As much strength as Taylor put into her attack, Layla couldn't compare it to when Clark hit her.
She might have flailed in the air like a rag doll, but she didn't black out momentarily like when the Man of Steel punched her.
Forcing herself to stand up, ignoring the revolting pain from her bleeding right thigh, she spit blood out of her mouth.
She tightened her grip on her right dagger as she pushed it to her left, before fiercely bringing it to her right, forming a crescent moon.
Boom—!
Her small action broke all of the arrows coming out of Taylor's body, causing the Corrections Chief Officer to halt her actions due to an unknown fear.
'Did her eyes turn black there?! I must have been hallucinating!' she thought.
That being said, she didn't have time to continue thinking about such things, as in the very next second her body was split into two equal halves.
Whoosh—!
Taylor's eyes rolled around in disbelief, but in that moment Layla used both of her daggers to cut her into a thousand pieces.
"Get lost!" the prison guard shouted as her body shot out waves of water from the pieces that were still healing.
"Fuck shit!" Layla cursed as she got consumed by the waves of water.
She would have jumped up to hang onto the timber in the ceiling, but that would have given her opponent a thousand ways to injure her, as she would be wide open.
However, she didn't know that there was no way to escape from the Corrections Chief Officer's attacks, it made it easy for her to finish off Layla.
Taylor started losing her physical body as she turned into water. The moment she merged with the wave of water, she immediately gained control over it.
The water started shaping itself into a giant vase that violently touched the ceiling, making it difficult for the inmate to continue holding her breath.
Once the vase-like cage of water was finished, Layla found herself trapped and weakly looked at the puddle on the ground forming Taylor's body.
The prison guard smirked with crossed arms. "You really are something, little one. You are indeed fast, but no matter what you did, you couldn't have bitten me in any way."
Layla partially heard this, as the violent water currents in the vase made her stop holding her breath due to the intense pressure.
Taylor continued, "It was fun fighting you, but this is the end for you. Please go to a hell more cruel than this prison. I have to kill Xenogenisis, as ordered by the Vice Warden."
Layla got choked by the water and weakly stared at the woman in a silver latex battle suit walking away from her.
'I'm sunk in the water, cold, a faceless name
My voice silenced, my heart sunk in the cold waters
But in the darkness, I find my strength
A resolve that burns, a will to length
With nothing but shadows, I rise from the ground
My heart beats fierce, my spirit unbound
I won't be swept away, I won't be tamed
I'll rise against the wave, against the wave, against the wave
In the darkness, I find my home
A place where I am one, where I am unknown
I'll embrace the night, I'll wear its shade
For in its depths, I am the assassin, the darkness made.'
Layla didn't know if that song came from her heart or head, but as her eyes started seeing black similar to the ones dead people see, she found new strength coursing through her veins.
The Corrections Chief Officer was sure that she had finished off one of Encender's teammates and now had to take out the brains who had caused the small number of inmates to last this long against 7,800 prison guards.
However, that was all wishful thinking as the girl she engaged with wasn't done yet.
With the sound of the silent night, Taylor suddenly felt raindrops falling on top of her, and she couldn't help but turn back with a face contorted with confusion.
"Just what is going on?" she exclaimed in shock.
The water vase she had trapped the inmate in was shaking, as something similar to a whirlwind hit it from the inside.
Boom—!
At the end of that explosion sound, the water in the vase burst out forming rain that shrouded the whole hallway, giving a disadvantage to the prison guards who had a boost in speed, as the ground became more slippery.
However, that was not the reason why Taylor's eyes danced around like sausages being played with.
"When did you find time to dye your hair and eyes black?!"
Taylor knew that the young alien wasn't an ability user of any sort, as the Galactic Prison is built in Great Stone which chases away crystal bugs.
That being said, the transformation the inmate took was something that only someone bitten by a Golden Tortoise Beetle crystal bug should be able to do.
The now black-haired Layla smirked at the stunned prison guard. "I finally figured it out, how Tito was able to exchange kicks with you."
Taylor fake smiled with crossed arms. "Oh really now. Why don't you give it a shot then. A little makeup won—!"
She couldn't finish her words, as the pink-skinned girl appeared in front of her, aiming to slice off Taylor's neck with her right dagger in a horizontal swing.
Swish—!
The Corrections Chief Officer had to step back to dodge the attack, as she felt an unknown fear pumping up in her veins.
Layla couldn't help but smile as she played with her daggers in both hands while walking towards her opponent.
"I didn't know that someone with a body made out of water could sweat."
Taylor shrugged her off, knowing that killing this girl was the first priority before anything else.
"Huh, only someone about to die is as loud as you. This is the end!"
Roaring Water Tiger!!
Taylor clapped her hands and shot out a wave of water from her mouth. The moment it splashed on the ground, her physical body started to merge with it.
"Interesting," Layla complimented, looking at the roaring waves of water in front of her forming a giant tiger.
Roar—!
Taylor released a thunderous roar as she fiercely looked at the young alien with her menacing tiger eyes.
"Die!"
At the giant water tiger's declaration, Layla started spinning her twin daggers in both hands, forming a carousel, as she thought of her plan.
'Tito was able to exchange kicks with her because Taylor is weak to heat. Her side effect may turn her into water, but if she is slightly heated up she maintains her form, making it difficult for her to heal herself like other Zodiac ability users.
That bastard was holding back so he could save me from fighting Clark. He really can read minds.'
Layla unexpectedly smiled as she watched the large tiger claws a few feet away from her, ready to devour her.
Sjene režu ocean!!
In the blink of an eye, Layla appeared behind the giant tiger, before Taylor found herself split into two equal halves just like what Moses did to the Red Sea.
Boom—!