Aldred saw Skaal changed into a brown blur and headed straight for him. The brow blur split into pieces and covered Aldred. When the blur refocused, the Weapon Form was completed. Although the Form Change was known as Weapon Form, however, when Skaal concentrated on what he believed to be the most beneficial to Aldred, he changed into something more than just a weapon...he became armor as well. Was this due to Skaal's wish to be helpful to Aldred? Or was some other factor in play? When the Form Change finished assembling, a surprised Aldred checked on the alterations to his appearance. A gauntlet-like arm was formed at where his left arm used to be. A full-arm gauntlet was formed as well for the right arm. Skaal's smaller pincer acted like an arm guard and positioned on the right arm, the pointed part facing outwards at the elbow. Skaal's larger pincer acted like a shield/arm guard for the left arm with the pointed part facing outwards at the elbow as well.

A hole formed at the end of the shield and a spear like tip protruded from the hole. The gauntlets were a little pointed with dark green spots, which manually produces small doses of paralyzing poison. The scorpion's head formed into a simple helmet and face mask which covered the lower face, with the scorpion's fangs placed at the sides of the helmet. Skaal's body covered Aldred's back, while his legs covered Aldred's front. The appendages of his tail protected Aldred's legs like shin guards.

Aldred looked at his newly formed left arm and clenched his fist. The comfortableness and familiarity felt as if it was his own arm. The pointed parts of the pincers stop at his elbows. He imagined the destruction he could cause whenever he elbowed someone. The pointed spear-like tip coming out of his shield looked to be poisonous. When he clenched his fist, the spear tip extended outwards and when he unclenched his fist, the tip retracted. Aldred looked at Ralph and wanted to test out his new power.

Ralph gaped at the transformation in amazement and disbelief. What happened? How did they merge? Why did they merge? Ralph fired a few Earth Needles at the boy, but the needles were blocked by Aldred's shield. Aldred dove underground and dug towards Ralph. Ralph took a few steps backward to survey the surroundings. He was prepared to counterattack once Aldred emerges. However, contrary to his expectations, Aldred did not emerge anywhere. Instead, his hand burst out from under Ralph and grabbed the Earth Mage's leg, his claws dug into the leg and injected some extremely strong paralyzing poison. Aldred pulled with his strength and pulled Ralph's leg into the ground.

With one leg in the earth, Ralph was at a disadvantage. Coupled with the gradual paralyzing power of the toxin, Ralph could not sustain his consciousness for long. Gritting his teeth, Ralph stabbed his leg to bleed the poison out as well as wake himself with the pain. Then, he loosened the earth with some mana and freed his leg. Ralph was not a healer...that was Caroline, but she was dead. Every wound he takes, he was stuck with it. For the first time during the battle, he felt a bit of fear. Unpredicted movements, paralyzing poison attacks, high-penetrating power attacks, incredible speed, incredible defense...that combination...was dangerous.

Aldred! We must hurry and defeat him. I don't think I can hold onto this form for long. Skaal suddenly notified Aldred as he was savoring the feeling of power.

Is that true? Damn...okay, I understand. Aldred replied.

Aldred looked towards the cautious opponent. He rushed towards Ralph, his left fist clenched and the spear tip protruded from the shield. A green, viscous liquid covered the point. Ralph saw the charging boy and fired some Stone Javelins. Since Earth Needles don't work, he figured that he needed to increase the piercing power. The stone javelins launched towards the charging boy. However, Aldred raised his shield and blocked all the stone javelins without slowing down. As he neared Ralph, he lunged towards Ralph. Ralph smacked his foot on the ground and activated Stone Tower. A stone tower shot up from under Ralph, sending him upwards. Seeing Ralph high up on the stone tower, Aldred unclenched his fist and plunged his hands into the stone tower. With a pull, he split the tower in half.

As the tower crumbled, Ralph lost his balance due to the unstable ground and tumbled off. When he crashed, he quickly scrambled up and searched for the boy. However he could not find Aldred...the boy must have submerged underground again! Ralph scanned the perimeter for any likely spot that the boy may emerge from. Suddenly, the earth in front of him trembled and burst forth. The boy shot from the ground and stabbed with his left fist. Seeing the spear-like tip, Ralph brought his arms up and crossed them in front of him He quickly wrapped Earth Armor around his arms in order to further increase his defense. But the defenses were not enough as the spear tip pierced through the armor and bore a hole into one of Ralph's arms. Ralph screamed in pain as he flew back. He grimaced as he saw the state of his arm...it was nearly blown right off and was just hanging on a tip.

"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, arm for arm." Aldred sneered.

"You bastard! I'll rip you to pieces and feed you to the dogs!" Ralph fumed.

Aldred! Enough talking, time is running out! I can't hold this form any longer. You must finish him of this attack! Skaal urged.

I know! Aldred nodded.

"Haha! Ralph, you don't look so well...let me put you to rest." Aldred shouted as he charged again.

Ralph fired more Earth Needles and Poison Arrows, but Aldred's shield arm deflected them all. Realizing his attacks did not slow Aldred down one bit, he activated Earth Wall and jumped backwards. After putting some distance, Ralph raised his hand for one final powerful attack. He stood there and waited for Aldred to burst through...but nothing....

What happened? Oh no! Ralph realized as he turned around just in time to see Aldred emerge from the ground below.

Aldred had dove into the ground right after Ralph erected the Earth Wall and tunneled his way behind Ralph. He could sense exactly where Ralph stood by the aura the Earth Mage emitted. When Ralph realized what was wrong, it was already too late. Aldred burst out from underneath and slashed with his right arm. The slash connected and dug a huge chunk of flesh. The force of Aldred's slash blew Ralph back as he toppled onto the ground in agony. He skidded a few meters away until he laid, face up and wearily looked at the young boy.

Impossible...that was the word to describe the events that had occurred. How can a boy who was several stages below him be able to push him to this state? His eyes blurred as the pain numbed his mind. On his chest, four claw marks stood out. The attack was incredibly fast...so fast that blood did not well for a good few seconds. Ralph was able to see his ribs and some of his organs. As blood started to form from the wounds, he looked at the approaching boy.

Aldred walked up to Ralph with a grin and prepared for his final attack. Ralph may be tenacious, but he won't survive this next attack. He raised his right hand and, with the intention to behead, slashed down towards Ralph's head. However...time was up...midway through his attack, Skaal's Weapon Form deactivated. Skaal landed beside Aldred, exhausted...and Aldred lost all that boost in power.

When Ralph saw Aldred revert back to his original form, he grinned. If he died, he would bring Aldred with him. As this thought flashed in his mind, his hand touched the ground. He muttered, "Earth Spikes!"