The Flames Of Death

Aaron lifted his hand into the air, a blue ball of energy appearing in his hand. This was him using his Pure Mana Creation ability that he had unlocked. "Back off, kids. Your parent is in a little bit of trouble." Aaron told them, firing off a blast of blue mana at the descending creatures, numbering the hundreds. Their screams were quickly cut off, and this caused visible distress to the monster. Her body spasmed backwards, and a smile flourished on Soul's face which an expression of disgust appeared on Aaron's, the mana blast having killed all of the present treehuggers. "Oh, I see. So you feel physical pain in response to the pain of those you're connected to. No wonder you don't want to watch or feel any of them die. Such an exploitable weakness, though." Soul commented, drawing a look of icy tension from the woman. "Oh yeah? What do you know about pain, huh?" She yelled at him, Aaron unsheathing Tsuyukagiri at a speed that made him look like he had instantly pulled the sword from its sheath. The point of the blade lay on her neck, poking it slightly. "I know what you're on about. He causes pain, and I have too. However, I also am in such a situation as yours. I do not want people to unnecessarily die. It's needless suffering." Aaron told her, pulling the sword away from her throat.

"Aaron, don't try and relate to the villain. The only truly evil person you should be all buddy-buddy with is me since I AM you." Soul told Aaron, but he didn't listen. Aaron bent down, extending a hand out to the woman. "I can help you overcome your weakness and make it so that you never have to watch anyone you hold dear fall prey to the clutches of death." Aaron offered her, the monster contemplating his offer for a second before taking his hand. However, the second she took grasp of Aaron's palm, he was set alight by bright red fire, the monster thinking she could get away with it. However, much to her surprise, Aaron's body did not burn, and he did not scream. He just kept her hand held tight, the flames increasing in temperature as she tried to pull her hand away. "When you have as much power as we do, heat like this become entirely meaningless," Aaron told her, watching as the skin on her palm melted into his own, a smile appearing on Soul's face as she screamed. Aaron's face remained neutral as she writhed in pain. It was like he was melancholic about the situation she was in. "You're only alive right now because of me." Soul informed her, causing the woman to look towards her feet as black, spiky fluid crawled up them. The flames slowly began to turn a blue hue, Aaron watching as parts of her skin melted away from the bones that supported it. "You only have one more chance to accept my deal and join us. You could be a useful ally. Top of the range stuff, you know? You would be able to create as many of your 'children' as you wanted without the pain of feeling them die." Aaron told her, trying to convince her about the positives of joining him and Soul.

The monster tried to spit at him amidst her screaming, but the spit was immediately dissolved. As her vocal cords were burning, she managed to say a sentence or two. "Fuck..ff..I...lo...ev.ry.thing." She said to him, Aaron having to translate her garbled words himself. "Fuck off? You'd lose everything?" Aaron said to himself before realising what she meant. "Oh, I see. You poor, misguided creature. I hope you find peace in your next life, then." Aaron told her, extinguishing the flames before opening the palm of his hand, a black, tar-like fluid that wasn't Corruption replacing his left arm. With his right hand, he sheathed Tsuyukagiri and held the monster's dying body still. He simply ignored the absolute searing temperature that it was at, using God Eater to devour the poor creature. "You won't be needing those abilities anymore, so I'll take them off your hands. I hope you live well in the next life." Aaron calmly told the near-dead woman, absorbing her into his body, her important skills becoming his own.

{New Skills Unlocked}

{Supernova Blitz}

{Elemental Storm}

{Absolute Carnage}

{Three Tries, One Life}

{There Can Be Only One}

"Wow. Was this woman hiding all of those skills during the fight? Well, except for Elemental Storm. I don't know what those other skills do, though. I'll have to find out later, won't I?" Aaron said to himself, trying to subconsciously remind himself to check out what those skills did. Noctar looked over the edge of the crater, Coranth beside him. They had been too afraid of the swarm of treehuggers that the woman had created to go near the hole in the soil until Aaron announced that she was dead. "Oi! You guys alright down there?" Noctar yelled down to them, almost as if they were miles away, despite them having reached the bedrock layer of the ground. "Yeah, we're fine. I just killed a woman, and I'm feelin' good." Aaron replied, shaking his body free of tension as he jumped back up to talk to Noctar. "I think we killed a good few. How many were recorded?" Aaron asked, taking the 'good few' a little too seriously. "Well, you killed their leader, but that doesn't mean that more won't be created. I saw Noctar kill around fifty, and how many did you guys kill?" Coranth summarised, wondering what monstrous amount they had murdered.

"Well, there was a good swarm, so I'd give a guess at around two or three hundred," Soul noted, having watched Aaron kill the large group of treehuggers that descended upon them earlier. "Holy shit. Yeah, I think we're doing good with the amount we killed. I think we can call this quest cleared." Coranth responded, taken aback. It was really a bizarre day for him, wasn't it?