Chapter 30: Adrian's Counterattack
Though Nicola wasn't present during my journey to Earth with Adrian, she had heard stories about it. But even I didn't expect Adrian would use Earth technology in today's duel.
No doubt, Nicola was caught off guard by this unexpected move. Before she could even process what was happening, the thunderous sound of Gatling gun shots began erupting behind her.
For some reason, a classic saying popped into my head: times are changing! After contact with Earth civilization, Adrian definitely didn't bring back two golden Gatling guns just to display them at home.
What's more, the bullets weren't ordinary. Each shot hitting Nicola triggered a violent explosion. I realized he had already infused Battle Qi into the bullet heads, dramatically increasing the Gatling's power. The scene was like a saturated rocket bombardment.
No matter how strong Nicola was - normally immune to regular gunfire - she was struggling against this dual suppression of Battle Qi and technology.
Thankfully, just twenty bullets wouldn't cause fatal damage. At worst, she'd get some nasty surface wounds. But, it must've hurt like crazy!
Covered in blood and her clothes in tatters, Nicola flew through the air, desperately dodging, but unable to escape the Gatling's targeting range. This was a fair duel they'd agreed on, so she couldn't use her wings to fly afar.
A typical ten-winged angel would've surrendered by now. But Wind Angel? Nicola had plenty of tricks up her sleeve!
Just as she was cornered, she suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind the bullet's trajectory, her wings turning from pure white to a misty gray.
"That was probably a time manipulation skill," I thought.
Previously, I might not have noticed anything due to my inability to sense wind elements. But now, I could detect the subtle elemental disturbance caused by time's forced stoppage, even through water elements.
"You lose!" Nicola shouted confidently. "Feliciana will resurrect you later!"
Positioning herself behind Adrian, she wouldn't miss this chance to counterattack. Five Condensation Swords materialized around her, all stabbing toward the seemingly empty ground.
Unexpectedly, she only destroyed a golden Gatling gun with two arrows stuck in it. Adrian was nowhere to be seen.
"Damn this annoying invisibility!"
I was as confused as Nicola, who spun around irritably as more bullets fired from another direction - clearly from Adrian's second golden Gatling gun.
In an attempt to destroy the weapons since she couldn't defeat the enemy, Nicola used her time-stop ability again. But this time, she found an arrow marked "Explosion" pressed against her neck.
Adrian had anticipated her every move. Though he couldn't prevent time stopping, he knew her targets and intentions. He'd simply wait for her to move towards him and strike her vulnerable spot.
Against a normal opponent, this would've been brilliant. But Nicola wasn't normal. Theoretically, even if beheaded, she could reverse time to before the strike - seemingly unbeatable.
Strangely, Nicola didn't use her ability to escape. Instead, she looked shocked and asked: "What have you done to me?"
Adrian explained his breakthrough: using Battle Qi words in a formation, like an array, to create combined effects. The ground had a triangular pattern with arrows at each corner, each bearing a different word: "Forbid", "Time", "Trick".
"Time trick forbidden!" Nicola realized, understanding why she lost.
Having lost her ability to manipulate time, she naturally couldn't come up with a solution in such a short time. After a brief silence, she finally admitted: "Fine, you win!"
"Great! Remember our agreement—you can no longer interfere ..."
Adrian, about to continue speaking, suddenly looked pale from the intense battle. He softly collapsed. I immediately rushed forward to catch him.
"He'll be okay," After a rough examination, Cyrae confirmed he just needed rest .
Nicola, now free, showed interest in the arrows. Though their power had faded, she picked one up, muttering: "Just like you... always surprising me, even in different worlds..."
"You threw the fight on purpose just now, didn't you? Besides, you could have reversed time and started everything over again. He wouldn't have succeeded a second time."
Other onlookers might not have understood the situation, but I saw it clearly. No matter how powerful Adrian's Battle Qi was, it couldn't indefinitely suppress Nicola's control over the Authority of Time. After all, that Authority governs the fundamental rules of the world, and for an ordinary human to manage even a few seconds of suppression was already extraordinary.
The glow from the three arrows was proof of this! By the time we arrived, the effect of the arrows had diminished to almost nothing. Nicola could have easily broken free before conceding defeat. Yet, she chose not to.
"You wouldn't understand. Attempting to reverse time to change the past is impossible. Only an 'observer' could break that curse."
Nicola shook her head and turned to glance at Adrian, a hint of complixity flickering in her eyes. This immediately reinforced my suspicion—there were definitely untold stories between her and the Adrian from another world!
Without explaining further, Nicola stuck the arrow in a tree trunk, spread her wings, and flew toward Corovots city. "Let's go back. I've checked Kyndrill early this morning. We'll plan our attack on Reider tonight, once Adrian wakes up!"