Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 709

Chapter 709: Eclipse Axis
Upon summoning the personal Artifact to her side, draconic wings burst open behind Alice. Within her eye, a singularity spun to life.

All of the ambient energy within the surroundings and in her own body were forcefully seized by Tiamat’s Physical resonance and directed into the weapon!

Yet despite this calamitous energy storm before her, Kazira was not flustered. In fact, a smile even appeared on her face.

*CLANG!!!

“!!!”

Alice’s eye widened. Her lance that should’ve been a sure hit attack was parried!

Kazira had twisted her body at the last second, redirecting the lance to aim towards her back and the Law countered the attack, pushing it off to the side!

Alice was stunned. This certainty now became uncertainty as Alice could no longer rely on what she believed to be a guarantee

With her sure hit attack now forced to the side, she found herself with her guard open.

She couldn’t retrieve her weapon back in time nor could she shift herself into blood form.

“I was sure that I kept the weapon sealed. But knowing you, there is always the possibility that you would’ve been able to recover it. I’m glad you verified my thoughts.” Kazira stated as a smile crept up on her face.

With her blade by her side, she gritted her teeth and took a step forward.

The veins on her arms bulged as crackling crimson energy surged on the blade edge.

Alice could sense it. This next attack, even with her regeneration, was going to be dangerous!

Desperate times desperate measures! She recalled the warning Allura gave her the first time she used Void Flux and a crazed smile appeared on her face.

Void Flux!

*BANG!!!

The detonation ruptured her shoulder, obliterating it in the process. But in that same instant, bones and flesh began to regrow as a new blade was forged in her hands. Energy surged and she overlayed it with War’s Authority!

Void Flux – Cleave!

*CLANG!!!

Despite both weapons clashing in mid air, the slash still went through albeit barely! A thin red mark slid across Alice’s chest as blood began to seep through the wounds.

The slash wasn’t a deep one but one that her regeneration was struggling to stitch together. It was similar to how Alice prevented regeneration only Kazira was having this crimson energy attack her body constantly.

Using the force from that exchange to create some distance, Alice tried to reset her stance. But to her shock, her legs buckled and she almost tripped backwards.

Catching herself before falling, she took a deep breath and almost choked.

Her lungs were screaming. Every inhale felt like she was breathing in shards of glass or countless daggers. Her heart slamming against her chest, far faster than what she was used to.

The sweat soaking her tattered outfit, sticking to her skin.

The strands of hair that stuck to her face.

Even her Zone, the boundary was faltering.

Was she. . . exhausted?

Glancing down at her trembling fingers, Alice felt as though something was wrong.

She shouldn’t be this exhausted. In fact, she couldn’t quite recall when was the last time she ran out of stamina like this.

Her resonance was one that helped her fight continuously and she hadn’t been taking that much damage outside of her own self inflicted ones.

‘Is it the third law?’ Alyss asked with a frown.

She too was confused as to why they were running so low on stamina.

‘Kazira had been spending most of this time defending while we’ve been the ones attacking. Do you think the third Law is something along the lines of attacking takes more stamina while defending takes less? Or maybe even just one where stamina consumption increases drastically.”

‘Maybe. Let’s go on the defensive for now. Even if the current authority runs out, we have more vials we can use.’ Alice frowned.

The only issue was finding a gap to use it since Kazira definitely wouldn’t let her ingest the blood for free.

Not only that, but there was also her control over blood that Alice had to worry about.

“Seems like you’re finally feeling the aftereffects. I will say, most would’ve fallen long ago. But you are not like the others. Your stamina is truly monstrous.” Kazira smiled seeing Alice now pulling out a defensive stance.

She had been waiting for this moment!

“Now. . . it’s my turn!”

*BANG!!!

Closing the gap in an instant, Kazira’s speed shocked Alice to the core as she hastily countered with a slash.

During their previous exchanges, she had been holding back, making sure to only use what was necessary!

‘Let me!’

Tagging in, Alyss ducked under Kazira’s slash before climbing onto her back.

She wanted to make sure Kazira had a hard time hiding them while they recovered stamina but she wasn’t about to make it easy.

Pushing Alyss off her back with her wings, Kazira twisted her body and adjusted her footstep for a horizontal slash.

Destruction Point!

Alyss honed in, her eye flashed momentarily as she locked onto the weak point. The mass of red in a monotone world.

But the blade’s range extended mid swing! Kazira had released the grip before catching only the pommel, disrupting Alyss’s attack as it missed the weak point!

Seeing the blade inches away from her face, Alyss gritted her teeth and tagged out once more.

Duality!

Kazira suddenly pulled back her blade, much to her surprise.

The controls in her body were jumbled!

Using an ability on its own was just as important as mastering the Resonance!

With Kazira now stumbling over her controls, Alyss went in for a slash towards the neck.

Right before her blade could hit the neck, blood blossomed around Kazira!

A scarf manifested once more as the powers of Duality was dispelled and Kazira went in for the grab.

Only this time, she wasn’t the only one seeing steps ahead!

Alyss shifted her footwork. A one to one copy of what Kazira performed and parried the attack by letting it target her back!

With Kazira’s arm now forced to the side, Alice took over.

The personal artifact shifted as energy compressed into a single spark.

Speed and power! That’s all she needed!

She didn’t care for the efficiency!

Void Flux!

Using her body as a cover, Alice fired the spark through her own stomach!

This moment of cover blinded Kazira to what was happening as the spark dug into her flesh.

Her pupils constricted as the spark threatened to detonate.

Gritting her teeth, she plunged her own hand into her body.

Analysis!

Void energy converged around her hand as teleported the spark away.

In the time it took for Kazira to teleport the spark, Alice had already made the next move!

Her legs wrapped around Kazira’s head as she pointed her index finger between Kazira’s eyes.

There was another spark charging!

Abyssal Artifacts!

Halo of Ruin!

Crimson Immolation!

Activating all of her powers at once including what she had already activated, Alice forcefully upgraded the attack using her berserk skill!

Both the crimson halo and the crown of the Abyss merged while Eldritch energy corrupted her spider lilies.

This spark started to mutate. Within the mote of light, darkness creeped forth like ink.

“Bang~”

Alice fired the attack.

The world was drowned in light before darkness cut through the radiance.

A line of raw destructive energy tore through the realm.

‘It missed! Keep going!’ Alyss shouted in a panic.

Vector Manipulation!

Alice’s body was flung up into the sky as she quickly adjusted herself and glanced towards Kazira.

Analysis!

She could see Kazira in the same stance. Her fingers pointed towards Alice’s general direction.

Her gaze focused as the energy flowed through her body.

Unlike Alana, Kazira wasn’t just using it as a direct method to copying.

No, she was using Analysis to understand how Alice fought. What worked well, what didn’t. What she relied on, her habits and even her casting method.

What she found useful, Kazira assimilated it into her own movement. What she didn’t find useful, she discarded.

And this attack? The concepts behind it were far too advanced for a relatively new Hunter to understand.

But to Kazira who’s had centuries of experience, she understood the underlying theories.

The method of utilising the power and the direction she should take her casting.

She could tell that this method was tailor made for someone. No matter how Alice tries to hide it or adjust it to suit herself, the original was not intended for her.

It was intended for someone with a much stronger body, a much higher energy output.

Someone with Authority and Lordship.

A method to fully take advantage of a Lord’s body and the power that the Abyss has granted to them.

To Kazira, this was the tutoring she was missing. The key to the next step of her evolution.

Just as how Alice was learning from her, she was also learning from Alice.

This lesson. . . She’ll put it to use!

Analysis!

The flames on her arms have now reached her chest as a flaming aura wrapped around her body.

With her current skillset, her current powers, the abilities that she stole from corpses, this was the strongest attack that Kazira could imagine.

Vector manipulation!

One half surged forward, the other half recoiled backwards. A line of conflict down the middle.

An attack that stretches across the realm, bisecting it in an instant. Unavoidable thanks to her authority. One that transcends both realms through borrowing the power of the Void.

This was neither an attack that attacked from in front or behind. It’s one that encompasses this entire space. With an attack like this, the Law that she put in place will not help Alice!

This attack, she only had one name for it.

Eclipse Axis!