Growth

While Layla and Lydia contemplated a possible solution, they couldn't help but recall what happened back then.

In the past, when they were quite young, they weren't that skilled yet to properly fight back. With only the two of them, it wasn't easy to deal with these kinds of attacks.

The pressure on their shoulders back then was slightly overwhelming. This was before they had anyone close to them.

It was the time when they had never yet to meet Alice, who became one of their trusted allies, and before they knew Chief Li from the Special Affairs Department.

Though now, even if they could still feel some pressure and some uncertainties, Layla and Lydia weren't the same as they were before.

They have gained experience since. Random enemies showed out of nowhere to which they easily dealt with, traveling to places that gave them more insights on how the world works for Awakeneds like them.

It seemed like their eyes were now more open, and they could notice different details that they could not see in the past.

Fear wasn't what they were feeling after all the scuffles they have been in; these things wouldn't faze them too much.

It was only the mystery surrounding their attackers that for them seemed to be a dark place that kept them blind.

Still, they now had quite a few allies that knew would be backing them when they ever find themselves in a precarious situation.

So far, they had experienced attacks from this unknown group thrice now.

The first one was when a masked person ambushed them on their way home from a gathering.

At that time, Lydia was still unskilled with her Purple Lightning. She could only shoot mini lightning that wasn't useful in any way except to surprise the receiver for a split second.

But Lydia wasn't completely helpless as she had received training on how to fight with her arms and legs.

Weapons were also included in her training though she hasn't mastered a single one of them. Nevertheless, Lydia could still use weapons in a fight comfortably.

She could be said to be in the same situation as Yu'er. Yu'er's skill wasn't an offensive time attack that could instantly kill someone.

That was also the reason why she initially believed that she had a skill under the Healing Skill category.

She could use it on other people and on objects, but it was harder, and the energy needed to be used seemed to be doubled compared to using her skill for herself.

However, it could only be applied to inflicted injuries and damages that were received in very recent times.

From Yu'er's observations, her skill should still be under the Healing Skill category. Healing injuries and wounds sustained by reversing time, it was a strange one, but it is the most effective way of healing.

Usually, a healing skill's effectiveness depends on how severe the wounds were.

The more serious the injuries, the harder it is to heal it. Therefore, the time it would take for the wound to be perfectly healed would be significantly longer than healing a small cut.

Since the skill Yu'er has wasn't something that could be used to defend herself, the same with Lydia, she trained herself to fight with weapons.

It would not give her an edge compared to those Awakeneds with skills that perfectly complimented their choice of weapon, but it was enough against most.

Also, not every Awakened had a skill that was related to their weapons. There can be times when Yu'er would still dominate weaker enemies with her strength filled body and weapon alone.

This was also what happened with Layla and Lydia when they were attacked the first time. Even though Lydia wasn't able to skillfully use her ability, her weapon techniques were still decent enough not to hold Layla back.

Layla, on the other hand, could already use her skill by that time, and along with Lydia, they smoothly defeated their first attacker.

The second set of attacks happened a few weeks after Lydia had finished her training to finally be able to use her Purple Lightning for deadly blows.

At that time, two Awakeneds teamed up against them; their goal still unknown. Layla used her Target Charm on one, and Lydia followed through with her Purple Lightning, instantly removing one of them.

The second person who was also the stronger one between the two got defeated by their relentless assault, giving the remaining attacker no chance to defend or run away.

The third time they got attacked was a group of Awakeneds wearing the same masks.

Their masks were the only reason why Layla and Lydia could determine that all of them were from the same group.

All of them were wearing it, and their faces underneath were ordinary, there is no way for them to find out who they were.

Layla and Lydia tried to get some information by searching for their identities by unmasking them after, but it was useless; no one knew their faces at all.

With it, they could gather that those people didn't seem to be making any attempt to hide that they came from the same group.

Only that their identities were all unknown, which left them guessing for some time until they have given up on even thinking about who they could be.

The third time they were attacked was with a total number of around ten Rank 1 Awakeneds. Being widely outnumbered, they could only think of escaping.

Since they were living in a city, it was not impossible to run away into the crowded areas for safety.

Awakeneds, especially those with bad intentions, generally would rather not have a fight with someone in an open area where people could see them.

There were multiple reasons for this.

One was to keep their existence a secret from other Awakeneds. This way, no one would be wary of them, and they would have an advantage if they one day decided to attack others.

Two, there exist a bunch of Awakeneds that are filled with righteousness and seek justice everywhere they go.

If they heard about evil being done in public, their assailants would have potentially made a lot of enemies just by exposing themselves to those justice seekers.

Layla and Lydia wanted to use this to get away from the group of Awakeneds on to them.

They also have another aim for running towards the crowded areas.

Just like how they thought it would go, not long after, the Special Affairs Department came to their aid.

The Special Affairs Department have their own ways to safeguard the people in the city, Layla and Lydia were merely attracting their attention on to themselves.

And it worked as intended seeing their people fight against those Awakeneds, surrounding them with their numbers.

They were after all the keepers of order in this city. When a group of Awakeneds brazenly attacked them without considering the authorities, they would, without a doubt, suffer the consequences.

The outcome was apparent. With enough reinforcements, the Special Affairs was able to defeat all of them.

However, Layla and Lydia knew that they can't always rely on the Special Affairs Department. They need to do something, something different, and end this once and for all.

But how are they supposed to do that? What could they do to make that possible?

Something was telling them that they were going to see those people again soon. They could only hope that they were wrong.