King Of Limbo

As the dust began to settle in the small path, Aron's figure became more clear as he walked towards Brutas who was now retrieving his large sword from the ground.

"Brutas calm down." Just as Brutas removed his blade from the ground, Henry approached from behind with Esmeralda and Emilia to his left and right.

"..." Aron stopped walking as they joined Brutas and showed them a fierce gaze but said no words. To them, this made them feel he had grown worried because of their numbers but instead...

'Two are missing, they could be attacking from long range or be waiting for an opportunity. Heh Father always did say to expect the worst in every battle but hope for the best in every hunt.' Aron thought as the veins on his hand became slightly more visible along with his canines becoming slightly longer.

"Stay out of this Henry, I'm more than enough to fight-" Brutas who still felt he needed to regain his honor after being humiliated by Aron was unwilling to fight as a group, but before he could express this point to Henry and the others, Aron made his move.

In a single burst of speed, Aron closed the small distance that had remained between him and the group and was about to reach Brutas but then...

Just as he was about to extend his arm, his pupils shrunk drastically and his eyes shifted a few degrees from Brutas only to see two weapons heading his way in that split moment, Aron used all the force he had from the burst and slammed it down using his foot.

This caused all the force he had to be pushed into that point which lead to what felt like a minuscule earthquake. The shockwave from this certain both parties back a few meters which lead to Aron narrowly avoiding the weapons the group held. 'Those weapons are different from what they had in the cave, I can't gauge their tier from glance alone so it's best I avoid being hit.'

"He dodged it..." Esmeralda muttered in disbelief as the dust that rose from the brief exchange revealed Aron standing without harm, still only looking at them with his cold grey eyes and expressionless face.

"Do you understand now Brutas? Put your pride aside if we want to defeat him then we must work together, he's no simple commoner." Henry pointed out as he quickly unsheathed the blade that rested on his back. Brutas made no comment but instead only showed cooperation by standing next to Henry with his blade ready.

"Emilia, Esmeralda go retrieve your blades and we'll encircle h-"

Once again before the group could properly plan their next move, Aron burst forward but this time he didn't target them but instead got Esmeralda and Emilia's blades.

"!!"

"Did you really expect me to wait for you to get your weapons?" The group was shocked at this but he gave them no time to revaluate their plan. Holding both swords in either of his hands, Aron rushed forward aiming for Henry and Brutas who were ready to meet him.

"Tch, don't think we're helpless without our weapons!" Esmeralda yelled out before she and Emilia took similar stances and aimed their hands towards Aron.

[ Hoffenheim Blade Arts: Spiral Slashes ]

As they took these poses, large light blue-shaped slashes appeared and fired towards Aron, avoiding Brutas and Henry completely.

'An art that shapes the surrounding mana into blade slashes capable of being directed. However their speed is laughable.'

Even during battle Aron quickly analyzed the attack thrown at him and took into account its weakness before closing the distance even faster, easily avoiding the slashes.

With their support gone, Henry and Brutas both braced themselves to take on Aron's attack. But unlike what they predicted he didn't charge at them with the blades but instead threw them towards their heads at an even greater speed.

As if by instinct, both of them raised their swords in just enough time to block the blades, however, this left them defenceless as Aron reached them at nearly the same time and struck his fists at their chests.

Both Julius and Henry could feel some of their ribs crack from the blow before getting sent back a few meters back without their weapons.

"Underestimating your opponent was is a fatal error on your part." Aron warned as he threw all four blades behind him leaving them all defenceless.

"You're quick and strong. But what truly sets the big five families isn't our physical strength and blade works. It's our arts!" Brutas got up while holding his chest in pain while Henry was being helped up by Emilia.

Despite having stronger bodies than most and even high-grade gear, aristocrats were still just humans in Aron's eyes. The fact one attack hurt them that badly was proof of that undeniable fact.

"Then show me these arts you're so proud of." Aron's face remained now bared a grin as he mockingly welcomed Brutas's so-called arts.

It was at this time that he slowly began to be influenced by his wills. This wills couldn't force him to do what he didn't want to but they would make both his physical and mental characteristics more and more similar to a beast. In Aron's case he became even more domineering, arrogant and easily irritable.

"Emilia, quickly heal Henry while Esmeralda and I keep him busy, then we'll switch," Brutas instructed the two behind him in whispers as Henry's broken rib seemed to have even punctured an organ.

[ Vonstein Earth Art: Gravity Domain ]

[ Hoffenheim Blade Art: Slash Fall ]

'They're disorganized and are communicating so openly. It shows they haven't fought together long. But do they think an opponent will just let them recover?' Aron thought before he raised his hand and snapped his finger.

Roughly three hundred meters away in the dense forest to Aron's left, Evanora appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and looked in Aron's direction.

"The signal has been given. Evanora must play her part, Evanora commands that the ground split." Evanora muttered to herself before holding her hands out in the group's direction.

"What did you do?" Brutas asked but instead of receiving an answer, he felt the ground shake furiously putting both him and Esmeralda off balance.

By doing so this caused the trajectory of their attacks to shift. Brutas who had been aiming his hands straight for Aron stumbled back causing his hands to rise. The gravity domain then came into play as both him and her felt weighed down by three times their own.

Although not enough to restrict movements, it was enough to cause Esmeralda who was caught off guard and held less strength to crouch down momentarily, when she did so, her art came into play as multiple slashes rained down from the sky onto the area she and Brutas stood.

Although powerful, most arts require a small duration of time to pass before they take form. In that time a user must keep their hands aimed at their set target hence why form and steady stances were very important.

Once the slash fall came to an end it revealed Brutas and Esmeralda to have been injured to some extent, however, Emilia and Henry looked to have left the scene during that chaos.

"Can I leave these two to you?" Aron looked at Brutas and Esmeralda for a moment before turning to a large nearby tree where a set of red eyes could be seen lurking in the shadows.

A growl then followed as Jagu appeared from above and landed next to Aron before nodding.

"Of course, but isn't it too late to pursue the other two?" Jagu inquired but Aron shook his head as he casually began walking away.

"They won't get far." He responded as Jin's once thin mist that covered the forest suddenly began getting thicker and thicker.

…

[ RULE #44: In Every Hunt, You Must Expect The Worst Outcome But Also Hope For The Best ]