Maia coughed up a mouthful of blood, her eyes opened wide with astonishment. She had no idea what ability Galaeron was using, she couldn't tell whether it was a unique ability, a technique, or maybe a known Ability Index being used in an unconventional way.
At first she thought it was telekinesis. It made sense, that was why he could move so slowly and yet output so much power, it should also be the reason why her and that little girl's palms got stuck to one another. He should have been using telekinesis to make up for his lack of movement speed and momentum.
However, just now, she felt an odd fluctuation of energy in the air, almost as though he was truly gathering up Force to act on his behalf, but this was very different from the feeling that telekinesis should give.
In addition, there was something unique about the movement of his body. Though he was moving slowly, he was gathering up momentum in his own way, as though it was a technique of some sort, or more accurately, a Style.
But if he was using the Style to gather momentum, then that contradicted the fact he was using telekinesis. In addition, she had never seen someone so adept in using telekinesis to the point they could apply such force without emitting any fluctuations. If telekinesis left no traces at all, how would you even fight such a person? Wouldn't they be invincible so long as they had the strength to harm you and could cast perfectly invisible attacks?
The worse problem though was that a technique should have left some sort of fluctuation as well, but the attack had come suddenly and without warning. The Cloud Race was well known for their senses and only fell short of the Spirituals in this regard. If Maia couldn't sense it, then didn't that mean that he was entirely impossible to deal with?!
Across the battlefield, Aina's ax fell for the final time and she took a deep breath, the light smile still on her face even though blood fell like rain around her. If even the likes of Sarathana couldn't last a single exchange with her, the rest stood even less of a chance.
The chorus of hoarse cries continued behind her like a symphony to her mother.From .
Aina turned back to the rest of the battlefield, the tides very clearly turning in favor of Earth. Whether it was morale or strength, they had a step up in both regards. It felt like the Cloud Race was entirely unprepared for the level of power they would face, and that much was all too expected.
The moment Maia was exposed, her planned surprise attack had failed. She had thought that it wouldn't matter much, but what she hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that in an upfront battle, the Cloud Race was actually inferior.
The only true geniuses of the Cloud Race present here were her sons and herself. But her sons, who she had so much faith in, were still stuck in stalemates, while she herself hadn't lasted even a single exchange. Was this really the supposedly weak Human Domain?
None of this made any sense. The presence of a world with Eighth Dimensional potential was irrelevant, Maia herself came from a true Eighth Dimensional world, not just one with the potential to become one. There was no way she should have lost like this!
Suddenly, Maia had flashbacks to something that happened almost three decades ago.
"The plan has failed, Emperor Fawkes is far too ruthless. He preferred to slaughter billions of citizens to avoid an Invalid infestation than risk it. Retreat, Maia."
"So what?" A disdainful female voice came from the other side.
The male voice sighed. "Maia, think. Without an Invalid infestation, the Ascension Empire will solidify incredibly quickly, making it far more difficult to infiltrate. Secondly, without the potential use of Invalids and Variant Invalids as a spearhead, you'll be too short handed. How are you going to take them down while suppressed under their world's laws and alone?"
"I have my methods. Aren't you taking these humans too seriously? Watch well, Jorrym."
"Maia! You are my wife and you're carrying two of my children. Don't risk their lives and yours because of your pride. Retreat to the Chaotic Water Sector with me. Together we'll sweep through Earth with much greater assurance!"
"Our children will be fine, watch well."
She still remembered hanging up that call. Now, her Jorrym's fate was unknown and she and their sons were in danger of dying here.
Maia grit her teeth, standing slowly to her feet.
Because of their control over their Cloud Figure, Cloud Race experts were able to shut themselves away much like Jorrym had, but this was only the tip of the iceberg. It could be used to do things like slow and manipulate their aging and had been a key part to Maia's plans until now. Even now, she was still considered a member of the Cloud Race's younger generation.
While it seemed that she had experienced decades on Earth, in reality it was no more than a handful of years to her. It was also thanks to this ability that her sons had managed to remain embryos until she was prepared to use them.
However, this age lock came with a double-edged sword, and that was the ability to store the skipped time.
If that time was never touched, everything would be fine and the Cloud Race individual would age as they had intended. However, in the case that this time was unleashed, the Cloud Race member would enter a state of accelerated evolution where they would experience all the years they had "skipped" at once.
This was the greatest ability of the Cloud Race, an ability that could only be used by them with gold rune Cloud Figures, those with the greatest bloodlines of their Race.
There was, of course, a drawback. The consequences would always be tenfold. In order to experience all of the decades she had been on Earth for at once and gain the insights and strength that came with it, she would need to experience the equivalent of centuries.
Even so, now that things had reached this point, Maia used the one trump card she never thought she'd have to.
Maia raised her head to the skies, a screech that echoed over Earth billowing from her chest.
The golden runes that floated within her Cloud Figure began to vibrate wildly, quickly becoming a crimson red.