Staring into the eyes of Aaron Grimstall, Cauron Thorn pursed his lips, the memories of years long past returning to him at once.
Taking a slow and steady breath, he gazed down at his missing arm and bloodied chest with a sad expression.
"Grimstall."
He forced the words out of his crimson lips regardless of the hot liquid oozing from within.
"We still have a job to do."
Closing his eyes and forcing himself up from the ground with the aid of the blond-haired boy, Cauron covered his chest in barriers.
They would prevent the blood loss from worsening; however, they would also prevent him from exerting any Divine Interference in what would soon come next.
"They still wish to destroy the seal. That, of course, cannot be allowed."
He summoned his hammer artifact into his hand while leaning against the stone wall to lessen the burden on his body, unable to move but able to act as a ranger.
"The most dangerous of the group is already on the verge of death, though, you must remember that the three guardians around her are at the level of a Commodore or higher."
Aaron paled, his grip on the sword tightening.
"With our combined efforts, we should be able to ward them off."
Smiling as he spoke, the 15-year-old boy began to move towards the center of the room, his blade dragging against the ground as he went.
He could not grip Penelope with both hands as his left was lying around on the floor somewhere in the chamber, so he was forced to either shrink the size of the blade or increase the amount of force he placed into his single arm.
There's only one real choice then.
Ocean's Bane shrunk to the size of a dagger, the very form he had been practicing with since before the tournament even began.
As he approached the middle of the room, he eyed the three figures cautiously, their own expression betraying wariness towards the boy.
Of course, they'd be wary of me… I just killed the illusion that was overpowering a Sea King.
Using the misplaced fear they now had for the boy, he stood beside the seal, his weapon glistening with countless reflections.
『Whatever you do, you mustn't touch the seal. It is of a similar structure and energy to a core, and therefore, it can be absorbed. With that amount of mana, you'd even restore your leg, but the absence of the seal would considerably strengthen a being worse than you could even imagine.』
The boy nodded grimly at the words of the woman inside his head, then took a jagged breath as his chest throbbed with the all too familiar pang of his lifeforce getting drained.
I need to make this quick… That egg is taking up the role of the Naelith now and is eating up my life…
Sighing, he took a proper stance while watching as one of the figures, a woman, approached him calmly.
"Step aside. I do not wish to slaughter a child, but if it is what is necessary, I will do as I must."
Octavia Herslon faced Aaron Grimstall with her solid metal staff in hand, not an ounce of mana flowing through its surface, yet still radiating overwhelming power.
The blond boy closed his eyes, listening to the sounds around him with careful and thorough focus.
Krk!
A rock moved, causing a slight clatter, his sword instantly shooting above his head and blocking a downward strike from the metal club.
Kicking his right leg out, he nearly struck the brown-haired woman's chest before she jumped backwards.
She's blind and can read me this easily!?
Feeling a drop in air pressure, he widened his eyes in surprise, leaping upward and watching as a surge of black flame erupted below.
The metallic screws inside his false leg groaned under the force exerted, the heat from the surrounding magma seemingly melting any piece that wasn't forged with the Apex's tooth.
FWOOSH!
A beam of orange light shot across the room, slamming into the woman before she could even react, sending her backwards.
She ground her teeth, sparks covering her form as her very lifeforce was eaten away by the Sea King who lay sprawled at the edge of the room.
Aaron grinned, already high in the air, before bouncing off the ceiling, aiming precisely at his target.
CLANG!
His sword met the steel staff, sparks flying everywhere as the friction began to melt away at the far weaker alloy of his opponent's weapon.
Gritting her teeth and chanting something under her breath, a burst of crimson flame spewed from her weapon, climbing up Ocean's Bane and towards his one good arm.
Analysing the attack quickly, he swung through, streaking alongside the edge of her staff while backing up before the fire could wreak havoc on his body.
Taking a heavy breath, the two once again waited for the other to make a move, the eerie silence filling the cavern.
Scanning the region around her for anything that he could use to his advantage, Aaron noticed that the tiny girl with white hair who was being tended to by the other two men was now alone.
Then that means…
He barely had time to react as a fist flew towards his head, quickly discarding Penelope to guard his skull with his remaining arm.
BOOM!
The force tore through him, but before he had time to fix his balance, yet another attack slammed into him from the back, below the waist, and with a far stronger impact.
Blood sprinkled from his lips as he collided with a stalagmite, the large rock crumbling and nearly burying him in debris.
"Hrrk!"
He groaned as he stood, his eyes darting around to where he saw a dark-skinned man with purple hair wiping his fist on his suit pants.
Beside him was the blind woman who shook her head with a sorry look upon her face, an occasional twitch of orange lightning coursing through her.
Finally, a man with long brown hair and crimson eyes looked at the boy with a murderous intent so vast that it could even rival a mid-level terror.
T-this isn't what I signed up for…
Taking a hard breath, he summoned his sword back to his one working hand, the gentle hum of the god-slaying steel echoing through the cavern.
The three members of the Seven Head Order sensed it too, a power with the potential to rival even the deities.
Yet, no longer were they afraid, for they had realized that this boy was nowhere near proficient enough to wield such strength.
And therefore, he would die alongside the wounded Sea King, and they would accomplish their goal— the seal's destruction—while also eliminating one of the biggest threats to their organization.
Before Aaron could blink, they had vanished from sight, all preparing to strike him from various angles again, without leaving him even a slight opening for defense.
His expression tensed as he crouched down, interlocking the gears of his metallic leg into a high-powered spring.
CREAKKKK!
The moment before his head would've been struck with a boulder the size of a horse, he leaped, his form flying upward like a dove in the wind.
『Eden』
As the three members of the order traced the blond boy's path towards the rugged ceiling, their pitch-black flames aimed and ready to fire, a burst of greenery shot out into the world.
Vines as thick as a grown man's thigh tore out from the soil, which now sizzled with fertility, binding the blind woman where she stood.
Another attempted to wrap around Portman's neck; however, with a single cleave of his fist, the twisting coils burst into a rain of mushy green flesh and juice that smelled of grass.
The only one spared from the onslaught of the seemingly sentient vegetation was Zarethul, the seventh head of the order, who was adept enough with his flames to burn away any of the coiling vines before they could even get close to him.
Without any hesitation, he leaped from surface to surface, chasing the blond boy around in an endless circle.
Cauron watched helplessly from the corner as he siphoned off his own lifeforce to craft intricate spells that could only seek to restrain the other two.
Magma bubbled, and the seal surged with energy as the two rushed throughout the cavern in a cycle of fight and flight.
Dammit! How much farther do I have to go before he lets up!? …if running ain't working, there's always another way!
Aaron launched off a stalactite, dropping it from the ceiling and using the gained momentum to abruptly change directions, heading straight towards his pursuer.
The crimson-eyed man frowned at the sight of his prey now coming towards him willingly, suspicious yet not shaken.
Falling towards the ground, he watched as the boy soared through the air, hand wrapped tightly around his god-slaying blade that was aimed straight at the elite's face.
「Burn」
A wall of black flame erupted in front of the man as the turquoise-eyed boy was about to make contact, his body instantly engulfed in the deadly fire.
Yet it wasn't over so easily, for the wall of flames was abruptly split apart by Ocean's Bane, its edge gleaming amidst the inferno and passing within a hair's breadth of Zarethul's throat.
Launching a spree of gray-lightning, Zarethul bombarded the spot where the boy had last stood with as many attacks as he could muster.
Each one, however, was rendered into nothingness by that sword, the child emerging from the flames, slightly charred and still missing an arm, but not in a critical condition.
His bloody hand was completely cauterized from the heat, the rest of his flesh covered in a microscopic layer of water seemingly conjured from nowhere.
Furrowing his brow in disbelief, the elite prepared his counterattack, while an unnerving feeling entered his chest, not vanishing for a moment.
He's just a kid! This is absurd!
Regardless of his age, the boy moved with unusual seriousness, his turquoise eyes hiding something far darker than the man could ever know.
As he prepared to engage in a close-range battle against the boy's dagger, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.
"Zarethul. Is one child too difficult for you to kill?"
Portman slammed his fist into Zarethul's chest, the air leaving his lungs before he could react.
"Don't torment him, Portman. He's a greenhorn, unlike you or me. After Sylvia's, Adam's, and Arianna's deaths in Sea Fallen, there is a need for the strong."
She turned her scarred face towards Aaron Grimstall, a child who eyed her with utter disgust.
"Perhaps you would like a spot in the Order? I'm sure our lord would welcome you with open arms~!"
Octavia addressed the boy cheerfully, the vision of him clenching his teeth in rage appearing inside her finely tuned mind.
"Enough."
Portman silenced the woman, stretching his knuckles, which began to crack in a horrifying way that filled the chamber with sickening noises.
Dark skin peeled back, revealing pure white bone, and the man reached out one hand to tug at it.
The sound of muscle tearing and the smell of sharp iron overwhelmed Aaron's senses, freezing him in his place as the man removed his own radius bone.
"Much better."
Unlike normal bone, the side of what he had just brutally pulled out of his flesh was sharpened to perfection, the edge so fine that paper would be cut just by falling onto it.
The boy took a step back, realizing the position he was now in.
Shooting a glance towards Cauron Thorn, he noticed the orange-haired man's hand was outstretched, attempting to help, yet no mana was coming forth.
H-he's out of mana!?
Gripping Penelope tighter within his hand, he heard her unsure voice echo throughout his head, urging him to retreat.
But as he looked beside him at the pulsating seal that resided in the middle of the room, he felt a familiar presence rush through his body.
No… If that's broken…
His nightmares haunted his consciousness, the mere memory of that man, no, that creature, left him with a deep, sinking sensation buried within him.
Not only that, but the people who stood before him were certainly the allies of the ones who invaded Sea Fallen, and by proxy, the underlings of someone whom Aaron hated to the core of his heart.
If they work for Azaroth—
The entire room shifted, a cold sensation filling every nook and crevice of the cavern like a sudden blow of wind.
The trio of elites stilled, and Cauron Thorn, sitting in the back, showed a look of anger very unlike his composed self.
"We really must leave…"
Aaron's head whipped upward, and he spotted a small ledge where a medium-sized figure sat in a relaxed pose, one leg crossed over the other.
He wore a black suit and a red tie, a black beard covering his chin with a perfectly trimmed edge that could make any beautician jealous.
On his head, a black top hat was placed upon two odd stumps that the boy couldn't quite make out, tempted to activate his Mana Vision to get a better look.
Yet as he went to tap his temple, he felt a warning sensation shoot through him, the deity inside his head putting a stop to his attempt.
Penelope went silent, her attention focused on the man who gazed only at the boy and his sword.
"Aaron Grimstall… What a coincidence!"
He jumped from the edge, landing only meters away from where Aaron stood, forcing the blond boy into a guarded stance.
There was no doubt in his mind now that he looked upon the black-haired man in all his splendor, the very way he spoke reminding him of his resolve.
Without hurry, the man moved to place his hand onto the brim of his tophat, his head bending down as he did so.
"Azaroth Pane, pleased to meet you."
Two curling horns resembling those of a goat bulged from his skull, a pure white smile stricken across his face.
The Sovereign of Chains and the one who destroyed Sea Fallen, leading to the deaths of thousands, now stood before him, Aaron's very essence being corrupted as the seconds burned on.