A Lie is a Lie

"80dB: Flintrock..."

Lyrica used Wind Drum: Propeller to launch herself further forward.

"...Overheat!"

Lyrica shot a ray of fire at Uruk.

"Heh."

The Hari leaned his head to the side and dodged the burning laser. In that instant, Lyrica was able to get close to Uruk. She began throwing a barrage of punches at him.

Bam! Pow! Pow!

The girl poured all her strength with each punch. However, the Anino is blocking each one as if they're normal punches. A short time went by, and immediately the Anino has completely read her attack pattern.

'She's smart enough to use the environment and her abilities to do tricks you wouldn't expect in a fight, but without it, she's just a girl who lacks the experience in close combat.' Uruk thought to himself whilst avoiding every single one of Lyrica's attacks. "You're too weak!"

Fwiip~!

Bang!

Finding an opening in the middle of the flurry of punches, Uruk landed a blow in Lyrica's gut. The girl gasped in a sudden pain coursing in her body. Not only that, Uruk followed up with a hook kick to Lyrica's face, tossing her across the surface of the plateau. Lyrica helplessly rolled over the ground, feeling breathless after being hit in her gut at the same time she was feeling a sharp pain from the wound that opened on the right side of her face after receiving a direct and violent kick.

"Tch..." She hammered her left fist to the dirt as she struggled to push herself back up.

Lyrica knew how inexperienced she was in combat. Fighting the slimes, slaughtering the goblins, knocking out the Guardian Snake, and everything else that happened before she came to the top of the plateau and confront the Anino. To her, she only overcame those things because she was swimming with incredible luck.

Receiving those hits from Uruk earlier made her realize, no luck is on her side tonight. Whether she survives the night or not, the outcome can only be decided if she can kill the Anino inside the Hari or not. It's all on her.

But frankly speaking, her inexperience in combat, her luck, and the uncertain outcome of this confrontation, mattered less than the surface of the plateau where she's currently standing. Right now, there's only one thing in Lyrica's mind, and that is what's making her boil with anger toward the Anino.

"They know, you insolent motherf*cker..."

"Huh?"

Lyrica's left arm became flame itself, burning furiously just like what she's feeling right about now. Lyrica wordlessly activated Flintrock at 80dB.

"They are not blindly attacking anyone, nor are they blindly dragging themselves to their death..."

"Ah... So you can tell, after all." The Anino said in reply to Lyrica.

The people who are under the Anino's curse act like they don't know what they're doing, nor why they are angrily screaming Uruk's name. But contrary to what others see on the people of Kruule without carefully observing them, their consciousness is still intact. That's right. Though they have no control, the people of Kruule know what's going on.

Lyrica realized it thanks to her natural ability to read people. She can tell if someone is acting suspiciously or not just by listening and observing them. When people from the castle came out, especially the one who tried to attack her and the other who went for the Hari and ended up dead, Lyrica realized it.

Their uncontrolled aggressiveness, their abnormal persistence, as well as them screaming Uruk's name. To Lyrica, those three are a desperate call for help. They want someone to free them from the Hari's curse in any way, even death. But that's not all.

Lyrica could tell they are in pain, both physically and mentally. They're in pain because the Spark is slowly burning them from the inside. They are in pain because they never wanted to fight or kill anyone, nor do they want to hate the Hari of Kruule, but they just couldn't control themselves no matter how conscious they are. They all want to end this suffering one way or another.

"Help us!!" Their cry for help resonates all around Lyrica.

"They are not blind..." Lyrica walked slowly with heavy footsteps, gradually picking up speed toward Uruk. "... They know!"

It didn't take long and Lyrica used Wind Drum Propeller to launch her forward.

"They know, damn it!"

Lyrica let loose of her Flintrock: Ablaze at Uruk. The Anino received the attack with the palm of his right hand.

Bugohm!!

The girl tried to force her way and hit Uruk, but it was to no avail. Her current strength's just not enough to shove the Anino's arm off and hit the monster in the face.

"Ho? So that's the reason why you're so pissed?" The Anino told Lyrica whilst keeping her in place. "Have you decided to become the hero and save everyone just like you promised?"

"You're wrong!"

The fire disappeared from Lyrica's arm as she retracted her fist from Uruk's hand before attempting to land a kick on his temple. The Anino protected himself with his left forearm.

"I am not a hero!"

After jumping back, Lyrica found a rock and immediately threw it at Uruk. The Hari of Kruule who saw it coming before she even threw it, flawlessly dodged it by just a single sidestep.

"I did not come to this world to become one either!"

Lyrica picked up more rocks and threw them one after another. The Anino blocked it all with Uruk's hands.

"Even if I want to, I already know I cannot save everyone."

Saying this, it reminded Lyrica of when she and Aran came across the ongoing battle between the forces of Reilaea and Kruule while trying to catch up to Kael. She saw how people die trying not to kill others. She saw how the others get killed because they had no choice but to fight.

It helped open her eyes to the fact that she's trying to chase after unrealistic desires, and realized that she will never achieve them, even in another world. However...

"The people of Kruule's suffering, all the lives that are lost because of your insecurity for being a Wahika, are not the reason why I'm pissed as all hell right now."

Lyrica threw a fist-sized rock so violently, it started cutting through the air. The Anino singlehandedly caught the rock before crushing it into tiny pieces, almost like sand.

"What did you just say to me..." Veins began popping out of Uruk's face and forehead, glaring at Lyrica with wide eyes. "... You brat?"

Fearlessly pointing her finger at Uruk, Lyrica coldly uttered, "What your sumpa (TL: curse) is forcing them to do is what's pissing me off."

Back then, they forced themselves not to voice their genuine thoughts and express what they truly feel because of the threat of the curse killing them. Now, the curse that threatens their lives is forcing them to do things that are against their will. Looking at it, what they forced themselves to do then and what the curse is forcing them to do now are the same thing.

They are lying to themselves.

"It doesn't matter if you're lying to someone, or yourself. It doesn't matter if you're forced by someone or by yourself. A lie is a lie. And I will not tolerate it no matter what!"

Lyrica boldly stated in front of Uruk.

"That is why I've made up my mind." Lyrica clenched her fist as she declared, "I will kill you, Anino!"

Following what she said, Lyrica unleashed her ability, "200dB: Heavy Metal!"