"Yes, yes, yes! Great, great, great job, other me! We, we, we couldn't have planned it better!"
The insane man's shouts boomed through the desert as he walked through the sandy dunes of the Bay of Thorn.
His robes had been discarded to be replaced with a suit perfectly adapted to the hot climate, his sweat vented through a hole in the back.
"If, if, if only I could see the look on that kid's face! His, his, his girlfriend dead just like that!"
Laughing until his chest hurt, the man continued walking, his eyes noticing an oddity on the horizon.
A tall black silhouette appeared nearly half a kilometer away, a strange sense of killing intent radiating from its form.
"WHO, WHO, WHO IS THERE?"
Raising the hand that used to hold his staff, he pointed it into the distance, casting a spell with sheer willpower.
「Dark Arrow」
Shadows bent around the man as an arrow of radiant darkness appeared ahead of him, shooting out at a speed similar to that of a horse.
Smiling as he waited for it to connect with its target, he continued onward, waiting for the moment the figure in the distance would collapse.
However, as minutes passed, the person ahead only lessened the gap between the two; now his hair color appeared in the Sanctormous's sight.
"Blond, blond, blond!? Could, could, could it be!?"
He fired two more arrows at the boy, but both vanished before they could reach him, a glistening turquoise blade in his hand reflecting the golden sunlight from the heavens.
"S-s-stay, s-stay, stay back! I'll, I'll, I'll kill you!"
His frenzied shouts were left unanswered by the boy as he approached, his blade dragging along the sand.
"Hey, hey, hey! You, you, you can't kill me, remember! Just, just, just let the other me come out and—"
The man opened his mouth to finish his sentence, but the words never got the chance to come out.
With a swift swing of his blade, Aaron sliced his skull into two pieces, blood and brain matter spilling out in a wave.
His body stood upright for a moment before collapsing under its weight and covering the orange sand in clumpy crimson.
The leader of the Cult of True Earth had died without any say in the matter, his other side never even breaking the surface before the end.
And as the blond-haired boy stared downward at his decapitated corpse, he spat at the man's body, his anger satiated.
"Rot in hell."
Raising his blade above his head to eviscerate the remains left behind, he was stopped by a strange pulsation coming from the ground beneath him.
Furrowing his brow in slight confusion, he looked towards his feet, the sand rippling like water, and the air turning cold as ice.
"What the—"
He didn't have time to speak as he was flung backwards, Ocean's Bane coming loose from his grasp, and his body smashing against the towering mass of sand.
Pain flared through his back, and blood dripped from his scratched forehead, distorting his vision.
Blinking rapidly, he attempted to locate what had hit him—he heard it before he saw it, a sort of shriek that sent shivers down his spine.
Focusing his gaze on the figure before him, he watched as its long, pale legs stretched out, holding up its skinny body.
Its neck was craned backwards, spine protruding from its back, its eyes blank like two greyish lakes without so much as a sparkle.
Standing up slowly and facing the creature ahead of him, Aaron tapped his ring, allowing Penelope to return to his grip.
"What is that thing…?"
Widening his stance and preparing to engage the beast, he heard Penelope's frenzied shout radiate through his mind.
『Be careful, that's a Wraith!』
Before Aaron could process the words, the beast had already lunged, its wild body diving through the air at the boy.
Leaping forward and slamming his blade against its claws, he saw its crimson blood spray out, a howl coming from its deformed lips.
Its face twitched and turned as it retreated backwards, dodging each and every strike the boy threw at it.
The monster was not going down without a fight—a parry that protected against a slash to its neck, a bind that nearly made Penelope clatter out of his hands, and even a deflection that moved the sword against Aaron's own hip.
Realizing he was facing an unpenetrable defense, the blond boy took a step back, watching as the Wraith curled up into a tiny ball.
Its face peeked out slightly, its black and white tongue licking at its wounds like a cat cleaning itself.
Then, with a horrifying shriek, it dove out from its pocket, using a riposte to dig a wound into the boy's collarbone.
"AGH!"
As he felt blood drip down his neck, he slammed his feet into the soil, gripping Penelope tightly in his right hand and reaching out with his left.
Grabbing at the creature's pasty skin, he buried his fingers into its arm, the sandpaper-like flesh ripping under the force of his grip.
Pulling it backwards, he stabbed his blade forward, attempting to impale the beast on the weapon.
However, with a death-defying crack, the monster broke its spine, twisting its entire torso around and opening its maw wide.
Its eyes stared into Aaron's as it tried to bite down on the boy's throat, a sudden kick to the groin sending it wailing backwards.
Not allowing the moment of weakness to pass, the boy rushed forward, launching himself into the air and slicing downward with all his force.
The moisture in the air heeded his call, a wave of water vapor followed his strike, severing the Wraith's left leg.
"S K R R R R A A A A H H!"
Its vocal cords exploded with a noise so inhuman that it shook the desert to its very core, the caves below the island collapsing from the force.
Applying a layer of mana so dense that not even a bullet could break through, Aaron protected his eardrums from the burst, yet still felt the damage in his skull.
Gritting his teeth and grimacing through the pain, he watched as the creature's body contorted and twisted in a horrific motion.
The limbs it once had split into pairs, three legs turning into six, as its jaw split open, revealing multiple layers of teeth.
Before the boy could even react, it appeared behind him, one of its claws slamming straight into the small of his back.
THIS ISN'T GOOD!
Scarlet blood dripped from the corners of his lips, his body slamming against the ground once again and bouncing nearly fifty meters before stopping.
Attempting to stand, he was struck again, this time in his non-metallic leg, a searing pain encapsulating his body.
I-It's faster now. Let's see if I can keep up.
Redirecting all his mana towards his false leg, he felt the gears clicking into place, a surge of strength coursing through his limb.
Watching the monster appear ahead of him in a split second, its claw about to crush the boy's skull, he fired the circuit in his appendage.
As the creature struck down, it shrieked in rage at the realization that its prey had vanished from its grasp.
Its fury wouldn't last long, however, as Aaron soared above its head, his blade swinging through the air and into its throat.
However, before the sword could cut all the way through, something solid blocked its way, and the blade came to a halt in an explosion of blood.
Crkkkk!
Vertebrae could be heard snapping as the beast tore through its own muscles, whipping its head around to face the boy.
Widening the grin that was sewn into its face, it bit down on Ocean's Bane hard, disregarding the blood that oozed from its mouth and neck.
How the—
His blade was ripped from his grasp and tossed aside as his body was launched back, the boy landing on his feet and balancing himself quickly.
The Pale Messenger roared as it leaped at the boy, its survival instincts lost if it meant it could devour its prey.
Planting his metallic limb into the compressed patch of sand where he had landed, Aaron took a deep breath, closing his eyes and listening to the creature's movements across the dunes.
3…
There was a deathly shriek as the Wraith opened its mouth wide.
2…
Aaron raised his palm, holding it out in front of him.
1…
The sound of the creature's footsteps resounded through his ear, the feeling that it was upon him sending a shock through his body.
NOW!
Closing his fist and slamming it upward, he upcutted the beast's maw, sending it spiraling shut as he summoned Penelope back to his grasp with the other hand.
Ducking down low and raising the blade that had appeared in his palm, he stabbed skyward, impaling the monster straight through the roof of its mouth.
A wet guttural howl erupted from its collapsing lungs that had begun to fill with the crimson substance.
As it fell onto the ground, spasming, its claws ripped at the ground, attempting to burrow back into its caverns to hide and recover.
Yet it was too late for the monster, its mouth pierced and spewing blood in every direction as it seized repeatedly.
Its pale, blank eyes stared up at Aaron, its last gaze falling upon the boy and the blade he carried in his hand.
For the first time, its smile faded, its blurred vision clearing, and its voice coming from its destroyed throat.
"Ghk—AAGH—s-stop—AGH—!"
The voice it spewed out was nothing like what it should've sounded like, too human-like to fit its grotesque appearance.
Aaron paused midstep, staring at the failing beast with a mild frown.
『It's a trap. A mere mimic of a victim its claimed…』
The turquoise-eyed boy had no idea whose voice that was; however, his face contorted darkly as he raised his blade above the Wraith's head.
Its last words came out in that same high-pitched tone, not even in its own voice.
"PLEASE—NO—DON'T—"
CRUNCH!
And then, there was silence in the desert.
Two corpses littered the orange sands, and one man emerged, bloodied and victorious at the end of the battle.
His eyes were bloodshot, crimson liquid staining his shirt, and his breathing was ragged.
However, for the first time, he had claimed undeniable victory over his enemies.
There was no help given to him by a higher being, no intervention by fate, nor was there any boost earned via sheer luck.
He had won using every means available to him at that moment, and the feeling of pride that coursed through his body overwhelmed the pain he felt that day.