Noah made sure to hide his doubts while his mind furiously worked, and he ran behind her. His memories were not perfect. Even though he was able to bring back certain memories buried deep in the depths of his mind, there were still limits to it.

Even so, the answer came like a bolt of lightning.

Neverland.

Peter Pan.

The sound of a ticking clock.

Finally… A crocodile…

His eyes narrowed when he finally made the connection. In the story of Peter Pan and Neverland, Captain Hook had two great nemeses. One was Peter Pan himself and the other was… The Crocodile.

In the story, the Crocodile devoured Captain Hook’s arm alongside a ticking clock, and after tasting his flesh, the crocodile became obsessed with Hook, eager to taste the rest of his flesh. Whenever he went by, the only warning Hook would receive was the sound of the ticking clock residing in the stomach of the animal.

Noah cursed under his breath. The situation was simply too unbelievable. How the hell was a crocodile creating such commotion? Just what were the fantasy beast’s capabilities?

It did not take long for Noah to receive the answer as a flash of incandescent white light crept over the wall behind Noah, enveloping the people who had been moving a bit too slowly.

.The light flashed only for an instant, but it was enough for Noah to feel all the presence behind him vanish.

Noah did not turn around. Whatever that light was, he could learn about it later. The critical take on this was that the light was dangerous, and he sure as hell didn’t want it to touch him.

Sadly, not everyone could be as calm as him. The already scared passengers were now completely terrified, a cacophony of screams soon erupted, and chaos filled the hallways. People were not content with waiting anymore. Pushing, pulling, stepping, no options were spared just to have a slighter advantage in this tug of survival.

“Give me the directions to the shelter and explain what is going on,” Noah ordered immediately. B-54 only let out a yelp as she felt herself being lifted from the ground and embraced in Noah’s arms.

Keeping the android in a tight embrace, Noah increased his speed and started running on the wall of the hallway. His feet were immediately coated in a gooey black substance, courtesy of Eve of course, which made sure he would not fall from the walls.

On the side, he could hear the people shouting and begging him to save them. Noah gritted his teeth, his conscience warring against his survival instincts. He could not save all of them. Not like this.

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As befitting her work experience, B-54 managed to gather her wits clinically fast, almost too fast. She did not ask why Noah did not have such elementary knowledge, but she did not need to ponder much. Many people traveled to space without gathering the necessary information.

“This was the Light of Death. The main skill of the Time Devouring Crocodile. A cosmic beast. It’s currently only white, so anyone who gets touched by it will immediately lose five hundred years of their lifespan. It only affects flesh and blood. The shelters are made with multiple layers of special organic material that can withstand hundreds of years of corrosion.”

As she explained the situation, a holographic map appeared above her wrist, showing her position and the best route toward the shelter.

Noah nodded, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the map. “How long will this attack last and is there a way to stop it? Tell me everything you know.”

B-54 looked at Noah with disbelief, wondering if she heard him right. She wanted to argue. To tell him that he should not even think about doing the impossible. With his speed, it would be extremely easy for them to reach the shelter without getting reduced to dust.

In the end, the words got stuck in her throat. It was not her place to stop him. She did not know if what he was doing was out of a misjudged sense of heroism or confidence in his strength.

But, looking at his gleaming eyes and the smile twitching on his lips, B-54 realized that perhaps it was none of those. This man was just a maniac.

“The Time Devouring Crocodile is a dangerous Cosmic Beast. It’s generally asleep during this period. Once it devours around two million years worth of time, it will go back to sleep for a few years.”

Noah grimaced. Even on earth, crocodiles did not die of old age. They would continuously grow as time went by and would die only due to health issues or if they did not receive enough food to satiate their ever-growing physiology.

I guess this takes that trait to a whole new level.

Still, two million years was equal to four thousand victims at minimum. While some long-lived species like Dorothy might be on board, he doubted many had more than 500 years' worth of lifespan. The victim count could easily increase by five or even ten.

“How do I help? Any particular weakness?” Just then, a window giving him a view of the outer space went by him and Noah immediately got a better look at the situation outside.

A blue shield had already covered the ships and turrets were wildly firing energy blasts in the distance.

From his angle, he was not able to get a look at the cosmic beast. But he could gleam that the energy blasts were barely doing anything to the crocodile.

Noah drifted at a crossroads and immediately jumped off a rail. The elevator was filled with people, and he doubted that he could land on a functioning one anytime soon. B-54 nearly screamed as the sensation of free fall took over her.

“There is no known weakness!” She shouted in his ears, “The only ones to have ever managed to drive off the Crocodile were Captain Hook and Lady Tinker Bell alongside the Black Knight of Neverland.”

Noah grinned, his finger lodging inside the concrete of the wall, slowing down his fall until he reached the ground while his fingers left five deep trails

Once his feet landed, he placed B-54 down, her hair a sordid mess.

“Well, I will go to the hangar and get a better look outside. You should go to the shelter.” He waved his hand at her and immediately started his sprint. He was so much faster now that he was just a blur in B-54’s eyes. Leaving her behind let him use the full extent of his capabilities.

Watching his blurred silhouette, a thoughtful light shimmered in her eyes and she paced away.

Her steps did not take her in the direction of the shelter.