46 The City Lord(3)

Back in the room where Woof had been charged with watching Aaron's back, the husky was pissed off as it had been unable to stop something from happening to his partner.

As soon as this man had raised his hand, that thing inside it had caused some sort of being to appear in the room.

Woof had been able to sense that, but the creature hadn't even been visible, which led it to believe that it was probably of the type which they had encountered only once or twice during their journey.

Each time, though, they had had to flee as they had no means whatsoever to defend themselves from it. All they knew was that it was invincible, and that it was capable of draining any living being of all vitality if they stayed in its territory for a prolonged time.

Woof knew that the culprit was the man in front of it, as it had also been learning quickly since coming to this world. Adaptation was its strong suit, just like it was the case for most Teras, but that was more so the case with Woof due to everything it had been through.

It considered whether to leap forward and attack him, but it could tell that that might be a bad decision, as it had seen that leopard from before.

Its senses were much more acute than Aaron's, and hence, it had been able to tell right away that that Tera had been concealing its power. If it struck out, it would surely be so devastating that they might not be able to get away unscathed.

Besides, Woof could also tell that it was possible that the man could have even more Teras stuck inside its palm.

It currently had mixed feelings regarding these 'Cores'. It knew that Teras inside Cores could grow stronger, as it had seen the growth in that Fox even though it had been inside a Core for a limited time.

Of course, it didn't think too much on it, as it knew that whatever the case regarding it was, Aaron would tell it everything and they could take a decision together, just like they always did in most matters.

Right now, though, it decided that the best thing to do was watch carefully if what they had seen in the forest came true. If Aaron looked like he was being harmed, it would pounce and at least try to give him a moment which he could use to escape.

As for abandoning him…that thought didn't even cross its mind.

Woof didn't even have to turn around to check on Aaron. It kept looking at the old man menacingly while he smiled at it, and for a while, it looked like everything was normal.

However…after a few seconds, Aaron started to shake violently.

"Rrrrow! Rrrrrrra!"

As soon as it made these sounds which typically scared weaker Teras, though, the old man simply raised his hands and said, "He's all right. Don't panic. I don't want to hurt you. Just keep looking at him."

It could vaguely understand what the man was saying, as, over the years, Aaron often liked to speak out even if they were alone. He had used to say that saying things out loud kept him from being afraid that he would forget this language that was in his head, which he also treated as a clue regarding his origins.

And every time he did, he would send Woof what he meant using images and thoughts so that it would understand.

So, Woof turned around partway and kept observing Aaron, and after a few more seconds, when it saw him calm down and just lie there again, it turned its eyes back toward the old man.

Chuckling, the old man pulled a chair to himself from the table nearby that was situated to allow the light from the fireplace to fall on it so that any tasks such as reading or writing could be done easily.

Sitting down and putting one leg on top of each other, he looked at Woof with a pondering expression on his face.

Woof didn't like that look. Before it could make its displeasure known, though, the man spoke up.

"You're not normal, are you? Even the advanced AA I have can't scan your Potential. There can be only one reason behind that: you have a unique mutation even among your species. But…such a mutation can make a Tera stronger or weaker. I wonder which is the case with you?"

That other statement had been simpler, so Woof had understood it. This one, though…was a bit more complex, and it had to cock its head for a few moments before understanding a few bits and pieces.

The man was basically saying that it was unique?

Well, of course it was! It was Woof, the one and only Tera that had survived for so many years even in parts of the forest where all other Teras comparable to it had perished!

"Row ow ow roooow!"

It said the same, but, of course, the old man didn't understand it.

However, he did laugh and say, "Haha, I know that even you can't know the answer. It just makes your partner even more fascinating, though. The future…is going to be pretty damn interesting, I daresay."

…

Aaron finally woke up after an unknown amount of time, and when he opened his eyes and saw the old man and the familiar room, he heaved such a huge sigh of relief that Woof wondered what had happened.

True, he had been shaking during his sleep many, many times, but he would always get back to normal.

However, as soon as he woke up, Woof saw something that was the double the size of a man's head becoming visible around Aaron's head.

It was transparent, and it seemed to have multiple tentacles that were firmly latched around the base of Aaron's head.

It had no face. Above those tentacles was only a blob which squirmed repeatedly as each second passed, as if it was sucking something out of Aaron's head.

This nightmarish creature made Woof's eyes widen, but before it could even do anything, the creature unlatched itself in a flash and flew toward the old man.

It went to his palm, and with another flash, it disappeared into the Core.

So…that was the real form of the thing from before.

Woof worriedly looked at Aaron after seeing this, and it only relaxed after making sure that he was all right, even though he looked quite shaken.

He was drenched in sweat, and his face was completely white, as if he had seen something terrifying.

The old man's voice echoed in the room.

"Do you still want to kill the City Lord?"

In response, Aaron hurriedly shook his head.

46 times.

46 times, he had been placed in different scenarios around that huge domed Palace which was the resident of the City Lord.

And 46 times, he had been burned into ash by that Hellfire which didn't even leave anything of him behind.

Being immolated while alive was one of the most painful things that anyone could experience.

And he had had to experience it 46 damn times.

In every scenario, he even had Woof beside him, but both of them always died, without fail.

Each and every method was futile as the damn horse even seemed to be able to pass through walls by turning transparent.

The old man spoke again, explaining what the heck had just happened.

"What you saw was a recreation of my visit to the City Lord of Dreadvale City a few years ago. That Blazing HellHorse is one of his strongest Teras, and it always stands guard over him. Its an extremely rare dual-type Tera that is pretty much unrivaled in the range of its power level. He's also supposed to have an even stronger one, but no one knows which one that is. And of course, there will also be numerous guards who will be much stronger than you. The call is yours. What do you want to do?"