Time seemed to slow as Aaron hit the ground carrying the white-haired boy.
Far in the distance, the orange beast roared with fury, its red-hot skin turning a bright azure as it burned with a ferocity beyond its limits.
Both Aaron and the Oblivacis had surpassed their own boundaries, an act that would result in backlash greater than either could handle.
And as the two stared each other down, tension sliced with a blade clashed like sparks in the air.
The final confrontation had begun, one that would result in the death of either a young boy and his allies or a monster straight from hell.
…
Harsh wind slammed against Aaron's body as he ran, the ground cracking under the sheer force of his sprint.
His speed had greatly reduced as his mana drained; however, placing every ounce of the mystical substance into his legs, he outpaced the terror behind him.
Its grotesque limbs that numbered in the hundreds, scurried across the grassy meadow, fireballs of destruction erupting from its maw.
Whenever one got too close, a quick slash of Ocean's Blade was able to deflect it, knocking it only slightly to the side.
E-Even with this power boost, I can't fight it… All I can do is run…
The boy's thoughts were a mess of tangled emotions and pain, backlash surging through his core faster than he could move.
If he couldn't reach the shore and depart soon, he wouldn't have any chance of survival, a fact he knew for certain.
Eleanor had vanished from sight in a turquoise blur surrounded by a strange array of miniature crabs.
The sight had shocked the blond boy; however, the main body of Mr. Crab still clung to his head, helping aid in the rescue of Raphael.
Far ahead of him, rolling green hills sprawled across the terrain, stretching for kilometers across the island's surface.
Each step he took numbed his body further, and the spiking pain swiftly approached the limits of his increased tolerance.
D-Dammit…
The incline wasn't much, yet with two human legs, even boosted by mana, the terror ripped through rock to get closer.
This endless cycle of cat and mouse lasted tens of minutes, accompanied by a cacophony of molten explosions, too many to count, and a boy who narrowly escaped their clutches, time and time again.
Whenever he came to a cliff, the boy would wrap the white-haired noble's hands around his back, secured with Mr. Crab's tight claws.
Then, with his ruined and barren fingers, he climbed against the rocky terrain, fighting against the monster while blood dripped out of his nailbeds.
No matter the struggle, he persevered endlessly, the only goal in his mind being escape.
Every time the flaming beast pushed ahead, he would increase his speed regardless of the pain or damage inflicted.
He was a living, breathing machine of a man, one whose gears had begun to rust as he came to the peak of the highest hill.
Almost… there…
Aaron's face was pale, hair dark with sweat, and eyes bloodshot, each movement sending shocks of searing agony to his nerves.
The last droplets of mana supplied by the Naelith had begun to drain, the tight reach of darkness tugging at his vision.
Yet even in this desperate state, the corners of his mouth turned upwards, a smile making its way across his lips.
He had made it, the white-sanded shore stretching out along the coastline, and the beautifully adorned ship floating lifelessly.
Not waiting a minute, he rushed forward, jumping from the beach's edge downward into the thick sand.
His footsteps were slowed as his boots filled with the material, each movement taking more energy than the last.
But through this struggle, he ran with everything he had left.
Yet soon, he caught the sound of sizzling rock behind him, sending shivers down his spine.
The sand beneath his feet melted like early snow, turning a burning red that toasted his ankles.
For an instant, he could feel the skin on his neck peeling under the heat, a powerful presence breaking through the shoreline at that exact moment.
Ragged patches of glass filled the beach as the monsters raced across the sand like a rabid animal, pulling its humongous body along.
Almost…I just need to get a little farther…
Forcing every last ounce of strength into his feet, he shot forward faster than a galloping horse, breaking away from the Oblivacis's grasp once again.
Raphael's body blistered and burned as Aaron tore down the coast, pushing his way into the seawater.
Grimacing through the sheer torture of swimming through the boiling sea, the blond boy's eyes darkened, his mind fading with a terrified sense of finality.
Not now… So close…
The world spun, pain exploded everywhere, and the horrifying sound of the terror's maw opening and closing reverberated through every fiber of his body.
CRUUUUNCHHH!
"AGHHHHHHHHHH"
Aaron's entire figure erupted in flames as a molten tooth bit into his flesh, tearing away anything it touched and lodging itself in his bones.
His scream of absolute despair was drowned out as the terrifying hiss of burning wood and melting steel echoed through the morning sky.
Anywhere below his calf was a wreck of shattered bone, ripped tissue, and burnt and hanging skin.
Shock consumed the boy, his movements ceasing, his body refusing to work, and his mind slowing to a halt.
Only meters away from his face was the metal ladder that had begun to melt under the lava.
Reaching out his hand in one final effort, he felt his fingers graze the ship, falling only a centimeter short and sending his head plunging into the sea.
Sizzling water filled his lungs as he was cooked from the inside and outside, organs barely functioning.
All hope was long gone; he had failed yet again.
The ominous laugh of the Naelith echoed through the depths of his subconscious, urging him towards death.
Its payback would never come to pass; however, with its host dead, it could finally transmit its consciousness elsewhere.
Aaron's body sank slowly, Mr. Crab attempting to pull him upward by his peg legs to no avail.
That was until a thick, muscled hand reached into the waves, tightening around the boy's hand and pulling him upward.
"Y-You ain't dying here, boy!"
With a strong tug, the man tossed both boys and the crab aboard the ship, fire coating his form and third-degree burns wrapping around his wrinkled skin.
That boatswain hired in Corvassa, a mere servant to the likes of Raphael, slowly sat down, his entire body melting away.
"M-mister…"
Aaron's voice was weak, undetectable to most; however, the dying man heard it and chuckled lightly.
His body must've been consumed with such agony that any normal human would've died in seconds, much less be able to pull others from the boiling waves and then smile.
Yet, the only emotion that the blond-haired boy could detect from the man was one of loneliness and longing.
Opening his mouth to speak for the last time, he addressed the boy.
"Y-You have no ties with me… I have no ties with you… But no matter the cost to myself, children weigh more than my own sorry existence…"
His lips turned upwards, the last sentence he spoke coming out quietly.
"Live a long life…"
At the same moment his words finished, the roar of the Apex enveloped the world, dulling the man's speech.
Aaron's head was a wreck of meaningless thoughts as he wondered how anyone, much less a random boatswain, could survive this long.
It was an impossible feat, one that struck the boy as unusually perfect, like the fate itself had flipped the table.
So as the man drew his final breath, Aaron could only watch as his body collapsed, burning away into nothing but dust.
The blond boy's own vision glazed over, darkness taking hold, and his brain shutting down.
Turning his eyes rearward, he expected a fiery spectacle of death to be awaiting him, the terror gazing down upon him ready to feast.
However, as he moved his eyes, he saw a vast expanse of water between him and the raging beast.
I-Impossible…
Blood dripped from his lips as he watched the Oblivacis dive into the sea, swimming towards the ship with such ferocity that even the large gap between them seemed insignificant.
Aaron's eyes widened in shock, a sense of panic brewing in his chest.
He needed to fight; he needed to defend this vessel from that monster at all costs and make sure they survived.
Yet as he tried to move, his body resisted, his condition beyond that which even boosted mana could fix.
His entire right leg was ripped to shreds, clothing in tatters, and chunks of skin were completely missing in areas.
These injuries however, were just the start, as when the backlash began, the wounds previously covered would burst to the surface.
He was dying.
So as he tried to stand, he opened his mouth, begging for his life.
"N-Naelith… I need—"
His voice cut off, the Apex within his mind sealing itself away inside an impenetrable box of his own thoughts.
"P-Penelope—"
The desperate call for the girl was left unanswered as his vision blurred, spots of black filling his gaze as he could only lie there, watching the beast approach faster and faster.
A-Anybody…
There was no response, only the roar of the monstrous creature once again deafening the seas, a final call to signal the death of its prey.
Drawing near, it prepared to launch its finishing blow—one that would vaporize the vessel and its enemy—when a strange noise broke through the sounds of clashing waves and raging flames..
For a moment, it was as if church bells were ringing through the Sea of Dreams, reality itself shaking as something shattered its tide.
With nothing more than willpower left, Aaron focused his gaze on a strange pocket of the sea where space faltered.
Then, like the shattering of a mirror, time ceased, and a gateway between dimensions split the fabric of reality in two.
The sea terror, whose movements had slowed, felt an emotion blossom within its stone heart, similar to the one it felt when the small human used that spherical artifact to fool it at the beginning of their chase.
However, this time, that fear that ate away at its force was real, and its body trembled in terror as a front bow of a ship broke through dimensions.