Dimensional Descent

Elorin reacted quickly to James' appearance, slide out of the way.

James seemed to form his body into a cannonball, wrapping himself in a spherical energy shield as he fell from the skies. The air rushed around him with such speed that it sparked, a rush of fire and explosive Force forming as he descended with a faster and faster speed.

BOOM!

Elorin crossed an arm and his machete across his face, gliding back effortlessly as a wall of concentrated air collided against him. Although he was unhurt, he couldn't help but frown.

The addition of yet another variable was annoying. The more this happened, the less he would be able to hold back. What was the Cloud Race doing exactly?!

Elorin glanced toward the battlefield and a spark of annoyance sparked in his pupils. This was the supposed Cloud Race? Weren't they supposed to be powerful and unmatched? Why were there so many who seemed capable of fighting them just fine?

With another step, Elorin glided back further, avoiding pursuit with an ease akin to breathing. His gaze darted across the battlefield until he seemed to understand something.

Under normal circumstances, the humans of Earth would stand no chance whatsoever. However, in concentrated pockets, scattered across the battlefield, there were small groups led by unconventional figures that seemed to subtly turn the tide.

There was a young man with telekinetic abilities, a young woman wreathed in vines and flower, there were eight young men whose power output was clearly a step above and they didn't seem to be going all out either, there was another subtle white haired beauty to the side, and finally, the most obvious of them all, there was the vicious golden-eyed woman who controlled Blood Force.

This didn't even mention the two battling Maia's sons to a standstill, stopping them from becoming the anchors they should have been for the Cloud Race, or the obvious elephant in the room: Galaeron.

These people acted like anchors on the battlefield, and there was a subtle funneling action that took place, making it difficult for the Cloud Race to gather up momentum or target weaker warriors. In fact, it felt as though they were all being directed by something or someone to move all too seamlessly.

If Wise Star Order could hear Elorin's thoughts he would have nodded to himself with that very familiar smug smile on his face. Without Leonel here, who better to direct the flow of the battlefield if not Wise Star Order?

It was just that as a monster of the Seventh Dimension, these children couldn't compare to him at all. His influence could hardly be sensed at all. In fact, the only reason Elorin could sense anything was because of the specialty of his Ability Index.

'..." Elorin fell into silence. He had concluded already, he had made the wrong bet.

Suddenly, James appeared before Elorin. Elorin planned to dodge again, but his eyes narrowed when he realized that his paths of exit were all blocked by energy shields, very sturdy ones at that.

James appeared with fist and Elorin had no choice but to respond with his own blade.

BANG!

James didn't retreat. With his Ability Index, his entire body was a weapon and he didn't fear meeting blades head on. At least, that was what he was used to, he didn't even usually feel pain in battle because no one could force him to that extent.

However, when Elorin's blade descended, danger senses alerted James instantly.

James' fist opened up and the angle of the energy shield protecting him shifted. Elorin's blades slipped by, meeting slight resistance as it was parried to the side, but even so, a small layer of skin was peeling down James' knuckle.

Elorin expected James to back off after suffering a small loss, but to his surprise James pressed forward with an even fiercer punch.

Without a choice, Elorin could only meet it with a fist of his own. His hand left afterimages in the air, stacking three, then four times.

BANG!

Elorin took a heavy step back as James did the same.

"Your Ability Index is actually Time Manipulation..." James said with surprise.

Noah, Jessica and Tyrron were all shocked when they heard this. In between their heavy breaths, they overheard James' mumble and found it difficult to believe. Was there really such an Ability Index?

Elorin's gaze narrowed.

"Unfortunately, you have a very clear weakness, and that's the need for preparation, that's why your battle style is so evasive. The danger of your Ability Index plummets when you don't have time to play your little chess moves."

The strength of Elorin's Ability Index started with his eyes. He was able to see timelines and the reverberating impact of causality. He could then gather these causalities and then use them to his benefit. For example, if he saw a future where he had crossed a distance of one kilometer, he could choose it and cross it instantly, skipping over the time it would have taken.

However, everything had a balance. If he wanted to choose a future where he had crossed one kilometer, he had to first observe himself crossing that kilometer in said future, and that would take time.

Of course, Elorin could accelerate this time, or else his Ability Index would be useless. However, no matter how fast he accelerated that observation time, it would never be instant. As such, there would always be a lag between him observing the future and enacting it. That was the weakness.

Somehow, James had seen through this in a single exchange despite having never fought someone with such an Ability Index before.

Time affinity was probably the rarest of all affinities in existence. To have a time related Ability Index was even rarer than that. Elorin could be said to be one of one, a rarer existence than even Savants. And yet it still took James just one exchange... It was shocking enough that Elorin spoke his first words.

"You... have innate battle instinct..."