Hate

"So this is where it went after it somehow escaped eight years ago..."

Soon after noticing Aran's hardened and trembling grasp on his golden sword's handle, Kael called the prinsepe. Aran shook in a way as if he was brought back to his senses.

"What is it, Kael?" He asked calmly as if nothing happened.

"I know, Mahal na Prinsepe, there is hatred swelling deep in your heart right now. But, please don't let your emotions be your downfall."

A sincere warning came from Kael, his guard and attendant, and also a friend. After a short while, Aran let out a brief sigh.

"I will appreciate it if you could stop thinking I'm still the same from back then," Aran replied, his shaking grip had finally calmed down. "It's not because of that thing that there's welling hatred within me now, but..."

With a serious glare, Aran added: "I will not show even a speck of mercy to that thing."

...

"Ha!!"

Lyrica shot a blast of fire from the palm of her hand. Uruk did the same with his black fire and easily engulfed Lyrica's.

"How troublesome! That black fire is a hack!"

"Agatha boasted that you're the only one capable of defeating me. Just what kind of hypnotizing spell did you put on her, kid?"

Lyrica's left eye started twitching, gritting her teeth aggressively.

"Oh I won't just beat your ass up, I'll make sure you suffer the consequences of calling me a kid!"

Lyrica dashed. And not long after she did, she heard a familiar sound from behind her that made her jolt for a split second. She was aiming to throw a hard left initially until she sensed it coming.

Swish~! Swoosh~! Swash~!

Right as she got closed to Uruk who's also about to punch her back...

"Wind Drum: Propeller!"

Ddum!

Ddum!

A burst of wind came from both her open hands which threw Uruk's balance off while also sending her back flying. Right then, three spinning water blades came out of nowhere and precisely severed Uruk's arms off his shoulders, as well as his head.

Lyrica landed next to Aran and gave him a frowning stare.

"You... That was a bit too close, are you trying to kill me or something?" Lyrica inquired in a grumpy tone. "Anyway, how's Kael doing?"

"He's all right," Aran answered with a deadly calm voice. "So what's the plan? How do we kill this thing? Kael said we could kill even Uruk if need be. That's our consent."

"Let's see..."

The two watched in disgust as Uruk pulled his severed parts back altogether.

"Those are impressive water blades, Aran. You seemed more adept at using water magic than your father who died so pathetically in my hands thirteen years ago!" A deranged cackle left the Hari's mouth.

"Don't you dare talk about my father, you damn shadow..."

After sensing Aran's annoyance, Lyrica took a step forward and stood between Uruk and Aran's line of sight.

"Don't speak with him, you idiot," Lyrica told the prinsepe. "Before we proceed with the plan, let's soften him up a bit more."

Lyrica clenched her fist.

"All right, I'm right behind you."

Lyrica took the first move and ran in a circle before stopping behind the Hari. Right then, Aran started dashing forward.

"A pincer attack, huh?" Uruk chortled maliciously. "How pathetic, you two!"

"Rising Water Current..." Aran's golden sword became wrapped with swirling water. "...Slash!"

Aran swung his golden sword upward, a fissure-like wave of water rampantly skimmed through the surface of the plateau toward Uruk.

"60dB: Flintrock..." Lyrica's left fist turned ablaze just like before, making Uruk smile condescendingly at her. "...Ablaze!"

In that second Aran's Rising Water Current Slash and Lyrica edged closer to the Hari, Uruk uttered:

"Hate Impulse!"

A powerful storm of dark energy canceled out Aran's attack while Lyrica is struggling to keep herself from being blown away.

"Argh...!"

"That bast*rd!"

'That monster... Did the Anino become weaker, at all?' Kael asked himself in disbelief while using all the strength he had left to hold on to the ground. 'I didn't think he could produce an energy wave with this much strength...!'

"How troublesome..." Lyrica vexedly uttered while using her Wind Drum: Stand to keep herself in place. "I wanted to save as much mana as I can for later, but this thing's leaving me no choice!"

Lyrica waited for the right moment.

"80dB:... Huh?"

However, at that same moment, the storm of dark energy disappeared and Uruk was already in front of her.

"Goodbye!" Uruk took a firm grip on Lyrica's wrists before spinning her all around and throwing her in Aran's way.

"Uwa!"

Aran was just getting himself back up when he heard Lyrica's voice as she went past him.

"N-No!"

He watched Lyrica helplessly soaring away from the plateau. At that point, Aran realized there was no way for him to save her. Instead, his will to not die allowed him to sense Uruk's eyes on him.

Aran turned around. And to his surprise, a giant wave of black fire was about to hit him head-on. Not being able to be decisive to react, Aran reluctantly shot a strong stream of water from his hand, letting the force push him aside to safety.

Bwoooohh!!

The prinsepe didn't get hit by the black flame, but just standing next to it, he could feel the intensity of it. He doubted he'd be able to stand if he gets hit by it.

"I have to...!"

Pow!

"Heh!"

Just when he thought he had to focus and be careful, the Hari landed a hard punch from behind Aran.

"Ack!"

He twisted his body and deflected another punch from the Hari using his blade. The struggle to push both sides started.

"Tch..." Aran shakingly kept his feet on the ground.

"I can feel your hatred, Aran."

After a while, Aran tried to break out of his position. However, he immediately realized Uruk intended to keep him still. If he ever tried to force himself out of it, Uruk's fist that's clad in blazing black fire will hit him for sure.

"I can tell the feeling of hatred faintly emanating from within your heart!" The Anino uttered. "You hate people who aren't afraid to face death for others. You hate your father who brought himself to his demise for the sake of the things he cared about."

"Shut up!!"

With a resounding roar, Aran unleashed his Water Current Slash and pushed Uruk some distance away from him.

"You also hate yourself, isn't that right?" Uruk continued to speak, a villainous smirk transformed his lips as he saw Aran glaring at him in utter annoyance. "I could tell, you know! You hate yourself because deep down, you knew that you're the same kind of person you hated! It's in your nature to help others even if it means risking your life!"