Abyssal Awakening

After talking with Tristan, Alice spent the rest of her day just wandering around the city while looking for another suitable spot to experiment with her new findings. She wanted to see what else she could create with an inverse Sigil.

Since it was a new day, her Sigils had gone back to normal and she had a new theory in mind.

Continuing from her previous experiment regarding fusion using Duality, Alice couldn't help but wonder if this process could help her achieve what she desired using her first Sigil.

For Duality to act as a catalyst to assist with the merging process and prevent her limbs from blowing up.

And naturally, with the beach being cut off, there was only one person Alice could approach regarding a new spot for her experiments.

"Hi~ Lorien did you miss me?~ I'm here for another agreement between us. A new chance at business~" Alice greeted with a grin as she disguised herself as Calista again.

This time, she replaced her fifth Sigil with Jester and the fourth with Duality, leaving her first three Sigils untouched.

Alice had used her blood to locate where Lorien was as he glanced back at the strange girl handing from above his window.

She was currently upside down and giving him a wave while showing off her sharp teeth.

"Our business begins tomorrow. I don't believe we have any other agreements aside from that. And are you sure you should be showing yourself out in the open like this? Quite a few high profile members are looking for you.

"It's gotten to the point where I might even have to rethink our collaboration tomorrow." Lorien adjusted his sleeves as he stood up and faced Alice.

He had heard of what occurred the previous night and even saw the aftermath of her attack.

Just some rough clues on what the girl looked like were enough for him to know who was behind it.

"Aw don't be like that. I'm actually here to talk about that. For you see, that was me attempting a little… experimentation with my Sigils. I wanted to make sure some of my ideas are accurate after all." Alice flipped herself upright before jumping into Lorien's room and sat on the sofa.

However, her reply only caused him to frown.

That attack… Was an experiment? To make sure her ideas are accurate?

The attack that even shocked the key figures protecting this city was a mere experiment to this girl?

Lorien began to question whether or not it was a good choice to make a contract with her. A strange woman with unknown abilities who seemed to transcend what is possible within the boundary of six Sigils.

If she was around for longer, Darrow would need to pass on his title as strongest beneath Lord over to her!

"Why the sudden silence? Are you… afraid now?" Alice's sickly sweet voice rang out as Lorien felt a chill down his spine. He could see the calculating grin on her face as he could no longer treat her simply as a 'strong' Hunter that appeared.

Right now, she was practically a ticking time bomb waiting to go off!

Closing his eyes for a moment, he sat down on his chair and let out a sigh.

"Alright then, let's talk business. What are you looking for?" Lorien understood that he had already lost the upper hand in this discussion simply from the fact that he stayed silent.

"I'm glad we're back on track now. Until the job begins, I simply require an isolated spot where I can experiment without care. With my own powers of course and one that you don't mind being accidentally destroyed if it does come down to it." Alice waved her hand as Lorien thought about it for a moment.

"I don't believe we have anything that can… Withstand the level of power that you showed before."

"Don't worry about that, I won't be doing anything on that level. The only worry I have is if my skill were to suddenly explode or if I need somewhere to discharge my attacks. So I need somewhere isolated and a place that you don't mind being destroyed if it does come down to it." She clarified.
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With Alice's clarification, Lorien reached for the table drawer and pulled out a map.

"I have some locations available for you to access. However, they're not private places owned by me. They're open places that rarely get used since a few beasts frequent the area. Knowing your power, you should be able to handle them with ease right? If so, you should be relatively isolated there." Lorien explained as he marked down a few locations on the map.

"Just make sure you're here for the job tomorrow."

Receiving the map, Alice gave it a quick glance before nodding her head with a smile.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to miss out on some platina after all." She reassured before leaving the same way she entered, through the window.

Watching Alice disappear with a burst of speed once she's out of the room, Lorien let out a fatigued sigh. He wondered whether or not it was the right decision to work with someone like this.

But the cargo was simply too precious and he needed someone strong to protect it.

There was a silver lining and that's the fact that Calista accepted a Law of Agreement to protect the shipment from anyone trying to intercept it. Naturally, this meant that if the Pirate Queen wanted to stop him, she'd have to go through Calista first.

Hiring someone of this calibre for just a measly 25 Platina in the grand scheme of things was a bargain.

###

On the map that Lorien gave, there were four main locations that she could potentially access. One was above ground while the remaining three were in the sea.

The first was definitely a no go. It was the least isolated out of the four, located between Pirate Bay and the beach. Even if it's off to the side, if she were to cause a light show, it'll easily attract the attention of others and she'll have to leave the place.

As for the last three, they were in different locations within the same cave network that Lorien had discovered underground.

Originally, it seemed like he was planning on developing these caves into a smuggling route but territorial beasts frequent this place often. Even if he clears out one, another would appear soon.

The cost was too high for the rewards and so he simply left it be.

'Seems like he wants to make use of my power to act as a deterrent for these beasts.' Alice theorised with a smile.

Since she classified her stunt as an experiment, she guessed that Lorien probably thought that she was planning something on the same scale. Even if she said she wasn't.

Therefore, it was the perfect deterrent for territorial beasts. They'll sense the power in the area and leave it be.

That way, after Alice leaves, he'll be able to use the routes for his own goals.

Unfortunately, this is one of those times where Alice isn't going to go too overboard with her experiments. While the inverted Tiamat Sigil had amazing effects, it completely exhausted her. By expelling her energy outwards to funnel this attack rather than gathering energy, it left her in a state where she could barely activate anything else.

Doing that while isolated and so close to the home base of the Pirates was practically inviting them to find her with her guard down.

However, there was another issue.

How was she supposed to go undersea?

There were special tools that were sold around the market. Mouth guards with what seemed to be… organic gills by the side.

Alice had seen people buying these and diving into the sea but considering her current financial situation, she couldn't afford it.

On top of that, she couldn't rent a boat either so she'll have to swim.

Then came the third issue.

She didn't have a swimsuit.

Standing by one of the piers that was closest to the first underwater spot, Alice glanced out at the sea.

"Well sh*t…" She muttered.

'Isn't it just a bit of water? What are you scared about?' Alyss raised her eyebrow.

'It's not about whether or not it's just a bit of water. My outfit will get wet.' Alice pouted.

'You're joking.'

'Nope.' Alice shook her head.

'. . . There are times when I just want to smack you on that empty head of yours. Switch with me, you don't care if my clothes get wet too right?' Alyss rolled her eyes.

'Ehhh… I'll still have to dry them out later though…'

Alyss needed to have Cayla hold her back as she wanted to smack her twin on the head.

In the end, Alice decided on another experiment.

Compression of her blood using the third Sigil and have it search for the cave!

By compressing her blood more than usual, she stops it from dissipating in the sea and infecting it. She'll turn it into a fishing line of sorts and navigate it to the entrance where she will then use her personal Artifact to open up a gateway.

The hardest part was actually compressing the blood but she had an idea for this. Stretching her blood into thin strands, she hardened it before braiding it with two more strands. Repeating this three times, she then braided it together for a final time.

Looking at this streak of blood that seems no different from usual unless you were to look at it closely, Alice carefully dipped it into the sea and observed the reaction.

She wanted to make sure her blood wouldn't contaminate the sea. Once she was sure the blood wasn't dissipating nor was the water around the rope being contaminated, Alice controlled it to search for the caves and soon, she found her target.