Isn't Layla supposed to be the strongest? Why is she getting easily trounced by this Speedrun freak? Segato thought out loud.
"There's a possibility you haven't considered, Segato," Hubris chimed in.
Morning to you too, sleepy head. What is it, though? Although Segato couldn't see him, he sensed Hubris pointing at the magic circle from earlier. The clock had almost all 3 hands pointing upward. Only the quickly moving second hand had yet to point upward.
"She's been toying with Speedrun. That guy lost against Layla the moment she cast this magic spell. It's something her mother used, and not something belonging to her class. It's quite impressive that she learned this on her own," Hubris praised.
Okay but what does it do--
Segato's thoughts trailed off once he saw the clock drop off of the magic circle into the ground. Time completely came to a halt. Speedrun's eyes slowly widened in panic, but there was no time to react. There was no time at all. It seems his time has come to an end! The time for--
Okay, that's enough, Hubris. No more time puns... Okay, do one more.
I would, but we're out of time.
Classic.
"This is easily my victory. Do you know the reason why you are about to lose, Speedrun?" Layla confidently proclaimed. Her wounds started to quickly fade away as if they never happened. "You are too impatient. To overlook a delayed spell cast and let your emotions control you... maybe try defeating me in another millenia or 3." Speedrun's eyes slowly closed as his arms slowly moved to form a blocking pose. Layla didn't give him that luxury, and donkey kicked him through what was left of the pyramid. The resulting shockwave made time flow once more and Segato's body fly backwards.
"So? What classes do you think Speedrun and I are?" Layla asked, totally ignoring the massive line of destruction behind her.
"... Can I go home now? I think I changed my mind about living in this Super Universe," Segato moaned as he sat on a nearby rock. Layla "lightly" flicked his forehead and knocked him over.
Layla sighed, then responded with, "Something tells me that going home was never an option for you. I can't put my finger on it yet, but according to Hubris, your life before Flipside would have gotten disrupted. Who knows what you could have encountered instead." Her face softened as she added, "I know you probably doubt it, but this universe and Hooligan are much safer and more warm than other universes and Deities. Hooligan at least treats us like family, not pawns. The other Deities... People like us are nothing more than property or tools to them for getting whatever they desire. Although Hooligan isn't perfect, he is a Deity that (for the most part) hasn't forgotten his base desires. Take Speedrun as an example. He was a child sentenced to death just for spilling his original Deity's prized liquor by accident. Hooligan saved his life by taking him in."
Segato, now curious, inquired, "What about the other Dragons? What about you?"
Layla turned her face away in guilt as she replied back, "It isn't right for me to talk about the other Dragons, as they are more... 'sensitive' about this topic. I will tell you mine, but promise not to let anybody else know."
After taking a deep breath, Layla begun her tale.
"Hooligan tricked me, in my case. Or rather, the truth is that I let him trick me. Although he visited my house often when I was a little girl, my mother warned me to not get involved with him. I don't know what their relationship truly was, but he'd often come over to mess around with her as he does to this day with me. One day at sunset, my mom disappeared without a trace. Hooligan had come to visit her, and he went on a rampage once he found out about her disappearance. It was also my first time meeting Lancaster that day. Lancaster was sent by the Divine Council to kill Hooligan for rampaging on my home world. However, Lancaster spared Hooligan's life once Hooligan told him the truth. I was supposed to originally join Lancaster's universe, but I 'trusted' Hooligan to handle delivering those papers."
"You knew not to trust him but did. Why?" Segato asked.
"Which is more dangerous: an evil you know the limitations of but can't do much against, or an unknown evil that constantly has you on edge, despite having no way to defend yourself against it? I simply chose the lesser of 2 evils, which is definitely Hooligan. Something seemed off about how Lancaster appeared in the same day as Hooligan. It felt... staged. Lancaster hides the truth of everything within his darkness. He tends to lie by omission-- I've seen it. Hooligan, on the other hand... while he seems like a crazy kid who shouldn't be in power, he definitely doesn't lie. In fact, he is the type to honor promises."
"Wait. Why were you getting taken away in the first place--" Layla put 2 fingers up to Segato's lips.
"You're sweet, Segato. I can tell you already know the answer to both this and my original question, but are feigning ignorance for my sake. I want to hear you say them."
Segato took a deep sigh, then furrowed his brows.
"You're a Clockwork Child and Speedrun is a Lunatic Arc, right?" Layla started at Segato as if his face was a festering pile of shit. "Okay, fine, I'll guess for real. The thing that throws me off the most is that Speedrun is likely a Game Over, the enemy of the Deities. I guess he is pretending to be a Lunatic Arc so he doesn't get taken away, and I imagine I'llhave to ask him in private about it later. You seemingly possess the abilities of a Clockwork Child. Even if I ignore the blatant time ability you used, you demonstrated abilities that match up with that of a Lunatic Arc in the battle just now. You don't give off the vibe of one, though. Your aura is closer to that of a Demonic Artisan, but you also don't seem to match that, either. As for Sacred Wielder--"
Layla tossed Segato an orange orb. Segato blankly stared at it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked.
"The orb I have given you allows you to create a double of yourself. Ever heard of cloning yourself to handle multiple tasks? You're a smart kid. Figure out the best way to use it on your own," Layla explained.
"Also, while you got Speedrun's class correct, mine can be seen as a trick question. My mother is a Clockwork Child. I can just use some of her abilities, albeit I found out how to do this in recent years. My true class is Sacred Wielder. I don't believe in A Deity, though." Segato couldn't help but be confused at this revelation. Layla chuckled, before she said, "I have faith in universes that exist independently of Deities; that somebody from them will come free us from all the Deities. My mother also believed in such things, and I am sure that she is still fighting the good fight out there somewhere."
Segato's eyes widened as they met Layla's, and he felt he finally understood this woman. She would fight to her last breath to defy her predetermined fate, even if it meant believing in a hope that would never come. Segato's face briefly expressed annoyance at my lack of tact.
Maybe read the room more, Hubris. For her to believe in that faith so strongly could mean it actually exists. Come to think of it, what's going on with Speedrun? Segato thought. He had completely forgotten about the Dragon that had been literally blown away by Layla. To his surprise, he heard a howling laughter right next to him. Layla narrowed her eyes at Speedrun, who plopped down next to Segato and leaned on him.
"Thank you for playing with me, Layla. Man, you still hit like a monster! I truly never get bored with you!" Speedrun cheered while doing some exaggerated hand movements.
Segato could only deadpan at this weird man; he seemingly was unbothered about his attempt to kill Layla and vice-versa. Layla's miffed expression spoke volumes about how often this probably happens.
"Hold on, weren't you just trying to kill me? Are you bipolar or something?" Segato yelled while glaring at Speedrun. Speedrun shrugged while his laughter grew in strength.
He abruptly stopped laughing, and looked at Segato with a disappointed expression.
"I was only going to give you a scare, truthfully speaking. I am more or less surprised Layla went along with it." Layla guiltily turned away from Segato's leering, which confirmed his doubts to be pointless.
"I figured you wanted to intimidate your partner for the Potato Wars, but you definitely overdid your performance," Layla pointed out.
"At the same time, you weren't exactly treating me seriously, and you know how much I hate that!" Speedrun quickly retorted. Layla casually stared at him, and a tick mark could be seen on Speedrun's head. The tension finally drained out of Segato's body. Speedrun noticed this, and gave a small sigh of relief. "If you spent the rest of your time here trying to understand everything, it'd break you, newbie. Give it time, and you'll also be my sparring partner soon--" Segato vigorously shook his head. He would rather Speedrun kill him than risk fighting Speedrun on a regular basis.
"Just out of curiosity, since Layla wouldn't answer it in detail, why do powerful beings on par with Hooligan like yourselves serve him?" Segato asked Speedrun. The answer Speedrun gave was not the one he was expecting.
"I feel like there is a misunderstanding about things. The first being that you believe Hooligan is supposed to be as strong as us. The 10 Dragons are chosen for each specializing in something outside of combat. All of us just happen to be strong, but most of us got our positions for our advantages in other fields of work. Layla's abilities are great at architectural design, and I am usually in charge of transportation-- this includes anything won in the Potato Wars. Sometimes we might use our powers to do despicable acts if Hooligan asks for it... I am getting sidetracked from the initial point. We don't actually serve Hooligan. More like we all have partnered up with him towards several common goals. He serves as a way for us non-Deities to beat other Deities using their own systems against them. The freedom in Flipside is not something most Deities would ever allow, for example. Yet Hooligan makes use of loopholes to be ruler and owner without ever interfering. Hooligan promised me revenge for my people. I'm surprised Layla hasn't told you what he offered her after she became an adult--"
Layla scoffed before she uttered, "Speedrun, please go home before I tell her that you were here." Speedrun's face froze and instantly became pale.
He robotically rose up from his spot on the ground, before he whined, "Anything but her, Layla. I'd sooner give up my spot in the Potato Wars than deal with that damned succubus. At least when you try to kill me, I have the ability to bounce back from it..." Layla's expression towards Speedrun did not change as she pulled out a phone and started dialing on it. "To hell with this! I'm outta' here!" Speedrun yelled and then quickly ran off into the sunset. Segato sighed in relief. He realized after looking up at the sky that a lot of time had passed, and that it was getting late.
"I wish I had time to ask more questions, but. I need to get going. I'd rather avoid being late for meeting up with Mr. Sett. Stiil I would like to continue--"
" No, I agree with you. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but they'll need to wait. I can assure you, though... Hooligan isn't evil, nor your enemy," Layla interrupted. As he walked further away from her, Segato reviewed everything that was discussed.
"Hooligan isn't evil? That'd be quite the story. In my opinion, painting that guy in a good light would be a lie," Segato said to himself on the way over to Mr. Sett's castle. Although Segato didn't want to admit it, he felt he should at least consider Layla's opinion as being possible. It still brings about the question of something that kept bothering him about her story. Lancaster and Hooligan shouldn't have a reason to be allies only off of that event. "... the only thing that comes to my mind would be that the 2 actually have a common enemy that Layla is somehow not aware of. Perhaps this enemy is also enemies with whatever is going on with me, so Hooligan and Lancaster sought me out before I could get snuffed. What are the odds all of that could happen, right?"
[...]
"Hubris, something the matter? You went silent on me."
[...]
"Tch. Fine, I won't bother about pointless things I can't figure out. I'm almost at the castle. Anything I should be prepared for?"
[...]
"I'm just going to pretend you are resting until the dinner starts, then."