43 Aaron's Reasoning

Aaron had been caught by surprise when he heard the part about the City Lord even being capable of doing something like this out of mere boredom.

Of course, he had no idea regarding stories from before the Apocalypse, so he took Anissa's word regarding that matter.

He did understand the part about meddling with someone's mind, though.

Some of the deadliest predators that Aaron and Woof had come across employed something similar to this to catch their prey.

For example, a Demon Spider was capable of releasing a sweet scent that attracted innocent Teras into the web it would already weave to lie in wait.

Although this wasn't anywhere near as complex as manipulating one's mind in the way that had been mention by Anissa, it was still a case where a Tera caused a change in one's behaviour using some method.

That, in itself, was terrifying, and if it weren't for a few telltale signs that would enable one to see beforehand whether it was a trap by a Demon Spider, which could also spout wings to chase prey if it wanted to, Aaron and Woof would have long lost their lives.

So, Aaron could understand just how terrifying the Tera mentioned by Anissa must be, and this, in turn, made it quite clear that the City Lord was not someone to be messed with.

As for killing the family of those he 'played' with, it made sense, as Aaron had never seen any being with power in the forest that was gentle. All those Teras had used ruthless methods to reach their level in the jungle, and he expected the same from humans, even though he was ready to be proven wrong due to the speech by the Chief before.

However…that last part about him being killed, too, caused a dangerous light to shine in Aaron's eyes.

Being targeted by such a foe whom he couldn't even comprehend was no joke at all.

Initially, this had just been a casual hobby for Aaron, and he had just thought that he could separate himself from it whenever he wished.

Only, he now understood that he had become a part of something so dangerous inadvertendly, which gave him a completely new perspective regarding the human world.

It was unpredictable as f*ck.

However, that did not put Aaron in full-on regret mode. Faced with this situation, many would have lamented that they had done this without their knowledge, before subsequently vowing that they would never do anything similar.

Aaron was different. He knew that the best way to adapt and grow stronger…was to make mistakes, and survive. The lessons learned in the process would be the truth treasure that anyone could rely on to do whatever they wished.

So, right now, he looked at Edmond, trying to decide what to do.

The old man looked like he wanted to say something, but seeing the look in Aaron's eyes, Anissa silently raised her hand, as she wanted to see just what decision Aaron would make.

Would he abandon his friend and insist and distancing himself from this as much as possible?

Typically, a survivor from the jungle would do this, as their only instinct would be to survive, no matter what.

However…she already knew that Aaron was different, as he had an acquaintance as opposed to 99.99% of survivors out there who always began solitary journeys as they were typically incapable of trusting others.

So, she was very, very interested to see what would happen.

Meanwhile, Aaron really was considering the option that had just been thought about by Anissa.

He could decide to leave this, and run. After all, he owed nothing to Edmond. In fact, Edmond owed a lot to him, as he had both pardoned him even after he had tried to kidnap his best friend and only family in the world that he knew of, and had also helped him to catch a Tera with Rare Potential.

So, there would be no reason to even feel guilty if he chose this option.

In fact, in many situations where his 'hobby' of helping helpless Teras to find their families so that he could find joy in seeing something that he wished to accomplish by himself got too dangerous, he wouldn't hesitate to let it go and abandon the Teras to solve their own problems by themselves.

Yet…this felt different, and Aaron felt strongly that this was not the right option.

As he looked inside himself to try and find the reason, Aaron realised that it was simply because of cold, hard logic.

In the jungle, leaving a region would be enough to get rid of a threat from a predator Tera, as such Teras seldom left their territoties.

Only, here…he was dealing with a City Lord whose powers were unfathomable.

He had clearly been seen by all those guards, so it was a pipe dream to think that his involvement could be kept a secret.

So…like it or not, he was already knee deep in sh*t, and running away could result in him being targeted anyway. And in that case, he might be alone, instead of here where these two powerful individuals in front of him were ready to help.

Of course, he wasn't someone to cower behind someone more powerful and take their support, but he found nothing wrong in letting those more powerful shield him while he looked for ways to solve the situation by himself.

The way he saw it, if he stayed, there was a possibility that things might turn out well. He had some tricks up his sleeve, and he would have shields, too.

If he left, he would be alone, and he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be pursued and killed anyway, while being in a much worse position than the first case.

So…the best option was to stay.

As soon as he took this decision, he felt like glancing at Edmond for some reason, which made him wonder whether there might be some other reason, too.

However, on further thought…Nope, this guy was just a useless, dumb sack of sh*t.

So, turning around to look at Anissa, he spoke his mind, and caused a hush to fall over the room.

"I'll stay, and go with you, as I'm in danger now, too. I think the best thing to do is to kill him from the shadows. Can we do that? That is the only way to ensure that he will not be a threat later on."

As the old man and Anissa both stared at him as if he was crazy, Aaron wondered what was wrong.

Yes, he did hate indirect methods of dealing with a foe.

However…he was really not against using them when there was no other choice, and if this was the case, he could be more adept than anyone else.