Abyssal Awakening

Creating a platform for herself in the air, Alice glanced over the battlefield with a slight frown.

Again, it was just mutated beasts and some cultists. A distinct lack of Zenia intervention. Hell, even with Kazira helping out with their charge, this attack force was far to weak. It was weaker than the army they made to attack the city.

"Something's off." Suyin was the first to speak as Alice glanced over to her.

Standing atop her serpent, there was a deep frown on Suyin's face.

"The EE readings are far below what's predicted. They're all just cannon fodder, barely stronger than the average soldier. If it wasn't for them not being used to fighting these things, they wouldn't be struggling so hard." Suyin bit her nail as she began to scan the different corners of the battlefield.

She could see the morale of the troops rising with each victory, each kill. But all that gave her was a sense of foreboding.

'They're getting carried away with the easy victories, dropping their guard.'

"Second company! You're getting too ahead of yourselves! Drop back and regroup!" Suyin shouted.

Thankfully, even though they were being carried by the momentum, they still trusted Suyin's words over everything.

She's the one who carried them this far. Ignoring commands from her would be suicidal, no matter how much of an opportunity it may seem.

"Fourth company! Drop back as well, cover our flank and form up. Don't let the easy victories get to your head, the enemy shouldn't be this weak." Suyin ordered while trying to guess what the enemy was up to.

"Are you sure you're not overestimating them commander?" The leader of the Fourth company asked curiously while ordering his troops to fall back.

"How long do you think we've been fighting? Aside from the weird sh*t the energy does to us, do you really think this resistance they're putting is as strong as it should be? How many times have we clashed on this border now?" Suyin replied while having some of her contraptions scout ahead of the main army.

Information.

Information was key and that's what she needed right now. There were too many unknown variables at play, too many plans in the dark. She had to bring them up to the surface so that she could plan accordingly.

*RUMBLE!!!

The ground began to tremble as Suyin almost lost her footing atop her serpent.

Glancing down, she frowned but there was no fracture in the earth. Rather. . .

"Above!" Alice shouted, rushing up into the sky.

She could see a single line stretching across the sky. Behind that line, ominous energy flowed out. In a strange sense, it felt like there were thousands of 'Alices' behind that line.

A chimeric fusion of multiple energy sources. Abyss, Holy and even Eldritch.

'Nyer? No, Nyer wouldn't be so callous with his experiments like this. . . Zenia!' Alice widened her eye as the line was torn apart!

From the tear, a gargantuan worm like beast crawled through as though gravity did not exist. It slithered through the airspace with ominous grace. Blackened hide and writhing spikes coated by a layer of a black oil like substance.

A mutated form as a result of both Eldritch and perhaps even the Void.

A gaping maw lined with rings of serrated fangs, each one capable of tearing a hunter in half.

The beast's roar was silent yet it sent chills through all the soldiers. Reality fractured around it, buckling as though it could not tolerate such a being.

Debris began to float up with some soldiers losing their footing. It felt as though reality was inverted.

But most glaring of all. . .

"That damn collar!" Gritting her teeth, veins bulged on Alice's neck as energy erupted from her body.

Resonance!

Artificial Resonance!

Transforming herself into a streak of crimson, Alice rushed towards the beast while flickering through the Void to avoid the debris.

Void Flux – Cleave!

Twisting her body, Alice unleashed a destructive arc of energy only to watch it be 'consumed' by the beast.

Its worm like body cracked open, revealing rotting flesh and bones that wrapped around her strike.

Using its entire body to cushion the blow, the worm revealed a sickening 'grin' of sorts.

"R. . . trieval.

"Of family. . .

"Assets!"

As the beast finished the last work, its back cracked open!

The energy that Alice used was repurposed to fuel its next strike!

*BANG!!!!

From its back, meteors shot into the sky before arcing down.

Alice wanted to stop this but a familiar energy rushed towards her from the side.

*CLANG!!!

Hurriedly parrying the strike, Alice saw Mira, the girl with the red scarf kicking her away.

'If one is here then the other must be as well!'

Immediately deploying her zone, Alice's pupils constricted after noticing a blade stab through her stomach from behind.

"Yeah, I figured you'd sneak through the moment I used my zone. But you know, this zone wasn't meant for you." Alice curved her lips up into a grin.

Triggered cast!

"KAINE!" Mira widened her eyes in shock.

She understood that Alice's zone was to make sure she couldn't intervene!

Around them, the Void was locked as Alice grabbed Kaine's hair without care that she was stabbed.

This kind of wound, she could shrug off!

*KRK!!!

Alice's arm was torn off by an invisible force with Kaine already in her state of limit break.

The collar surrounding her neck was revealing its full form.

"Try again!" Alice slammed her head into Kaine's head, forcing her to stumble back.

Without giving Kaine a chance to rest, Alice grabbed her using the half regenerated arm and threw her towards the ground.

"It's not your turn yet!" Tracking the movement of Mira's scarf using her Zone, Alice snapped her finger and a portal opened before the scarf could reach her, redirecting the attack back to Mira.

Creating a blood mirror, Alice dove in after Kaine.

Between the two of them, Kaine was the one she had to deal with first! The one that could avoid her zone and even control the pathway of objects!

Just as Alice appeared above Kaine, danger overwhelmed her mind.

*CLANG!!!

Protecting her neck with flames and metal, Alice's pupil constricted seeing the fragmented collar that was moments away from solidifying around her.

Cold sweat dripped down her back as she immediately teleported the fragments away from her and jumped back.

"Sharp instincts like the doctor mentioned. Should I call you big sister? You were the reason why we are even made after all." Alana landed next to Kaine with a laugh.

Clapping her hands together, her eyes flashed a deep purple as Alice felt a chill and immediately surrounded herself with Void energy to form a barrier.

*BANG!!!

"!!!" Crashing back, Alice furrowed her brows and understood that it was the same power as Kaine. Only slightly different.

'Cayla.'

[I'M ON IT!] Cayla interrupted before Alice could even finish her request. Trying to track where Kazira was while also analysing what the Hybrids could do was no easy task. Especially since she couldn't access her full power.

Seeing how Cayla was already busy with things, Alice snapped her finger and created a Void portal beneath her.

Jumping down, she grabbed the communication crystal.

"Suyin, I'm going to be a bit busy handling some abnormalities on the battlefield. Three of them so far, not sure how many extras will appear." Alice reported before diving out of the Void to get away from the rest of the army.

If the Hybrids were to fight, collateral damage was unavoidable.

"Alright! Finish it fast if you can! We're struggling right now!" Suyin sounded panicked as Alice furrowed her brows and scanned the battlefield.

To her shock, the things that fell down weren't meteors!

They were soldiers wearing the same collar as the beast in the sky and the hybrids!

No matter the damage they took, their limbs would begin to regenerate and they rushed forward without care. No fear of pain or death.

They were the signatures that Alice was sensing! It wasn't the worm beast!

"Collars! Go for the collars! If you can remove the collars or break them, it should hinder the regeneration I think." Alice shouted, dodging to the side as Kaine tried to attack again but this time Alice used a different tactic to find her.

A thin intertwined net of blood threads around her body. If she could bypass the grid, she can't make Alice forget about her threads!

Triggered Cast!

Void spears mixed with her violet flames stabbed towards Kaine who quickly dodged before attacking Alice with vector manipulation.

Gritting her teeth, Alice tried to stabilize herself using her Void powers but Mira caught up.

Spreading out her scarf, she prevented the proper formation of Alice's powers.

'Let me handle the scarf b*tch.'

Golden chains whipped around her limps as Alyss clenched her fist.

Destruction Point!

Darkened limbs erupted from her shadow, colliding with the scarf and injected Eldritch energy into it.

Signs of corruption began to appear as Mira quickly retreated before 'purifying' her scarf.

To her side, Kaine tried to intercept, stopping Alyss from harming Mira but Alyss was already prepared.

Mirage Steps!

Alyss's body flickered into three motions with Kaine being forced to pick one.

Tried to use her vector manipulation on one of the clones, she was shocked to see her attack hit nothing.

"Bzz! Wrong choice, try again next time!" Alyss slammed her fist into Kaine's stomach before creating a blade by mixing Eldritch Energy with Abyssal.

Soul Chaser!

Just as her attack was about to land against Kaine, her body was flung back by an invisible force once more thanks to Alana.

Mira who could cancel abilities like Alice, Kaine who could manipulate vectors to a certain degree and finally, Alana the anomaly. Her powers still being unknown but seemingly holding a resemblance to Kaine's powers.

Alyss's smile twitched but her gaze was steady.

If they can't beat something like this, they shouldn't even think about destroying the Zenia family!