Chapter 262: Sealed Lords
While the speed may be questionable for now, if she was to allow that attack to hit her, Allura figured she might have a little issue in dealing with it. And for a three Sigil bearer to achieve this…
"You're quite the freak of nature huh? Not in a bad way. Just your combat talent is way too insane." Allura laughed as she patted Alice's head.
"Eh? Really?" Alice blinked her eyes in surprise.
"Mnm, really. But don't let it get to your head okay? Talent is merely a representation of your starting line. Without hard work, you will never reach the finish line. But setting that aside for now, I think we'll need to take a break from the training room while Kaden gets someone to repair it." Allura chuckled, pointing to the pillars that have now lost their glow.
Alice had broken the training room!
Coughing awkwardly, Alice glanced away. If she didn't see the damage, it didn't exist. Plus, it's not like it's her fault in the first place. Kaden was the one who wanted her to demonstrate. If anything, it was technically his fault for letting her do so in the first place.
"How does the whole training room break from two holes though? They're not connected to the tree no?" Alice asked curiously. She couldn't imagine two attacks from her would cripple this place.
"Think of it like this. The entire room is essentially an elaborate network of materials and energy paths. Breaking off a piece of it and in your case, two pieces of it would cause the whole network to shut down." Kaden sighed, finally recovering from seeing Alice break the training room.
"So what do we do now?"
"There are two options. First, I'll take you elsewhere and have someone come fix this room. In the meantime, we'll train you in ways to use your blood Sigil and your flames. Hopefully, this training should raise your offensive capabilities and increase your efficiency." Kaden explained, holding two fingers up.
"And the second option?"
"How do you feel about meeting an Old Abyss Lord?" Kaden smiled.
Hearing a term she hadn't heard since her conversation with Nalem back in Zadash, Alice paused for a moment in surprise.
"Seems like you know of them." Kaden raised an eyebrow upon seeing Alice's reaction.
"Kind of? Are they the big beasts sealed underground in certain places?"
"Ohya? So you do know of them. Then that makes things far easier for me. Yes, the goal is to see if we can find a way to help you make up for your main weakness. Your physical body." Kaden nodded with a smile.
"My physical body? How? I can't drink Abyss Blood to change it and I doubt the blood of Old Abyss Lords would change that."
However, Kaden simply shook his head.
"We're not going for their blood but rather their method of reinforcing their body. You see, Old Abyss Lords while chosen by the Abyss, have far more freedom compared to the Abyss Lords of today. Even with Lua's power of Severance, their physical bodies resisted some of her attacks."
"!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice glanced over to Allura who shrugged and didn't deny the claim.
'If Old Abyss Lords could still block her attacks after being cut with Severance… That means their physical power doesn't come from the Abyss! Severance cuts off the energy reinforcing the body as well meaning she essentially fights them as though they have the defences of a no Sigil bearer.
'That means they have a different source when it comes to reinforcing their body. One that doesn't rely on the Abyss. Meaning… I can possibly learn it!' Alice concluded in her mind.
Her Violet Flames worked outside of the Abyss even though it uses it as a portion of its power source. If she could combine this with the physical traits of the Old Abyss Lords, she would essentially become the ultimate Anti Abyss Hunter!
Flames that consume the power of the Abyss and a body that can withstand attacks despite severing the connection to the Abyss.
"How do we get their help?" Alice asked, feeling excited about the prospect of reinforcing her body without drinking Abyss Blood.
"We? No no, if 'we' went with you that'll simply decrease your chances of getting their help. They hate us." Kaden chuckled while Alice stared at him with a blank expression.
"And what makes you think I can convince an Old Abyss Lord to help me?
"Because of how your blood works. They hate the Abyss and I can only assume that seeing your blood reject the Abyss may give them happiness, enough to lend you a hand." Kaden shrugged while Alice's smile twitched.
"So we're just leaving this up to chance? What if they attack?"
"You die. Well, me and Lua will be there to help you so you'll be fine." He dismissed with a wave of his hand.
"So which one would you pick? First option or second?"
Hearing this, Alice could only sigh.
Training was something she could get in the future with Allura and Kaden but getting help from an Old Abyss Lord? Hard to come by. Especially when all of the Old Abyss Lords that she's seen thus far looked dormant or in the process of dying.
Just thinking back to the colossal being beneath the land of the Slaughter Docks sent a chill down her spine once more.
She had imagined what it'd be like to drink its blood but now that she had a chance to get its help? Alice couldn't pass up the opportunity.
"Since you two are guarding me, it should be okay. Let's go with the second option." Alice replied while scratching her hair.
"Perfect, hang tight then. I'll be taking us to the entrance of one of these prisons. Lua, who was the most reasonable Old Abyss Lord?" Kaden turned to Allura.
"Reasonable? All of the old b*stards are unreasonable in their own right. Each of them a pain in the ass to deal with." Allura clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"But if we're talking about the most reasonable to Alice… Then probably Tiamat. She hates the Abyss and she'll probably be willing to talk to Alice if she reveals the flames."
"Tiamat huh? You're not wrong." Kaden nodded his head.
As one of the most violent Old Abyss Lords, Tiamat indeed fit the description of what they were looking for. She was wilful and showed favour to anyone and everyone who displayed a true hate towards the Abyss.
While Alice herself may not hate the Abyss, her sentient flames would probably hit it off rather nicely with the Old Abyss Lord.
"Oh and since we're looking for Tiamat, you probably shouldn't call her an Old Abyss Lord. It's a title the victors of the war gave the losers and Tiamat absolutely detests it. If you want to call her by anything, call her by her title she had while she was free.
"Dragon Queen of Apocalypse." Kaden warned as Alice swallowed her saliva and nodded her head.
Snapping his fingers, shadows began to surround them as Kaden teleported them away from the training hall.
Little by little, the pressure exerted by the Abyss began to increase while Alice furrowed her brows. But before she could complain or try to adjust to this pressure, Allura placed her hand around Alice and the pressure subsided.
"We're going to Terminus since that's where Tiamat is sealed. Anything weaker and it wouldn't hold for her." Allura explained.
"I see… Speaking of which, why seal the Old Abyss Lords if they lost the war? Wouldn't it be better to kill them?"
"It's not like we didn't try. The Abyss didn't let us. It's prolonging their punishment and we can't do anything about it." Kaden smiled bitterly.
There were cases where the Old Abyss Lords managed to escape confinement and cause quite a lot of casualties but even when that happened, Velouria still couldn't convince the Abyss to let her kill these Old Lords.
"Now, I wish you luck. Me and Lua would be nearby but it'll still be up to you to convince Tiamat."
Snapping his finger, Alice was expelled from the protection of the shadows.
"Eh?"
Before she could recover, Alice found herself falling through the sky.
Widening her eyes, she quickly adjusted her falling posture as she saw a land of fire, blood and ice. Countless colossal chains hung from the sky while a deep crimson moon radiated an ominous luminance upon the land, dyeing the ground in red.
Located near where she was aiming to land was a deep crevice where giant statues of malformed beasts stood guard.
A chaotic network of energy sprawled across the entire area, revealing the countless beasts that roamed freely within this prison layer.
Since she had experienced this kind of fall many times now, Alice was already prepared for what she needed to do to make a safe landing!
Especially after her brief training, she now knew how to manipulate her Sigils further.
Closing her eyes, Alice visualised the pathways within her body.
Third Sigil, maximum output, minimum power!
An ocean of blood erupted around her as Alice used this to slow down her movement while making platforms to stabilise herself.
Landing on the ground without any issues this time, she couldn't help but curse Kaden in her mind while looking at the world hidden within the crevice in front of her.
A pit of malevolent energy so thick to the point it manifested as a layer of fog. Despite this, she could still see the flickering shadows beneath while chains rattled from the movement.
"It stinks of the Executioner's protection…" A low growl echoed out from the pit.
*BANG!!!!
At that moment, a burst of energy rushed forth, slamming into Alice and shattering Allura's protection. The full brunt of Terminus' pressure rushed towards her as Alice began to bleed from her orifices.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she slammed against the ground while violet flames burst forth in an attempt to protect her body. An action of self preservation done by the flame itself.
From the fog, a single draconic head revealed itself.
[Tiamat – Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse: ✦✦✦✦✦✦]