บท 96: YOU are the problem.

Aaron walked around his mother, a smile on his face as he taunted her. She believed that she had killed her husband, his father. It was hilarious to him. He was already dead, yet she believed she killed him. Pure comedic gold.

"Oh, how does it feel to be a killer? Does it feel good? Does it feel rewarding, knowing that you've killed one of your own kind? Someone who was arguably stronger than you? All so easily!" Aaron taunted, as his pink smile grew ever wider. His mother was just on her knees, covered in blood and purple flesh. She couldn't believe what was going on. She? Killed Steven? Impossible...right?

While Aaron was taunting his mother, Crystet was prying himself off of the wall. He wanted to scream out in pain, but he held it in with all the force he could muster, as he needed Aaron to not notice him. It all relied on surprise.

He pulled himself off, and fell to the ground, large holes in his hands and chest. They leaked out a cyan liquid, similar to the one that looked like tears, but the viscosity was different. He dragged himself along the floor towards Aaron, watching as his body started to slowly heal up. If he wanted to do it correctly, he needed his body fully healed. Aaron didn't notice Crystet, as he was too busy taunting his mother.

"Oh, if you feel the need to cry, go ahead. Not a single person here is going to judge you. Well, maybe except me." Aaron yelled, continuing to taunt her. A single second later he felt a blade moving past his face. Elise had thrown a sword at him. He began to laugh at her for her feeble attempt, but them she noticed something. The sheer determination in her eyes. This intrigued him.

"Oh? You're not down yet? I really thought you'd be out of it considering your husband is dead, but what do I know? You might be a sociopath!" Aaron joked, not noticing the presence behind him. One second he was smiling, and the next second he was face-first in the floor. He felt the back of his head freezing up, and this just pissed him off. He knew exactly who it was. He tried to stand up normally, but he was just punched again, so he teleported a meter backwards, and saw Crystet standing there with his fist frozen in ice.

"You know, you really don't know how to fight fair, do you?" Aaron taunted, hypocritically. "Even I know that both people are meant to be prepared for an attack!"

"Shut up, Aaron!" Crystet yelled, as he went swinging at Aaron again. "You're the reason why we all are here! You're the reason why half the world is dead! You're the reason why my life has gone downhill! YOU are the problem! YOU are why we are all suffering!"

"Wow, big mouth on you. Let's see if you have the strength to protect yourself from what comes next." Aaron menacingly stated, as he began floating into the air, dodging the incoming punch. He was going to use Fear Manipulation. He activated it, and sent a wave of images into Crystet's mind. The first image was a happy image, with Crystet surrounded by his family and friends at the city park, Crystet being in his original human form. The second one was an image of the same park, but everything was on fire, with his family and friends all burning, dying in horrendous ways. In that image, Aaron was standing behind the only person left alive, Crystet, who was mourning the deaths of those he loved, while looking as he did now.

In the third image, it was the same story, but at a beach. Everyone was dead except Crystet in the fourth one. The fifth and sixth images were by far the worst. Crystet was in school, surrounded by his classmates, everything normal. Except, in the sixth image, Aaron was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was dead, as the halls lay dripping in blood, except for one person. A normal, human Crystet, holding up a knife stained in blood. The Crystet in this image had done this all with Aaron. Crystet immediately became fearful of what was to come, and it just got worse. Every set of images just had more gruesome deaths, with each one having no sight of Aaron, and Crystet being thhe only one alive.

"YOU would have done this. Eventually, YOU would have killed everyone who know and love. YOU were the original root of the problem. I just took you out of the equation, and added myself. See? Humans really are despicable. Now, you are no longer bound by human chains. You can be free to do as you wish, with nobody to stop you. So, what do you say, Crystet? Do you wish to join me in the quest to become the rulers of this planet? To rule over it by sheer power alone?" Aaron asked, as he extended his hand towards Crystet, lowering his body to the ground. Crystet began extending his hand out, but Aaron noticed something just in time. He saw Crystet's other hand, which was coated in ice, coming towards him from the side. Aaron jumped backwards, a scowl on his face.

"You know, I really hoped you'd take the offer. It would have made my job a hell of a lot easier, but it would have led to the same outcome. I'm sorry it had to be like this." Aaron whispered, as he rushed up behind Crystet.

"Arrivederci, Crystet." Aaron finally said, as he drove a punch through Crystet's chest, and activated Boundless Gravitational Manipulation to absolutely shred his entire body to pieces. Crystet ended up looking like black and cyan confetti, spread out along the hall, much to the dismay of the crippled Ray, who began screaming out in fear. The only person who he truly had left was gone.

[Preservation Skill]

[Activated]

Or was he?