Chapter 51: A Brutal Punishment
"I think you've played enough, Freya," a deep, chilling voice came from the side.
Freya displayed a loving smile and quickly glanced at the owner of the voice. Marcus and Viper followed her gaze, only to see Aron standing calmly while grabbing Red by the throat.
"Oh! Are you done?" Freya asked Aron, ignoring the two people in front of her as if they were nothing.
Aron sighed as he replied, "Yeah, and it was too easy and didn't give me a challenge."
Freya chuckled a little. "Well, too bad cause I'm having fun right now."
Aron's eyes widened. "Can I join you?"
"Hmm!... let me think," her smile widened. "No. They are mine."
"Fine," Aron understood Freya's character. She was like him—a warrior and a hunter. Like Aron, she too hated it when someone steal her prey or interfered in her fights.
"But you better fight me after this, or I'll kidnap you and force you to spar with me."
"Hehe~ sure, I promised you," Freya chuckled.
'Actually, I won't mind if he kidnaps me. In fact, I'm looking forward to it... Hmm? Maybe I should play hard to get?' Her thoughts started to take a slight turn toward something dangerous—obsession and desire.
Like Pethra and Kasumi, Freya began to form a bond with Aron that she herself didn't know about. Because, for her a werewolf, it was all based on instincts.
"You dare to ignore me!" Marcus couldn't take it anymore, hearing this 'casual' talk between Aron and Freya.
Freya turned to Marcus and spoke with annoyance because he interrupted her talk with Aron. "Of course, I'll ignore you. You're weak as hell."
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "You say that, but we almost killed you. If not for your friend over there who saved you,"
Marcus believed that if not for Aron's greataxe interrupting Viper's strike, Freya would be dead by now.
"Pfft HAHAHA~" Freya started laughing like crazy. "Do you actually believe that you can kill me?"
"..." Marcus was confused by her confidence.
"Listen, cub!... I was playing weak. That way, I'll create the illusion of you defeating me if you just try a little harder," she explained. "Using this method, I will force you to use all your trump cards on me while I have a little fun playing the weak one."
Marcus narrowed his eyes with anger as he listened to Freya's explanation. He couldn't believe that she had intentionally played weak just to lure him into using his full strength.
"You got that, BOY! You didn't have a chance from the start." Freya's smile widened, showing all of her sharp teeth, and the air around her grew a little heavier.
Aron couldn't help but admire her. Freya's behavior was that of a predator who uses his strength only at the right moment while luring his prey to throw everything at him.
"!!!" Marcus instantly felt threatened by the sudden change in Freya. He tried to strengthen his grip on her, but instead, Freya suddenly twisted her wrists and made her fingernails dig too deep into his forearm.
"Ughhh!" Marcus growled in pain, and he found that Freya had freed herself from his grip, and now she was the one holding him. He immediately tried to break free, but his efforts only resulted in receiving a powerful headbutt from the silver-haired werewolf, throwing him to the ground.
Freya then scanned the area with her eyes, looking for Viper, who had disappeared at some point. When Freya couldn't detect her, she shook her head.
'She's good at hiding. I can't sense her at all. It's like she does not exist.'
Then an idea popped into her head. Freya immediately brought her wrist close to her mouth, and using her sharp teeth, she bit herself, causing blood to flow. Then she casually sprayed her blood in the air and began sniffing around.
'What's the point of that?' Aron wondered as he observed her from afar.
"Hmm?" Aron turned to his left side when he sensed Red's hands grabbing his left wrist.
"What are you doing?" he casually asked the man who was dying from lack of air.
Red, in a last desperate attempt to free himself, gathered all his strength and used whatever mana he had left, summoning flames from his palm in an attempt to burn Aron's wrist. But nothing happened to Aron.
Aron chuckled lightly, then he brought the desperate man close to his face and spoke in a calm, chilling voice.
"I'm Fire," he proclaimed, then he placed his right palm on Red's mouth. "Your pathetic attempt to burn a Dragon with that weak fire of yours is an insult to my pride."
Aron mentally commanded Python to appear in his hand and declared his judgment on Red as if he were Death itself.
"You're not worthy of remaining in the world of the living."
"!!!" Red widened his eyes in terror as he felt something big and sharp inside his chest, and it grew by the second.
As a punishment for attacking Freya and his arrogance, Aron gave Red a cruel and savage punishment. He injected Python into Red's body and commanded it to slowly take the form of a greatsword while absorbing his blood.
He dropped the man on the ground and watched as Python slowly cut through his flesh and bones.
"AHHHHH! Please! Ughhhh!" Red's screams were enough to make the most fearsome man soil himself.
Aron's cold gaze remained fixed on Red as the man's terrifying screams filled the air. Python continued its relentless progression through Red's body, slicing through tissue and severing vital organs until it split him in two, marking the end of the man known as Red.
Python obediently hovered in the air at his master's command, its blade now completely soaked in his blood.
Freya turned her attention to Aron when she heard Red's screams. Her eyes widened slightly at the brutal scene unfolding before her. She never thought that Aron would be capable of such brutality.
This display of merciless judgment sent shivers down her spine, and a part of her couldn't help but be drawn to it because she knew that Aron did it for her as revenge for Red targeting her.
'AHH! He's perfect. I want him all for me!' Her desire for him was growing with each passing moment.
Sniff. Sniff.
Freya sniffed the air as a familiar scent entered her nose. She immediately turned to a certain spot and smiled.
"Found you!" Utilizing her unmatched speed, Freya dashed instantly to the spot and punched the 'air,' feeling her punch connect to something or someone.
"Ughhh! Not again," Viper complained in pain when she received Freya's punch and her invisibility faded. No matter how hard she tried, Viper couldn't take Freya's hits.
She wasn't a fighter or anything like that. She had her invisibility magic, which was one of the best out there. It could completely erase your existence, and she was agile and knew how to use her daggers, but that's all.
Viper never felt the need to become strong. Why would she when she could simply turn invisible and kill her opponent without them even knowing that she was there?
"How did you find me?" Viper asked Freya in disbelief. She didn't know how she found her so easily.
Freya tilted her head as if Viper's question was stupid. "It's easy. I just sprayed my blood all over the place, and some of it fell on you. Following the moving scent, I was able to locate you."
'Tsk,' Viper bit her lips. She couldn't believe that it was that simple.
Freya gazed into Viper's eyes and flashed a 'gentle' smile.
"Although your magic is great, you lack the training and discipline to thrive. But don't worry, your big sister Freya here will fix you in no time."
"Eh? W-What do you mean?" Viper asked in a shaky voice, but the only response she got was a hit to the back of her neck, making her instantly fall unconscious.
"Ughh! I…I'm not done yet!" Marcus' voice came from the side as he struggled to stay on his feet.
"Oh! You're still awake! Good."
"I can still figh-'' Marcus immediately swallowed his words when he saw Freya leaping toward him with a smile that was definitely NOT gentle.
"Hehehe~ Let's see if you can survive this!"
"W-Wait! Please!" he cried, trying to save his life, but Freya didn't care about him at all.
Soon, the second-in-command of the Rats faction, the tall and muscular man that everyone inside and outside of the faction was afraid of because of his toughness and brutality, received the beating of his life from the silver-haired woman.
"HYAAAA!"
…
"Aaah! That was great!" Freya sighed as she stretched her arms.
Step. Step.
She turned around and displayed a loving smile when she saw Aron approaching.
"Why didn't you kill them?" he asked in curiosity as he gazed at Viper and Marcus, who were lying on the ground unconscious.
"Hmm?... Well, I don't like killing talented people, and this girl is extremely talented, at least in her magic," she explained. "With the right training, she can become extremely dangerous to any opponent."
"And the man?"
"The man's skin is very tough, and his magic complements that really well. He can take everything I throw at him. Hehehe~ a perfect punching bag. Ahh! I'm excited."
"..." Aron glanced at Marcus, and in his heart, he felt sorry for him, just a little.
"Are you going to train them?"
Freya nodded. "Yes, they are useful, especially for what Kasumi and Scarlett are planning to do."
'Shit!' she immediately cursed when she realized that the words had escaped her mouth.
"What do you mean?"
Freya quickly shook her head. "It's nothing serious. It's just a girls thing. I hope you don't mind."
"..." Aron narrowed his eyes, but he didn't bother asking for more information.
"It's fine. You girls can do whatever you want as long as you return to me at the end of the day. And if you need any help, just let me know."
"Thank you," she said with genuine gratitude. "I know I can always count on you."
Aron trusted the girls; he allowed them to do whatever they wanted as long as it didn't harm them, and they always returned to him. After all, Aron is a Dragon, and the girls are his treasures.
Freya then gazed at the wreckage around her and yelled in a terrifying voice.
"I know you're hiding over there! All of you come before me NOW!"
"Y-YES!" Multiple people screamed in obedience at the same time, and they quickly emerged from their hiding spots. They were the remaining members of the Rats. They stood in front of Freya like disciplined soldiers.
Freya pointed to Viper and Marcus and ordered, "Carry them and follow me. And if I sense even a hint of a thought of escaping from any of you, I'll pull your guts out. Understand?"
"Y-YES!"
"Good!" Freya flashed a satisfied smile.
"..." Aron couldn't help but think that Freya would make an excellent general.
I hope you're enjoying the story so far