Chapter 240 Hasn't Master Gotten Even Stronger Again?
In the grasslands outside Necronia.
In one corner, Aaron faced off against the pig, the maiden, and Zara.
A little distance away, the other clan members were watching leisurely.
Lucia moved next to Fiona, grabbed the hem of her clothes, and tugged at it.
"Hey, Fiona."
"Hm? What's up?"
"I know I encouraged it, but is it really okay? Are we just going to let them fight like that?"
"What do you mean?"
Fiona tilted her head, looking puzzled.
Lucia was taken aback by Fiona's complete lack of concern.
"Uh? Well... Aaron has quite a disadvantage, but... can he win?"
Lucia had an idea of Zara and the others' strength from the memories she shared with Fiona. According to those memories, even the pigs were top-tier explorers, not just Zara and the maiden.
Lucia knew Aaron was strong, but she thought it was a bit too much to not only not use weapons but also to make some of his skills――no, even techniques using his aura――unusable.
"Oh, is that what you mean? ...But it's fine."
However, Fiona didn't seem worried at all.
"Really? ...You might become a widow right after getting married."
"Hm..."
After thinking for a moment, Fiona spoke in a tone that suggested it was obvious.
"If you think about it, you should realize that Aaron was the one who brought up the handicap, right?"
"...Oh, now that you mention it."
"Do you think he would suggest a handicap if he thought he was going to lose?"
"......I see."
So, Aaron doesn't think he'll lose to Zara and the others, even with that big handicap.
Normally, this would be seen as arrogance, but...
"Do they really think they can win against Master? Are they being overconfident?"
"Hey, what's wrong with Zara...!!"
"Oh wow, they're always so energetic."
The young members of the fan club looked amazed, Owen was worried, and the leader of the drunks seemed amused. No one tried to stop them; they just watched without any sense of danger.
(Hmm... let's see what you've got.)
Seeing the reactions of the clan members, Lucia regained her composure and got ready to watch.
* * *
Facing each other were Aaron and the Pig Maiden Squad plus Zara, all armed.
The pigs made the first move.
"――You pig bastards! Move forward and be the meat shield! Everyone, stop his feet!!"
"""Got it!!"""
Zara's loud command echoed.
Feeling good about being called pig bastards, the pigs charged forward all at once.
Eight members from the Sword Dance Maiden's Scorned Squad and the Trampled Team closed in on Aaron. At the front were the pigs using their aura for close combat jobs.
"Maiden Squad! You all need to raise your voltage now!!"
Next, Zara pulled back her bow and formed an aura arrow while giving orders to the Maiden Squad.
The response from the Maiden Squad was strong.
"We don't need you to tell us!!"
"We're filled with anger, sadness, and hatred for having our sister taken from us!!"
"Our voltage is already at max, you know――!!!"
Boom!! Intense aura surged from their entire bodies!
It wraps around the girls' entire bodies, forming a silhouette like a fierce beast from the cat family.
Surpassing the first variation [Beast Mode: Heart], it suddenly transforms into the second variation.
――[Beast Mode: Body]
With a loud roar, 'Brrrrr!!', they stomp their four limbs on the ground, letting out a beastly cry, and the girls, who have already forgotten their language, make Zara laugh with a "Heh!"
"I can win...!! With this, I can win today...!!"
She's confident.
This time, Aaron is sealing not only his sword but also his entire body, while on their side, the girls are transforming into beasts from the start.
While the pig bastards guys are stopping in their tracks, if they launch a saturated attack with the fierce beast girls, they can penetrate Aaron's defense, which [Dragon Scale] is sealed!!
Not using a sword means Aaron can't use his earth-attribute "Rock Iron" either, so his only defense technique left is [Aura Armor].
Since [Aura Armor] isn't strengthened by earth-attribute aura, Zara is confident that they can penetrate it too!
Meanwhile, the one of the pig bastard guys is closing in on Aaron.
At the forefront, the two are about to clash.
"――――?"
In the distance, Aaron's figure, still over 10 meters (≈ 32.8 feet) away, disappears from the pig bastard guy's line of sight.
My unique battle technique――[Rapid Flash]
The explosive sound echoes later.
By the time he realizes it, Aaron has already infiltrated his inner circle, hiding in his midst.
The pig bastard guy――sees.
A fist, held low, is thrust toward him.
(First, I must endure this blow!!)
He wraps his whole body in aura, crossing his arms to guard his face. But Aaron's fist is aimed at his stomach.
Did he misjudge where to defend?
――No. This is fine.
My unique battle technique(?)—[Love Changer].
By converting the pain from the enemy's attack into s*xual excitement through the love he has for Fiona, he turns damage into a form of pleasure, making it a technique to endure.
And not only does he endure, but as he gets closer to climax, if he's a warrior, his aura strengthens, and if he's a magician, his magical energy circulates better, thanks to the boost from his heightened spirit.
It's truly a technique that combines offense and defense.
At their monthly gathering, it has already been proven that he can withstand Aaron's attacks 2 or 3 times if it's just bare-handed techniques.
And then――at the moment Aaron's fist sinks into his soft belly.
The pig bastard releases the arms that were crossed in front of his face and starts to move.
(I'll grab this arm and stop his movement――!!)
He's certain he can definitely endure one blow. If he has that confidence, he can deliberately accept the hit and bind the enemy the moment he's attacked.
If it were a slashing attack, it wouldn't have worked this way.
Or if he used [Dragon Scale], he wouldn't have been able to keep holding on.
However, he overestimated his power and let go of his sword and his trump card.
(That is your downfall!!!)
In that moment, a shock burst from the fist buried in the fat belly.
(It's okay! I can endure――――)
My unique battle technique――[Rumble Punch]
"Gubogooooo――!?"
And then the pig was blown away.
With the force of a cannonball, he flew horizontally for dozens of meters, then bounced along the ground like a skipping stone.
"""――Huh?"""
Zara and the others widened their eyes in surprise at how he flew away, instinctively following the pig with their gaze.
Eventually, the pig rolling on the ground came to a stop. However, he showed no signs of getting up, lying there with his eyes rolled back and foam coming from his mouth――he was unconscious.
"W-What the...!?"
A chill ran through them at the fact that their comrade had fallen in just one hit.
"O-Our [Love Changer]...!?"
"Knocked out before we could even climax...!?"
"T-This is impossible! This must be some kind of mistake!!"
A critical miscalculation.
They had underestimated Aaron's strength, thinking it was the same as before the stampede.
Haaah~ as he exhaled, Aaron relaxed his stance.
Then, he grinned at Zara and the others, who were staring at him with terrified eyes.
"Hey, hey... could it be over in just one hit...?"
"Y-You...!!"
"If it's this easy, from here on it won't be a fight, just a lesson...!!"
"Y-You better not get too cocky while you can...!!"
As the other pigs fumed with anger, Aaron approached, cracking his fingers one by one.
"Well, that's my line. ...Today, I thought I'd deal with you guys, not because you came at me, but for a different reason..."
"Wh-what!?"
"Yowch!?"
Aaron, who was radiating an unusual intensity, made not just the pigs but even the beast girls, who were losing their rationality, take a few steps back in pressure.
In response, Aaron, with an aura swirling around him, spoke in a threatening tone.
"Listen up! Until now, I've let it slide, but Fiona is already my wife. In other words... I'm going to teach you not to make creepy advances on someone else's girl...!!"
"Y-you better try if you cannnnn!!!"
"Raaaarrr!!"
At Aaron's words, the flames of anger reignited, and the momentary stillness broke.
The pigs, beasts, and Zara all launched their attacks on Aaron at once――.
* * *
Boom! Boom!!
One by one, the pig beast alliance was sent flying.
Aaron swirled his aura around him, using it for defense at times, for attack at others, and mostly to feint and control the movements of the pigs and beasts that were charging at him.
His fighting style was filled with confidence, making it hard to believe he was at a disadvantage.
(There's this much of a gap...!!)
Lucia was purely astonished.
Lucia from the Age of Gods was an all-rounder who could handle not just magic but also close combat at a high level. However, when it came to close combat, it was done while hosting the Jobs god through [God's Descent], and close combat was still not her main focus.
So even though she has Fiona's memories, she didn't really understand how strong Aaron actually is.
――Or rather, even Fiona has never seen Aaron fight with his "serious and full power." In reality, only someone like Logan has witnessed that.
And even Logan probably doesn't know Aaron's full power "now."
That's why it was no surprise that Lucia was stunned by the one-sided battle happening right in front of her.
"......"
Lucia was dazed for a while, but when she came to her senses, she shook her head.
Then she looked up at Fiona next to her.
"...My wife, huh?"
"......!!"
Fiona's face turned red.
"And you shouldn't mess with other people's girls, huh?"
"~~~~~~!! W-What is that supposed to mean!?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Lucia kept her cool by teasing Fiona.
However, it seemed that Lucia wasn't the only one who was astonished. The leader of the drunks watching nearby muttered in disbelief.
"Hey, hey, hasn't Master gotten even stronger again?"
The clan members agreed.
They also respected the endurance of the pigs. Yet, despite that, Aaron's strength, which could take someone out of the fight with just a punch instead of a slash, was clearly above what they knew.
The answer to that strange fact came from Fiona, who tried to change the subject from Lucia.
"Um, it seems he got stronger after fighting Mr. Logan?"
Gaining combat experience increases strength. It's something that can be considered very normal, and it's a good thing that our master is getting stronger before facing the [Evil God].
However, Io shook his head in frustration.
"...It looks like we'll need to fundamentally rethink our tactics."
The plan to defeat Aaron would likely be set back significantly.
Each clan member's strength was increasing, and they were closing the gap with Aaron, but now this. Io steeled himself, knowing that the real battle would come after defeating the [Evil God].
A few minutes after the battle began――the sounds of explosions, shouts, and screams that echoed across the idyllic grasslands came to a stop.
The pigs that had been knocked out before they could even feel ecstasy aside, the beast maidens who had been running wild, and even Zara, who had been attacking from a distance, were all carefully closed in on and taken down by Aaron, who had turned into a man determined to punch them down.
All that remained were the lifeless bodies of the rebels lying in the grass (they weren't dead).
Aaron returned with a refreshed expression and said to Lucia.
"So, Lucia. Just like you said, I let out their anger while knocking them away. What do we do from here?"
"......This is different from what I was thinking..."
She thought Aaron would take a few hits too, allowing the maidens to vent some of their frustrations, but that didn't happen. While there were a few moments where he defended against the beast maidens' attacks with his aura, in the end, he didn't get a single scratch.
Worried that they might not listen to her words, Lucia still said, "I'll give it a try..."
So first, she gave potions to the dying rebels to heal them, and once they woke up, she gathered all the rebels.
It seemed like they didn't want Aaron to hear this, so the rest of the members waited at a distance.
While waiting for Lucia to persuade them, Io spoke up.
"Aaron, what are you planning to do if their persuasion fails?"
"In that case, we'll have to remove them from the hunting team and leave them behind."
"Hmm... well, that seems reasonable... I don't want to lose any strength if possible, but you never know what might happen."
Ignoring those worries, Lucia returned after finishing her persuasion, leading the maidens with her.
And right off the bat, she said,
"The persuasion was a success."
To prove Lucia's words, the maidens told Aaron.
"Master, after careful consideration, we have concluded that we cannot defeat you with our current strength."
"So, for now, we will entrust our lives to you."
"At least during this exploration, we swear we won't do anything strange."
"We don't want to make our big sister sad."
Agreeing with the maidens, the pigs also nodded, saying things like "Indeed, indeed" and "Truly."
"...I see."
It seems like things have calmed down for now. In other words, Aaron's training had mixed results.
If they were the type to give up this easily, they would have given up a long time ago.
There were many things he wanted to point out, but for now, Aaron accepted that this was enough.
"Geez... I wasted a lot of unnecessary time. Well then, let's disband this time――."
Before Aaron could finish his sentence, the maidens lined up in front of Fiona for some reason.
"Wh-what...? What's wrong?"
Fiona spoke in a confused voice as the girls stared at her. However, the girls, who usually would have answered right away, stayed silent――then, in the next moment, they all lay down on the ground at once.
Lying on their backs, they all looked up at Fiona's face. And then――
"Ba, babble..."
They started to say words that made it seem like they had lost their minds.
"Babble, mama, Babble."
"Mama, my tummy, it hurts!"
"Mama, milk... milk...!"
"Babble, mama, pick me up!"
Zara and the pigs were the same.
"Big Sis... no, mama... babble...!!"
"Babble! Babble!"
"Mother! I am hungry!"
"Babble! Babble!"
"""......"""
To put it mildly, it was a hellish scene.
Aaron wrapped his arms around Lucia, who was trying to go somewhere, lifting her up so she couldn't escape, and questioned her.
"Hey, what kind of persuasion did you use?"
"...I just told them about Ickle's existence and that Ickle became Fiona's daughter."
What kind of thought process leads to this situation?
They probably thought they could become Fiona's children too.
"Babble, mama, babble."
"I want to drink milk...!"
"Babble! Babble!"
"............"
Fiona had a blank expression, as if all her emotions had drained away.
Her icy gaze looked at the 15 people pretending to be babies like they were trash.
Then she looked at Lucia, the cause of all this.
"...Lucia?"
"!? F-Fiona... honestly, I feel bad about it. I just thought of it and did it. ...right now, I'm reflecting on it."
Even with Lucia's apology, unfortunately, Fiona's gaze didn't return to kindness.
Aaron whispered in Lucia's trembling ear.
"Lucia, maybe you should take refuge at the Aron house today?"
"!? ...uh-huh."
Lucia jumped at the helping hand offered by Aaron.
Fortunately, that choice seemed to be the right one. The next day, when she returned to Aaron's house, Fiona's mood had improved.
For some reason, her skin looked radiant.
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