Chapter 202: Capture the Heart: Part-14
Aether responded just in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding a fatal injury as the bullet that had been aimed at his heart merely grazed his underarm, leaving a burning sensation but no significant harm.
“Oi, oi, oi… Let me in on the fun, man, J2,” came a haughty and confident voice from behind.
Hearing the voice, Aether turned, his eyes widening in surprise, and saw… another Jack Sparrow, identical to the first.
“???” Aether was momentarily stunned, a wave of confusion washing over him. This brief lapse was enough for the Jack Sparrow he had been holding to escape his grip.
Aether frowned deeply, rubbing his eyes in disbelief to ensure he wasn’t seeing things. But there they were, two Jack Sparrows standing before him.
“Took you long enough, J1,” said the Jack Sparrow who had just escaped from Aether, wiping the blood from his face with a smirk.
“I was searching for Aqualina, but it seems she was nowhere inside the Doom, J2,” J1 replied with a defeated look, resting a sniper-like gun casually on his shoulder.
“What?… There’s no way she could escape!! She must be hiding somewhere….” J2 glanced at Aether, who was staring at them with a mix of disbelief and frustration. “Maybe he hid her somewhere.”
“Possible, but….” J1 still looked doubtful, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Anyway, finish him off. We don’t have time to play around,” J2 said with a tone of seriousness, readying himself for another confrontation.
“Yeah,” J1 agreed, his demeanor also turning serious as he prepared for battle.
“Are you guys twins?” Aether asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and disbelief as he scrutinized them. There was no discernible difference between the two, as if they were perfect clones.
“Twins?”
J1 and J2 exchanged amused glances before sneering and saying in unison, “Why don’t you find out?” They then launched themselves at Aether, initiating the fight.
Thud.
Thud.
Aether instantly blocked two kicks coming at him from opposite directions.
‘Now isn’t the time to think,’ Aether thought, focusing entirely on the fight as he counterattacked.
J2 and J1 moved with perfect synchronization, their coordinated attacks making it difficult for Aether to gain the upper hand. This was the first time he had encountered opponents who were so perfectly in sync; there wasn’t a single misstep—everything was precise and calculated.
And even more…
BAM.
While attacking, J1 used his sniper weapon to take shots at Aether, adding an extra layer of difficulty for Aether to manage.
Though Aether was able to fend them off without showing any mercy, he countered every attack they made with a smile on his face, his confidence unwavering.
Swift kick… Block it with his palm.
Knockout punch… Swiftly changing its trajectory.
Bullet… Dodging at the last possible second.
“Damn it!” J1 frowned, frustration etched on his face as he saw Aether handling their attacks with apparent ease. J1 and J2 grew increasingly frustrated, especially seeing Aether enjoying the fight, looking at them with an almost pitiful expression.
“Fuck this slave!!” J2 screamed, and they launched a complex combo attack on Aether. J1 went for a jump attack while J2 aimed a sneaky kick at Aether’s leg.
Tack.
Aether, who was focused on J1, was caught off guard by J2’s kick and was about to fall.
J1 smirked, poised to deliver a finishing blow, when Aether, mid-air, caught J1’s hand with his leg, twisting it and slamming J1 into the crouching J2.
Thud.
Thud.
“Arrrhhh!” J1 and J2 groaned in pain as they hit the ground, while Aether looked down at them haughtily and said, “You guys are really weak.” He couldn’t believe these were the same twins who had managed to knock him out last time.
‘Twins… maybe triplets?’ Aether thought, recalling he had killed one previously.
“Th-…” J1 spat, his voice shaky with pain and frustration, “W-We are far from finished, slave.”
Aether frowned, preparing to finish one of them off, when…
…ssssssss.
Aether’s eyes widened in alarm, ‘What the…?’ He was just about to dodge.
…sssssss.
Chucckk.
…sssssss.
Cckkk.
Two more bullets appeared from different directions, each one piercing his stomach and hand with precision.
“Look at that, bastards. J1 and J2 are really weak.”
“Hmm… They were taken down by a slave.”
“Pathetic.”
Three new voices came from different directions, adding to Aether’s growing shock.
“What in the…?” Aether was stunned to see even more Jack Sparrows emerging from the shadows.
“Haha…. Look at his shocked face, J4,” J3 said with a laugh, clearly enjoying Aether’s bewilderment.
“Well, seeing five Jack Sparrows might be too much for a slave like him,” J5 said with a wicked grin, his eyes glinting with malice.
“Hey, J1… I couldn’t find Aqualina anywhere… Please hurry up. We need to finish our mission before the Doom goes back,” J4 said with annoyance, clearly eager to complete their task.
“…” Aether now frowned, realizing that each one of them had a sniper gun. ‘What are they?’ he wondered. Before he could fully comprehend the situation, the five of them immediately attacked Aether in unison.
PUFFF!
In a matter of seconds, two punches landed on his face, an uppercut to his chin, a blow to his stomach, and a kick to his back, sending Aether flying until he crashed into a tree.
“Cough.” Aether coughed up blood, his vision blurring slightly as he looked at the quintuplets, who were gazing at him with smug, haughty smiles.
“Sure, he’s quite a handful for a slave.”
“Yeah, never thought he would be a problem for us.”
“Let’s finish him, guys. We need to kill her.”
“Yeah, yeah… Don’t be bitchy.”
“Haha… A slave that ruined our plan… damn, it was a straight slap to our face.”
Aether gritted his teeth. These quintuplets were unnervingly coordinated, moving as if they were a single entity. Now, even Aether doubted they were human to begin with.
There was no way, even with skill, that people could be so perfectly synchronized without error.
Suddenly, something hard and metallic hit Aether’s back. He smiled, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and looked at the quintuplets, then began stomping towards them.
The quintuplets grinned and, just like before, launched a coordinated combo attack on Aether. Again, he was kicked down.
“Any last wish, slave?” J3 asked, amused, as he pointed his gun at Aether’s head.
Aether coughed and glared at J3.
As they assumed it was over, the others lowered their guard. Just then, J4 noticed that J2 didn’t have a sniper, unlike the rest.
“Hey, where’s your artifact—”
BAM!!
Everyone flinched as J3’s headless body fell to the ground, Aether holding a sniper with its long nozzle broken in half. He had taken it, hidden it behind his back, and then used it.
Aether, with indifferent eyes, looked at the fallen J3, who suddenly transformed into a mechanical puppet before disintegrating into dust.
‘Hmm… so they’re not human… ah,’ Aether thought. Then he stood tall and said haughtily, “Four more to go!”
Meanwhile…
“N-No, no, no, no, no, no…”
Mumbling frantically, Aqualina hurriedly ran towards her base.
After sensing the Arcane energy, she drank a potion, healing herself fully, and then ran with everything she had.
Yet, her heart hadn’t healed.
Her heart was still racing, and her expression was pale as if she were sick—all because of Aether, who had sacrificed himself for her once again.
[+5000 Affection]
‘Drip.’
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was sure if Aether hadn’t pushed her down, she would have died.
She would have permanently left this world… left her mother… and the person she had finally fallen in love with.
‘Please, Aether! Please be safe!’ Aqualina screamed inwardly.
Thud!
“OUCH!”
Something blocked her from moving forward. Aqualina frowned and touched something that felt like a barrier keeping everything out.
“This must be the barrier…” Aqualina mumbled before trying to break it, but…
Damp.
Damp.
No matter what attack she used, the barrier didn’t even scratch.
“What the hell is going on?!” she screamed, looking at her two desired weapons, which weren’t even denting the barrier.
A thin pair of silver swords, nothing more.
She loved dual-wielding, nothing more… She just wanted dual-wielding swords.
Biting her lip, she tried to search for Aether. Since the barrier was visible, she walked around to get a view of him.
‘Come on, come on….’
As she moved around, she finally noticed him.
“AETHER!!” she shouted when she saw Aether fighting against three people who looked identical.
“What the… Who are they?” she wondered, but that wasn’t the important question. She could see Aether had the upper hand, even though he was fighting against three people.
[+5000 Affection]
She sighed in relief, seeing nothing had happened to Aether.
However, she noticed he was struggling against them. As much as she wanted to enter and tear those bastards apart, she could only clench her fists in frustration.
But then,
“AARRRHHHHH!!!”
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