37 Regrettable
Right when Edmond's head was barely an inch away from the maw of the deformed Tera, Aaron felt something which made him look up into the sky.
That was when he realized that Woof had already started to send him thoughts, asking him to do the same thing, while it growled in that direction.
As for the audience, the Captain and the cloaked man who were all waiting for the bloodfest to commence, they didn't notice anything until it was too late.
With a sound that was reminiscent of what he had heard when that Weapons Wielder during the orientation had used his Energy Gun, a bolt of lightning struck down from that spot in the sky, resulting in a flash that made many close their eyes despite the fact that it was broad daylight.
When they opened them, the sight in front of their eyes made them take a few steps back and drop their jaws with disbelief.
That was because instead of having his head bitten off, Edmond was still on the ground, with his eyes closed as he had been closest to the flash.
Right in front of him was the motionless Great Dane whose head had a smoking hole surrounded by scorch marks.
Also, on the ground in front of Edmond, there was another scorch mark, as if that was where the lightning had struck the ground after passing through the brain of the Tera that had been about to kill him.
What was this? Divine intervention?
As the smell of burning flesh wafted through the air, this question appeared in the minds of a few of the audience who were believers in religion.
Yet, a "Screech!" made them looked up, as they received their answer.
Of course, Aaron and Woof had already seen the source, and they were now eyeing it cautiously, wondering what sort of intention it had.
It was a large bird that was quite high up in the air, meaning that its features weren't very visible to those on the ground, but with each passing second, it came closer and closer until they soon realized what it was.
It was a gigantic eagle, and as Aaron saw it, he was reminded of the statue that he had seen when they had exited the path to view the town for the first time.
Yet, that wasn't even the most shocking thing.
No, that honor belonged to the fact that there was actually a humanoid figure on that eagle, whose head was tilted down while they observed the pit and everyone around it.
Everyone was transfixed by this sight of the magnificent bird whose grey feathers and yellow beak shone in the sun.
There were distinctive streaks of yellow in its wings, which actually gave an even more menacing atmosphere to this already terrifying bird.
The cloaked man was the first to respond.
Sensing movement, Aaron had just turned his sight to the pit to find that that man had begun to run frantically in the direction that he had come from.
In the process, he held out his palm, making a four-legged Tera that was double his height appear in front of him, running, on which he jumped on and accelerated instantly.
Today looked like it was going to be a day of surprises, as Aaron had already witnessed such an incredible feat of accuracy and power from that eagle, and now, he and Woof saw the fastest Tera in their lives.
This four-legged Tera's instant acceleration from its powerfully built legs would definitely allow it to escape easily no matter what Tera it came across in the forest that Aaron and Woof had lived in for so long. In fact, even that bear, which was their main nemesis and the most powerful predator in that forest, would be helpless in front of this.
Yet, before it could escape the area of the pit, another Tera appeared in its way right in front of it.
This was one that Aaron was slightly familiar with, but it was different than what he remembered.
It looked like a typical Four-Armed Gorilla, but it was larger than any that he and Woof had ever seen. It stood at least 3 meters tall, towering over all, and in its hand was some sort of large, metallic, rectangular object.
Shield! Yes, it was a shield.
As soon as it came into Aaron's view, it didn't just stand there. It charged forward, and because it had appeared unexpectedly, the cloaked man and his Tera had no opportunity to change direction.
Bang!
With a loud sound that was accompanied by the distinctive one of bones breaking, the man and his Tera with blown backward by the shield.
They flew in the air and thudded to the ground, before skidding back for a few moments and finally coming to rest right near the pit.
The audience had already cleared out the area, giving these two awe-inspiring Teras a wide berth.
As Aaron looked at the shield again, he saw that a deep dent had appeared on it, and there were even bloodstains which were definitely from the Tera.
As for the cloaked man, it seemed that he was pretty unlucky, as he was actually pinned under his Tera right now. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't extricate himself, and with desperation, he was just about to hold out his palm again, but he was stopped when a foot stamped on the back of his hand as he held it aloft, making him scream with pain while Aaron heard light 'crack', meaning that more bones were being broken.
That foot had crushed the palm under it on the ground, so all of the fingers of the cloaked man were bent in strange angles while the one who had done it stepped back and put her hands on her waist, with a smile on her face.
Indeed, it was a woman, and she was more unique than anyone Aaron had seen since walking out of the forest.
She was the one who had alighted from the eagle even before it landed on the ground, jumping forward athletically before unhesitatingly running toward the cloaked man and doing this action which now rendered him helpless, as he could no longer move his palm at all.
Aaron immediately understood why she had done this – the Core was basically like an additional part of the body, which was present in one's hand. If one lost control of their hand, or if the Core was stuck inside their body due to the other bones of the fingers being broken and obstructing its path, then they would have no way to let it come out so that they could unleash the Tera stored inside.
Smart. Ruthless, and smart.
She was wearing tight clothes made of a material which made Aaron remember the word "leather", and she was more fleshed out in certain areas than any woman Aaron had seen in Skystead Hamlet.
She was slim, yet she had lean muscle which was definitely the reason behind her athleticism.
From Aaron's angle, he could see that her features were also unique – she had large eyes, high cheekbones, a pointed nose and a sharp chain with luscious lips.
All in all, she was someone that no one would be able to forget after they saw her.
Of course, Aaron only felt that she was unique, and decided to remember her anyway, but apart from that, his attention was mostly on the eagle, which was looking around wearily.
When it stood, it was at least 3.5 meters tall, and when it had landed, Aaron had observed its wingspan which must at least be double its height.
It had a sharp beak and even sharper claws, which looked like they could tear apart anything it wished, but its most distinctive feature was that occasionally, crackles of electricity would appear on the surface of its body.
The feeling of danger that Aaron got from it made his hair stand on end.
Woof was also silently assessing this Tera, and probably planning out how they should go about fighting it, if they needed to.
As for the Gorilla, it had already been recalled by a man who was very thin, and even looked quite sickly with a very pale face.
With a low chuckle, the woman spoke.
"Ha ha, these AAs are already showing their worth. I should really thank the one who finally allowed me to catch you."
The cloaked man responded after spitting out some blood.
He was still trying to force himself out from under the Tera, so he was panting while he spoke.
"You bitch! You'll pay for this! You'll pay! Mark my words!"
This made the woman raise an eyebrow, and at this moment, Aaron actually got an even more dangerous feeling from her than from the eagle.
"Oh? I doubt that. You see, this is the new Epic level Tera that I recently bonded with. So, it's not fully under my control. It's really regrettable, you know."
Saying so, the woman turned around and began to walk towards the eagle, before reaching it and patting it on the feathers of its neck.
As the cloaked man's eyes widened, he seemed to realize something.
"No! You wouldn't dare! They wouldn't let you go! I swear I'll stop! Just…gaarghh!"
The man spoke no more, as the eagle had casually flipped one wing in a motion that was so fast that one would miss it if they blinked their eyes, causing a sharp feather the size of a palm to fly forward accurately and impale the man in his chest – right where his heart was.
As blood welled up in his mouth, making him choke on it, the woman turned in Aaron's direction and met his eyes.
