A barrage of purple orbs shot straight down after leaving the dimensional portal. Rasputin raised his head, then gave a sly smile at Aaron's attack.
"No matter how hard you try to kill me, it won't work."
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Reality Warping Dome]
Maroon magic appeared and began to protect Rasputin within the energy dome. The streaking purple orbs were seen clashing with the dome's walls, creating a turmoil of strong energy fluctuations along with a strong gust of wind.
Some of the purple orbs exploded before making it inside, which surprised Aaron as he thought it was his strongest attack power.
Rasputin laughed wickedly, smiling a wide grin as he kept both hands behind his back. His intimidating eyes continued to look straight at Aaron.
"You won't be able to touch me. I am protected by God's might!"
'Damn! How strong is he actually?' Aaron complained.
After trying to control the purple orbs, Aaron smiled as two orbs managed to push through and fly near Rasputin.
Before touching him, the orb exploded and created a continuous explosion. Rasputin's body was pushed violently into the wall of his reality-warping dome.
[Damage +67078]
[Damage +45309]
[Two Combos!]
'Of the dozens of orbs aimed at him, only two managed to break through.
'I need to find another way to defeat him.'
COUGH!
Rasputin rose up after being hit, though there was no blood, but Aaron saw his clothes were torn, and his form began to fade, looking nearly transparent —not as dense as before.
"How could you possibly attack me and leave me injured? What have you done?"
"Nothing. I was simply trying to be stronger with faith in my heart, different from the God's will that you're always praising."
"Nonsense! You are the true evil manifestation in the living world. In the end, sin only comes with redemption!" Rasputin insisted.
"Now, can you face yourself?!"
"What do you mean?"
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Persona Clone Imagery]
A black cloud suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Aaron stepped back as he kept alert for a potential attack.
His eyes sharpened as a black cloud full of thunder flew low near Rasputin, making his figure unseen by Aaron.
'What is he gonna do?
From within the black cloud, a maroon magic energy rushed forward towards Aaron. The young man reached out and blocked the attack with his purple magic shield.
"This attack, why does it feel familiar?"
The maroon magic attack ended, someone came out from inside the black cloud, shocking Aaron. The black cloud full of thunder disappeared like the wind, a clone figure with the same face as Aaron stood right before him.
"Although not perfect, this is more than enough to kill you," Rasputin replied, speaking in Aaron's clone form.
Aaron clicked his tongue; he didn't expect the fight against Rasputin to be as troublesome as it was. He glanced quickly to the side, looking at Aerith sitting with her legs crossed in the air.
'She must be aware of his powers,' Aaron replied as he watched Aerith.
"I don't like being ignored when I'm talking. You've insulted someone with God's will!" threatened Rasputin.
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Dimensional Explosion Orb]
Aaron gasped in shock, his eyes widening as he looked forward to where Rasputin was casting his sub-talent, Dimensional Explosion Orb.
"One of the powers of this clone is to memorize the information he gets. You kindly showed me your sub-talent. Now, I will use it to defeat you!"
Dozens of dimensional portals appeared above Aaron's head, not as many as his own, but still, the attack could be fatal if it hit his body.
'Damn!' Aaron complained.
The maroon orb shot out, targeting Aaron. Aaron jumped fast in a spin as he shot purple magic ahead. An explosion was triggered, not as powerful as Aaron had imagined.
'Although he can imitate my sub-talent, the imitation sub-talent's power is not as strong as the original,' Aaron replied.
Occasionally, Aaron turned aside, seeing Rasputin in Aaron's clone form relying solely on this power. Aaron guessed he couldn't use the other sub talents.
"You can copy my sub talents, but can you copy this?!" said Aaron, challenging.
"Show me, let me see it firsthand."
[Sub Talent Activated]
[Dimensional Dark Portal]
[MP -10000]
When Aaron was avoiding the maroon orb's attack, a dimensional rift appeared behind Aaron's back.
Aerith gasped and was startled, showing the Dimensional Dark Portal to Rasputin could make the soul escape into the living world.
"What are you doing, Aaron? You're giving him a chance to escape!" said Aerith.
"Don't worry, Aerith. I know what I'm doing."
Aaron jumped backwards and went right into the dimensional rift. As Aaron's existence disappeared in the battle arena, Rasputin laughed out loud while girding his loins in Aaron's clone form, realizing he'd seen a valuable sub-talent.
[Begins imitating sub talent]
[Sub Talent: Dark Dimensional Portal]
[Beginning the process of comprehending the sub-talent]
[1%]
Aerith rose from her seat, stepping closer to the purple dome wall while her hands were ready with purple energy.
If Rasputin was planning to use the Dark Dimensional Portal, Aerith would have no choice but to seal Rasputin's soul for good.
'What are you planning, Aaron? Where are you now?' Aerith asked.
[30%]
[45%]
"This took a bit longer than I thought it would. It seems to be the main ability of his talent," Rasputin replied, closing his eyes as he let his mind understand how the sub-talent worked.
Aerith looked uneasy, worried that Aaron might not return. If that was the case, Aerith would have no choice but to seal Rasputin's soul.
Just as hope faded, a dimensional rift appeared behind Rasputin's back. Aerith stared ahead, then smiled broadly as she discovered it was Aaron.
With the Claws of Darkness sub-talent already active in both palms, Aaron leaped powerfully while lunging forward.
Rasputin, who had been busy comprehending the Dark Dimensional Portal sub-talent, gasped and failed to react.
"Y-You?!"
"That sub-talent is mine. Only I can use it!" said Aaron.
With a cross-swinging hand gesture, purple cross-shaped scythes shot forth in three pieces. Rasputin reached back to protect himself, but the speed of the purple scythes was too fast for Rasputin to block the attack.
[Damage +56900]
[Critical +75203]
[Critical +98700]
[Triple Combo! Great!]
"Akh!" cried Rasputin, his body pushed away by Aaron's three-cross scythe attack.
The damage Rasputin received wasn't small either; Aaron was sure it could defeat him. If not, he would maximize another moment to attack Rasputin again,
Purple smoke billowed up where Rasputin lay limp. Aaron set his foot on the place again. Aerith smiled as she took a long breath, the soul-sealing magic in her hand dissipating soon after.
Aaron squinted, seeing Rasputin starting to return to his original form. Rasputin tried to stand up with all his might, Aaron chose to jump quickly to defeat Rasputin once and for all.
"You're really sneaky! I was fooled by—"
The young man arrived before Rasputin. His pace was quick with the help of his dark magic manipulation.
Rasputin gasped, knowing that his fate was sealed when Aaron was about to swing a purple-clawed fist at him.
"You are not God's will!" said Aaron.
The purple scythe lunged at Rasputin, defeating the man right where he lay. Aerith smiled. Aaron had once again defeated an evil soul.
Aerith dispelled the purple dome that trapped them. She stepped down to Aaron and did not forget to congratulate him. Aaron's skill and ingenuity impressed Aerith.
"I thought you were running away. It looks like you had other plans earlier."
"I can't let him when he starts copying my sub talent," Aaron replied softly.
"Let me hold him back. You focus on retrieving his orb," Aerith said.
Aerith cast purple energy forward, binding Rasputin's hands and feet to kneel before Aaron. Once enough, Aaron walked forward and took Rasputin's soul orb.
The red orb burst out of Rasputin's body, accompanied by a scream of agony from the man. Right after Aaron grabbed his soul orb, Rasputin began to fall unconscious.
[Item details:]
[Name: Soul Core Orb]
[Soul Name: Grigori Rasputin]
[Description: A valuable item to bind one's soul in a servant contract. Requires a large amount of MP to perform]
"Are you ready to bind him in a servant contract?" asked Aerith, glancing to the side.
"Yeah."