Chapter 276 Stop Playing Fair
My brain wasn't working properly, and it was nearly impossible to think as every part of my body started to age. Besides the pain it was causing, my brain seemed to be forced into some sort of loop that tried to find logic in what was happening.
I tried to move, but my body was sluggish. It was like trying to swim in toothpaste, for lack of a better analogy. Not only that, but with my mind screwed up like this, I couldn't even use any of my abilities.
'Octavia! Do you have enough information yet?! I screamed in my mind, but then suddenly, the pain stopped, and my body returned to normal.
"Huh?" I mouthed and looked at Galliadra, who was still clearly concentrating.
'For some reason, your body still registered you as a human and tried to age you, but your body is made up of energy,' Octavia replied, and I nodded, focusing on Galliadra, who was starting to look frustrated.
'What are you doing?! How can you block my powers?!' Galliadra screamed into my mind, and I grinned.
"I think we are a bad match-up," I chuckled, but Galliadra started to suck in energy to her mouth.
"Watch out. Energy or not, that energy she is collecting will disrupt your own energy. While you don't have cells, the radiation from the cosmic storm, combined with the disruption from her energy absorption, could still have adverse effects on you," Octavia warned.
"Great," I muttered, realizing that this battle was going to be more challenging than I had initially anticipated.
Galliadra released the energy she had absorbed in the form of a powerful beam, and I quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the destructive force. The energy beam tore through the cosmic storm, creating a temporary rupture that sent shockwaves reverberating through space.
As I evaded the attack, I noticed Galliadra's frustration growing. It seemed that my resistance to her time-manipulating abilities and my ability to avoid her attacks was irking her. However, I couldn't afford to let complacency set in; I needed a plan to turn the tide of the battle.
"Octavia, any ideas on how to counter her abilities?" I asked, trying to maintain focus while dodging another barrage of energy beams.
'She primarily manipulates time, but that has no effect on your body, but it can still slow you down. We still don't know what else she is capable of, besides her ability to gather energy and spit it back out at you. I think your best bet is to try and close the gap and restrain her," Octavia explained as I flew as fast as I could to avoid getting vaporized by the beam pouring out of Galliadra's mouth that seemed unending.
Easier said than done. I took all of my concentration just to keep ahead of the beam of blinding light that was chasing me. Unlike Calishora, who seemed to only be able to blast off the atoms mashing beams at a time, and needed to recharge, Galliadra was like a goddamn garden hose!
Garden hose...? Wait! If she was spitting it out like this nonstop, then I had to be coming from somewhere not inside of her!
'Where is she getting that energy from?' I asked, already knowing the answer.
'The sun? Where else would she be getting it from?' Octavia asked, and I nodded to myself, turning from the sun.
'The first step is getting away from the sun then," I returned as I swerved from the beam that was still chasing me.
Getting farther away wasn't completely helpful, since the beam could still reach me, but it was much easier to evade at this range. The only problem was that I didn't have a way to fight her. I tried to send my own blast of energy at her, but Galliadra just absorbed them, adding more fuel to the nonstop beam.
'This is beyond annoying!' I complained.
'I can agree with you, but that won't help you. I need more information about her. The scans I can make from here are all blocked by whatever is absorbing all your energy, so I need you to get closer,' Octavia explained, and I let out a huff.
"Just get closer to her, she says," I muttered, but in the vacuum of space, no sounds of my complaints were heard.
Just how the hell was I supposed to get closer without getting de-atomized? I had hoped that pulling some range would have made her follow me, but she clearly saw through that. I had put myself in an even more precarious spot since I needed to get closer now.
I really felt frustrated. I had come into this fight knowing it was going to be hard. I was only at a quarter of my strength, but I had assumed the sun would make up for it. Instead, my own strength was being turned against me.
'What is wrong? Are you trying to run away?' Galliadra taunted me, making me growl internally, but then I remembered something.
During my fight with Calishora, I hadn't won by just beating her down. There was another aspect of the fight that I had forgotten about. The girl's loyalty to Tiamat. While I couldn't convince Galliarda to come over to my side yet, I could still use her loyalty to their mother against them like I had with Calishora.
I had been looking at this like some fair fight between two honorable people, but I was not that. I was trying to save the people that I loved, and the world that I lived in. That meant I couldn't play fair, and it was stupid for me to even try.
Sensing my thoughts, Octavia spoke up. 'What are you thinking?'
'Having all this power and responsibilities has made me mature, I think. I need to go back to the way I was when I fought Cali, and really start getting under this woman's skin. I think it is time to start poking the bear,' I replied as a grin spread across my face.
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