Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 952: Entertaining The King

’MIRALITHHH!!!’ Selen shouted in her mind as she immediately slammed the gas down for Acceleration.

Pushing her body’s innate time to the limit, she jumped out of the area as an entire cavity was carved out and turned to ash.

Had she been even a second late, she would’ve been killed!

’Don’t worry, as long as you entertain the king enough, he won’t use his full power.’ Miralith laughed.

’It doesn’t matter when the power he’s showing is enough to kill me!’

Gritting her teeth, Selen slammed her palms down as a guardless blade was conjured next to her.

Imbuing it with Abyssal energy, she slashed!

*KRK!!!

Colliding with an arc of grey energy, she forcefully cancelled out the attack by slowing down the progression of time within her weapon.

But it was only a temporary fix as the weapon was already beginning to show cracks.

Slowing it down was one thing but she was fighting against the infinite flow of time. A river that accelerated towards the end.

As long as she cannot reverse the flow, whatever this grey energy touched would die eventually!

And as someone who’s messed with the concept of time through Miralith’s power, she knew that was impossible.

"What’s wrong? For someone who received such praise, the only thing you have entertained me with is the manner of which you run." The King folded his arms while staring at Selen with a slight frown on his face.

"Or would you rather have the two waiting outside to join you in your act? Go ahead if you wish, I won’t stop you."

Selen’s smile twitched. For someone that Miralith called a friend, his words sure were harsh!

’He’s always like this. But you learn to read between the lines once you get to know him. He’s not bad of a King you know?’ Miralith smirked.

’That doesn’t matter when everything he can do will kill me!’ Selen complained.

Flicking her wrist, she halted the time around her in order to give herself some breathing room.

She couldn’t use her perception manipulation just yet. That was her trump card.

Using it early would only mean getting rid of her options if she can’t defeat her opponent in one go.

*RUMBLE!!!

The space around Selen began to shake, the passage of time forcefully sped up to counter her barrier.

Narrowing her eyes, Selen flicked her finger.

A pulse of energy, a cast.

But nothing happened around her.

The King raised an eyebrow before glancing to the right. Without moving a muscle, an arc of energy burst out.

*BANG!!!

"Heh~ How dangerous." Caera’s voice rang out as she slid out of her portal, narrowly dodging the strike. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Vile spawn, I allowed the jester to bring in her allies. But I had not expected her ally to be someone of your calibre." The King scowled, sensing the energy within Caera’s body.

"How disheartening. I apologise if my presence displeases the King but the past can’t be changed. I can’t undo the contract I’ve accepted so you’ll have to excuse me for the time being." Caera chuckled before grinning.

Clenching her fist, portals appeared around the King as black tentacles burst out in an attempt to grab him.

"You dare lay a hand on my body?!" A vein bulged on his neck as a pulse of grey energy appeared around him, withering the tentacles to ash.

"Uwah~ Scary." Caera hovered back.

But despite the smile on her face, there was a slight hint of worry in her eyes.

The King’s power was above what she had expected.

She thought his main gimmick would be the erasure of the ’present’, yet he hasn’t used that power yet.

Instead, just his basic manipulation was enough to put them on edge.

A single graze, a single hit.

Without the proper countermeasures, even the smallest wound was deadly.

His grey energy didn’t register as a ’hit’ after all.

It was simply the flow of time.

What is there to regenerate when you die of old age?

That was the issue they were facing.

So wherever they are hit, they must carve it out immediately so regeneration can take place.

But therein lies another issue.

Did the attack affect the ’outline’ of their physical form? Can it even be avoided by carving out one’s flesh?

No wonder he was a tyrant who garnered the respect of Tiamat.

Had he not chosen to seal himself...

"Welp, seems like this is your last chance Selen. Are you sure you want to try for this Sigil? The difficulty is higher than I originally anticipated. Even if I help out a little, victory doesn’t seem quite so likely." Caera asked, creating a wall of black energy to block the King’s strike.

Yet no matter the defence, it was a one time use while countless streaks of grey rushed over, forcing them to dodge in strange ways.

Dodges that half relied on instinct as a slash would appear where they’re about to reach.

A perception of the future.

Selen was silent.

There was hesitation in her heart. There’s no denying it.

But...

Miralith asked her to ’entertain’ this kind. To be rewarded for her act.

’Miralith.’

’Yes?’ Miralith opened one eye with an amused smile.

’Can I trust you?’

’I can’t tell you what you can or can’t trust. But I can tell you this little girl. I’ve seen many mess with the concept of time after my King has sealed himself. Yours is the most interesting with the manipulation of perception.’ Miralith chuckled.

’Play your cards right and even he will crack a smile of amusement.’

Selen took a deep breath.

That was all the confirmation she needed from her.

As long as a path of possibility was open, she’ll grab it with her own hands!

"Egil!" Selen shouted as a rush of darkness broke into the temple.

The King was unimpressed as he watched the three of them group up.

"Are your preparations complete? Or should I grace you with some fresh garments, jester." He asked but Selen shook her head.

Without saying anything else, her Sigils flashed as energy erupted from her body.

The world around them began to darken as she activated her Second Resonance.

###

"How does it feel? Coming back here after spending so long in the North." A woman asked while leaning against a giant scabbard stabbed into the ground.

She lifted her scarred arm and felt the direction of the wind.

A slight frown on her face.

"Less than I thought I would feel. Perhaps I got rid of my attachment to this place after opening my eyes to the world." A young man chuckled, resting his hand on the pommel of his blade.

"I can put a ward on the two of us. But I don’t know how long it’ll last.

"There’s a curse upon these lands, one that seems to drag your consciousness elsewhere." The woman explained, surprising the young man.

"On this scale? We’re barely in the borders." He frowned.

But there was no doubt about it. The boundary of this curse was one that covered the entirety of Extalia.

"Any ideas on what might’ve been done?" She asked.

Creasing his brows, he deliberated for a moment before shaking his head.

"I was never involved on a deeper level for these kinds of things. But it must be related to the Doctor, he’s the only one crazy enough to pull something on this level of scale."

"That annoying man again." The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance.

She recalled her last fight with him.

Even after cutting the space around him, even after trying to target that strange crystal using her powers, he continues to live.

The only thing she could do was forcefully tear a tunnel into the Abyss and send him there, buying them as much time as possible.

With her powers, she doubted whether or not she could kill him for good.

"We shouldn’t focus on him though. I believe my father should’ve called my younger brother back to the family. He... he was upset by Alice’s incident as much as I was. Maybe even more." He revealed a sad smile.

"I’m sure if I can get into contact with him, he’ll be able to help."

"Are you sure?" Eryn creased her brows.

The Zenia family have proven time and time again that their members can’t be trusted with a small handful of exceptions. Albert was one of those, same with a few of the Zenia victims.

But as for the main family... especially Albert’s father, there was no redemption.

He was fully aware of the atrocities they’ve committed and now they’ve even placed a curse upon the entirety of Extalia.

"I can only hope right?" Albert smiled bitterly.

He was fully aware that things can’t go back to how it was before.

But as Alyss’s older brother, as her family, he should be supporting her from behind.

That includes dismantling this misguided family.

And by extension, he wanted to give his younger brother a chance of redemption. A chance to correct things before he falls with the family.

He could still remember Alice’s rage, their hatred.

Even just the lingering thought caused his body to tremble.

How long has she been cultivating that anger?

Her wrath was one that’ll burn everything down in order to purge everything related to the family. Even those who knew nothing.

He wanted to give his brother a chance.

"Indeed." Eryn smiled.

"Let’s continue avoiding the main routes. The Zenia’s have eyes everywhere." She suggested.

Albert nodded his head.

Without saying anything else, the two of them ventured deep into Extalia.