Life Hunter

Chapter 252: ''We have a throne to conquer.''

"Why did you do that?" Sebas broke the silence as he chose to turn back into an old butler.

The three other Divine Beasts also transformed. Jorga shrunk his body to a very small size for the first time after he became Jormungand. Apana also became small and went to rest on Layla's shoulder. Aergia was the last one. She seemed to be exhausted after returning to her human form.

Arima turned toward the old butler who asked the question. Sebas was currently staring at Arima with a dark expression. "You're Sebasfiel Mendes," Arima said and put his glasses on. Everyone's eyes twitched but they didn't make any remark. "Karaskan's and Baphomet's father, right?"

"I am, indeed," Sebas nodded. "I wanted to ask you why you let that Tras go. I can see that you can kill him easily. Maybe with just a thought at this point. I also know about the grudge between my family and you. I thought you would do everything to stop them."

Everyone gathered around and listened quietly. Some of them were aware of what happened to Arima in the past while he was still a normal human. Layla was one of them as she closed her eyes and waited.

"You know," Arima's voice was still calm and cold. "Your family is quite something. I happened to confront both of your sons. Baphomet was a powerful Evil God, but at the same time, I quite liked him. I might resurrect him later. Although his body has been destroyed, I retrieved his soul."

Sebas' eyes shook and his entire body trembled. What kind of father wouldn't want his son to be saved?

"Also, Sebasfiel, you're a prick."

"huh?"

"Your son's message to you," Arima said and Sebas' expression twitched.

"As for Karaskan" Arima's attitude was slightly perturbed but, in the end, he just sighed and shrugged. "He's quite a fascinating and spiteful existence. He wanted to become Evil. He created the Seeds of Chaos to twist Fate and force someone like me to rise and come to him."

"And with that, he was able to open Pandora which he had prepared beforehand. In conclusion, he died, and the Tra were born. But, the big 'but' in this story, is that Karaskan wasn't trying to end the world, he was trying to make it stronger."

Sebas was shocked and he wasn't the only one. Arima's companions, the rest of the Guardians and Pillars, and even Ahura. Only Layla stayed impassive.

"The Tra are bloodthirsty monsters. But, at the same time, they don't attack people with low strength, but people that match their own. That guy just wanted to create a sense of urgency in all of those lazy and stupid species and make them fight to mature. Many would die, but in one sense, many others would get saved and grow stronger," Arima snorted and waved his hand.

"Anyway, you don't really need to know why I let that Tras go. I just revised their fundamental code a little bit and made them more useful for me," he declared and walked toward Layla. When he was in front of her, he sighed and showed a rare, warm smile. "Why did you use it in the end?"

Layla smiled coolly in return. The ones who had fought with her shuddered, it wasn't for long but they had gotten used to her cold expression while they were fighting along with her.

"I was kinda forced," she shrugged and smugly looked at Arima from the corner of her eyes. "You were the one who didn't come in time. If I had not acted, we would have suffered some big causalities, and your sister would have used her trump card to kill the Tras before dying."

Arima scowled and shook his head. Ahura's pupils widened and when he faced her, she looked away with a cough.

"In any case," Arima snapped his fingers and everyone felt something strange happening around them. "It's quite annoying to be in outer space all the time."

When they heard that line from Arima, they were all already on the meadow of a certain planet.

"Waitthis is?!" Gilgamesh exclaimed. He was the one who stayed the most time in this place when the four gates had been opened and everyone had left. After his realization, the others followed and dropped their jaw.

"Holy did you just rebuild an entire planet with a snap?!" Raylein shouted but Arima ignored him and sat down.

"Sit," he beckoned Layla to do the same. She complied with unwilling eyes. She sat down in front of him.

"Do you really need to do this? I can take it."

"No, you can't," Arima retorted indifferently and Layla clicked her tongue.

"I don't want you to do it."

"I have more than enough means to resist it."

"You say that, but you're going to take it without doing anything. Don't mess with me," Layla snorted and Arima blankly stared at her.

"You changed of personality again. How many is it this time? The fourth? The fifth time?" Layla blushed and closed her mouth because it was completely true. "Anyhow, just chant along. It will be easier for me," Arima said and Layla sighed.

"What are they doing?" Shakti asked whilst watching them.

"They're talking about the toll of Layla's magic," Malum crossed his arms and leaned against a tree. "The technique she used is called 'Eius Vestigia'. In other words, 'The Martyr's Footsteps'. A certain magic Arima made for her exclusively. Because that's something only she can use."

Shakti frowned when she heard that ominous name. "What does it do?"

"It's quite simple," Night joined them and answered instead. "The meaning of 'Martyr' in the name refers to the sacrifice the caster must make. Of course, it's a magic that works with temporal theories. That's why only Layla can use it because her eyes are the key."

Karma joined in just after. "Usually, she's only able to 'see' the different timelines which can be produced by the present time. For example, she knew what to do when the Tra were fusing because she had seen many different alternatives in the future. 'Eius Vestigia' allows her to take that power to a new realm. She can do more than 'see'."

Shakti's eyes widened when she understood the meaning of that. Malum shrugged.

"You get it now. Basically, she's able to 'experience' personally the future she predicts. None of you realized, but along with that coldness she gained, her age and battle experience skyrocketed. I'm sure she must have died a lot of times during the activation of 'Eius Vestigia'. Now, she's a real powerhouse with the experience to back it up."

"That's what Arima meant by changing personality. They tested that magic before at a small scale, Layla ended up having her personality changed because of future alternatives and that forced her to recast it until she returned to normal."

"[First Cryptic Art, Foedere Vitae et Sanguis] (Bond of Life and Blood)," Arima and Layla chanted at the same time. A warm light covered their bodies.

"Release it now," Arima instructed and Layla nodded. She closed her eyes and breathed in. Arima's eyes twitched and he groaned ever so slightly. He clenched his fist

"What's the toll then?" Ahura asked. She appeared like a ghost behind Malum's group.

"Not really big, but extremely grave at the same time," Night replied. "In short, it's physical distortion. The remnants she left in the other timelines while experiencing them will get back to her without fail. When that happens, her body will get attacked by Time Laws and be shredded. It's a dangerous magic in the end."

"And the only reason Arima created this magic for her was that he knew he could use the First Cryptic Art to save her," Malum added. "The First Cryptic Art is a connection between Arima and Layla. Once the Art is conjured, no matter where they are, how far apart they are, every single kind of physical or ethereal threat will be transferred to one of them alone. In this case, Arima will take it."

To prove his words, Arima started bleeding a little. A drop of blood came out of his mouth and many small quantities of blood stained his clothes at other places. For someone like Arima who had absorbed the life force of the strongest warriors and was now a True God, this was nothing. Furthermore, even if he was bleeding, no one could see the injuries from where it came from. They were simply closing in less than a millisecond every time.

Of course, if it was Layla taking that toll, she would have most likely been severely hurt and maybe crippled. But it amounted to nothing for Arima who had Natus to back him up.

Arima sighed and the light covering him and Layla went away. "It's done," he stated and cleaned the blood on him with a single thought. He stood up and Layla followed with a wry smile. She was looking at something in particular. The blood which had dropped on the ground.

"You really became some kind of monster of nature."

"Hey, hey, I'm technically a God now. Don't say that," Arima retorted and took out a glass vial from his storage. "Take this," he also took out many others and threw them to the rest of the group; one each.

Flavio caught it and wasn't surprised since he already knew what it was. But he was the only one. Malum lifted the vial to his eyes and observed the liquid inside. It was a very pretty liquid that looked like melted crystal. It shined beautifully every time it was illuminated by the light of the sun.

"What is this?" Night asked and Arima snickered. They could not see it before and that's why they didn't know what it was.

"It's my blood."

"What?"

"It's my blood. And also, what you can call Elixir," Arima said and the area fell silent. Even Deva who was sleeping lifted her head and blinked like a dumb animal.

"You don't need to think too much about it," Arima waved his hand. "If you ever end up in a critical situation, drink one drop of that. It will heal you. Especially you, Ahura."

Ahura who was inspecting the vial with wide-open eyes shook. She rolled her eyes at Arima. "What do you mean?"

"You thought I didn't know? You're not like me. Angra Mainyu created Life Hunters so that someone in the future could hold his power; Death Hunters. But you, you used a human to reincarnate yourself. A race that could survive, but too weak on average. Just admit it, your current body doesn't allow you to use your full power, or you'll die. But with my blood, you should be able to do it if you use a drop beforehand."

Ahura huffed but still stored the vial as if it was her most precious treasure. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Arima chuckled then pushed his glasses. "Now, it's time to conduct a little briefing. We have a throne to conquer."

"{Why are you pushing your glasses up? They weren't even falling,}" Krynox commented and Arima's hand froze.

"Krynox."

"{Yes?}"

"Do not, ever again, under any circumstances, talk without reading the mood."

"{my apologies.}"