Chapter 197 Face Forwards

Kairos and Tiana looked at each other silently for a few moments. The purple figure that rose up behind Tiana tilted her head to the side, looking down at the two of them with a questioning gaze.

Kairos looked up to it and held his chin with his hand.

"It seems like you got yourself a new friend."

Tiana's eyebrow twitched. She similarly gave a glance at the thing above her with apprehensive eyes.

"I guess so."

Kairos blinked a few times.

"Maybe you can try talking to it?"

Tiana smiled bitterly before shaking her head.

"No, that thing can't talk."

Kairos raised his eyebrow and took another glance at it.

"And how do you know that?"

Tiana shrugged her shoulders.

"It's kinda just... a feeling."

Kairos continued staring at the purple figure for a few moments before looking down at her soon after.

"Then if you can just feel the changes why are you asking me about them?"

Tiana clicked her tongue and put her hands on her hips. The frown on her face made it look like she had just tasted something sour.

"I'm asking you because you were the one that did it!"

Kairos raised his hands in the air as a helpless smile formed on his face.

"Look, I don't know what I did, alright? It's a weird thing."

Tiana stared at him for a few moments with a stern expression, but after just a few seconds she dropped it along with a sigh.

"That's one weird ability you have, being able to access some sort of hidden part of the status panel."

Kairos rolled his eyes.

"I'd like to say that the weird purple thing coming out of your back is weirder."

The purple figure raised a fist and shook it at Kairos, as though mad at him. As for Tiana, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. A smirk formed on her face.

"Yeah, and you're the one that caused it to happen in the first place, so you're clearly weirder."

Kairos didn't respond immediately. He slowly raised a finger, then flicked it towards her.

"Ok fine, you've got a point there. But regardless, I really don't know what actually ended up happening. If you don't mind sharing, could you tell me?"

Tiana smiled bitterly.

"Well I don't understand all of it right now, but sure. There are a few things I feel like I can do. For starters..."

She got up out of her chair and reached a hand out to Kairos, placing it on his shoulder for a few moments. The purple figure behind Tiana looked a little reluctant, but it too ended up putting its hand on top of Tiana's.

Suddenly translucent purple energy began flowing down her arm and reached him, slowly coating his entire body. Once it covered him completely, Tiana pulled back with a confident expression.

Kairos didn't move most of the time. He slowly raised up his hand and looked at the purple coating around him, though it quickly faded away. However, while it disappeared visually, he could feel something lightly holding onto him. It was so light, that if he didn't focus he would probably forget about it.

However, he also had a feeling that he could call upon it.

"...What did you just do?"

Tiana let out a soft hum. Her eyes were quite bright.

"I think you should be able to summon something to help you fight. Can you try it? It should work."

Kairos thought for a moment before doing as she said. Then, surprisingly enough a purple figure rose from his back as well. It was noticeably less tall and also more transparent compared to Tiana's, but it was definitely the same.

Soon after, the figure detached from him and stood by his side.

Kairos observed it curiously.

"...How strong is it?"

Tiana tilted her head to the side with a finger on her chin.

"Why don't you try to arm wrestle it? I'd be quite surprised if you win though."

Kairos chuckled.

"I guess that's a quick and easy way to do it."

The purple figure didn't seem to need any further instructions. It simply got on one side of the table before getting on its knees and placing an elbow on the table. The hand it had raised looked rather gentle, yet Kairos couldn't help but feel pressure from it.

As he similarly got down into position, they wrapped their hands around each other. At that point, Kairos immediately could tell that he had already lost. Although the figure hadn't used any real force yet, he could feel the rather overwhelming strength of its casual grip.

Nicole thought to herself for a moment before reaching out a hand and placing it on top of both of their hands.

"Alright, first so that you don't break anything..."

The table suddenly shifted from wood into a lustrous black metal. From there, she smiled.

"Alright, when I let go, start!"

Tiana gave a countdown before releasing her hold. Kairos didn't hesitate in using his full strength at the start. Immediately, small hairline cracks formed on the table.

And Kairos was getting pushed back.

Sweat began pouring down from his forehead. He felt completely overwhelmed by this thing. He took a look at it, and from the way it looked, it was clear that the figure was just playing around. If it had a facial expression, there would be a teasing smile on its face.

Kairos smiled bitterly, but he didn't give up. As the adrenaline began settling in, his grip got a little stronger, enough to at least barely compete with the figure's current strength. Unfortunately, right after that, the purple figure suddenly increased its strength several times over, slamming Kairos' hand into the table, forming a miniature crater.

The purple figure pulled back while Kairos let out a sigh after shaking his arm a few times.

"Ok, I must admit this thing is definitely pretty strong."

Tiana smiled.

"I think it's more than just a strong brute too. It can even do spell casting! Er... well, at least I think they are spells. But that wouldn't make much sense because I didn't use any mana to create them."

She furrowed her brows after saying that.

"Eh? Wait but how did I even make them if I didn't use any mana."

Kairos cleared his throat.

"It may be because it's not an ability provided by the system, but one you just naturally have. Though just because it takes no mana, I wouldn't abuse it. Chances are, it will probably strain you if you overdo it."

Tiana slowly nodded.

"I guess that makes sense."

Kairos continued to look at the purple figure for a few moments.

"Honestly, it feels a little too human for me."

Tiana raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that a good thing? It has enough intelligence to think for itself."

Kairos smiled bitterly.

"Yes, but I don't really want something human-like wrapped around my body all the time."

Tiana rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh come on, stop complaining so much about it."

Kairos was about to respond, but then he felt something in his pocket vibrate. His expression froze as he reached to take it out. It was the blue stone.

"Hold on, I think those guys we are allied with are calling."

He channeled mana into the crystal, which revealed Edward's neutral face. His yellow hair appeared to be singed at the ends, and his face was covered in a decent amount of soot. The corner of Kairos' lip turned up.

"You don't look too good over there."

Edward gave a small nod. A rather loud explosion suddenly came from Edward's side, and the view shook violently. Yet, despite that, his expression didn't even change slightly.

"Currently, the military is attacking our town because they want to steal supplies."

Tiana walked around to Kairos and peeked over his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow while staring at Edward coldly.

"And you're saying that you want reinforcements?"

To both Kairos' and Tiana's surprise, Edward shook his head.

"Nah. I was just calling to let you know that if this is just part of the group, they may go to attack you guys as well. I'm sure that there might be a few losses on our side, but it will be insignificant."

Kairos narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Really? What if they have a few stronger combatants with them?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"I'd prefer to take a risk instead of owing any favors."

Kairos smirked.

"You act like you have to give your life or something. I'll just come over to provide a bit of support. Ah, also I'll be gone for roughly a month after this, so you'll have to talk to Tiana about these things."

Edward stared back for a good few seconds before eventually nodding.

"Alright then."

An explosion resounded from behind him, and with that Edward cut the call. Kairos let out a sigh.

"I'm going to go and help them out. It seems like things are more or less under control, so my help is probably more than enough."

Tiana let out a small sigh.

"Alright. I can help out as well I'm pretty sure."

Kairos raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have to take care of the city?"

Tiana smirked.

"I never said I needed to leave the city to help."

She stood up once more and tapped Kairos' forehead. A bright purple light emitted from his forehead before gradually dimming down.

"Now to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what it does, but it should be helpful."

Kairos stared back at her with a bitter smile.

"...That sounds so reassuring."

Tiana clicked her tongue and crossed her arms.

"Whatever! Just... go."

Kairos stood up promptly.

"On it."

As he made his way to the door, Tiana suddenly stood up.

"Wait."

Kairos turned back and saw that she was biting her bottom lip. Seeing that she wasn't saying anything, he sighed.

"I don't have all the time in the world, you know?"

A soft smile formed on Tiana's face.

"Sorry. Just... stay safe."

Kairos rolled his eyes.

"I can't do that even if I wanted to, but thanks anyway."

Tiana laughed.

"Ah, and also I'll give you a headstart too."

Kairos was about to open his mouth to ask what exactly she meant, but before he even could, he suddenly felt a strong force lurching him to the side.

The wall suddenly turned into a lustrous black metal and parted ways, while he was launched out on a strip of metal. His hair flapped wildly in the wind as he shot through the air. He shot a look back at the building.

Tiana mouthed the words goodbye, and Kairos was also able to see Nicole in one of the windows, staring at him with her mouth agape and tears in her eyes.

Then, he turned around and faced forwards.