Chapter 12: Radiance (3)
~12.3~
*****
"You've noticed, haven't you?"
Kye nodded. She knew what Alfia meant. "There's a powerful mana signature far out at sea that is skilled enough at hiding that even I am having trouble distinguishing it."
Alethea's eyes widened. "What? I couldn't sense it at all."
"Nor could I," Michelle added. "My ability to detect mana is a bit better than yours, Maya, but I didn't notice anything."
Alfia swallowed hard and continued. "The scene I just showed you… what do you think it was caused by?"
The three exchanged glances. Adele was looking to the side, thinking, but still listening, until Alfia said that. "You are saying there is a threat powerful enough to eliminate the Atlantis Sisters, but not powerful enough to eliminate Allison." She wasn't asking if it was true.
"When faced with an opponent far more powerful than you are now, what would be the first course that your entourage will agree on?"
Kye didn't need even a moment to consider it. "The elders will fight. Allison, Ginchiyo, Alexandra, and the others who are powerful enough. I assume we're talking about an S-Class or higher threat. That leaves myself and those my age out of the picture."
"That is the choice that gets all of you killed. You must choose differently, and you must act on that choice quickly."
Kye grimaced. She looked at Astraia and Astarte. "What do you think?"
"If it's a threat that kills all of us except Allison," Astarte said, "then, at minimum, it's S+. It could even be SS. Allison is the only one powerful enough to survive such a fight, and only with aether. I could potentially survive an S+ with aether, but not likely. Allison, on the other hand… if she unleashes her aether in combat…"
Astraia nodded. "Right. If Allison unleashes her aether and fights unabated, she would be a bigger threat to everyone than the S-class. The area of effect of her attacks would be enormous." She turned to Kye. "This is why she allowed you to fight that monster at Arslade. She could not have done so as safely as you did."
Astarte continued, "She also will not risk our lives. If we live, she won't do anything that will harm us. In all likelihood, if all of us except her died, most likely the threat killed us and then she killed it, no longer having any reason to hold back."
"Something doesn't add up, though," Kye thought aloud. She was looking at Alethea. "If the situation devolved so far, how did none of us take care of it? If it meant saving all of you from death, I would force my full power and eliminate the threat at the cost of my life."
"And the moment you tried, I'd have stopped you," Alethea said, "and done so myself, because you're pregnant."
"Right. And I imagine Michelle and Adele would keep me from stopping you."
Both nodded, and Adele said, "Assuming Alethea beats me to it."
"Yes," Kye said and put a hand on her chin. "Something else is bothering me. With a soul weapon of Kari's caliber, I should be able to kill even an S+. With the Awakened State, I can draw my mana through our soul bond and wield it up to her output. Astarte, you believe you wouldn't be able to defeat an S+ with aether, which yours and Astraia's are similar."
"That's correct. It could be possible, but I very much doubt I could handle it. And working with another person would be even more difficult, as we'd be hitting each other with how huge the attacks would have to be to wield them in battle."
"Your weakness is that you can't properly wield aether, so to cast a powerful spell like this," she held out her hand and generated a one-thousand fold mana-burst powered Detonation catalyst, "you would either need a lot of time to chant a sufficiently long incantation, or it would be so large that it would catch all of your allies up in the spell, too." She dispersed the catalyst. "I don't have that problem. So, why did we die in that worldline? The only solution I can think of is that something prevented me from wielding Hikarimaru." She turned to Alethea. "And at the same time, something prevented you from wielding Gaia. Either of us would have been capable."
So, she figured it out, Alfia thought. That's exactly right. The reason all of those tombstones were necessary is because of that very fact. The wielders and the weapons were separated. But I can't say that. Mother is the only one that can bypass causality. I can only be vague and show results, not causes.
"Whatever the case," Kye said as she looked at Astraia. "Don't leave my side. I am confident I can handle the problem if I can wield you."
"Of course."
"But the whole problem of you or Allison or whoever using aether and it being dangerous to others…" Kye's expression changed. Rather than curious or afraid, she was disappointed. "If wielding such power is dangerous, helping make it not dangerous must become my first priority after this." Her eyes were locked on Astraia. "But, to get to that point, I have to ask something of you that will be dangerous…"
"I know," Astraia said. "Even if it costs me my life, if I am the only one at risk, then I agree."
Kye shook her head. "No. You will not be at risk."
Her eyes widened as she peered into Kye's thoughts. "That's too reckless!"
Kye shook her head. "I know your output threshold. If I multiply that by even one hundred… not even Allison can tank that hit at full power."
"Shi-chan, that's too much! You can't use Mana Burst through a soul-bond!" Alethea argued, almost crying.
"Absolutely not," Adele said. She was no less dissatisfied than Alethea.
"I'm not leaving this open for debate," Kye said. "I'll fight wielding Hikarimaru. Without a mana-burst, we will be fine. But if it's anything like the others… it'll take a massive attack to actually kill it."
"Then use Heaven's Fall or Pillar of Light! You killed an S- by yourself with that!"
"I used Aether Drive and Mana Burst for the one at Arslade, and I didn't need Mana Burst for the one at Northern Forest, since I had the Awakened State. But if this one is S+, it's going to require more."
"Okay, sure, but Eli," Alethea pleaded, "how in the world are you going to manage a Mana Burst through a soul-bond? It's never been done before!"
Kye smirked. She held her hand out, and Astraia transformed into Hikarimaru. She swung the blade, and in an instant, she unleashed a powerful blast of aether that went flying off into the sea of stars.
"Without awakening, I can only unleash up to my own threshold. I can't include hers," Kye said. "But don't forget who created this technique."
Everyone aside Alfia was stunned. They all knew what had happened, that Kye spoke the truth. She unleashed a Mana Burst through her own body and the soul-bond simultaneously, both up to her own maximum, into that single attack as an example.
"The calculations required… it's unreal, even by our standards!" Adele muttered, her face full of shock. "How in the world…?"
Alfia wore a big grin on her face. "Of course, Eli can do that." She patted her sister on the back. She gave Kye a look of approval.
Kye gave her a silly grin in return.
*****
Revision: 2024-2-14
A/N: Advanced Chapters are now available on Patreon! See profile for links!