Abyssal Awakening

Understanding that this was her cue to run, Alice did not dawdle and immediately turned around.

Seeing this sudden action, the creature raised one of her many hands and let out an ear piercing screech that snapped the enraptured beasts out of their stupor.

Locking their eyes onto Alice's position, they crouched down before charging towards her with feral instinct.

"Oh sh-!"

Before she could finish her curse, she had to rolled across the floor to dodge a bone javelin that one of the beasts threw towards her.

Getting back on her feet, Alice jumped up and grabbed a branch before flipping herself upright.

She needed to figure out how to lose them and fast.

Thankfully, the strange creature in the lake seemed to be stuck there as she only had to worry about the myriad of beasts chasing behind her.

Refusing to stay in one position for too long, Alice jumped towards what she perceived as a branch only for the outer bark to peel away, revealing the body of a great serpent beast that glared at her.

"!!!" Widening her eyes, Alice wished she had a weapon on hand right now as the best she could do was to fall down in order to dodge the snake.

With Maidens, beasts and a myriad of other monstrosities behind her and a large serpent in front, there was little Alice could do since going to her left would only bring her back to the lake where the strange singer was.

Ducking down, Alice scanned her surroundings and planned a route of escape. With the plan in mind, all that's left was to execute it with deadly precision and hope that she was physically capable of pulling off the feats she had in mind.

Running towards the serpent, she crouched down and grabbed a handful of mud before throwing it at its eyes.

With the serpent distracted by the mud, she kneeled down and slid under its tail, using it as a barrier against the others for now.

But it wasn't over yet since it was just a minor distraction.

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Ensuring that her first Sigil remains activated, Alice could feel a stead buildup of power through her body as she catapulted herself through the treetops.

Jumping above the forest, she twisted her body and scanned her surroundings. She wanted to see if she could spot the special zone within the forest that Allura spoke about. If possible, finishing her mission while also leaving would be optimal.

Yet she couldn't find a spot of difference at all. Every single tree looked the same and reached as far as the eye could see.

Gritting her teeth, Alice could only keep venturing north.

Using the branches to decrease her fall speed, she glanced back to see where the beasts were. However, an opened jaw welcomed her view as she quickly grabbed the serpent by the top of the jaw while jamming her foot on its lower jaw, preventing it from closing.

"Damn snake!" Alice shouted out in frustration. With her unable to keep her footing, she was swept away by the serpents momentum.

Thankfully, it was taking her north so she was saving some time.

*BANG!!!

Crashing through the trunk of a tree, Alice glared at the snake in anger as she strengthened her grip against the jaw.

It was only right for her to hit it back if it injured her!

"ARGH!!!!" Letting out a cry while releasing the dormant strength hidden within her body, she dislocated the snake's jaw as the sudden jolt of pain caused the beast to rear its head back in shock.

Tossed into the air, Alice narrowed her eyes at the beast and adjusted her posture to increase her fall speed.

Grabbing the snake's eyelid, she pulled it as hard as she could while slowing her decent.

Forcing the snake out of commission to recover itself, Alice continued to run as the howls of the beasts filled the forest.

Vaulting over a dirt mound, her foot accidentally got caught by some wood, causing her to fall head first as she raised her arm to protect her head.

Crashing against the first, Alice felt the wind being knocked out of her lungs as she forced herself back on her feet.

Seeing that the snake was staying behind, she sighed out in relief. Unfortunately for her, this relief was short lived as she noticed why it was staying behind.

The cold breath followed by a low whisper.

Not daring to turn around, Alice could tell that a Maiden was behind her.

'Everything has a weakness…' She thought to herself, remembering Lilia's lesson for her.

There were two options that she could think of right now. The second being a product of choice one if what she expects doesn't occur.

Looking down at the floor, she narrowed her eyes towards the part where the light was brightest.

'NOW!'

Twisting her body, she grabbed the lantern of the Maiden, taking it by surprise. Putting for in her hands, she yanked it away before throwing the lantern towards the crowd of beasts.

*HISSSS!!!!

Letting out a panicked cry, the Maiden rushed towards her lantern as Alice took this chance to run.

She needed to quickly get out of sight or else this chase will never end.

Alice was mapping her route while travelling so she could go back whenever she wanted but things were looking dire. With each second of this chase, she was getting further and further from her objective.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to give it one more try. She'll try get to the special zone one more time before turning back.

It was a shame to fail the task but the important part was to keep her life.

Taking a sharp right, Alice wanted to run around the lake before travelling further inland. She didn't see the strange purple leaves that Allura was talking about when she jumped up so she assumed they were further north than she had expected.

Thankfully, it seemed like throwing the lantern back was the right move since the beasts were preoccupied with one another and didn't chase after her.

After running through the forest for a while, the sound of beasts faded away and she was clear of danger for now. The lake was long behind her as she took this chance to recover some stamina.

Sitting on a branch, Alice took a break while making sure she wasn't injured. The pump of adrenaline during the chase could've made her ignore injuries but thankfully, there were no cuts and only bruises at worse.

Once she rested up for a while, she climbed to the top and scouted around but it was the same as before. No sign of the special purple leaves.

Scratching her hair in annoyance, she jumped down and made a mini map on the floor using a stick.

'I think I should travel for a little longer than turn back. Any further and it might get annoying to get out of the forest.' Alice thought to herself while destroying the make shift map she drew.

Crouching down, she started to dash towards north once more. But no matter how far she ran, the special zone never appeared.

Standing still, Alice scratched her head in annoyance as she sighed and prepared to leave. Turning around, she paused as dread filled her head.

Besides the tree, there was a pile of freshly dug up dirt that covered up some markings on the ground.

Furrowing her brows, Alice hesitantly brushed the dirt aside and saw the left over markings of her map. Most of it was destroyed but she could tell it was the same one that she drew.

'Sh*t! Where the hell am I?!'

Cursing in her mind, she immediately started to run back the way she came from but the scenery kept repeating itself. She could constantly come back to the pile of dirt that she had left behind.

With no other choice, Alice sat down and frowned.

She tried to dig through her knowledge of Abyss Beasts but she couldn't think of anything that matches what was happening to her right now.

Grabbing a pebble, she threw it as hard as she could, expecting the pebble to come back and hit her. Yet that never happened.

'Wait…' Narrowing her eyes, Alice made some more markings before trying to walk out once more. Just like before, she returned to her start position. This time, she grabbed pebble she used as a marking before throwing it out once more.

'It hasn't returned…'

Furrowing her brows, Alice tried to escape once more and yet again, returned to the same spot. Only this time the pebble was gone from the floor.

Sitting down, Alice started to scratch her neck as her brain started to think about the possibilities. The most likely answer was that this is merely an ability of a beast that messes with her senses. Otherwise, the rocks she threw would've come back by now.

Taking a deep breath, Alice narrowed her eyes. There was a plan she had in mind but she wasn't sure if it'll work. But it was the only thing she could think of right now.

Rolling up her sleeve, she bit down on her forearm until she started to bleed. Making sure the wound was big enough, she started to sprinkle her blood everywhere around her. If it was indeed a beast, her blood should have some effect on it, allowing her to break out of this strange illusion.