the Call of the Eclipse and the corruption of the Eldritch energy.

Mental Corruption wasn't something anyone could just fight against and survive. It dug the deepest, planted seeds into the recesses of your mind and fed off your negative emotions and thoughts, amplifying them in the process.

A cruel cycle that turned the body into a cultivation pot of desires.

But to 'people' like him?

It was a delicacy. A top grade meal that he could hardly resist. Swallowing his saliva, he found it hard to resist such a 'gift'.

The other Outer Gods can only manifest partially thanks to Icons and the involvement of a third party.

On the other hand, he didn't need such things. He is an artificial being, a construct of sorts, a 'natural' born Outer God of this realm.

Meaning, he can take the full benefits of this… delectable full-course meal that's been prepared in front of him.

His shadow began to stretch and writhe as he couldn't control the smile on his face.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nyer's voice rang out as the man froze up and revealed an awkward smile.

"I thought you were busy with your experiments?"

"Don't try to change the subject. I believe I told you that if you ever let the Eldritch side of you overwhelm you, I'll dispose of you myself." Nyer glanced at him coldly before looking at the barrier holding the city hostage.

Closing his eyes, he observed the situation within the barrier and a smirk appeared on his face.

There were clear traces of tampering by the Will of the Abyss.

Nothing has changed, still the nosy being it once was and still is. To set the Apostle of all things as a target to be killed…

It's akin to waging War against Enris.

That being said, he doubted Enris would care. In fact, she'll even welcome it. After Velouria died, Enris had lost a lot of her enjoyment and found the years monotonous.

She tried to cause chaos against Solaris and Lumiria, but they didn't react the same way Velouria did.

"Know your limitations. My specimen has things handled; the only job you need to do is to take care of the remaining garbage." Nyer turned around and left.

With a warning like this in play, the juvenile Outer God won't step out of line.

Scratching his hair, the man clicked his tongue and gave the barrier another look.

What if…

What if he was to consume it all now? Would he gain enough power to overturn the control Nyer has over him?

A quick bite before Nyer could do anyth-

"!!!"

He realised that his body couldn't move.

Space Lock!

Two blades hovered around his neck as he understood it was a clear warning.

His smile twitched before letting out a sigh.

Nyer understood his instincts too well. He was practically reading him like an open book and there was nothing he could do about it.

Thankfully, the silver lining was that Nyer allowed him to deal with the other Outer Gods that collaborated.

"To think he'd call them garbage. Though I suppose he's not wrong. A truly strong Outer God wouldn't need to band together like this. Just the descent of one would be enough to end things." He chuckled as his body slowly broke down into a dark energy.

###

Something's wrong.

Kazira couldn't quite put her finger to it.

No matter the martial techniques that she unleashed, no matter the countless experiences of battle that she utilized, the girl in front of her was like a cockroach.

She could tell that the girl was using the principles of Zone that was primarily used by the Apostles under the Sun.

Her proficiency and method followed the old methods, the traditional method rather than the new one.

Was she part of the Sun after all?

But that was impossible since she showcased the authority of the Abyss.

She's part of the dead religion.

Shifting her centre of gravity, Kazira cleaved towards Alice. But once again, this cleave failed to kill her target.

Why?

How was she this resilient? How is she able to last this long?

It was clear that her window of victory had disappeared yet she was still holding on?! How?!

Her strikes cannot be blocked, her physicality should be beyond what's perceptible by the average person.

Even if her opponent is a Lord, that shouldn't change.

But Alice wasn't a Lord. She didn't feel like a true Lord despite the powers she wielded and Kazira was confident of that.

Something was boosting her powers up, allowing her to keep pace, but that still didn't explain her power.

This perception, this adaptability, this… savageness.

Kazira felt like she's fighting a wild beast rather than a human.

The maniacal smile on Alice's face as she weaves past the cleave, throwing her entire body to land just one attack.

No matter if it succeeds or fails, she's always ready to follow up.

"Beast!" Kazira cursed as she twisted her body, kicking up at Alice in hopes of pushing her away.

However, Alice abandoned her weapon and grabbed hold of Kazira's leg. Opening her mouth, she bit down!

Gritting her teeth, Kazira cleaved down with her blade, but Alice was faster.

Her silhouette flickered as she used Phantom Shift to retreat.

Something was wrong.

Kazira understood this eerie feeling deeply. This fight should've been long over, yet it continued.

She was sure that she could sense the Shattered Scales returning her power so what's going on?

She should've recovered her authority by now and ended the fight in one go.

'I kept the blood out of my body, made preparations against it being airborne. So what the hell is triggering this sense of unease? I am feeling unease? ME?!' Kazira felt disgust just for humouring the idea.

She couldn't believe that she was experiencing such emotions against a mortal like Alice.

Before she could contemplate the truth of this feeling, Alice lunged forward once more.

Her martial arts were breaking down, no sign of technique only savageness.

She was acting on pure instinct.

*BANG!!!

Stomping her foot against the ground, Kazira was about to unleash her strike when the feeling struck once more.

Something was off.

"!!!"

Allowing Alice to land her strike, Kazira grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the ground.

The body twitched momentarily before fading away.

Her surroundings began to shift and she saw the purple veins on her arm.

Her pupils constricted as she saw the bloodied and wounded Alice not far away from her.

Those wounds… they were indeed inflicted by her.

BUT.

That's only if the attacks landed yet they didn't.

Or did they?

"Oi. What the hell is going on?!" Kazira shouted as Alice couldn't help but swing her head back and laugh.

Kazira felt her control slipping little by little. The flow of the battle shifting away to favour Alice.

Once again, she could only think of one thing.

Something was off.