[Bonus] The Counter

[Bonus chapter for keeping me in top 30 golden tickets/powerstone rankings!]

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Aldrich looked down at Shrimp and observed as the variant cocked his head and stared at Valera with curiosity. The very same type of curiosity it had afforded Blackwater's rank 1 Mel Morales.

An innocent curiosity that felt sinister in that it came from a monstrosity with enough power to wipe out the lives of an entire city.

"You...very strong. Do not break," said Shrimp as he stared at Valera with wide open, shining rainbow eyes. "But still hurt. Will die soon."

Shrimp's eyes gazed at the white hot parts of Valera's armor, at the smoke of the seared flesh wisping out from beneath the metal.

Aldrich closed his fist, and his [Mist of Undeath] welled up underneath Valera. The green mist immediately restored her health to full, completely healing her burns. The cold nature of his mist also soothed the armor, rapidly cooling it down to its black shade.