236 Karaskan… Was It? (1/2)
”What do we do now?” Evangeline asked as she swam up to let pa.s.s another giant fish. Those aquatic animals didn't try to attack them even once since they exited the nebula. They all just came and left while just giving a glance to them.
”Give me some time. I'll find our next destination” Layla responded and opened her eyes wide. Her pupils slowly narrowed and her sclera glowed with a silver light. Her surroundings became filled with the same kind of illuminance. She then closed her eyes and instead, they appeared behind her as a large projection.
In her vision, Layla was watching transparent silhouettes move back and forth in front her at high speed. Her eyes were moving quickly under her eyelids.
Aergia gazed at her and the aura filling the water before switching toward the many aquatic monsters. Most of them had suddenly halted and gradually s.h.i.+fted their line of sight in Layla's direction. Aergia silently pulled out a sheathed katana and Evangeline took out a pair of red daggers. They were prepared to act at any moment.
But in all honesty, they didn't want to confront those animals. They had noticed the moment they saw them. Every big fish in this mystifying ocean were at least at the peak of the Earthen Realm while some rare ones were at the peak of the Heavenly Realm. If they were to attack all at once, it would be honestly a disaster. Not only would a big fight occur but every nebula around would most likely be obliterated by a single clash.
As the large animals were approaching, Aergia frowned and raised her weapon to signal Evangeline to stay on standby. She followed the biggest fish, the whale-like one they had crossed path with earlier, with her eyes. It pa.s.sed right next to her and went toward Layla.
The whale stopped a few tens of meters away from her and just stared. The other fish also surrounded her and stopped at the exact same distance. They formed a sort of protective wall around Layla and there were still more of them arriving.
Aergia's eyes widened ”What are they doing?” She put her weapon away and observed as a continuous flow of aquatic beasts kept moving around her to get near Layla.
Evangeline squinted and closed her eyes for a few seconds ”She's attracting them. I can feel it. They seem to be interested… or to be exact, charmed by her”
Aergia peeked at Layla's figure. She admired her serene expression and her hair which was waving with the water ”I see… a natural charisma that she doesn't release usually. This girl is indeed special. Her entire existence is quite peculiar too. She appears to be the fusion of a benevolent G.o.ddess and a pure holy woman…” She commented ”She may be the closest person to a true angel that I ever met. The kind of angel that you hear about in the sweetest stories”
Evangeline smiled and nodded in agreement. After a few minutes, Layla opened her eyes and beamed when she saw the colossal animals in front of her. She drew near the big whale and put her hand on it as if she was a mother patting her small child. The whale's eyes narrowed before he gave out a powerful and soothing cry. Even though Layla's hand amounted to basically nothing for his planet-cla.s.s size, he acted as if he had been blessed.
”Now, can you move out of the way with your friends? You're kinda blocking the pa.s.sage, and having so many presences around me is a bit too annoying” She smiled and said.
”…” The whale fell silent. Aergia's reaction wasn't that different and Evangeline just smiled while tilting her head.
”…She would have been the perfect one if that man had not influenced her” Aergia added to her previous monologue and Evangeline could only smile wryly.
The whale opened its mouth again and a deep sound reverberated across the sea. The other animals immediately replied and swam back to their own territory. Layla returned to her group afterward while the whale continued to follow her from a safe distance ”In the end, what did you just do?” Aergia inquired.
”I looked into parallel timelines” Layla answered ”I looked into the future first, the came to the present and went into another possible future while avoiding the one I already had seen. I continued to do that until I find one of the Guardians or Pillars. It took me around ten thousand years' worth of exploration to find one. Then I followed his soul imprint back in the present and followed the trace to locate him” She explained.
”…I'm not sure it's normal that you can do that” Aergia retorted and Evangeline dazedly nodded. She had not understood what she said at all ”The ability to see in the future is even more freakish than slowing time. How did you do that?”
”It's not like I can do it without limitations. There are also fixed and variable points in time. Nothing is flawless”
”Don't act humble. That's a power that could make someone a hundred times stronger if it's well used and also a terror for anyone trying to sneak, escape, or strategize”
Layla wryly smiled ”You're right. But for me, I always compare this power to what Arima can do. In front of him, reading the future doesn't help you if the only thing you see is your death” She said ”I tried once to initiate a fight with Arima. I told him to attack me seriously. Of course, he didn't. But by doing that, I managed to create a parallel timeline where he actually went full power”
”In that parallel line, even with my power, I only survived for a second. That's all” She helplessly told ”And it was a quite a time ago. Now, I don't think I could even survive half a second even if I predict his moves”
Aergia and Evangeline fell silent ”…It's true that when you're faced with that demon, any kind of divining power must be useless” The former stated ”But I think that using him as a contrast measure will only destroy your ego. Just thinking about comparing myself to him makes me want to give up”
Layla giggled ”Yes, but to stay at his side, it's necessary for me to keep evaluating myself at his standards. Maybe one day I'll be strong enough”
”Do you think you can do it?” Evangeline asked and Layla stuck out her tongue.
”I already did it” She retorted and both Aergia and Evangeline froze ”Just that the technique I need to use for that is quite taxing and not very efficient” Layla added.
”…If you were to measure that technique's potential in 'seconds of survival' against him. What would it be?”
Layla mused ”If I give my best without hurting myself, it would be around 40 seconds. And if I decided to throw away my well-being or even my life, I may be able to last a hundred times more”