1897: Who Else?

Who Else?

3Maia aura continued to rise as she stood to her feet. Rage colored her features, but there was also a hint of helplessness within. In her lifetime, this would probably be the only time she could use this ability, and she was actually wasting it on humans. She had never felt so humiliated in her life.1

Faint wrinkles began to gather at the corner of Maia's eyes and lips, however it wasn't to an exaggerated extent. Although she had clearly aged, she wasn't quite yet a middle-aged woman and just seem to have entered the deeper parts of her 30's according to Third Dimensional standards.

Even so, for a young beauty like her, this was a huge blow. Even birthing two children hadn't placed such a load on her body, how could she not be infuriated?

"I'll make you pay for this."

Maia's voice was as cold as ice as she stepped out of the crater she had been forced into.

On the other side, Nana tried to get up, but it ended in a whimper. She wasn't very used to getting injured and her pain tolerance was especially low. But even if it hadn't been, that strike from Galaeron had left her with little to no combat prowess remaining.

Galaeron frowned as he looked toward Maia, looking a bit troubled. But it was hard to tell if this was because she had truly become so much more powerful, or if it was because he realized that he would probably have to deal with more wrinkles in his clothing now.

"Little girl," Galaeron looked toward Aina. "I will deal with her, but I'm not sure how much longer that son of mine can last."

Aina's gaze flickered. She had realized this as well, but Elorin was not only a great talent, but he was also in the Seventh Dimension. He was beyond her currently. Let alone him, she couldn't defeat even one of the three he was fighting right now.

However, Aina could tell that Galaeron didn't mean for her to fight Elorin. Rather, he was hoping that Leonel had some kind of countermeasure to deal with the situation.

And of course, how could the answer be anything other than yes? Let alone the results of the tentacle womb, there were still…

Just as Aina was about to respond, she sensed something.

Quickly, Aina flipped a palm over and took out a small mirror object, the image reflected upon it, however, wasn't her own face. Rather, it was a familiar young man raining down fists toward a white-gold barrier. This young man was none other than James.

The image flickered and Aina saw an image of several Cloud Race corpses lying dead.

Aina sighed. 'I can't tell if he's just getting all of these lucky guesses or if he's actually a god of some sort… well, he is definitely a god in some aspects…'

Aina shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Apparently the cries of the Brazingers had put her in too much of a good mood. The gloominess that she had felt when she thought they had already been destroyed vanished into thin air.

With a slight movement, Aina tapped the screen and James suddenly fell through the barrier. But rather than appearing on the other side of the location he had been at, he instead appeared on the battlefield by Aina, nearly falling over entirely.

James popped up and snapped his neck around, seemingly ready for battle.

He blinked when he realized that while everyone seemed to be embroiled in battle around him, there wasn't anyone actually attacking him. He couldn't help but frown when he saw the sheer number of Cloud Race members, though, and when he saw the screaming Brazingers, he felt a shiver warp up his spine.

"Finished?" Aina asked.

James jumped, seemingly only now realizing that there was a woman right next to him. When he saw Aina, his eyes opened wide. Did Earth make beauties like this now?

Wait…

"Oh! Sister-in-l—!"

James froze. He had seen this version of Aina once before, though it was only from afar and only for a fleeting moment. Last time he had met Leonel, ironically enough, he and Aina had broken up. It was only because of a coincidence and an encounter with the Void Palace that he recognized her.

He was glad that he had caught himself from saying something stupid, but he also didn't feel like it was right to call her sister-in-law although he had called her that for almost half a decade while they attended Royal Blue Academy.

BOOM!

James jumped, his head snapping toward the sudden collision between Galaeron and Maia.

"Focus," Aina said seriously, "this is war. Are you ready to fight, or not?"

"I…"

James shook his head, why was he hesitating? He had been trying to make his way here to fight in the first place.

"Of course I am, that's what I came here for."

"Well, you see him?" Aina pointed to Elorin who was practically running circles around his three enemies.

James frowned. He recognized Elorin, they had had a few clashes in the past, mostly fighting over resources. It had never been anything serious, but he could feel that this person always had more than they showed.

"Right now, you're basically the only person on this battlefield who can deal with him. Good luck," Aina said with a smile.

This wasn't even remotely true. Emna still hadn't made a move, and the remainder of Leonel's brothers were still playing lowkey, supporting roles across the battlefield, hiding their true strength for an opportune moment. There was no telling how many trump cards the Cloud Race had… It was just that they had no idea that this was truly the last trick Maia had.

James' mouth opened and closed. "… Why does it sound like you expected me?"

"Of course we expected you. Who else would Leonel believe in if not you?"

James froze before his eyes suddenly reddened, a lump forming in his throat. 

pqdm.com