Life Hunter

Arima and Layla were sitting face to face on two spots where the vines had receded to let place to the dark green gra.s.s. The two seemed to be as calm as usual. Even Layla didn"t seem to be anxious although she was a bit stressed.

"I don"t like being evasive about things. So, I"ll be clear as possible" Arima said with a grave voice "If you want a clear answer though. I"m not sure I can give you one"

"I"m not embracing the idea completely nor am I rejecting it. It"s not because I once had a lover that I can"t get one anymore" Layla closed her eyes and decided to listen attentively.

"Love is a really curious thing after all…" Arima sighed "Even with all the different lives I now have in my head, I still can"t find a definitive answer to "emotions". If I wanted, I could say it"s only physiological, a little trick from our brain. But we all know it"s not. Emotions are powerful"

"And even if people may exaggerate things, love and friendship can really make you stronger" Arima snickered and paused "But," His voice changed "It"s me we"re talking about. What I want to tell you with this is that loving me could be a really hard thing to do in the future"

Layla shuddered and opened her eyes wide. She looked at Arima"s eyes and gulped. They"re usually sharp and bright. But now they were hollow and dark.

"{Hey… stop that}" Malum spoke up. Arima blinked once and his eyes returned to normal.

"Since the Judgement… no, even before that. I had already grown numb I think"

"Everything around me couldn"t affect me deeply enough" He declared "When Elia probed my emotions. I said I could control them. That wasn"t a lie. And so was the fact that there were people that could do the same"

"The only difference is that I have to control my emotions to emulate my own" Layla"s expression darkened. She only had Arima"s memories. She couldn"t even start to wonder how his mind worked.

"Of course. I have emotions. No one can say he has no emotions and still be able to even talk. As long as you think; you feel. Anger and love… these are the two things which are always present for example" Arima paused "…I value my friends. But I don"t even know if it"s because I"ve altered my own emotions or not"

"Layla" Arima raised his head and smiled "I like you. But it"s impossible for me to love you since I don"t even know if I can genuinely do that anymore"

Layla breathed in "I don"t care" She uttered and Arima raised an eyebrow but smirked as he expected that "If what you say is true. Then I"ll just have to make you love me one way or another"

Arima chuckled "I suppose. The mix of Lilis" stubbornness and Lanya"s determination is really something"

"I"ll tell you this. Love is as simple as it is complicated. It is complex because you may never know why you feel it. It"s straightforward because it"s easy to fall in love. When someone has feelings for you. You just need to open your heart a little to do the same in return"

"As long as you know and understand that someone loves you. You will never be unfazed eternally" Arima stood up "If you are able to do that, even with me. It"s your win"

Layla smiled and stood up too "I know" She muttered and called her rapier and pointed it at Arima "But I will do it today"

Arima froze. He expected this conversation to end now but he was surprisingly taken off guard "…What"s your plan?"

"I want a duel" Layla smiled softly which contradicted with her words. Arima"s expression twitched "I won"t be asking for something so stupid as a deathmatch, of course. It"s only until one of us can"t fight anymore"

"But I"ll attack with the intention to kill" Layla declared and grinned "Because I perfectly know that I can"t beat you" She added and a silver-black aura appeared around her as she changed into her Dragonewt form.

Arima squinted his eyes as her aura pushed the vines and created ripples on the ocean above them. He waved his hand and grabbed Superore. He didn"t release his aura nor did even use his own draconic transformation "Fine, I accept your duel" He said and spun the gun in his hand.

Layla smiled as she was bathing in silver light "No" She voiced slowly and Arima was greatly confused "I don"t want to fight you like that. There"s no point"

"…You said it yourself. You can"t beat me. I don"t need to go further"

Layla shook her head "Not that. You can use any form you want. I just want you to fight me with your true nature"

Arima"s expression changed drastically. He stared at Layla for a few minutes then lifted his left hand. He covered his own face with his palm and fell silent. Even the air around seemed to turn heavier as his presence darkened.

Arima rubbed his face and took out his hand. Layla shivered again. She couldn"t help it. Lilis was the one who had given Elia her power to see emotions in the first place. She also could do the same. If that elf was here right now. She would"ve been frightened to death. Literally.

Layla was looking at Arima but she couldn"t see any color. She could see those colors/emotions at any time, every time. But now that she wasn"t seeing any, not even white, it made her extremely uncomfortable.

She couldn"t see Arima"s "color" anymore but instead, an even scarier thing occurred. She felt like something invisible was coming out of Arima to corrode her spirit.

The latter"s expression was far from friendly too. His entire face didn"t show any kind of emotions whatsoever. But the real problem was his eyes. They were full of darkness like they had been filled with ink. There was nothing left of the usual silver pupils. Even the light coming out of Layla"s body couldn"t even produce a reflect.

"Is that what you wanted?" His voice even sounded like he was speaking to a stranger. Layla even felt hurt but she nodded calmly.

"Yes"

"{d.a.m.nit… I"m supposed to be your dark part. Why am I scared of you?}" Malum complained. If you think about it. Elia wasn"t the only one who had noticed what Arima was hiding.

Chronepsis had noticed too. When they first met, the old dragon called Arima a "madman". The latter even made a little speech similar to the one he just made for Layla.

After Chronepsis, it was Evergreen. She called Arima "crazy". And even until this day, she kept a deep fear in her. That was because she had tried to probe Arima"s mind and memories and instead suffered a really big drawback.

"Here I go" Layla declared and kicked the ground. She appeared right in front of Arima and her rapier was pointing right at his head.

Arima"s eyes narrowed and he lifted Superore. He blocked the rapier with the frame and Layla seemed to have a strong grip as the blade didn"t deviate at all.

Arima reacted weakly. He just moved his finger and so did Layla. They both pressed the trigger and made their bullets clash.

****************************************

Night stopped eating his crepe and Karma had already done so a minute ago. They looked at each other and saw the other"s expression.

Night deeply sighed "I have to be honest. Even I am scared of that" He smiled wryly "Well, if even that Malum is intimidated, who wouldn"t?"

"{Of course}" Malum"s voice resounded in Night and Karma"s heads. He had isolated himself from Arima"s mind and managed to connect to the outside. He was a separate being from Arima after all. They had the same body, soul, and mana pool but their aura and spirit were different. So Malum could easily connect to the outside world. Even more when the two he wanted to talk with were bound to his soul.

"{But don"t be mistaken. I"m not scared just because he has a scary face and expression. I"m not like you}" Malum said and Night snickered "{I was right in the middle of it. Each time that guy kills… no, release his emotions, I feel so cold and alone that I even become terrified that something is going to eat me}"

"{I don"t like it say it like that, but I feel like a kid who just saw a really creepy hand sticking out from under his bed. And now I have to be absolutely silent and still…}"

Night didn"t even dare to laugh. That actually sounded pretty scary. But he also understood what Malum meant. He clicked his tongue and put the whole crepe in his mouth.

"{…Hey, can I take control of your body to eat one crepe? I never had the chance to taste something, as a spiritual being}"

"I refuse"

Malum grunted and asked Karma but the latter was eating everything on the menu to take Arima out of her head so she didn"t even talk back to him.

"{…Seriously just end your lover quarrel. I can"t even sleep as long as Arima is like that}" He uttered and decided to spend time by bothering Night.