Six stood atop that roof in the dead of night. Two were on the ground, unconscious. Five hunters, four monsters. The tension built as the silence continued.
Aron was clearly waiting for them to make the first move.
"Terrence is right here." Joseph pointed out "Now move away from those two."
"If I move now then you'll just try to escape. Give him to me first."
"Let's compromise." Vert said "Both of you go at once."
It was obvious there was some plan but Aron couldn't find a reason to disagree, so he took a single step towards where Vert was pointing. Terrence followed. The pair slowly advanced to the point they'd intersect at, both feeling too tense to rush. The march came to an end with both less than a step away from the other.
Yet, Terrence was still afraid to look Aron in the eyes.
Aron raised his weapon, in the same way he had before. In less than a second he could end this.
Multiple knives buried into his side before he could bring it down. Aron turned to see Vert having thrown them, while everyone else rushed forwards. Terrence jumped out of range while he was distracted. Aron showed no reaction, he just turned to face the nearest opponent.
Demi swung his claws but was blocked and then countered by a round swing that hit his chest. Nargy dived in from above and swung with a tail swipe, which Aron matched with a swing of his great sword, causing both of them to be knocked backwards. Vrai made some claw swipes which were also blocked.
Aron immediately recognised the threat when Joseph drew near, observing him and waiting for him to start the same technique from before.
"Looks like he's expecting me to use the blade power. Which means that his focus is completely on me. Meaning… he's open."
As Aron blocked a normal slash, he suddenly felt a presence to his left. A punch was barely blocked. Vert immediately followed this with another. The repeated strikes continued, all hitting the same target, giving no opening for the target to counter. A few seconds later, he had no more room left. Vert didn't stop, delivering one final punch to knock him off the roof.
They should've been celebrating their victory, but a general feeling rang out among the group.
"Wasn't that too easy?"
Of course, it wasn't as though it was over just because they knocked him off the roof, so long as Aron was able to fight he'd keep hunting them down. But even the process of knocking him off this roof felt too simple. There was something missing compared to their previous encounters.
Joseph only finally understood what was going on when his aura alerted him to the danger.
It was a situation that was truly hopeless. No matter how fast he went, he couldn't save anyone other than himself. There was barely any time left, a matter of seconds. This was despair. He locked eyes with Nargy. It was less than an instant, but everything was communicated between them. The remainder of that instant passed in the time it took for Nargy to work out a solution.
He leapt up into the air, covering as much space as possible. The others were confused, while Joseph attempted to stop him in vain.
The explosions covered the entire sky above them.
Nargy crashed back down, heavily burnt.
"W-what happened!?" Terrence yelled in confusion.
It clicked for Vert "We thought his power could only hold one thing at once… that was way more than one just now, wasn't it?"
"What are you talking about?!"
"He held barrel bombs in the air above us with his aura. Then when he fell off, he let them drop on us, to try taking us all out. That's why he was so easy, he was just fighting like a normal human!"
Terrence was left speechless, but clearing up his confusion finally let him notice his surroundings.
Nargy was still on the ground, barely moving.
"Ahh… I see now." Joseph thought "What was all that trying to hold back shit I was on? It's simple, isn't it? You're just an existence that shouldn't be here. You shouldn't exist, so I have to fix that or you'll just do more damage. I'll destroy you. Every part of you. Until there's no trace left. That's the only way"
He turned to where Aron had fallen and jumped off, landing nearby. Aron could easily see how much the atmosphere around him had changed.
The two warriors prepared to fight until the end, neither side having a reason to hold back anymore.
Joseph found himself instantly frozen. He struggled with all his might, but was unable to move. Aron advanced quickly, but as he drew near Joseph suddenly felt he was able to move again.
Vrai came crashing through between them, knocking Aron away.
Joseph took the opening, pursuing Aron. Vrai followed behind him, Vert on her back, but Vrai had the main part of her body frozen in place which knocked Vert off.
This still left an opening for Joseph, his slash being barely blocked. Joseph followed up with another slash, the same result. Aron noticed a delay in the next slash and kicked at Joseph, the attack not being blocked at all. The aura powered attack was stopped, but Joseph still managed to barely hit Aron with a normal one.
Vert had recovered by this point, rushing Aron down. The punches were deflected, even from above.
While Aron stopped this, Joseph's relentless assault continued, almost unthinking.
Despite everything, the man wouldn't falter.
A powered up slash was barely stepped around, cutting through the very ground behind Aron. Vert threw a kick that connected with his spine, Vrai was suddenly unfrozen, immediately taking the opportunity to begin charging forwards.
Both Joseph and Vert made attacks, but both had their arms abruptly stopped before they could complete the moves. Vrai jumped over them and circled around Aron.
She rushed forwards, attempting to land claw swipes, but these were blocked. Aron then countered by swinging straight upwards, cutting through Vrai's chest.
Vert watched this, unable to do anything. She looked around for any options, which is when she noticed Joseph attempting to struggle against the aura, to the point where it looked like he was about to rip his own arms off.
"Hey, cut it out! You're just gonna injure yourself!"
Joseph continued anyways.
"Even if you get out what are you gonna do without arms? Headbutt him to death? At least think a little!"
Even when she pointed this out, Joseph took no notice. It was only then Vert realised that it wasn't that he was just ignoring her, he couldn't even hear her. Everything in his surroundings didn't exist except for his target, his sole focus. The rest of the world had disappeared for him, the only thing that matter was combat.
"That's… seriously frightening."
But, it seemed to be somewhat effective. Aron was slowly winning against Vert, but seemed to be struggling more with each passing moment, even as the fight remained the same.
It was a few dozen more seconds until Vert felt the aura shackling her break, allowing her to move again. At the same time, Vrai was hit with an attack to the head so heavy her horn chipped, she didn't move after hitting the ground.
Vert grimaced, but the vicious attack only made her more determined to win this battle. Joseph attempted another charge, but had his entire body frozen this time.
"That confirms it, then." Vert thought "He can probably only hold as much as his aura can cover, so that'd be the size of his own body. That's why he was only holding a part of Vrai in place. Right now it looks like he's completely frozen Joseph. Well he's pretty short, but that still means he's using at least most of his aura. So basically he's at the level of a normal human right now. Is that because he's afraid of what Joseph can do or because he's underestimating me? Well either way, time to make him regret it."
The assassin approached the warrior. Aron attempted to get the first attack, but this was rolled around before Vert threw some punches. These connected with Aron's side, knocked him back slightly but leaving an opening for another greatsword swing. Vert just about managed to avoid it, it barely grazed her.
She danced around Aron, landing punches in whatever openings he left. The difference in speed was enough to keep Vert alive, but the entire time she was painfully aware that a single direct hit from Aron would cause her loss.
The fight continued for a while longer, until Aron was left completely open after missing an attack. Rather than go for his body, Vert's punch was aimed at his arm. It connected, causing him to drop the sword in reaction. This was what Vert had been waiting for.
Before Aron could escape a punch was landed on his jaw, stunning him for a few seconds. Successive punches followed. Aron was knocked further and further backwards, unable to move. At the end of this, Vert paused slightly for an instant before going for a finisher. This was when she was frozen.
Joseph started to move again, but the fight had dragged the pair too far away for him to reach in time. Aron rolled to grab his sword. Vert felt herself able to move again, having already begun the move continued like it should've a few seconds earlier. But the target had disappeared. Before she could recover, she was slashed across the back.
"What a load of bullshit..." Was all she could murmur before hitting the ground.
Aron was barely able to recover before he was crashed into by Joseph, aiming straight for his throat. He raised his sword to block, but was still pushed back. Joseph was the first to break away, moving around and slashing upwards, barely dodged. Aron crashed his blade into the ground, just being stepped around.
They continued to clash for a while until both stepped back. Joseph charged his attack while Aron waited.
The attack cleaved through the ground once more. It grazed Aron but he mostly avoided it, then taking the slight opening to hit Joseph with the flat of his blade, knocking him away.
Joseph found himself again, this time on the ground.
Aron approached somewhat shakily, before preparing an attack.
Joseph saw all of this from what felt like an out of body. He was in that same location from before.
"Is there any way out of this?" He asked aloud.
"I can't see one." The not-David responded. "If we can't move, then there's no way to counter."
"I can't accept this. There's no way I can die here. There has to be some way out. I won't die here."
"You won't." Another voice spoke.
Joseph recognised something that vaguely resembled a man from his past.
"If you do, his acts will go forever unpunished. So fight. No matter what. That is your objective."
"Sure, sure. We'll do things yer way."
As Aron moved in to end his opponent, he was suddenly startled and moved away, completely losing focus on maintaining the aura.
Something resembling flames surrounded Joseph, burning anything that entered.
Once more Aron tried to freeze Joseph, but this time he felt himself being burnt, throwing off his focus and breaking the power quickly.
Aron had no idea how Joseph managed to do it, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he had to change tactics.
Joseph's attack was blocked once more. Aron tried to counter, but Joseph just took this opening to slash again. It was successful, but that was what Aron wanted from the start.
He reached to where he had been hit by throwing knives before and checked they were still intact. He then removed one and threw it straight at Joseph, who just barely dodged. Another one was thrown, this time deflected.
Aron grabbed the remaining three and chucked them. Joseph raised his sword again and felt something deflect. He lowered his guard in time for two more to connect with his chest.
It dawned on him too late that Aron froze the knives to delay their timing. Aron stepped forwards, but even in Joseph's agony he manged to dodge around and charge forwards.
He connected with Aron's shoulder using a stab, before driving him back. Aron went for a slash, knocking Joseph downwards. Joseph saw an opening and went for a stab, hitting Aron's stomach. Aron knocked him away with a kick.
Both recovered enough to stand up straight before simultaneously slashing at their opponent, knocking them both down.
The men stood up once more, ready to continue until only one remained.
Terrence still remained on that roof, unable to work out what to do.
Josh began to stir out of his unconsciousness.
Terrence turned to him, but the first thing he heard was "What are you still doing here?"
"...What do you mean?"
"...Is Aron still alive?"
"Yeah."
"The rest are fighting?"
"Yeah."
"Then… you should be escaping. Don't worry about us. You've gotta… run." Josh muttered that before passing out again.
This set something off in Terrence, though not what the injured Josh intended.
He watched the two men hack away at the other, finally focused.
The battle continued on, until both participants were distracted by the sound of something thumping into the ground.
Terrence got up slightly shakily, having hit the ground at a bad angle but having proven his point.
"I'm sick of this!" He yelled "Why are other people always deciding things for me? The village decided I'd be like you, you decided when I'd die, they decided I'm leaving here! And I always just went along with it because I was too scared to argue! But I'm done with that!"
Aron didn't show a reaction, but Terrence wasn't done.
"So while I'm done with being nice all the time I've gotta ask, what the hell is so great about you? Sure thing, you killed a Ukanlos one time, but that's it. Why'd they try to get me to be like you? Why'd they bend over backwards to just make me into a hunter way too early? You barely even qualify as my father! Why the hell was I taught to idolise someone who'd just ditch their kid in the mountains and run off for years!? Why the hell did I spend all that time wanting to meet someone who just wanted me dead!?"
Terrence took a deep breath.
"And now that I've finally found somewhere where I'm not forced into being like you, you just show up to chase me out!? To hell with that, you're the one who needs to get out! This is my place! If I leave it, then I'm gonna be nothing again! I'll fight with everything I have to stay here, I don't care how many bullshit powers you've got!"
Terrence pointed an arrow straight at Aron.
"I'm not you! And I'm not gonna be killed by you! And I'm not gonna run away from you! I'm gonna face against you head on, you shitty legend!"
Silence filled the darkness after the speech finished, Terrence catching his breath.
Joseph suddenly collapsed, the adrenaline that was still keeping him standing having worn off during the speech. Aron didn't even seem to take notice.
Demi landed next to Terrence.
"Are you gonna help me?"
Demi didn't make a sound, he just stared Aron down.
"...Thanks, Demi." The words of gratitude weren't loud enough for anyone other than the fanged beast to hear.
Terrence then drew his bow and got ready to fire at the opponent. Aron sheathed his sword, getting ready to close the distance. A moment's pause, while both prepared.
The final battle began.
Aron dashed towards Terrence, aiming to reach him as quickly as possible.
Terrence fired multiple arrows to intercept, these were quickly frozen. A moment later they were released, clattering to the ground. This still created a delay of a second, enough time for Demi to get into the air with Terrence on his back.
As Demi circled him countless arrows dropped from the sky. They were nothing more than a momentary distraction, able to be stopped in less than a second each.
Aron finished stopping the arrows and turned to see Demi swooping towards him. He quickly stopped the monster, but noticed that Terrence didn't fly off his back like expected.
All the wasted moments converged on the next attack. Three arrows shot at the same time raced through the air towards their target. Aron noticed, but didn't have enough time to dodge.
The first two struck Aron, the third blocked. Still holding Demi in place Aron now moved forwards again. Terrence continued to shoot arrows, but these were blocked by Aron as he ran forwards.
When he was close enough Aron swung downwards. The strike cleaved through the space where Terrence had been before he dodged out of the way, firing the shot that he'd been charging up. Aron wasn't able to block in time, but he quickly recovered.
A wide slash was barely ducked under, but ended up hitting the bow and sending it sliding across the ground. Aron followed this up by aiming for his sheath next. Finally, he charged an attack that would finish this battle.
Terrence didn't seem to be focused, he just glanced upwards. Aron noticed this, causing him to hesitate. Two arrows were frozen mid-air, just above his head.
It was only a moment later that he realised what this panicked counter had allowed, as Demi crashed into him.
The Kecha knocked the hunter away with a claw swipe, but Aron was able to dodge the fireball that followed.
Terrence leapt onto Demi's back as he pursued. The two sides clashed for a little while, Aron barely avoiding damage. As Demi went for another claw swing, his arm was suddenly frozen in place. Aron moved to counter, Terrence kicked off Demi's back.
Aron's attack connected, heavily injuring the monster, but he was too late to notice Terrence holding the two arrows that had been used for the arc shot before like daggers. He turned around, but both attacks stabbed into him.
The demon let out a yell of anger, before twisting around. The arrows broke and Terrence backed off. He then repeated his same attack from before, trying to get rid of the problem of the monster.
It connected, but at the same time Demi used his free claw to knock the sword away.
Aron, frustrated and unarmed, just resorted to using the aura to hold the distraction in place. He turned to his target, also unarmed.
The distance was closed instantly, Aron punching Terrence straight in the gut. Terrence responded with a punch to the face far less effective. He backed off, but this proved to be a mistake.
The difference in their sizes gave Aron the advantage in reach, he already had the advantage in strength.
Terrence's punches were unable to reach him from this distance, meaning he had to move closer. He could tell that he was outmatched, but he was the last one left, so he didn't have the option of surrender. The only area he had left to surpass the demon before him with was speed.
The outmatched one closed the distance between them again. A punch with enough force to knock him out was thrown but barely dodged, followed up by a quick jab before moving around, throwing some more.
Aron finally landed another punch that connected, knocking the wind out of Terrence. He stumbled backwards, but managed to stay on his feet, going for a kick.
This was blocked, Aron pushing him back. Terrence managed to punch his jaw, stunning him before going for a follow up. His hand was suddenly frozen in mid-air.
He still had more aura. With Demi injured, he didn't have to use it all this time. Just this slight amount was enough.
Terrence struggled but didn't have enough strength left. Aron used a kick of his own, breaking Terrence's free arm. A pained yell followed, but this wasn't the sign he was giving up. Terrence raised his body into the air using the hand stuck in place, throwing a kick that connected with Aron's face. The aura disappeared, dropping Terrence onto the ground.
Aron was still going, his eyes more furious than ever. He began beating Terrence before he could get up, using the aura to prevent any chance of him being able to fight back. Neither could tell how long the onslaught continued. Aron looked over at Terrence's face.
He expected an expression of terror or resignation. All he found was a look of determination. For the first time, the two's eyes met.
The stare caused a moment of hesitation, before Aron finally realised.
"Poison coating, huh…?" Was all that he muttered, before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
Terrence breathed slowly, barely conscious himself. He felt that he could move his arm again. Demi approached him, also barely moving. Terrence was helped off the floor by his companion.
"Looks like… this is our win, right?" He gave a tired smile.
Demi nodded, relieved.
Joseph woke up with a start, getting ready to attack. He saw the sunlight through the window.
"Looks like I'm too late."
Joseph dragged himself out of bed, which is when he spotted Nargy resting next to him. He rushed closer to check. Relief swept over him as the monster kept breathing.
The explosion had injured him badly, but at the very least he was still alive. So for now he just needed to rest.
"Still… that leaves the problem of where the hell that guy is now."
Joseph grabbed his sword and started to wander for a while.
He encountered Vert, also injured. Josh was also found. They checked Terrence's hut, but found nothing. This caused a great deal of worry as to what had happened while they were unconscious.
It was a few minutes of panicked rushing around until they found Terrence on a rooftop with Demi.
"Ah, what are all of you doing rushing around? You should be resting."
"What are you doing making us all worry!?"
"Oh… yeah good point, I guess you would assume the worst." He awkwardly laughed.
"Don't laugh it off" Vert pinched his cheeks in anger.
"Alright, I'll explain."
Terrence told them what happened until the point where they won against Aron.
"So then you took all of us back to our huts?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, though there was one thing first."
"What?"
"Aron got back up."
The others were stunned into silence over this, only broken by Joseph's confused "Fucking how?"
Terrence and Demi just watched as Aron slowly rose to his feet, they were paralysed.
His movements were slow, but they could hardly have been called frail.
The air was heavy with tension.
Aron took a deep breath. "I'm giving up on killing you."
"...What"
Aron turned to walk away.
"Wait, what do you mean? Why now?"
"Your eyes reminded me of your mother. So I finally properly remembered what stopped me before. I don't know if it'll work again. So please don't forget to never meet me again this time."
Terrence was too confused to even call him out for this. All he could do was stay there, leaning on Demi, as the demon limped out of his view.
"The rest is as you guessed." Terrence finished explaining.
"...Seriously, when's that piece of shit gonna express his emotions better?" Vert sighed.
"He can't have gone far, right? Let's just rip him apart." Suggested Joseph.
"That's way different from what you were saying before." Josh pointed out.
"We all change. Anyways, let's get on with it. He still has to pay for what he did to Nargy."
"This ending is fine." Terrence cut him off "If he's gone, then I don't care what happens to him."
Joseph took a few seconds to process this.
"Sure then. We'll go with that." Joseph eased off on the tense look from before "Still though, gotta add this last part. Good job on this one. Ya managed to defend what you wanted and ya finally got out of always idolising a piece a shit like that."
He rubbed Terrence's head affectionately.
"I'm still curious, though." Terrence wondered while this was happening.
"About what?"
"Why did he want to kill me? And why did he leave me alive for so long if he wanted me dead?"
There was no easy answer to this.
"Oi, aura expert. Ya got any idea?"
"There's no way of knowing for sure, right? From what I've seen, people usually get aura after they've lost something. So… maybe you were linked to that, somehow. As for why he kept you alive… who knows? I can't think of why at all."
"Good job, aura expert."
"I tried my best, it's not like I can do much with someone who speaks so little."
"Fair enough. I probably shouldn't be harsh considering ya almost died like the rest of us. Hmm, wanna go get some food? Almost dying always makes me hungry."
"I think you should really reconsider things when you've gotten used to almost dying in fights at this point." Vert pointed out as she started to follow.
"Can't help it. Dangerous things keep coming my way for whatever reason."
The conversation continued for a little while longer. Terrence was wrapped up in his thoughts.
"He mentioned my mother. What was she like? More importantly… did whatever I did have to do with her? Did I-"
"Oi, don't fall behind. The places are probably gonna be busy soon. We gotta get going."
"Oh, sorry." Terrence sped up, ignoring those thoughts for the time being. All he had to do for now was live in the moment he'd preserved.
Aron spotted the caravans he worked for, so he approached them. By now, he had recovered enough to walk normally.
The owner spotted him.
"Oh it's Aron, where have you bee- wait, how did you get covered in all that blood!?"
"Ah, this? ...I tripped."
The owner stared at him in disbelief that he even thought an excuse like that would work, but Aron took no notice of him, walking past and climbing into the caravan where he slept, passing out immediately.
By the time he woke up, the caravans were back on the road again.
He continued to rest, thinking back. The words he'd forgotten.
The woman was on the ground, heavily injured. Death was clearly nearby. This was the end of her life, nothing could change that anymore. But even so, she smiled. Her bright green eyes were determined.
Aron couldn't comprehend why.
"Sorry… even when we said all that about spending eternity together, I ended up… slipping up a little. I can't continue anymore, this is as far as I go."
"What are you apologising for? We need to get potions, something, just hold on."
"I'm not done yet, don't interrupt. You never listen to others, do you?" Her easygoing smile continued.
Aron's panic was uninterrupted.
"Terrence, you'll just have to live enough for both of us. And Aron… I need you to protect him. Please make sure he lives a long life. That's… my request..." Her words trailed away.
Aron could barely hear the words. Something else was affecting him. Clouding his thoughts.
By the time he was done with the Seregios, the force was seeking a new target. It was only then that those words took affect. Overpowered it. He stopped himself before destroying her wish.
But no matter how long he travelled, the force didn't disappear. Every day, it tried to make him act.
Having nowhere else to go, he returned to the village he came from. A peaceful life. But even when the boy grew enough to be able to talk, he had to avoid him. He could never face him properly. The moment he did, the desire to kill would threaten to take over. Even though he acknowledged it was incorrect, the part that still blamed him wouldn't fade.
One day, an unexpected situation appeared. He went up alone to face the Ukanlos, the village having no one else available. He just had to hold it off, but the moment he found himself face to face with the elder dragon he couldn't hold back anymore.
The result terrified him. Absolute destruction. It was clear to him. He couldn't stay around the boy anymore. Eventually, he would lose control. In the same way as on that mountain.
The only solution was to leave. So he did. The boy would eternally stay on those snowy mountains, out of his reach. All he had to do was wander forever.
But as he wandered, perhaps being so far away was what made him forget. Those words lost their power over him. All he had was a desire for revenge, but an even greater force preventing him from returning.
Under the weight of that desire, his mind warped over time. To the point where he'd take any chance he could get.
This is what led to that meeting.
The Aron of after that meeting sighed, watching the land slowly go by. He'd finally remembered the words, but his mind was still set on revenge. Still, it was enough for now. He wasn't going to return there. All he was going to do was continue to fight endless battles.
The caravan continued, taking him as far as possible from that city. That was best for everyone.
Aron sighed in reminiscence.
"...You really were always thinking about others, Juli."
TO BE CONTINUED