"Felix… wait," Aaron called out as he staggered to his feet. "I understand you must be angry at me for ditching you guys, but I can explain, and I'll do just that after I get Lady Morwen, okay? You just have to let me do this… please. Just this once, okay?" He said with a charming smile as he looked in their eyes, searching for approval.
If it had been any other of the S-Ranks, they might have fallen for it and let Aaron have his way. But he was unlucky to encounter Felix, who didn't give a shit, and Athenae, who didn't give two shits.
"You should've done that earlier," Felix replied flatly.
"Right? I know I fucked up—" Aaron was still speaking when Felix exchanged a glance with Athenae and they both nodded in understanding.
Athenae took the cue and made her way for the throne room—now a transformed boss room—through the broken wall, when Aaron flared up.
"Athenae!" He bellowed in rage as he took a step forward to grab her shoulder.
[OVERDEATH skill has been activated!]
[All your attributes have been temporarily increased by 120%!]
[You have leveled up! Lv2 >>> Lv3]
[You have been granted a 50% increase to all attributes for 60 Seconds!]
Felix wasn't going to let Aaron have his way. Utilizing the sudden burst of energy from the [Overdeath] skill, Felix went in for the kill to deliver a powerful blow to Aaron who didn't see the fist coming till it connected with his jaw. For a moment it felt like time had ceased to exist, before a sudden burst of wind ripped through the hallway from the impact and Aaron was sent flying and toppling over like a broken doll, before he hit a window at the far end of the hallway and fell over and out as it shattered with his momentum.
Athenae didn't wait around to know what had happened or what would happen next and instead charged into the boss room and at the nearest lich knight with her greatswords, going for the kill as she cleaved at it.
The undead knight parried her greatswords with its weapon and for a moment it looked like a stalemate, before it slowly began crumbling under the overwhelming strength of Athenae who skillfully deflected its weapon and cleaved it into a pile of rusted metals. And without stopping for a victory dance, she charged right for the next.
The plan was simple; she would go for Lady Morwen while Felix went for Aaron and made sure he wouldn't be a problem till the objective was achieved, then he'd come right back up to assist Athenae and take down Lady Morwen together as a team. And Felix was assured she wouldn't die on him, seeing how she took down the lich knights one after the other, as he could clearly read the Lady Morwen's info floating above her head with the [Appraisal] skill which read:
[Lady Morwen The Deathcaller | Lv4]
She was clearly nothing they had faced before and was on a whole new level to Sekolah The Maw Crusher. So Felix knew he had to end his fight with Aaron as soon as possible to assist Athenae with everything he had.
He quickly charged towards the broken window Aaron had fallen out from, and without halting his steps, he leapt out the window to meet Aaron, but instantly regretted that decision as only now had he realized they had been on the top floor and there was great distance from his current position to the courtyard below.
"Shit." Felix cursed as he flared his arms to stabilize himself in the air and to not topple over and land on his head—which wouldn't be a great way to die for a Sage.
He dropped to the bottom quicker than he'd expected. But to Felix's surprise, he didn't feel the sudden jolt of pain he had expected which would turn out to be the last feelings he'll feel for his leg, or the imbalance of having either of his leg major bones snap from the impact. He squarely landed on his feet, shooting his arms out instinctively to prevent himself from falling over at the sudden landing and ended up in a cat pose. Like he'd trained and practiced all his life for that very moment.
He calmly stood up, trying hard not to blush.
Aaron wasn't so lucky after falling out the window. He had a few twisted limbs here and there, and probably a lot broken bones on the inside. Internal bleeding couldn't be ruled out either seeing his state as he painfully staggered to his feet.
Surprisingly, Aaron began laughing. What began as a low chuckle transitioned to a maniacal cackle. When he suddenly stopped, looking Felix dead in the eyes.
"You know, I've always envied you…" He began with a hoarse voice.
"Uhh, here we go again. The villain monologue." Felix mused sarcastically. He always skipped this part which was usually a cutscene in the mmorpgs he played to jump right in to the epic battle.
"You always look the best at what you do without even trying. Unlike some of us who no matter how hard we try, we're never acknowledged and our efforts never appreciated…" Aaron trailed off as his mind seemed to drift off to painful memories.
But Felix didn't want to care. "Cut the crap and come at me."
The reason he'd always skipped the villain monologue cutscenes was because most villains weren't always evil from the start, and all had tragic backstories that made them the way they were. Some were even heroes once. And their actions were pretty much understandable as Felix knew within himself he might not turn out different if he were in their shoes. That, and because they were pretty much boring and he was always too impatient to listen through to jump right into the interesting part—the fight.
But this time was different. Aaron was a person. An actual human being and not an NPC from one of the many video games he's played. This time around, he wasn't willing to hear what Aaron had to say that might make him feel sorry or sad or affect his fighting capability with Aaron. He didn't want to hear something that would make him pause each time he was about to deliver a devastating strike because he didn't want to hurt him anymore than his past has—ha~. Felix chuckled within himself just at the thoughts of it.
He's seen that a lot in movies and it was always a big turn off for him. Now he was in the position of those heroes who he cursed in the movies each time they hesitated to end the villain because of their tragic back story, he wasn't willing to take his chances.
Aaron laughed again and looked at Felix with a smile creeping on his face.
"I actively searched for a dungeon even when they said it would be impossible for one to be on the Sage island, but who knows, and I was right—yet again. I'm always right, Felix.
I only brought you along to play it safe and for the glory of it; Aaron Walton leads a party of S-Ranks on a subjugation mission while on training. But I might've made a mistake by bringing you along, Felix… or not.
If I can't bring my father the head of a boss level threat to earn his approval, then I think bringing home the head of the mole amongst the Sage candidates—the pawn the underworld has carefully placed within the Sage circle after so many trials and errors—would please him even more. And then, and only then would he—and the world—FINALLY acknowledge me and my place in the Walton family." Aaron smiled delusionally as he pointed a finger at Felix.
"That pawn is you, Felix."