The Demon And The Wolf (VIII)

Aiden’s eyes widened in shock.

The black haired girl was right in front of him, sprawled out on the brown soil which was mow tinged red with blood. There was a huge blood stain above her intestine as the blood kept flowing from her wound, slowly forming a puddle on the ground.

“To neglect defending my back in face of the enemy… I was careless,” the Jaeger spat out as she tried to stand up using her bow as support despite her wound. “Such incompetence.”

“Jaeger, you idiot!” Aiden quickly hurried to her side. “What were you thinking?!”

The Enigma on the other hand was slowly moving towards them, smirking at her blood-stained body as its eyes sparkled with the pride of finally entrapping its prey. It laughed with, what seemed to be, joy. Aiden couldn’t distinguish the emotion held behind that demonic laughter that sent shivers down his spine.

“Boy, listen to me!” the Jaeger said, demanding his attention. “You need to get away from here. I can no longer fight with the Enigma and if you stay, you’d become its food along with me. So get out while you still can!”

Aiden stared at her in disbelief.

“W-what are you saying? This is not funny at all,” he struggled to speak as his voice trembled and stomach churned with fear. “Come on, wasn’t this your job?! Hey, Jaeger…”

His voice began to break as the tears of despair that he had tried to hide but they surfaced and began to pool in his eyes.

“I can fight it… Hey, Jaeger! I can use my lightning armor to stop it!” he said frantically, trying third to offer a solution so that he could save her. There was no way he was going to let it end this way. He just couldn’t…

But the last of his hopes were shattered at what the Jaeger spoke next.

“Your power is no match for it,” she said, struggling to even speak. “I already told you. Only people like me who have the power of the Jaeger are capable enough of slaying an Enigma. So no matter what you try… You won’t be able to put even a scratch on it.”

Her words cut him deeper than any knife he could have experienced and painfully strung the strings of his heart. Darkness enveloped his soul as his thoughts dragged him into a dark abyss.

Despair… Feel it… This is your destiny… You can never save anyone… Always too weak… This is all my fault… It always ends like this… Everyone dies bec-

“Do you want to defeat the Enigma?” the girl asked, breaking his descent to his demons. Her eyes were pooling with all the blood that seeped from the wound on her forehead. Aiden could tell she wouldn’t be able to stay conscious for long.

*

There was nothing she could do now to defeat the Enigma, except for using something she hated the most.

“Is there a way to defeat it?!” the boy’s eyes sparkled with hope again. “Please, tell me!”

“There are ways,” she stopped, her eyes unfocused. “I should say, there’s only one way to defeat it now.”

With the last ounce of her strength, she picked up her bow that had fallen on her side and used it as a crutch to prop herself up. She coughed violently which caused her to spew a dangerous amount of blood from her mouth. She felt as if she would fall the moment her grip loosened on her bow. Her body screamed in agony but she couldn’t pass out yet. There was something she needed to do first.

Fighting every ounce of pain, she stretched her arms forward and held the boy looking deep into his eyes.

“You… have to become an Enigma Jaeger.”

*

“What?!” shocked, Aiden jerked away from her staring her in disbelief once more. ‘What is she saying? Is this girl even sane?’

“What are you saying? Is that even possible? How can I?!”

“You can!” the girl replied. Her eyes were desperate and her demeanor screamed seriousness. “Drink a drop of my blood...”

Aiden blinked as the girl bit her thumb with enough force to break skin and let a drop of blood trickle out. Like she wasn’t bleeding enough already. What was wrong with her?

“And then I will give you my Jaeger Infested Astarte particles. That way, you will attain the powers of Enigma Jaeger and will be able to fight the Enigma on equal terms.”

“Is it really okay to do something like that?” Aiden tried to reason because he didn’t want to drink somebody’s blood like a vampire.

“I’m not sure… Of course this is a plan set up anticipating the fact that you are able to survive under the high Astarte nature… However, chances of success are not high. If it fails, you will die.”

‘Die’

It was a word Aiden hadn’t heard in a long time. Last time he had even thought of it was twenty years ago when he had jumped off the bridge with hopes of killing himself. Back then he had not felt any sort of fear of death but now it was different. He had received love of many people since he was reborn. He didn’t want to die anymore, he wanted to save lives.

His body trembled with fear. On one hand, his mind screamed at him to say yes already, but the other half tried to reason with him about how dangerous this whole operation was because if it failed then he would die.

“There has to be some other way,” he said, his expression portrayed the fear he felt.

The girl sighed. “Unfortunately, there’s no other way,” she said. “And there’s no time to deliberate. You need to make your decision now. Either run away from here with that lady and leave me here, or become a Jaeger and slay that Enigma. The choice is yours.”

Aiden’s mind shut down. He couldn’t think properly anymore. What should he do? What would be the right choice?

“Aiden?”

A terrified yet sleepy voice called him. His head quickly swilled around to see Kudelia muttering in a semiconscious. Her expression was terrified as if she was having a nightmare.

“Where are you, Aiden?”

“Miss Kude-”

“Don’t come… It’s dangerous… Hurry and get away from here… Aiden…”

Even in her dreams all she cared about was his well-being. She was trying to save him even when she herself was in danger. Aiden was filled with a newfound confidence, his eyes burning with determination.

He balled his fists.

Why is she worrying about me when she’s about to die? It makes me, who’s being scared for himself, look stupid!

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He gathered all of his courage within him to back him up in making this decision.

“Give me your blood, Jaeger. Let’s give your idea a try!”

The girl smiled warmly at him.

“My name’s not ‘Jaeger’,” she said. “It’s Beatrix Lostrangius.”

“I see,” the young Guardian replied with a smile of his own. “In that case, I’m Aiden Kualasis. Let’s pray this isn’t the last time we see to each other.”

A silent understanding passed between the two; it was time. The Enigma wouldn’t stay down forever and that was why they have to finish this fast.

Beatrix pressed her thumb to draw out another drop of blood.

“Here, drink it,” she said, her hand raised in front of his mouth. Aiden didn’t want to drink her blood, it felt gross and wrong. But right now, he had no other option left.

He opened his mouth and crouched lower so that his lips were right below her thumb. The wait for the blood to drop in his mouth felt eternal… And then it came. A single drop of blood trickled down from her cut and dropped into his mouth. A metallic smell intoxicated his system as the taste of salt inhabited his taste buds.

“Is this it?”

“Nope,” Beatrix replied. She raised her hand in a three finger gesture rearing back as if to strike Aiden. “Blood is just a catalyst for speeding up the process. The real deal begins when I pour my Jaeger Infested Astarte within your system by piercing your heart with my fingers,” she said, her hands shaking as the exhaustion started to catch up to her.

*

The Enigma had already recovered its lost strength and was running towards the duo. Its eyes were filled with lust to eat the Jaeger.

The Enigma roared once again sending shockwaves throughout the school campus. It was its final battle cry. Its body was already on its last leg. Beatrix had really done a number on it and now if it didn’t consume the girl, it would be done for.

*

“The Enigma is coming,” Beatrix said frantically. “If we don’t hurry-”

Aiden gripped her fingers and brought it right above his heart.

“Let’s do it.”

The Enigma’s roar grew closer with each passing second, the demonic screech that had once filled Aiden with terror now felt as if it was just some amateur trying to play any instrument he has never played.

“Okay,” Beatrix replied.

And then she did it. She did something that was going to change everything. Her fingers pierced through his skin, breaking through his ribcage, lungs and arteries before finally reaching his heart. She then poured all her Jaeger Infested Astarte into his system.

Aiden had never felt so much pain in his entire life. Even the pain of rebirth was nothing in front of the pain he felt right now. His entire body was on fire, white-hot pain shot down his veins; everything within him burned – the blood that was flowing through his veins, his skin, all of it – felt as if it had been put in lava. His chest was the epicenter of all the pain. It was as if he had been impaled with a hot iron rod.

He looked left and right but there was nobody around him. That was strange. The only thing he could see was Beatrix. Her eyes showed nothing but fear and hope that all of this would work out somehow.

And then something else happened.

The grassy meadow seemed to be running uphill. He knew that it was flat a moment ago, but now it was definitely slanting. Even the school buildings were leaning to one side. He didn’t understand what was happening. The colors around them seemed to be draining out leaving everything to be black and white; with the exception of the splashes of color here and there – the olive green of Beatrix’s eyes, the golden of Kudelia’s blonde hair… and the crimson red of blood.

He looked down and was surprised to see that his whole front was turning crimson. It spread across his white shirt in an irregular shape.

‘Crap!’ he thought. ‘Mom will be really mad at me for this.’

Funnily enough, even at a time of life and death, he was worrying about what would happen if his mom saw him.

‘The sky? Is it night or day? I can’t understand. Everything is in black and white... I need to get home before dinner though.’

At the same time, he became aware of the lack of roaring of the Enigma. It was as if something had pulled him out of the world and he was only seeing it from a long distance.

Beatrix had stopped and was looking at him with a horrified expression. She was shocked. She was trying to say something. Aiden saw her lips moving but there wasn’t any sound coming out.

Then the garden around him played a nasty trick on him. It suddenly tilted, seeming to be upside down. He opened his mouth to ask for help but no words, not even a breath, escaped him.

Aiden started feeling scared. There was no pain at all, but something told him that he had been hurt.

‘Did she fail? Is this the end? B-b-but I don’t want to die yet! I… I-I… I-’

His train of thought was brought to an abrupt halt when white light enveloped him and his surroundings. His body felt light and the ground that was once below him seemed to have disappeared. It felt as if he was floating through an endless cavern of white light.

The place was glittering with blinding white light coming from an unknown source, engulfing Aiden’s bloody body.

He something being burned onto his arms, as if someone was branding him with red-hot iron. He managed not to scream out loud.

“Aiden Kualasis, son of Datsun and Milia Kualasis. Descendant of Chaos, I hereby declare you an Enigma Jaeger.”

A voice echoed throughout the cavern and everything was engulfed with darkness.

*

“It’s time for you to become my dinner, Jaeger!” the Enigma announced gleefully. It was just a few feet away from Beatrix, ready to finally devour her, when a flash of black lightning blinded him which interrupted its approach.

The crackling of lightning was so loud and sharp that the Enigma felt as if the world was being split into two. Every hair in its body rose up as the strong scent of ozone intoxicated its lungs. There was darkness, then there was electricity rushing towards it and then came the sharp pain from its right shoulder. The Enigma screamed in pain.

Its right claw, which should have been attached to its body, had been decapitated. The monster’s red eyes widened in pain. It desperately tried to scour the surroundings with its eyes trying to find the culprit.

‘What just happened?’ it thought. ‘I am sure she fell for my trap. I even dealt with the finishing blow on the Jaeger! Most importantly, she didn’t have Lightning Affinity. And even if she did, she couldn’t attack without me sensing it… What changed?’

A sudden realization dawned over it as the monster quickly limped around to look at the culprit.

‘That’s obvious. I didn’t notice there was an attack coming from a different direction… Because I never thought there was another Jaeger along with her.’

As the dust around the figure cleared, the Enigma saw him. The raven black hair and dark eyes filled with coldness as the boy stared at it. His eyes were slowly dyed a white color as he slowly stalked towards the Enigma. His fingers gripping the basket-bound hilt of the Zeldar Sword.

Zeldar Sword was the most commonly used weapon by the Guardians. It was single edged with a slight curve on the blade. The length of the blade was one metre from the hilt. Since it was a single handed sword, it was lighter than the other swords making it perfect for the Guardians to use, especially those who depended on speed for attacking.

There was no doubt that this was the same boy that had tried to attack the Enigma when it had captured the mortal lady. But back then he couldn’t sense a single ounce of Soul Aura from him, so it was sure that he wasn’t a Jaeger. So why did he have an enormous amount of Soul Aura now?

Aiden slowly walked towards the Enigma, lightning ran rampantly on his sword and his black and white eyes were filled with hatred.

“Sorry. But what’s about to happen is just me blowing off some steam.”

Both of them knew what had to be done. Both of them knew what was coming.

The Enigma tensed and coiled itself, ready to lash out.

Aiden erupted into a violent storm of Astarte and black lightning. Wreathed in his lightning armour, the world slowed to a crawl. He darted forward, crossing the great distance between the two of them in an instant, and jabbed his sword forward aiming for the monster’s neck.

The Enigma was already bringing its claw up to block the attack – not fast, but not slow either. It seemed to know where he would hit before he actually did. His sword connected with its guard and slashed through its claws like it was nothing.

With both of its claws decapitated, the Enigma was at the end of the road. It no longer had the power to unleash another fore storm neither did it have it in itself to run away, so it did what it could do.

The monster charged forward towards Aiden. Its eyes had lost all of their previous bloodlust, only filled with hopelessness now. It was now no more than a beast on a mad rampage.

*

Beatrix stared at what transpired before her dumbfounded. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the boy attack the monster.

‘The Astarte that I poured in him was only supposed to give him the power of Jaeger. But to manifest his own soul weapon right after becoming one…’ she thought. ‘I have never heard or seen something like this. Furthermore this feeling…’

Ever since she had entered the school, Beatrix had felt a strange tingling sensation. It was as if all the Astarte Aura within the vicinity was being concentrated at one point. At the time she thought it was an Enigma but…

That was him! That room was filled with Astarte particles pouring out of him that had completely hindered my senses.

Aiden’s body was moving solely on instinct. His sword blocked the Enigma’s final attacks and slashed right through its humongous foot, depraving the merciless creature of its left leg.

I have never encountered a Guardian like him before. Usually the others would collapse under the presence of an Enigma but he didn’t even flinch.

The Enigma used its right leg to leap towards Aiden with its mouth wide open, showing all of its sharp teeth and fangs, preparing to devour him.

‘This boy…’

“I am not letting you kill anyone here, you ugly beast!” the boy yelled in defiance.

Aiden repositioned himself, moving out of the way of the Enigma and then pivoting on his right leg preparing for the final blow.

His Zeldar Sword was covered with black lightning as he slashed it upwards splitting the Enigma’s skull in two.

‘Who exactly is he?’

The Guardian boy stood impassively as he watched the creature’s body slowly crumble to dust. Beatrix stared at the boy who called himself ‘Aiden Kualasis’ with astonishment. He had slayed an Enigma that she, an Enigma Jaeger, couldn’t defeat. One thing was for sure.

He was no ordinary boy.

******************************************

So Guys we are finally here!! Oh man I can't believe it. The first arc is finally wrapping up!! I am really thankful for everyone who has read and commented on my work and also to everyone who is going to read it in future! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

SO LIKE ALWAYS HAPPY READING

P.S. THIS IS NOT THE END! IT IS JUST THE BEGINING!!!