Halt

The sudden shift in the gravity caught many completely off guard. Those that were unable to react in time found themselves forced beneath the ocean's surface, struggling to swim back up to no avail.

Panic took hold of the coastal defenses once again. This kind of cruel use of a gravitational ability was far more devastating on the open waters than it ever could be on land. The horrible sight of numerous valiant soldiers being drowned one after another was a sight that shook those that managed to stay above water to their cores.

Fourth Dimensional existences could hold their breaths for far longer than most Third Dimensional existences could, but this didn't mean they could do so indefinitely. The gravity whale had suddenly placed a timer on all their lives, a cruel light pervading its gaze.

"Dammit!"

Gil roared, his steps having slowed considerably. He poured everything he had into his forward momentum, but he was still a step too late. Content is property © .

Joel and Arnold crashed into the waters. They already hadn't had any Force remaining, how could they possibly scrounge up enough to resist the pull of the waters?

"Joel! Arnold!"

Gil's gaze turned bloodshot. He hadn't made it in time. The worst part was that he knew if he dove into the waters after them now, there was no way that whale would allow him to resurface. Fighting against such gravity in the water felt almost impossible.

"Fuck!" Franco's gaze was just as red as Gil's. In fact, the same went for all of them. Those two were their brothers, how could they not react this way?

Franco swept his gaze through the Moon people before he landed on Aulina. He knew that of them all, Aulina most definitely had the best chance at saving them, only she could manipulate these waters even if it would be more difficult beneath the gravity field.

Franco didn't waste any time and grabbed Aulina's waist, hoisting her over his shoulder and shooting forward.

"Hey!"

Franco knew what he was doing was wrong. He had no right to force someone else to risk their life for his own brother but he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. He was the only one who felt like he hadn't contributed anything.

Of all of Leonel's brothers, Franco's ability was the least flashy. All he had was the strength of his body, but he had worked it to the bone. If he couldn't blast through this curtain of gravity, then what good was his strength to begin with?

"I'm sorry." Franco said as he shot ahead. "But I can promise you that if one of us is going to die, it will be me. If the both of us are going to die, it will be me first."

Aulina, who had been caught off guard by Franco's actions and couldn't muster up the strength to fight back against his power—obviously not expecting one of their own to suddenly scoop her up like this—stopped resisting when she heard this.

The words resonated with her heart.

"Don't worry about me." Aulina called out to her teammates, letting Franco carry her instead the distance.

"If anything happens to her—!" Joyce couldn't push through the curtain of gravity as easily as Franco could. Without anyone to turn her rage on, she turn a red gaze toward Milan and the others. But, what she found there was shocking to an extreme.

All of them who remained… Milan, Drake, Allan, Raj… Each and every one of them lowered their heads in the direction of the Moon people. Even without saying a word, their sincerest apologies were as crystal clear as a blue sky.

Despite not seeing their gazes, Joyce, who had been stunned into silence, could imagine them. She could sense a resolve that came even without them saying a single thing.

Though Franco's words hadn't managed to reach her ears as they had been for Aulina and Aulina alone, Joyce could tell that these four who remained had the resolve to take their own lives should anything happen to her.

Whatever rage Aulina had had deflated like a leaking balloon. She couldn't find it within herself to be pissed off any longer.

…

Franco's muscles pumped and pulsed. His somewhat fair skin was filled with blotches of bruised fibers as he pushed his body to its limits, but he didn't seem to notice in the slightest.

From over two kilometers away, he crossed the distance, cutting it in half then cutting it by another half.

Gil, who had already noticed Franco's approach rushed back as fast as he could. But, despite the fact that the gravity curtain became weaker the further he went, that didn't change the fact it was there.

In the time it took Franco to cross almost two kilometers, Gil had cross just a hundred meters. But, it was still enough for them to meet.

Franco's face was covered in sweat, his cheeks even becoming somewhat hallow. All the nutrients in his body seemed to have gone to his limbs, pushing him forward one stride at a time.

Without a single word, Gil clasped a hand to Franco's shoulder, pouring Speedster Lightning Force into him. Franco tossed Gil over his other shoulder and shot forward again, his speed more than doubling what it had been before. However, the strain on his muscles only grew worse.

His muscle fibers tore, his bones threatened to fracture and his knees grinded against one another, thinning his cartilage one layer at a time.

"Aulina!" Franco gasped out.

He entered the general area of where Joel and Arnold had been forced beneath the water.

"I've sensed them already! I got it!" Aulina replied, not trying to move from Franco's shoulder. She was under no illusions that she could survive beneath this gravity curtain without Franco's support. "I got them! I got them!"

In the distance, the looming gaze of the gravity whale hung like two crimson orbs. After it had activated its ability, it seemed to have lost the ability to move, its rising tail having long since come to a halt.