But no, time stop was still active.
With a confused expression, Gray slowly turned around. He froze in shock upon doing so.
There the dark haired guy was, crouched down and staring right at him.
"Oh~ That was close~" He muttered with an amused look hidden behind his mask.
Gray took a step back and raised his guard.
His head was spinning with all the questions he had. Another person who could stop time? Maybe abilities just didn't work on him? But he was frozen just a second ago.
What happened?
"That was dangerous, if it wasn't for my skill, you might have injured me really badly~"
Gray narrowed his eyes, he took In a deep breath and slowly let it out.
"Whoa~ Calm down tough guy, I'm not here to fight." He reassured him with a smile
He didn't know what this guy wanted or what he was looking for. But it was clear to him, he was was much more dangerous than he previously assumed.
"I just came here to give you a warning is all."
"Just say it." Said Gray with his guard still up.
The dark-haired guy sighed and got up. He looked around with a hint of curiosity before walking towards the edge of the Airship.
Gray watched, completely wary of his every move.
As he reached the end of the ship, he let out a surprised "Wow!"
He turned his head over to the birds frozen in the air in the distance, he then looked down at the ground where the people of the angel opposition corps were.
They too were frozen along with the monsters they were fighting.
It was a very far distance down, but the dark-haired guy could see it clearly.
He proceeded to turn back towards Gray and the grin on his mask returned.
"This ability of yours, I've never seen anything like it."
"That ability to freeze everything... To have control over time, I can see how you've defeated every opponent you've faced so far."
The longer he side-talked the sharper Gray's glare grew.
"You can unstop time now. Let's have a small chat."
"Keeping it active is tiring you isn't it?" He asked
Gray looked around.
"I'm good. Just get to the point."
The dark haired guy sighed once more.
"Alright~ I'm sure you're probably wondering how I can move right now."
"The truth is..."
'He's going to tell me just like that?' Gray wondered
"My ability is negate. I can negate any ability which comes into contact with my body."
[Negate.]
'Is he stupid? He'd tell me his ability just like that?'
"You're probably thinking I'm an idiot for telling you. But actually, It doesn't really matter."
The grin on the mask widened and he tilted his head to the side, looking right at Gray as he did so. "You wouldn't be able to do anything to me regardless of whether or not you knew."
"And besides, it's not my only ability, so don't bother making any funny moves~"
A vein bulged on the side of Gray's neck as he heard this. Although he was stronger than him, Gray wasn't frightened by him the thought of fighting him.
He was more concerned about Ruby getting caught in the fight which was why he wasn't making any hasty moves.
"Moving onto the warning..."
"Give up on this planet."
As he said those words, the playful tone he had been using had completely shifted into that of serious one.
"If you don't... You'll die."
The pressure placed on the way he said it only emphasised on just how dangerous it was.
"What... What makes you say that?" Gray asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"I'm sure you already know. Earth is a battlefield right now. For as long as the Labyrinths stay active, other races of other worlds will continue to try to invade this planet."
"You can fight them off, again and again. But they'll just continue to get stronger."
"Sure you will too. But what about those around you? Will they be able to survive under these conditions?"
Gray rubbed the back of his head.
"Then what if I clear all the Labyrinths?"
The dark-haired guy let out an amused giggle.
"The longer a Labyrinth stays active, the more powerful and irregular the monsters in them become."
"By that stage not only will the Labyrinth holes shift the surrounding environments and spread even more deaths
"Do you honestly think you can clear every Labyrinth before that happens?"
"That's..." Gray intervened.
"And while you're clearing the Labyrinths, who will hoard off the other races thirsting over the treasures of this world and the Labyrinth?"
Gray had nothing to say.
"Well~ This is just a warning. And I'm only telling you this because I've grown quite attached from watching you. I don't want you to drop dead and die just like that. The choice is still up to you."
"You're getting those closed to you involved. Is your connection and theirs to this world really worth it?"
"Either way it has nothing to do with me~ So, with all of that said... Bye!"
Gray stretched his arm out to stop him, but by then he was already gone.
[The flow of time resumes.]
Gray fell on his back, his muscles were all numb and unresponsive. He had used time stop for a little too long.
Whilst facing the sky Gray took in a deep breath and thought back on the words of the dark haired guy.
"Fuck... Why's everything have to be so complicated?"
"Just when everything is going right, there's always something else..."
"I'm so tired..."
Gray's eyelids slowly began to shut.
He was slowly dozing off to sleep.
After what felt like a short nap, Gray's eyes slowly opened again.
Couldn't remember what sort of dream he had, nor did he attempt to...
After all, the first thing he could see upon waking up was Ruby's long black hair resting over his head, and her face just above his.
Her eyes were closed and her face gradually drew closer.
*Kiss*
Upon just waking up, he could already feel the softness of her lips as they connected with his own.
He stayed quite not saying anything, his cheeks grew a visible flushed red as even he was caught off guard by it.
'...'
His heart was pounding, she wasn't pulling away.
Every second which passed felt like a minute, but lucky for him after another few short ones she finally pulled away.
"That's what you get for doing that to me in my dream..." She murmured.
She looked at his face, his eyes were shut and he was fast asleep.
Her face flushed red.
She then looked down over to his shorts and could see a visible bulge created by something waking up. Her face grew even redder before covering her face with her palms.
"And also for t-taking my f-first time too..."
She moved her fingers, creating just a small gap through her palms to see, only to get shocked upon doing so. The bulge was visibly growing beneath his shorts.
"E-Even in his sleep?" She questioned as she remembered his intense drive from last time.
She shook her head before getting up.
"C-Charlotte and the other fleets should be arriving soon... I-I should go prepare a signal to let them know we're here." She nodded.
Having convinced herself, Ruby did exactly that.
Gray on the other hand opened his eyes and looked down before sighing outwardly.
He gave his son a cheeky smile before looking back up at the sky.
It was still dark.
"If only everything was as simple as you..." He muttered to himself.
"Let's see here..." Ruby muttered as she rummaged through her things.
"Ah- Found it!"
She grabbed a small orange gem from the pile of other things she had in her pockets before pointing it up at the sky.
"Just a bit of energy..."
The gem began to glow and radiate a red light as Ruby supplied it with more and more internal energy.
It didn't take much until it was eventually full.
"And now..."
She pulled her arm back whilst holding it tightly before suddenly.
*SWOOSH!*
She swung her arm forward with all her power, letting go of it In the process. It was flung even further up into the skies, through the clouds above the Airship.
A few short seconds after, the small gem burst creating a bright red flare, almost lighting up the most of the top of the Airship in the process.
"The size is... Perfect!" Said Ruby with a proud smile before turning around.
"AH!" She shrieked after doing so.
There Gray was, standing behind her with a smile.
"Y-You... W-When did you?!"
"Oh, a while ago. I was just watching." Gray giggled with a smile.
"I-It's not funny! I almost had a heart attack!" She complained, tugging at him as she did so.
"Is it?" Gray asked as he tugged back.
He pulled her in as he leaned forward.
"Then... I'll give you another one."
"Wha-"
*Kiss*
Ruby was interrupted as their lips connected once more.
Her eyes glittered for a moment, before she closed them. She was confused at first, but didn't push him away.
With the light of the flare flashing over them, reminding them of the fireworks of the time when they first did it.
Gray made a further move, giving her ass a tight squeeze as he progressed the simple smooch further into a french kiss.
He wanted to take his mind off of all his worries, and at the same time, he wanted to listen to the desire in his heart.
What it wanted the most right now was...
Ruby.
