Chapter 168: Fight

[Unknown poison has entered the body that had been neutralized by your [Poison Resistance].

50 XP has been granted to the skill: [Poison Resistance]]

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[You have received damage, your condition has deteriorated!]

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[Current Condition: 95%]

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[Unknown poison has entered the body that had been neutralized by your [Poison Resistance].

50 XP has been granted to the skill: [Poison Resistance]]

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[You have received damage, your condition has deteriorated!]

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[Current Condition: 90%]

Although the sizzling reaction had died down, and the searing pain has been numbed, the stinging feeling has not left his body. 

Keeping his attention on the leader of these aquatic humanoid monsters, he reached to the two bone spears in his sides and snapped the weapons in half, leaving the tip of both spears embedded in him. 

Gritting his teeth, due to the pain, his body flickered away, reappearing a few meters behind, creating a bit of space. He quickly glanced down, looking at the wound on his right than the one on his left. 

Grabbing the tip of the spears that were still etched in him, in one quick, swift motion he pulled them out. Once again, notifications rang in his mind, informing him of the obvious outcome.

[You have received damage, your condition has deteriorated!]

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[Current Condition: 85%]

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[You have received damage, your condition has deteriorated!]

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[Current Condition: 80%]

This wasn't the first time he was hurt during battle, but that still didn't make it any better. As the pain continued to radiate throughout his body, his golden glowing eyes began to darken. Rage and anger began to boil, threatening to overcome his sanity once again. 

The golden irises slowly, gradually turned crimson. While the white marble-like sclera turned charcoal black. He continued to grit his teeth, turning towards the struggling Cole he yelled out, in an already much lower-toned, almost growling voice.

"I'm sorry, Cole…"

While he startled by the strange tone, the brown-haired boy who was doing his very best to keep deflecting the relentless frenzied blows of the lone Sahuagin that assaulted him, he couldn't avert his attention. He yelled back whilst keeping his focus on the webbed claws of his opponent, blocking the blows with the blade of his weapon.

"What are you saying? What's with your voice?! Just… hold on, and try your best, Aiden! I know you can do it!" 

His rage completely engulfing his mind, Aiden roared towards the sky. The thunderous power that came out of him reverberated all around in the entire field. Accompanied by this release of power, his draconic aura completely unfolded, putting sudden, invisible pressure on every living being, except for Cole.

Aiden's arms rapidly changed, golden scales began to appear above his skin. His fingers became denser, and long, thick ebony claws grow from their tips. Luckily, he managed to grab hold of his emotions before he would completely lose control and transform entirely, so his tail and wings didn't rip apart his clothes.

He snickered at the four Sahuagin in front of him, who turned sluggish, a huge contrast to their previous frenzied selves. Aiden's figure vanished once more, reappering in front of the leader with his right claw already mid-air swinging towards the throat of the creature.

Meanwhile, Cole was surprised to see that sudden change in his opponent's action. The relentless assault he could barely hold up against suddenly calmed down. The strong blows became weak and frail. Whilst the creature's expression didn't change, and there was no trace of fear on its face, it no longer looked terrifying. 

Despite the big change in its demeanor, Cole wasn't going to give it any chance, changing from defense to offense he began his own assault and began madly swinging against the chest of the solo Sea Devil, trying to hack and slash it to pieces.

The creature was shaking, his arms moved at a snail's pace, completely unable to block any of the blows. While most of the blows were deflected by his sturdy scale, Cole quickly adapted, and changed from the armored torso towards the much lighter colored belly area. His idea, that hopefully the scales weren't that thick as in other regions on his body, was turned to be fruitful, as, after a few attempts, he finally grazed past the skin and made an ugly wound. Blueish thick viscous liquid began to slowly slither down.

The creature angrily and loudly gurgled against Cole and began to raise both of his webbed claws in the air in slow motion, still affected by Aiden's thick aura. Seeing the action, Cole wasn't afraid anymore, he continued to rapidly hack deeper and deeper into the creature.

While Cole's heroic struggle turned around, Aiden was in the middle of what could only be described as brutal slaughter. 

When he reappeared in front of the leader of these creatures, his claws struck down. He combined the effects of his transformed state and further amplified its power with [Mystic Martial Arts]. The result was unsurprisingly brutal. He easily sliced through the scales, meat and even the bones of the creates, leaving a deep gashing and deadly wound. As his black claws ripped its vocal cords, the leader immediately let go of its spear and tried grabbing its throat. Instinctively it tried to block the hole as if that could save him from his impending doom. It fell on its knees and a second later it was already lying on the ground. Its dark, blueish blood continued to ooze from its body, further painting the ground.

Aiden didn't stop with one swing, both of his arms were already traveling in their new arc, rapidly approaching the two monsters on the side. These two were the creatures who managed to cause him damage, not to mention even attempting to poison him.

While the creatures were still under the stunning effect of his completely unfolded draconic aura, the reaping claws passed through the thick, sturdy chest scales with ease. The sound of flesh being ripped apart and bones breaking could be heard as Aiden reached for their insides, looking for the orbs that provided life and power to these monstrous existences. 

Creatures once reaching a certain power level and gather enough energy inside them, could go through evolution by transforming their own hearts into an Energy Orb, a Core that would from then on serve as both the heart and pumping that quintessential blood while also functioning as a sort of battery to power their unnatural abilities. 

Sahuagin were evolved existences, so they would naturally have a Monster Orb inside their bodies. As Aiden reached deeper, he suddenly felt the crystalline surface. His mouth curved, as he grinned at the struggling creatures. In the next moment, he grabbed each orb, and with a sudden motion, he ripped it out of their bodies. 

The Sahuagin's bodies immediately turned lifeless, and without any struggle, they fell down to the ground with a loud thump. While there was one of the initial four still standing, it was no longer any threat. It desperately tried to struggle, but under Aiden's powerful aura, it could only stand still, awaiting its due justice.

As he kept holding the orbs in his hands, Aiden had multiple thoughts racing through his mind. He wanted to absorb them, but he also wanted to try crushing them… However, he suddenly remembered that they needed some undeniable proof about the culling of these creatures, and these orbs could be the proof they needed. Deciding to ask Cole about the matter later, he stored them in his System's inventory. 

With the decision made, the two dark blue crystal balls suddenly vanished from his clawed hands. He turned his attention to the only creature that was still standing and clawed at his throat just like he did for their leader.

A moment later as his body fell to the ground amidst a loud gurgling cry, the glow in his eyes began to fade. The scarlet moon that presided over the dark sclera, returned to their default state. The claws and the scales vanished from his arms, and his aura quickly receded, no longer putting its unbearable pressure on the area.

Aiden let out a tired sigh, and turned around, to finally check on how his friend has been holding up. For the first time in his life, he felt a strange emotion as he slowly turned towards Cole, hoping he wouldn't be disgusted or afraid of what he had just seen. He was also mad at himself for losing control just because of some damage. He hoped that by learning from his master, Number 3, he would be able to contain his emotions and not lose himself so easily in battle again. 

He couldn't deny that he did make some progress, but unfortunately, it was still not enough. He was still a threat to his friends or maybe even to his own family. If he were to be thrown into a critical situation, would he be able to not give in to the bloodlust and hurt friend or foe? Would he be able to still hold on to a strand of his sanity? Enya's figure resurfaced in his mind once more, Aiden realized once again, how desperately he needed her assistance...