Abyssal Awakening

Trying her best to suppress the embarrassment of having to wear this outfit in front of all the spectators, Alyss took deep breaths to calm her mind.

Since she was the 'challenger', she had to wait for the main show to arrive.

As the gates opened, an armoured figure stepped in with two spears in hand.

He wore black and red clothing with eastern ornaments attached to the waist belt. The outfit itself had long sleeves and the 'skirt' reached his ankles. Plating around the arms and legs but that was it.

The fighter had long black hair tied into a high ponytail and a pair of brown eyes.

"A maid?" He muttered, clearly annoyed.

With his opponent being a maid, he couldn't help but feel like he was a circus attraction. Far from the treatment provided to strong warriors.

"Got an issue with that?" Alyss folded her arms in annoyance as killing intent surged out.

She hated looking like a maid. But what she hated more was being looked down on.

"Depends, will you give me a worthy challenge?" He asked, pointing his spear at Alyss.

"Right back at you. I hope you don't fold too early." Alyss narrowed her gaze as blood surged into a pair of fingerless gauntlets.

As the announcer finished his final introductions, the cheers started to get louder as Jianyu, Alyss's opponent, turned around and began to wave at everyone.

Seeing this action, a vein bulged on Alyss's neck.

'I'm going to kill this f*cker.'

"BEGIN!!!"

*BANG!!!!!

Right as the announcer shouted out the word begin, an explosion occurred as Jianyu was thrown against the walls.

In his place, Alyss could be seen with her fist outstretched.

"Hou~ Not bad at all. Honestly, if you took things seriously like this from the start I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am now." Alyss narrowed her gaze as her lips curved up into a smile.

As the smoke settled, Jianyu could be seen with his spears in front of him. There was a cavity in the wall behind him but he was pretty much unharmed.

"I will admit that I was being rude, judging you before we even fought. But to attack me right as the announcer finished? You clearly don't have a spirit for showbiz do you?" Jianyu massaged his shoulders and stepped out of the crevice.

The screaming of the crowd was deafening but Alyss ignored it.

After all, despite his arrogance, that hit wasn't an easy one to shrug off. Clearly, he had some strength behind that confidence.

"What use is the spirit for showbiz when enemies don't give you that leeway in a fight?"Alyss shrugged.

But just as she was about to continue, she seemed to pause mid step.

"No, I'm not going to do that. Hell no! It's embarrassing! I'm already wearing crap like this so why are you asking for more? If you want to do it then you should take over!"

After saying this, Alyss seemed to fall silent as particles of gold disappeared around her limbs.

"Hi hi~ Seems like everyone is having a great time! But you know what's better? A cheap high quality Inn where you can drink some of the finest beverages ever concoted! Now, I know we're not familiar with one another which is why I'll do a quick demonstration to prove my honesty." Alice grinned, broadcasting her words using blood letters above her.

"To prove my honesty, I will end this fight in 5 minutes! If you don't believe me, I will bet one gold on it! If I fail, come to the Inn and redeem the gold! And to make sure I keep my word, I'm going for an open Law of Agreement!"

Raising her hand, a ritualistic circle expanded beneath her, distracting the audience and the announcer.

"The clauses are simple! If I fail, 1 gold to anyone who accepts. If I win, come to the Inn and give the drink a try! That's it, easy right?" Alice laughed, throwing up several Platina coins before catching it.

She could feel the contract being formed between her and the people in the audience as it was a simple bet.

They don't exactly lose anything and if Alice was to fail, it's a free gold piece for them. Who wouldn't want to accept?

'Over to you twinnie, good luck~ That's your skewer money by the way.' Alice winked, leaving a trail of chaos behind her.

Jianyu is visibly annoyed again seeing Alice shout an advert, the announcer didn't seem pleased either but decided to entertain the spectators by creating a timer in the sky and the spectators were shouting for the timer to begin.

Taking over the body once more, Alyss's smile twitched before letting out a sigh of annoyance.

"Well you heard it, bring it on big boy, see if you can last the whole five minutes." Alyss taunted as a vein bulged on Jianyu's face.

Narrowing his gaze, he crouched down and rushed forward. Emerald energy coiled around his body as he wanted to stab the spear towards Alyss but she was faster!

Breaching his guard, Alyss grabbed his wrist using her left arm and jabbed his throat using her right. Twisting her body, she threw him overhead before gathering energy into her fist and punched down!

*BANG!!! CRACK!!!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Dodging the punch that shattered the ground beneath him, Jianyu spun his body and tried to kick Alyss on the way up but she ducked under it easily.

Seeing a sudden opening towards the most precious treasures a man could own, Alyss didn't hesitate to throw a punch.

"!!!"

Feeling his lineage on the line, Jianyu rolled out of the way and threw a spear at Alyss who parried using her gauntlets.

"Oi! Woman! Have you no honour?!?!" Jianyu roared out in fear and anger.

Meanwhile, Alyss simply stared at him and shrugged. Why throw such a wide kick if you're scared of being hit between the legs? Can't blame her for taking an opportunity when it shows itself.

Seeing Alyss hold no remorse for the atrocity that she was about to commit, Jianyu felt that it was on him to get vengeance for all the male watchers in the spectator stand.

###

"Big brother, why are you pale?" Arwen asked curiously while watching from the spectator stands.

"This... Don't worry about it. Just know that Alice was about to do something that might've annoyed alot of spectators." Tristan's smile twitched. While he was happy that Alice had such a bold idea for adverts, in the form of a bet, trying to destroy someone's crown jewls didn't give them a good outlook!

###

*CLANG!!!!

Clashing spear against fist, Jianyu furrowed his brows and stabbed his spare spear into the ground. Throwing the first spear, he then picked up the second and kicked it towards her.

Emerald energy coiled around the spear, forming the shape of a dragon as Alice wrapped her hands in violet flames and punched down, destroying the spectral beast.

The second spear came close to hitting but she ducked out the way and tried to grab it.

To her surprise, the spear rejected her touch and whipped against her wrist.

With Alyss's attention taken by the spear, Jianyu made his move.

Resonance!

A burst of energy erupted out from his body as the roar of a dragon could be heard. Raising his hand, emerald energy converged as he punched the ground, summoning a graveyard of spears.

Seeing this, Alyss wasn't impressed.

She joined this fight hoping to see martial arts in action. Instead, she was left disappointed. This was simply standard Sigil usage but the man fighting wore an eastern outfit instead.

"Is this it?" Alyss asked, punching the spears that tried to pierce her.

"What do you mean?" Jianyu frowned.

"Is this all there is to it? I have heard great rumours that martial arts enhance the Sigil abilities of a Hunter. But this is no different from what I saw in the Abyss. So I give you this chance in hopes that you don't disappoint me. Hit me with your best shot." Alyss asked, folding her arms in boredom.

Hearing this, a vein popped on Jianyu's forehead as he gritted his teeth.

"Fine! You want my best? I'll show you my best! This'll teach you to look down on me!"

Stomping his foot down, a giant array expanded beneath him as the spears started to tremble. From the ground, energy floated up, forming the body of a large eastern dragon flying up into the sky.

Jumping after the spectral beast, Jianyu called forth his spear as clouds formed in the sky above the arena. Through the gaps, a flashing emerald light could be seen converging into a giant spear.

While spectators gasped in shock, Alyss was nonchalant.

To her, this spear was all spectacle and no power. Compared to everything they've faced and everything they've seen, it couldn't even make her sweat!

'Twinnie is working on her own skill. But what about me? I'm a physical fighter but I still need an attack that'll help me break through. I can't use the casting skills as well as Alice since they were taken with her in mind. So what can I do?' Alyss asked herself as the silhouette of Allura appeared in her mind.

The Nova Core was a casting based skill that Kaden helped Allura develop. Outside of that, Allura was a physical fighter.

'I saw how she fought in the Inverted World... If Alice can copy something that Kaden made for Allura since they're casters, I can copy Allura's physical side!'

Closing her eyes, flames erupted around Alyss's body as she activated her own resonance.

It was the first 'Incomplete' resonance that Alice awakened in the past before her current spider lily form.

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Little by little, a graveyard seemed to manifest around her with countless darkened limbs clawing themselves out of her shadow.

The flames around her began to lose colour before transforming into a strange pale blue fire.

Alyss was there for every lesson that Alice received. Alice's theories and her thought processes, Alyss knew them all. It was rare she was given the chance to perform like this so she didn't want to waste this opportunity.

'Condence, converge, focus the power into one strike!'

*BANG!!!

A spark of energy broke apart and wrapped around Alyss's arm. The air around her started to crackle and boil before cooling down rapidly. The roaring flames soon turned into a hiss as Alyss's outfit fluttered in the wind.

The spectators felt as though the cold hands of the reaper had just wrapped its boney fingers around their necks.

Looking at the falling spear, Alyss pulled her arm back for a punch.