“So it wasn’t really a Sand Wyrm attacking the trucks...” Fenix was up in the air being lifted by a flying Aria. He looked down to see the enormous eyeball with 10 limbs, one shorter than the other and bleeding out green goop.

“It is in fact, a demon attacking them. Fenix, do you have a plan of action to deal with this threat?”

What are you doing, Aria?

“I am assisting my partner. It would be simple for us to handle this, but I would prefer to have him contribute so he can earn the victory of his first mission.”

How generous. What would happen if he dies during this contribution?

“Petalouda, my friend, I will give it my all and your power to make that possibility impossible.”

...Understood. This will cost less pacifying your emotions with that small Celia woman.

“P-Please refrain from mentioning Dear Celia’s name in this mission! I will lose focus when she is on my mind.”

My apologies.

“Uhh, Aria?” Fenix looked at her to see her just stare down. “Aria!”

Aria blinked and shook her head. “M-My apologies, Fenix. I was—”

Observing.

“Observing the Eye!” “Thank you, Petalouda.”

“Did you hear my plan?” As he looked up at her, Aria looked down to actually see the Eye. Its pupil shifted directly at them, the limbs were lifted up, the mouths aimed at them as something flew out of them. Sharp, large, triangular projectiles were coming at them at a frightening speed.

“Hold on for a moment!” She couldn’t answer as she quickly flew down to avoid what came out of its mouths. As it went past them, Aria and Fenix got a closer look.

“Teeth...it's shooting its teeth!” Fenix stated as he held onto Aria tightly as she avoided the onslaught of teeth. “I’m going to repeat my plan. Just looking at the Eye alone, We know where the weakness is. We have to go for the eye!”

“Easier said than done, Fenix.” Aria retorted as she deflected a tooth. “It has ten arms capable of shooting so many tooths!” She deflected another, and another while zipping around.

You must safely drop the boy down, he is a hindrance to your speed and agility as you are concerned about his well-being

“But as his superior and partner, I must let him contribute and earn this!”

He cannot harm this thing on his own or with your assistance. You know yourself that you can defeat this demon with ease if you let him go somewhere safe to watch.

“Aria! I got an idea how to deal with the Eye!” He kept holding on Aria with every burst of movement and sudden stops from Aria’s dodging.

“I’m listening!” Aria kept deflecting each incoming tooth, the speed and weight felt like cannonballs. Each limb fired so many teeth, it was the equivalent of being a minigun.

Along with the rest of the limbs—minus the one Aria destroyed, Aria was dodging what appeared to be 9 miniguns consecutively.

“I want you to distract the arms while I charge my gauntlet! I want you to drop me off and let me charge and call you again. Then, I want you to get me to the eye as close as possible and blast that Eye to nothing!”

Aria simply smiled. “That sounds like a wonderful Idea! Even to someone with such experience as I, that is a wonderful idea for a new member like yourself.”

What Aria said didn’t feel right for him. Feeling a sense of guilt, embarrassment, and realization. He’s a new member and here he was bossing around a senior and superior. “Sorry...I didn’t mean to—”

“No apologies needed!” Aria cuts him off, “I have told you again that I prefer to follow orders than make them. You’re more of a leader than I am. Dropping you now!” She quickly descended. “Roll!” She lets go of him as they are at a safe distance to drop him as she quickly soared back up in the air.

Fenix looked at her and his feelings went away with her assurance. He quickly prepared himself and rolled the moment she let go to soften his fall. Fenix quickly stood up as he focused on charging his gauntlet. While charging, he looked around himself to see if he was being targeted by the eye.

When Fenix was at ground level, he could barely see the Eye’s...eye because of how it was the same size as its limbs. “I can’t even see the sclera…” He looked at its limbs and saw it flail around and shooting its teeth at Aria, who was gracefully evading, flying around and leaving deep cuts on its limbs to prioritize on her and ignore Fenix.

“Cut. Fly up. Slice. Fly down. Fly left. Slash.” Inside the mind of Aria Leonhart. She strikes with rhythm and pacing. Every movement and attack she makes follows a steady rhythm and a calm mind. “Deflect. Deflect. Fly down—Cut!” She cut down a mouth of the Eye’s limb, losing its firepower as it flailed about. When Aria released Fenix, she had already sliced half of its limbs. “Even when the mouths have been cut down, the limbs still strike.” She looked at its remaining limbs that still had mouths as it continued shooting its teeth at her.

“Second seal released.”

Releasing second seal of metamorphosis. Petalouda, the scythe, grew another blade behind the first blade. Not only that, but the top of the scythe developed a skull at the center between the two blades. Its sockets had a weak glow of violet light.

Aria starting spinning her scythe. While spinning, she alternated the hold of her scythe from left to right, increasing the momentum as “Twirl.” Aria spun around almost as fast as her scythe’s. She was not only deflecting, but also reflecting the teeth back at the limbs with speed increased twofold, piercing and passing through the flesh like paper as Aria slowly stopped her spinning when the rest of the limbs stopped shooting.

This is a good moment to bring it up. You normally go to this stage when dealing a worse threat. Are you, perhaps, showing off for the new member to think that this battle is dangerous and even more worth his effort in contributing to this?

“I-It’s not like that!” Aria felt her cheeks turn red at her scythe’s suggestion of her giving somewhat all out to make this fight more dangerous but exciting enough for Pheonix to make it more worth it for him.

“She’s pretty amazing...” Fenix was impressed. Her movements were quick, graceful and yet all were powerful and devastating. He looked at his gauntlet, glowing red hot as it reached near the limiter. “Aria!”

Aria’s ears perked at being called to see Aria running to her. “Ah! Are you fully ch—”

CRUNCH!

It was but a moment of vulnerability. Aria was slammed left arm-first with the entire weight and crushing impact of the Eye’s limb.

“A-Ah—” Aria felt her entire arm not just snap, but crushed into tiny, sharp shards of bone fragments on her shoulder and elbow arms. The muscles tore apart from the intense pressure of the impact and the shards jutting out of her arm as they were fully exposed.

Her entire body was affected but not as severe as her own arm absorbing all of it. Her bones cracked, ribs fractured, internal bleeding caused by the pressure and fractured bone puncturing her innards. Then she fell down, hard. Crashing into the ground that it left a deep crater that sunk her body by a few inches deep into the ground.

“Aria!” Fenix ran to the crater to look at her. She looked awful. She was better off as a corpse. Her left arm was purple, crushed, twisted, and wrung out as blood pooled under her caused by that arm. She had a hazy look as her eyes looked faded and almost losing its glow. Her wings flickered as they exploded into sparkling butterfly dust.

Fenix gritted his teeth, pounding both his fists on the ground near her. “Damnit! Pull yourself together! Aria!” Guilt was filling him along with regret. “This was my fault. I called her out at the worse time and she got hit because of me.”

Fenix pulled out something from his pocket. A teleportation scroll. “I’m going to make it up to you. I’m going to teleport you back to the guild so you’ll get help. I’ll stay here to kill this demon myself!”

Aria blinked as her hazy, almost lifeless eyes blinked as all life returned. “Haah!—” She immediately gasped out fresh air and immediately sat up. “I fell asleep!” Her suddenly sitting up caused Fenix to back off out of relief.

“A-Aria!?”

“Fenix! How long was I out?” She turned her head to him as she slowly stood up. “Ow, ow, ow ow ow! Everything stings...” She looked at herself. “That demon knows how to jump on someone despite it being so big.”

“Are you okay…?” He was confused. Logically, when someone was this grievously injured, they try to not move as much as possible and stay conscious until help arrives. Yet Aria’s wounds were worse than grievous; they were fatal.

“That question requires an answer that should be obvious if applied to a normal person. However, Fenix, I am feeling quite all right.” She assured him with a simple smile. Her legs were wobbly and twitching as her left arm flopped like clothes being dried by the wind.

“You look anything BUT all right!”

“Enough worrying!” She gently bopped his forehead with the shaft of her scythe. “Focus! Are you ready to deal the final blow?” She did a sly smirk as she looked at her small jacket and her exposed sides. “Wah!— My outfit is covered in my blood…!” She puffed her cheek. “At least I am glad blood does not stain this kind of color…”

“Uhhuh.” Right, this was not a normal human he’s worried about; he shouldn’t worry when what he’s partnered with was a Hunter greater than him. Grievous and fatal injuries are simple bruises to people like her. He could understand that. “Right. I’m fully charged, let’s end this.” He raised his gauntlet to show her it glowed brightly like a star.

She placed Petalouda on her back as her wings sprouted back. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Then—” She yanked him off of the ground as they both flew high up in the sky. “Prepare the finishing blow, Leader!”

“Yeah!” He grinned as he looked down and aimed his gauntlet at the demon.