‘Take it easy, she’s an angel, remember? She doesn’t need to breathe in the same way we do,’ Kayla’s voice was suddenly heard in Raven’s mind. ‘I am, or rather you are, supplementing her with the energy she needs for her survival and self recovery. 

‘Weird analogy, but think of it as an oxygen tube for people who can’t get enough oxygen on their own.’

‘Wait, I am supplementing her with that?’ Raven asked in confusion.

‘Well, I am supplementing her with what she needs through your body… from your own energy…’ Kayla said slowly, somehow feeling as though she was a scammer for using Raven. ‘After activating your skill: Apprentice of the Primordial Light, your rank has been pumped up to Star Five Hundred, so you have a lot of energy to spare at the moment.

‘But don’t get arrogant since you’re still too weak to face Michael. Also, for this rank, it’s simply a type of fake advancement; your body doesn’t match your rank, so you can’t show the full potential of your current rank. Furthermore, if you excessively use your mana, you will most likely damage yourself.

‘In other words, if you were to fight a person of the same rank as you in this state, you would lose horribly nine times out of ten..’

‘Uhm, I understand. And, err, although I’m curious about something; how is this enhancement enough to pump me up by about four hundred stars worth of energy? This was definitely not the case in previous cases.’ 

‘Well, it’s probably Aether, he doesn’t want you dead after all, you know.’ Kayla shrugged internally since she wasn’t sure either. Although, she suspected that Avavia, Raven’s mother, had a hand in that as well.

‘Hm, I guess you’re right,’ Raven could only say. ‘Um, and that person who helped us avoid the direct attack, was it Uriel?’

‘Err, sort of,’ Kayla answered awkwardly. ‘Remember how her body is filled with Cyber Particles? Well, I kinda lent her a hand in controlling it since she was still out of it…’

‘And you’re still doing so?’ Raven asked since she was still hearing the fighting sounds in the distance.

‘Aye, and since we’re talking about this, you should know that her body can barely last for a few more minutes, no, probably even less,’ Kayla insisted. ‘So, we should leave as soon as possible-‘

“Ugh, Raven…” Suddenly, Maya’s soft moan interrupted Raven and Kayla’s conversation. 

“Maya!” Raven shouted involuntarily, her face full of concern and worry. “How are you doing?”

Her heart was aching beyond control as she watched Maya’s forced and seemingly pain-filled movements. However, at the same time, she was extremely happy that she was externally unscathed. Well, save for Michael’s two attacks that were being healed by her and Kayla as they spoke.

Thankfully, Kayla’s Cyber Particles are able to replicate and increase their own numbers by using mana. 

Additionally, they were small and smart enough on their own to obey Kayla’s every command. And currently, their command was to reconstruct Maya’s internal organs and blood vessels.

Coincidentally, this would not only ensure Maya’s recovery, but also boost her strength!

“I- I’m sorry, I don’t think I can, *cough* I don’t think I can last any longer…” Maya suddenly started coughing, which almost gave Raven a heart attack. 

However, hearing and understanding her words made her endlessly more troubled. Her body started to subconsciously shiver like a puppy trapped under the skies of a stormy night.

“Hehe *cough* I have finally made you mine and thought that- *cough* I thought that we could be together,” she continued in a heart wrenching tone. “Rave, would you do me a favour and- *cough* what I’m trying to say is that I- I need you to- to kiss me…”

‘Kiss her?’ At first, Raven thought that she had heard wrong, and was listening for more. But to her surprise, Maya was slowly going for her lips. A subtle grin was hidden behind her fake pained expression.

Suddenly, everything made sense! Kayla’s Cyber Particles were healing her and she was getting all of the mana she needed, how did she suddenly get this bad? Of course, it was all fake! How could she even forget that an angel can’t cough!?

She has been tricked…

Gritting her teeth in anger, Raven pushed Maya away as she raised her hand above her head. As it shook with various emotions, she sent it down towards Maya’s face.

*Slap!*

Warm tears ran down Raven’s golden eye as it sparkled in a sad glint. She was upset, very upset.

Maya, who was caught off guard, felt herself get dizzy. Although she wasn’t feeling as bad as she conveyed, she wasn’t in her best state either…

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make you feel at ease, Rave,” Maya said slowly, taking a few paces away from her to give her space. “I’m okay, I won’t die any time soon. Sorry for scaring you- uh!”

Before she got a chance to finish her words, Maya was interrupted by Raven’s tender arms that wrapped around her tightly.

*Sniff*

“I’m not hugging you,” Raven stated bluntly, even though she was sniffing as she silently cried. “I am just healing you. It’s faster when there’s direct contact.”

Hearing that, Maya had a couple of jokes that instantly popped up in her dirty mind, but she quickly dismissed those thoughts.

“Uhm, I understand,” she simply nodded and said.

“Promise me that you’ll never do this ever again…” the gentle words left Raven’s lips in a hurry.

“Uhm, I understand, I’m so sorry…” Maya said genuinely.

“Okay. We need to leave soon,” Raven said, changing the subject into the most urgent one. “Kay is currently controlling Uriel’s body and using it to help us delay Michael. But it won’t last for long.”

“Run?” Maya asked, her tone getting serious yet strangely tired. “Run where? We can’t outrun him…”

“Yes, we can!” Raven said in a determined expression. “Kay can use the Teleportation Gates to move us away from here!”

“Is that true, Kay?” Maya asked, both happy and surprised.

Having been asked a question, Kayla quickly created a small clone in order to facilitate communication between her and the two other girls. Well, especially Maya.

“I’m not sure…” she replied, startling the duo. “I’ve actually been trying to connect to the Cyber Particles inside the Teleportation Gates, however, I have not been successful so far…”

“What? Why?” Raven asked hurriedly.

“I am not sure…” Kayla shook her head. “Under normal circumstances, no matter how far my Cyber Particles are, I can easily connect to them. 

“However, at this moment, I can’t seem to feel anything beyond a certain distance. I can’t even feel the connection between me and the Cyber Particles I left throughout our journey so far…”

“How come? Is there no other solution to leave this place? Kay, we may die if we stay here…” Raven said nervously. The feeling of helplessness was slowly eating her alive. 

She has been through many, way too many, incidents where she was left without hope of changing the outcome. And they all happened in the past few days!

“I am sorry, Rave, I’m afraid that someone has blocked the space around us…” Kayla finally said. Internally, she was obviously feeling Raven’s chaotic emotions. “If I had been paying more attention to my Cyber Particles, we may have been able to avoid this-“

“Don’t blame yourself, you’ve been busy protecting me and Maya,” Raven shook her head. “Although you can use Parallel Processing, it’s not easy to operate during emergencies.”

“Yes, I would have probably been already dead if not for you,” Maya said with a smile.

Kayla heard both of their words but didn’t reply. Not because she didn’t want to, but rather because she didn’t know how to.

“Do you think it’s Michael who’s blocking us here?” Raven asked out of curiosity.

“I am not sure,” Kayla shook her head. “But if I had to guess, I’d say no.”

“Wait, do you mean that there’s a third party involved in this?” Raven asked with wide eyes. 

“It’s just a suspicion…” Kayla said. Although she appeared calm on the surface and through her tone, she was searching through every possible simulation.

‘This person who blocked the area around us could be Michael, however, the timing doesn’t match. 

‘Why did he choose to block it now of all times? Did he only now gain the ability to do so? If so, how can I not find a single flaw in the blockage?

‘But if not Michael, then who? The same people who killed the Supreme Deity? If so, why are they not attacking us? Isn’t Michael on their team?

‘If not them, then who is this their party? I can’t possibly think of another party who’d be interested in having us killed… ugh…’

“So, are we fighting to the death?” Maya suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere. However, a weak smile was plastered across her face as she slid her hand around Raven’s back.