Abyssal Awakening

Kneeling in front of the crater, she could still see sparks of lightning crackling across the ground.

She didn't know how to describe this feeling except that it was simply uncanny. Like seeing a beast mimic the look of a human but failing.

A human that won't blink, smiles unnaturally wide or their voice and lip movements don't match up.

A creeping dread inside the chest and the feeling of rejection from your own perception.

That was what Alice was feeling.

She saw what the beast was like, she felt its attacks. Yet now that she was looking at this crater… She wasn't so sure anymore.

But the very thought contradicted itself.

Clearly, the being was a beast. It flew in the air, spewed fire and summoned lightning. It cracked open the Void and commanded the lesser beasts. But she wasn't sure if it was a beast or not?

Scratching her hair, Alice frowned in frustration.

"Something wrong?" Selen asked, walking up to Alice.

"A little. Come here and look at this crater for me. Tell me what you think." Alice gestured.

Even though she found it weird, Selen didn't reject and kneeled down next to her.

"Seems pretty normal to me. Just some residual lightning in the ground no?" Selen tilted her head.

"That's what I thought as well at first. Get a better look at it, try to sense what kind of beast released this attack. Once you've done that, tell me what you think." Alice clarified.

Furrowing her brows, Selen let out a sigh and nodded her head.

She knew that Alice wasn't someone who jokes around for something like this. So her asking for this meant there's something to be found.

Closing her eyes, Selen sensed the crater carefully.

Just as she was about to give the same answer, her expression faltered as her eyes snapped open. Her face paled with confusion and rejection.

"What the f*ck…"

"Seems like you finally noticed it." Alice nodded her head before standing up.

"What the hell is that?" Selen asked, glancing between Alice and the crater.

"No clue. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it's a Zenia family product. The only other possible group is the Eclipse but I don't see them doing this kind of experiment. So there are two choices… no three.

"First, the Zenia family. Second, an unknown group who are doing similar things as the Zenias. And lastly, it could just be an abnormal natural evolution of the beast." Alice shrugged.

The unknown group was Nyer.

If he was able to create her, then it wouldn't be a surprise if he had his hand in 'creating' this strange beast of multiple elements and even the power of the Void.

"Three options huh… Tsk, everywhere we go there's always a sign of the Zenia family." Selen scratched her hair in annoyance.

"That's just how big of a family they are now. Which is to be expected when they created an empire using my body as a foundation for the Abyss Blood they find." Alice shrugged.

She was the perfect subject to act as a foundation. A subject that would always return to a neutral state once time passed. And when paired with her current regeneration, when it worked, she wouldn't even need the collar to keep herself alive.

"If the Zenia's are involved, I'm guessing we might find some at the port stronghold then." Selen narrowed her eyes as killing intent seeped out but she controlled it after a short moment.

"Possibly. We'll have to see when we get there." Alice shrugged.

She would like it if there were indeed Zenias there but even if there is, she still wasn't sure if her poisonous blood worked right now.

Noticing Bo approaching with a frown on his face, both Alice and Selen turned towards him.

"Selen, I'll need you for a moment. We're going to be forming a new group in case that beast shows up again." Bo called out as Selen paused for a moment. She'd rather not leave Alice's side if she could help it since she still needs to repay her debt.

"As expected, we're not retreating huh?" Alice asked, glancing around them.

"As expected?"

"It doesn't look like people are cleaning up to make a retreat. Rather, it looks like we're salvaging what we can and then continuing to the port." Alice shrugged, gesturing at her surroundings.

Since Alice had already deducted that, Bo had no reason to hide things.

"Yeah, we're continuing with what we have left. We'll be forming three groups from the remnants. A stalling group, stealth group and the vanguard."

Explaining the new plan and what Olivr had decided on, Bo also explained the potential identity of the beast that attacked.

Upon hearing about the beast, Alice's suspicions were confirmed as there was a very high chance that both beasts had been fused together to form this unnatural chimaera.

'How the hell did the Zenias even fuse the two together?' Alyss asked in disbelief. With the nature of each beast, high elemental and energy resistance as well as their aggression, it sounded almost impossible to mix the two together without losing a lot of manpower.

And even if they succeed, was it truly worth it?

'I… Might have an idea of how they did it based on everything I've learned so far.' Alice frowned.

'Based on what I know about Selen and the Arachne we killed at the research base, this beast might be a fusion of three. First, Twilight Drakorian. Second, Aetherion Harbinger. And lastly, a human foetus.'

Referring back to the research produced by the lab, by mixing beast blood into the foetus with regular doses while it was still within the mother's womb, it would allow the beast blood to stabilize to a certain extent and even act as the foundation for the child.

Hence the unnatural strength of the Red Thorn Arachne.

Then there was the case of how Selen was able to use the power of a sealed Lord and how she was injected with Alice's blood.

With everything that she had learned on top of her prior knowledge, she had a general idea of how the beast could've been created.

First, they needed the new sample of the blood. After extracting blood from both beasts and using her own blood as a stabilizing agent, it would increase the lethality but produce a more stable result if the experiment survives the initial transplant. Such is the case of Selen.

The key was the fact that her blood can return to a natural state. By tempering the sample of her blood to accept this new product, it'll allow the user to develop a form of natural resistance towards the side effects.

Not only that, but because the beast inherently has the ability to absorb elements and adapt to it, it was perfect for mixing with Alice's blood. All three would form a balanced bridge of power where none of the powers could be stronger than the other.

Of course, finding this delicate balance would be difficult on the Zenia family's side and Alice wouldn't be surprised if the foundation of this research was already used on her.

However, the key fact is that they probably did find it hence this unnatural beast.

The last step was to use the information they gained from the Arachne experiment and plant it inside a mother's womb. Of course, their methods may have changed since the only detail Alice has was what she found in Verten.

But with all of these methods combined, creating a product with the power of two adaptive type beasts was possible!

Once she thought up to this stage, Alice clenched her fist as there was a high chance that the Zenia family was probably nearby. They wouldn't let such a precious product go without observation after all.

Someone must be around to keep it in check.

'They probably have ways to control it too if it tries to run away or fight.' Alice narrowed her eye.

"Selen, we'll need your time slowing abilities along with Egil's defences to keep the beast at bay if it was to appear again. But until it appears, you'll be mixed in with the rest of the group to siege the fort." Bo explained as Selen furrowed her brows.

She understood why Bo would want her in the stalling group but she wasn't sure herself.

"Wouldn't it just adapt to my time slow if we take too long? You saw how strong the beast was. I'd rather not have it also manipulate time on top of everything." Selen questioned.

Regardless of which beast it was, just the thought of having it adapt to Miralith's power was questionable.

Hearing this, Bo realised his mistake as this was indeed a concern he needed to take into account.

Depending on the composition of the stalling team, the final result may have dire consequences instead.

If the beast was allowed to have control over time on top of everything then not even the captains should hope for survival.

"Sh*t…" Bo scratched his hair.

Contemplating it for a moment, he decided to risk it.

"We still need you on the team. Save your time abilities to the last possible moment if you can. It adapts over time so if you keep it to a minimum, it should be alright. As long as we can finish off the Grandmaster protecting the Fort in time, we'll be able to help out with killing the beast.

"Of course, that's only if the beast appears. I can only hope we don't have to resort to this." He sighed, stepping away to inform Egil of the choice.

To properly hold off the beast, the stalling group will need to be filled with people that have high defences and abilities that can interrupt the beast.

Out of the 55 Warriors left, Bo wasn't even sure if he could find 5 that matched the description.