36 Unexpected
With no attention on him whatsoever, Aaron had a clear view of everything on the tree, from where he kept watching along with Woof, ready to jump in if there was a need.
Most of his attention was on Edmond, as he had to wait for the signal.
The rest of it was on the deformed Tera, and as he saw it, a strange feeling welled up inside Aaron.
Curious, he asked Woof about it, and got the confirmation.
Indeed, this Tera was in constant pain.
From its expression and the way it was acting very aggressively, Aaron had felt that it looked a lot like a Bewitching Fox, or some other Tera which have been injured gravely and was in immense pain, but didn't want to go down without a fight.
Such a thing in a Tera which was obviously not injured was really weird, but Aaron thought back to what AA had just said.
Illegal inter-breeding of Teras.
He got a faint suspicion regarding what that might mean, and if it was what he was thinking, Aaron felt that it was just…wrong.
Maybe it was because he had seen many families of Teras where genuine emotions of love and care had been displayed, which might be torn apart to make something like this happen, as such an activity would require Teras to be captured and possibly tortured into doing what the perpetrators wanted. Or maybe it was just because he felt pity for the Tera in front of him.
Regardless, Aaron felt slight anger rise inside him which was directed at the cloaked man.
However, he controlled himself, as the man also gave him a feeling of danger that stopped him from entering a direct confrontation.
Meanwhile, after the statement from that man, the surroundings had quieted down while everyone seemed to be waiting for the fight to start.
Edmond only 'humphed' in reply, and pointed his right hand forward to make his Core appear and unleash his Bewitching Fox.
There was none of that flourish from before, which was a clear indication of just how serious he was.
This battle would apparently decide the fate of his father, and Aaron wanted him to win, too, because of the interest he had taken in this case, that had stemmed from the hobby he usually indulged in in the forest.
As soon as the small Bewitching Fox, which was barely the size of two fists put together, alighted on the battleground, leers and ridicule started to be heard from the audience, who pointed at it and laughed between themselves.
Edmond was unaffected by all these. He just waited confidently for the Fox to use its signature move, after which the opposing Tera would definitely fall asleep, just like the butterfly had done before.
Yet, even Aaron could tell that things might not be that simple, and, in fact, Edmond was also just wishing for that to happen, while ignoring the fear that it might not be the case.
The Fox looked around at the audience lazily, before focusing its eyes on the Tera in front of it, which was at least 4 times its size.
The large, deformed jaw of the dog with sharp, pointed teeth was quite a terrifying sight but the Fox wasn't too perturbed, as it, too, had gained a lot of confidence from its last fight.
So, not liking the atmosphere, it immediately released the pheromones it was famous for.
However, to the shock of both Edmond and to a lesser extent, Aaron, the Great Dane just stood there, growling, without being affected by all.
Both of them guessed that it might take time, but even though they waited, all they saw was the deformed Tera shaking its head once, before starting to circle around the Fox, ready to pounce.
This made the Bewitching Fox turn around and shoot a worried look in Edmond's direction, who was similarly clueless regarding what he was supposed to do.
Was this it? Were all his efforts going to go to waste? Should he surrender?
Before he could give an answer to any of these questions, the cloaked man spoke.
"Good try, boy. But this thing is already very adept at resisting sleep-inducing agents. I should know. I had to resort to knocking it out using a hammer after the drugs stopped working during my experiments."
The statement made a dark look pass across Aaron's face, while panic started to appear in Edmond.
However, before he could give any sort of command or even react in any way, the dog opened its mouth wide and lunged, ready to devour the cute little Fox.
Indeed, its mouth had opened wide enough to be able to swallow the Tera whole, and if it weren't for the agility of the Fox which allowed it to escape at the last moment, it might have departed from this world, already.
Still, the Fox had begun to shake with fear, as this was the first actual match it was going through.
Back when it had been with its family, it had always been protected and fed, even though all that ridicule had been present. Now, things were clearly different.
It had thought that battling was a piece of cake after seeing that butterfly plop to the ground helplessly, but here, as it watched the dog get ready to jump forward again, it began to get desperate.
It couldn't jump high enough to get out of the pit, so all it could do was dodge.
Hence, a game of cat-and-mouse ensued, with each dodge getting riskier and riskier, while the Fox got ever closer to being eaten in one go by the Great Dane.
A low, cold chuckle could be heard from the cloaked man, and the rest of the guards, including the Captain, were jeering and laughing uproariously, looking forward to the pit being soaked in blood once again.
Edmond's face had completely drained of blood. As he watched his Fox desperately escape each attack, his mind was blank, as he once again almost devolved into that same person in Aaron's room who had been ready to let the husky end it all.
Aaron, on the other hand, was still waiting for the signal to jump in. He had seen the speed of the dog, and he was pretty confident that Woof could take it on easily.
As for what they would do if all the guards attacked them too, he had no idea, but he was still ready to wade in as he knew that he could at least guarantee his own, and Woof's safety.
He expected Edmond to do something or the other to stop the fight, such as admitting defeat.
True, it was a cowardly action, but some times, it was best to retreat and restrategize.
Yet, he could never have expected what Edmond would do next.
Indeed, Edmond had been considering those options, while thinking that he could try again later.
Yet, he was reminded of two images that made him stop that thought in its tracks.
The first was of his father being tortured and screaming in pain.
The second…was of Aaron, making him promise that he would never be a coward again.
Getting an expression of determination, he was just going to try and figure out a gameplan, when he saw the Fox trip in panic.
It fell, and seeing the opportunity, the deformed Tera jumped once again, ready to finally see success.
At that moment, all other thoughts disappeared from Edmond's mind, and they were replaced by a single memory.
It was of the adorable, red-furred Fox finally making a "yap!" sound to tell him that it would fight for him, right after he had listed all the conditions.
He hadn't even known if it understood the conditions, as new-born Teras weren't supposed to be able to understand language, but he had tried to associate each statement with a feeling in his mind in order to convey it, just like he had been taught in class.
And when it had given its assent, he could clearly remember what he had felt through the link.
It had felt like...trust.
The kind of trust that should not be broken.
Without hesitation, he jumped forward and landed in front of the Fox.
It wasn't as heroic as he had imagined. In the process, his ankle took all the force and broke, causing him to scream with pain and topple to the ground.
At least, his objective had been achieved. The Great Dane's eyes left the Fox, and focused on him, who had much more meat to feast on.
It didn't care who it was going to eat. So, it once again lunged forward, and all Edmond could do was close his eyes and raise his hands to feebly offer resistance.
Of course, he realized that he hadn't thought it through.
It all happened too quickly for Aaron to do anything, either. All he could think of was that this guy was done, as those sharp teeth and that huge mouth approached to clamp down on his head.
At that moment, time seemed to freeze, as both of them waited for the inevitable demise of the guy who had become famous in Skystead Hamlet for promising his Tera that he would act as a match-maker for it.
