Legacy of Hatred

Liam’s insides churned, his empowered body and the wild Qi he released failing to stop the attack’s more insidious effects.

The abrupt, hidden explosion had released a shockwave that had reached as deep as Liam’s organs, on top of blowing him away, actually making him lose control of his body.

However, the hyper-clarity remained, intensifying the pain Liam experienced, but also keeping him awake and fully aware.

That wasn’t Liam’s first time facing similar attacks. Dominic had also unleashed debilitating shockwaves, suggesting that Andrew’s core wielded a matching nature.

Yet, there were clear differences. While Dominic felt like a mountain, Andrew had covered himself in proper magical armor that had improved his speed and enabled more immediate attacks that didn’t lose any power despite their short casting time.

Defense was another key point of that rank 3 spell. Liam’s greatsword had collided with the huge palms, but only shallow cracks had opened on those brown surfaces, and they had even closed right away.

The spell Andrew had unleashed looked to be utterly complete, excellently covering every aspect of combat, and Liam could only suffer under its might.

Liam recovered almost immediately, but Andrew arrived upon his horizontal figure before he could halt his momentum, his giant fists joined into a single, descending attack.

A tide of black Qi exploded upward as Liam unleashed the Deflecting Gale, but its violent energy ended up spreading instead of rising. The descending blow parted it, acting as an immovable hindrance that slowly cut through the defensive technique.

The Deflecting Gale still bought time for Liam to halt his figure and swing his weapon, but an explosion resounded inside the brown arms before he could complete the attack.

Liam lost control of his body again, his figure flying down, slamming into the ground, the impact instantly creating a massive crater. The internal damage was lighter now, allowing him to recover quickly, but Andrew was already coming.

Still, Liam wasn’t alone. Before Andrew could get too close, Liam’s figure disappeared. The fan had remained in hiding, waiting for the right opportunity to strike, but Liam now activated its ability to escape that dangerous predicament.

Andrew finally seemed to be taken aback, his figure landing in the crater, his head twisting to keep track of the incredible speed Liam had shown, the brown neck wielding impeccable flexibility.

Liam flew away before rising high in the sky, blood leaking from his mouth, his body littered with superficial injuries, but his bloodshot eyes still on his prey, his Hatred-fueled brain already devising hunting strategies.

Andrew was a poor match-up for Liam. For someone who needed to draw blood to use his true power, an opponent who could attack and defend simultaneously was a truly perfect counter.

It didn’t help that Andrew’s spell seemed to prioritize defense. His attacks were strong, but that brown puppet’s toughness was even greater, basically giving Liam no path for his poison.

Nevertheless, the solution was simple. If there was no path, Liam simply had to create it.

Andrew was about to give chase when his instincts sent a warning. There was something wrong with the world. The clash had moved the battle away from the swamp, but its fumes were rising to the sky nonetheless, seemingly drawn to Liam’s figure.

Actually, Liam wasn’t the target. His greatsword was, since a whirlpool of blackness had formed around it as soon as he stopped high in the sky, generating some sort of pulling force.

Whatever that giant weapon was doing, it was dangerous, so Andrew crossed his arms above his head, the ground beneath him rising to create additional barriers.

As for Liam, he didn’t care that Andrew had caught up on his preparations. They would have been impossible to hide anyway at that point, so he only focused on unleashing them.

If a martial art wasn’t enough to get past Andrew’s defenses, Liam would simply use a spell, one that had yet to see the light of day after his breakthrough.

Qi spun inside the greatsword, condensing beyond its natural shape, accumulating an unfathomable amount of power. The weapon became immovable, as if containing too much energy for an inferior being like Liam to affect, but his physical strength gradually broke through that barrier.

One inch at a time, the greatsword started to descend, blood matching that progress. The more strength Liam exerted, the more his injuries opened, but that didn’t matter. Only killing his prey did.

When the greatsword pointed down, directly at the brown figure half-covered in a dome of soil, the world changed texture. The sunlight disappeared as the air became liquid, a black energy too dense to be ethereal having replaced it.

The alchemical spell Liam had developed from the Demoness’ technique condensed his Qi, elevating it beyond its nature. It was a process meant to surpass that energy’s limits, and Liam had a starting point of a branching expert now.

The blackness that had covered the world didn’t immediately disperse. Patches slowly paled, uncovering what that impenetrable darkness had tainted, but the sunlight never truly managed to shine again.

The air had simply changed. It hadn’t transformed into the toxic fumes Liam’s swamps released, but it was dark, tainted down to its very fabric, having become poisonous.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the swamp had appeared, but it was deep and large. It was more of a lake made of muddy, toxic waters, far bigger than what the slash version of the alchemical spell usually caused.

Andrew was knee-deep in the lake, his incredible spell melting. Layers upon layers of his defensive puppet were sizzling and sliding off, the infection heading toward his still-safe body.

However, Andrew couldn’t dwell on his shock. He even lost the chance to activate another technique since the greatsword was already upon him, acting as a spearhead aimed directly at his chest.

Andrew’s partially melted right arm collided with the greatsword, deflecting it, but the offense had only just begun. Liam was behind it, diving toward him, long, black talons having replaced his fingers.

The partially melted left arm swung to intercept Liam, but an item stood in its way. The fan blocked the fist, delaying its advance for a fraction of a second, allowing Liam to reach Andrew.

Liam’s talons stabbed the mostly slimy layers but failed to reach actual flesh, so he spread his arms. Melted and intact soil blew away, creating an opening in the destroyed armor, revealing Andrew’s tanned shoulder underneath.

With an inhuman hiss, Liam slammed headfirst into the opening, the headbutt spreading it even further, allowing his mouth to reach Andrew’s skin, which his fangs pierced.