Chapter 541: Strange happenings

Fully focused on completing his horrific self-appointed objective, Aiden didn't notice the anomaly going on around him, silently protecting and assisting him. 

As if time itself had lost domain inside the underground jail cell, at some point the thin barrier stopped shrinking, did not lose any power anymore but retained a state of equilibrium.

Funnily though, Aiden, who has praised himself for being attentive under any circumstances failed to notice this anomalous trait inside the small dome of translucent energy, he was so immersed in the absorption of creature flesh and analyzing the state of his Primal Core continuously. 

Time passed by unknown to the boy who did nothing but slowly tore apart the entirety of the mass of biomass without any visible care in the world. Ignorant of the difference in the presumed time versus the harsh reality, he kept on engorging in a feast of nightmares, slowly, gradually stripping away all the mental barriers he had pushed himself onto during his short excursion in the qualms of civilization.

An unknown amount of time had passed by the time he had finally grabbed the last piece, a piece of the creature's spine with bits of mangled raw meat dangling from it. Though the piece was long since dried, the previously vibrant scarlet blood has long since turned into a dark brown layer of film, for some peculiar reason, the boy somehow failed to register this peculiarity, proving the point that there was something strange, something mysterious happening around the boy.

This mystery would have gone past by the boy entirely if he were to be truly alone, but luckily, or perhaps to further prove his miserable destiny, he was far from being alone, by himself. 

His spirit guide, as well as Rygintarth, the living spirit of his inherited father's legendary sword have long since noticed the strange, inexplicable events happening around their master.

'[Aiden… Wake up and listen to us… something is wrong!]' Enya tried multiple times to call out, but no matter how hard she tried, how much she pressed on, she was left ignored.

Frustrated, she tried everything she could think of, only to be met with failure one after another.

'Don't bother… He is under the effects of a spell…' Ryg eventually spoke up, after watching the events as they unfolded with careful scrutiny. 

'[What?!]' Enya was shocked, startled to hear the sword spirit's claim. '[How could that be? How come neither of us noticed it?! How come the syst-]' 

Suddenly realization struck her causing her to be frozen on the spot and look with utter dread and fright downwards, towards the deepest, darkest depths of Aiden's Soul Space, where an entity beyond comprehension was still locked away. Even a sliver of its presence when was left free was so powerful it almost caused the destruction of an entire world, be it just an artificial creation or not.

'[That can't be…]' She vehemently denied the proposed thought in the next instant. '[That thing… it was locked away by the almighty himself. It cannot possibly escape.]' 

Seeing the denial the little ball of light was in, the little girl, Ryg did not respond, but merely sighed. Her gaze, however, wandered towards the distance. Her expression was unreadable, no one could guess what she was thinking…

The fact that the Master was aided by that mysterious entity was clear. Yet, to see that even just a tiny sliver of power that escape, had such tremendous effects on the outside world, was shocking to witness. 

'To control the very fabric of reality itself with a flick of a hand or tentacle or whatever that thing is… Just what is it, and why is it locked away inside him? Was it done by the old man himself? Or there's something else at play here?'

Sighing, Ryg looked at the vast darkness of space above her.

'Just who or what are you really Master? What is the truth? I wonder… are you truly ignorant, oblivious of everything as you claim?'

—

"Fine! I give up!" Finally, after an arduous, long assault, the old man finally gave in and exclaimed with frustration. "However…" Before the girls could celebrate their victory, he pointed at the two figures standing behind them.

"You will be accompanied by those two!" He pointed at the figure of Crone and the bald man who had fought with the blonde amazon previously. The man was called Jai, ever since his utter defeat at the hands of this beautiful warrior goddess, he was smothered with love. 

His previously haughty attitude took a turn, he turned mostly silent, his gaze focused on the sight of the woman taking up all the space in his heart ever since that day. When he heard of his defeat and grave situation, he was one of the loudest at first to let them finish off the captured beast. It took a great deal and effort to make him come to the same realization as the rest.

Knowing they could do nothing against the disgusting beast, for now, he then shifted his attention to be a silent shadow behind the girl, follow and protect her from any danger. 

Even if the captain wouldn't have noticed and given him the go, Jai would have still left the camp by his lonesome, following after the girl trio and be their silent shadow all the way.

"What?! Me?! But… Why Captain?" Feeling wronged, Crone cried, not willing to be on escort duty all day just to satisfy the whims of these girls. "I don't wa- Ouch! What is it? Why are you…"

Before he could finish his complaint he felt a hit on his sides. Turning towards the source of the sudden attack, he was met with the cold, cruel, and vicious gaze of their strongest, most fearsome fighter, Jai.

From the determined look in his eyes, Crone quickly came to his senses and realized the obvious. Working, fighting together… living as one big family for all those years, even someone such as Crone could understand the meaning behind his big brother's gaze. He understood his nature very well, he knew how unlike, how uncanny his actions were ever since his defeat at the hands of that brutish woman.

Still, his loss only served to further fuel his desire, his growing, helpless, unrequited feelings towards the very angel of his dreams. 

There was no need for words between them, Crone understood his brother from a single gaze.

"Oh… Fine…" Crone sighed, knowing that neither party, nor the captain, nor this bald lovestruck idiot could be convinced otherwise, thus he could only accept his fate and be the attaché of the girls. "I… We will do our best to accompany the girls and make sure they won't come to harm." Crone nodded, accepting the command of his captain. 

In the next moment, the look on his face shifted, a mischievous smirk appeared, he stepped closer to his friend, and with a sudden move, he pushed him forward, closer to the girls, and subsequently, the woman of his dreams.

"Right, Jai? We will protect these beauties with everything we have?" He snickered enjoying the sight of his big brother aiding to further Jai's plight. 

---

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