Decision

"Say what?"

"You heard it right, Himala," Uruk said toward Lyrica. "I like it when people's hatred drives them insane and to their death!"

Uruk suddenly shot a small, black fireball at Kael. The Malaya tried to use Shockblade to parry the fireball, but Uruk's attack was so fast that he immediately realized, 'I can't parry it!'

Kael rolled over to the side and somehow avoided the black fire. The said black fire hit the ground and caused a powerful explosion that made Kael drop a cold sweat.

'One misstep and that could've killed me.'

"Kael, watch out!"

Aran's voice crack after screaming prompted Kael to turn his attention back in the direction of Uruk.

Pheww!

"...!"

Only then does he realize that Uruk shot another fireball and it's already deadly close to him.

'I-I can't dodge it!'

He gritted his teeth, bracing himself on impact. But then, he heard Aran shouting his name one more time.

Clash!!

"Urgh!"

Aran came and stood in front of Kael, using his golden sword that's clad in his water magic to try and stop the fireball. Mustering all the strength he could in his body, Aran attempted to shove the fireball again, and again.

"Just how ridiculously strong is this black fireball?!" Aran complained.

Instead of shoving it away, Aran's sword was the one being pushed back by the black fireball. Aran continued to struggle until Kael came from behind the prinsepe.

"Shockblade!"

Kael struck Aran's sword from behind and helped him gain on the fireball. Until finally, they managed to send it away. The two exhaled in relief.

"Using my Spark, I can intensify someone's hatred, making them act irrationally aggressive and more resilient. As a result, my Spark can gather hatred and convert it into dark energy much more than normal until the countdown ends."

"Countdown, you say? What do you mean?"

"Heh, piqued your interest, huh, Himala?" Uruk said towards Lyrica. At that same moment, Aran performed his Rising Water Current Slash, sending a rampaging fissure of water at the Hari of Kruule. "In five minutes, the Spark inside the people of Kruule will trigger automatically."

Uruk showed his open hand at Lyrica and the two others. "Once it does, they will suffer in a tormenting pain as dark flames begin to swallow them from inside out, leaving no trace of their very being."

Having the thought of Rona, Nela, and the others she met in Kruule facing such a painful, horrible death five minutes from now, Lyrica's left arm turned ablaze with her fire.

"Damn you...!"

Seeing the girl raring to attack him, Uruk couldn't help but chuckle in pleasure.

"What are you gonna do, Himala? I'm sure I didn't need to tell you, but the only way you can stop the countdown is by killing me." He then added, "I shall admit, you are stronger than both Aran and Kael, but your weak flames are still not enough to defeat me. You know that, right?"

"You monster..."

"...Don't you dare look down on us!"

Aran and Kael protested as they too are waiting for the moment to strike. But deep down they knew that Lyrica is indeed stronger than them. In truth, even Aran thought of just standing back to not be a hindrance to Lyrica once another fight started. But again, the Anino is now threatening the lives of all of Kruule's people, he knew he doesn't have time to think about his weaknesses.

On the other hand, Lyrica is beginning to regret her actions.

'Mousai and I already talked about Aninos. Going here, I should have known worrying about myself was not an option!'

Lyrica knew from the beginning she alone had a chance of defeating the Anino even if it's the slightest, so long as she disregarded her dB Limit. But instead, Lyrica decided to take what she thought was the right and safe course of action for her. After all, at the end of the day, her survival will always be her number one priority. And that mistake turned things for the worst.

'Forget trying to weaken it, it's as clear as hell the Anino was just toying with us from the beginning. All the seemingly deadly blows we landed earlier were taken by that monster like nothing!'

Five minutes is the time limit. Lyrica's Fierock has less than a minute and a half left. After that, she will need to wait 44 seconds until she can use it again. And during that time, she's more vulnerable than a glass window.

'I should go hide with Aran and Kael and hope he doesn't find us or do anything stupid until I can use Fierock again. I'll have Aran and Kael go and save that person, then I'll go past my dB limit and get rid of the Anino. Get rid of the... Damn it!'

It would have been easy for Lyrica to say those words back before she arrived with Aran on top of the plateau. Right now, she's not sure if even exceeding her dB limit is gonna be enough to defeat the Anino at this point. Compared to when it was just playing along with them, the mass of dark energy from earlier made the Anino's strength skyrocket.

"How long are you gonna stay there idling, Himala?" Uruk pulled Lyrica out of her thoughts. "Oh, are you perhaps trying to devise a plan? I'm afraid time is not on your side, though."

Masses of dark energy came out of nowhere and entered Uruk.

"Wha?!"

"Where did..."

"How? It hasn't even been a minute since the countdown has started!"

The three were left in shock. Right then, Uruk stated, "I told you, didn't I? I can make everyone's hatred more intense with my Spark."

"Ah...!"

At first, Lyrica thought it came from the soldiers of Kruule who died fighting the forces of Reilaea. While that could be the case for some people, what Uruk stated gave light to another horrible truth that made her feel on edge.

Emotions are normal and an important part of life. But if one doesn't take control of it, even emotions could kill a person. That's precisely what is about to happen to the people of Kruule unless their bodies can handle it.

Hatred doesn't just make one act aggressive and hateful about someone or something else, it can also trigger the "fight or flight" response which causes blood pressure and heart rate to increase.

'Increased blood pressure and heart rate shouldn't be that troublesome. But...'

Like the Anino said earlier, everyone's hatred has been intensified, meaning their body is being forced to work much more than a person having a normal adrenaline rush. And on top of that, they have to endure it all for five minutes. And again, five minutes isn't that much, but...

'Can you really expect the children and the elderly to last that long? Of course not!' Lyrica told herself in frustration.

"Now then, what are you going to do? Will you break your promise and leave the people of this pathetic kingdom to their demise, or will you try and break the curse that befell on them?" Uruk gestured at Lyrica in a provoking manner. "Show me what you can do, Himala!"

'How troublesome...'

Aran and Kael are wordlessly watching Lyrica. And they saw the flames emitting from her left arm, as well as the complexion on her face. Lyrica made up her mind.

The prinsepe's eyes turned wide in disbelief. 'S-She's gonna back away...'

That's right. Lyrica cannot save everyone, so at the very least, she'll try to save as many people as she can. That said, Lyrica decided to cling to the possibility that elders like Esmeralda, the children like Rona, Nela, Robert, and Nilo could endure the curse the Anino put on them and wait for the moment to fight back.

"Keh..."

Realizing what the girl was about to do, Aran's anger flooded his mind.

"You bast*rd! You–"

"Uruk!!"