The Grade 2 Aberrant (2)

As Shivan was running away, he had a feeling that he was doing something wrong. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt like there was a voice telling him to do something else.

If Shivan left Alexia to die, he felt like he would never be able to get rid of his dullness. His world would be forever monochrome.

Suddenly a large migraine attacked Shivan. A memory popped up in his head. He was much younger. He was holding something. He didn't know what, but it was making him cry.

The reason Shivan even attended the PCA was to get rid of this feeling. And he finally got a hint on how to.

It didn't matter if fighting the aberrant would result in his death. Remaining in this state for the rest of his life was a fate worse than death for him. Not that he held his life in high regard. 

"Arlo. I'm going back." Without waiting for Arlo's response, Shivan turned around and went towards the Bhalvach.

Arlo stood there stunned. He didn't know what to make of Shivan's action. On one hand, he didn't want to be the only one to run away. However, he was entrusted with Chloe and he knew he couldn't make a difference.

The conflicting thoughts raged on causing Arlo to be in a state of analysis paralysis. Eventually, he settled on moving back and watching the battle from afar

*** 

It had only been a few seconds, but it was clear Alexia was on the losing end. Even with her mana output skyrocketing, she couldn't keep up.

Her broken katana was getting even more battered from the constant hits of the aberrant, despite her reinforcement.

Shivan didn't jump in immediately. He would just get in the way. After 30 seconds, Alexia's katana was deflected and her guard was broken.

While Alexia was open, the Bhalvach was about to swing his paw to crush her. It was at this moment that Shivan acted.

Shivan leapt from the branch towards the aberrant. He brought his leg behind him as he prepared to land his attack.

He aimed at the neck and landed a devasting kick to the Bhalvach. The attack momentarily stunned it, causing it to miss its attack by an inch. 

Shivan landed nearby, his leg numb from the impact. Shivan had empowered that attack with everything he had. But it only resulted in placebo levels of damage.

"Shivan! What are you doing here?! Leave!" Alexia shouted upon seeing him.

"You can't force me to. I am staying and that's final." Shivan responded forcefully.

Alexia was taken aback by his response. Shivan wasn't like this. This was the first time he did something of his own volition.

"You're not the type to sacrifice yourself," Shivan commented while avoiding an attack. "Why?"

Alexia didn't respond immediately. She rushed forward towards the Bhalvach and swung. The katana was stopped by the hide as it failed to leave a mark.

Undeterred by her failed attack, she backflipped away from the incoming paw.

"Despite what you think, I do truly care about Chloe. She has the potential to achieve a lot. Far more than me."

Alexia then smiled. "Plus going out fighting is not so bad. This is the first time am truly feeling excitement in a battle."

Her grin widened. Her despite her wounds and the Boost destroying her body, she was enjoying this.

"Yeah, your tombstone is going to say: 'Died fighting a bear while on drugs'."

Shivan's response elicited a laugh from Alexia. "I didn't know you could make a joke. You're acting differently."

"Maybe."

Both Alexia and Shivan were changing. Shivan felt like he could finally see colour despite surrounding by darkness. Even though it may result in both their deaths, he couldn't let Alexia fight the aberrant alone.

The outer shell that was covering his deepest memories had gained a crack. In response to his will, his mana surged forth.

"You never planned on just stalling it. Right, Alexia?"

"Yeah. I was only going to for the kill." Alexia replied excitedly.

The two stood together facing an opponent that they couldn't possibly hope to defeat, unafraid of death. One was a broken human being and the other was a psycho.

"I'll take the lead," Alexia spoke as she dashed forward.

Shivan followed from behind. The main issue was that they couldn't damage the aberrant. If they couldn't hurt it, then there was no chance of killing it.

So Shivan's goal was to provide the opportunity for Alexia to land blows. With her empowered state, that was their only chance of victory.

The aberrant tried to swing its paws at Alexia, but she evaded the blow. Following up from behind, Shivan used {Thunderclap}. Though it was equivalent to a tickle, it lost track of Alexia for an instant.

She moved with intense speed. She twisted her body, using her gathered momentum to swing her katana at the leg joints.

A resounding shockwave was released at the point of impact. Despite, the force behind the blow, the attack did nothing.

No damage.

The attack's recoil travelled up Alexia's entire body, causing her to falter. But against a monstrosity such as the aberrant before them, faltering was a death sentence.

The Bhalvach seemed to smile before swinging its paw at Alexia. She tried to get away, but she was too slow. The attack clipped Alexia's body and a large chunk of the left side of her stomach was ripped off.

She crashed into a tree and she scrambled to get up. The wound was bad. She could feel the gap in her left side. Alexia immediately started manually controlling the blood flow in the body. Had it been a regular human, they would be dead.

"ALEXIA!"

Shivan tried to attack the aberrant from behind. However, the Bhalvach merely launched a mini laser blast from its horn.

Though it didn't hit, the dust blocked his vision. The exploding rubble cut into his skin as Shivan did his best to protect his face. Blood spilt from the many cuts on his body. His mana reinforcement did nothing to protect him.

But he had no time to check his body. That small amount of time was all the Bhalvach needed before it arrived in front of Alexia.

Shivan saw the aberrant charging up its laser, intending to wipe her body from the trace of the Earth.

He couldn't let that happen.

Moving as fast he could, Shivan leapt metres in the air, attempting to hit the Bhalvach while it was charging its attack.