Fear will lead to hate, but hate doesn't always begin with fear.

But what this child is doing... I don't know; I'm confused about it.

Everyone has a reason to fight, including me. If someone comes into broad daylight with murderous intent displayed on their face, it's either you've just killed someone important to them or you've just ruined their life not long before, and now they have a grudge against you.

In this case, I just hit the kid gently and walked away. No one was harmed here, and even if you think about it, it was thanks to that incident that the kid was able to become as successful as he is now.

But why risk your life of success just for someone like me?

The question was now stuck inside my head, not knowing if it was about pride. Fame? or something else…

Power…

But if the answer is about pride or anything related to that, then this kid is really dead.

"Damn it, talking too much about family makes me uneasy."

It looks like we'll have to cut back on the beer for a while.

****

The sound of metal clanging sounds like an unpleasant rhythm. But in the hands of the right person, like Hazel, it would be an extremely unpleasant melody. Because no one likes to see a container being thrown around, especially if it hits them in the face.

"You can hide, boy, but not forever!"

Hazel was already getting fed up with the fact that he couldn't touch the boy at all.

He already had a deep slash wound on the back of his waist, and to make matters worse, it was taking longer than usual to heal. In endurance, he had always relied on his strong vitality and regeneration ability. That did not mean he would take all the damage dealt by his opponent; why take a few hits if you can easily avoid them?

But the main problem was just one—he was slow.

For a Kuroner, strengthening abilities is a common thing that even a rookie can do. One example of what that looked like was speed; most of them could increase their agility many times over. Among the Kuroner, Hazel was arguably the slowest, and that was something that could be called fair.

Hazel had thicker, denser, and harder muscle fibers, which gave him more strength at the expense of agility.

Despite that, he still had his signature weapon to handle various types of enemies that moved faster than him. Hazel is slow, but he can react very quickly. Thanks to his sensory abilities, he can detect the movements of opponents at close range and react in an instant.

But this time, it was not enough.

He was up against a hunter who earned the nickname "Blink of Death," a nickname for someone who can kill their opponent in a single blink.

If Hazel was an ordinary human, he would have died on the first strike. But unfortunately, he wasn't human, to begin with.

Hazel cleared the surrounding area of all the scattered container crates. He was a little furious as well as frustrated that he was unable to counterattack Ezigio. Meanwhile, Ezigio was also having the same difficulty; he could not find the right moment for him to launch his attack due to a lack of moments.

He sat behind one of the container crates located some distance away from the angry Hazel, silent and panting while trying to catch his breath. He was using too much of his energy to move from one crate to another to hide. He peered at Hazel carefully; his appearance now seemed even more savage and cruel than before.

The armor covering his body gave off a more intense blood-red aura, and his gaze also changed to that of a ferocious monster.

Ezigio took a deep breath, then he picked up a small glass bottle with a cloudy yellow liquid inside. He downed it in a hurry, not being able to linger every time he drank an energy potion.

"Knock, knock, your package has arrived."

Ezigio felt as if his heart had been ripped out the moment he saw and heard the shadow as well as the voice. The next thing that came was a devastating kick from Hazel, who was venting his frustration. Ezigio positioned the sword that served as his shield; he succeeded, but unfortunately, the impact of the kick was so strong that it made him bounce very far away.

"Ugh..." Ezigio tried his best to get up from where he landed; it was not a smooth landing, but at least he did not land between the containers.

He realized that one of his swords got destroyed by the impact.

"Come on, man, keep going!" shouted Hazel from a distance as he pounded his chest with his right hand; it was another challenge, and Ezigio knew it.

He had trained for this; all the sweat and blood he had shed was hard work for a drop of strength. He felt stronger than his old self, yet he still felt weak for some reason.

"Why? ...."

He asked himselfself; the answer was somewhere within his mind, and he was having trouble reaching it.

But finally, he knew if it was just his nightmare.

He used fighting tactics that many people said were cowardly. But the irony was that it came from the mouths of people who in the end were beheaded by him, so the real answer was the readiness of his heart to fight. The soul of a fighter like Hazel was not afraid in the face of death, unlike Ezigio, who was calculating here and there.

He's simply being a coward.

"So... all I have to do is..." he muttered without realizing that Hazel was getting closer to him.

At this point, his mind was racing so fast to get the answer that finally a switch was activated inside his head.

"I'm going to regret this a lot."

****

"Come on, get up and cheer up!"

The next kick came, and he knew exactly what he had to do.

"Huh?"

A lightning-fast slash managed to stop the kick. The next thing Hazel knew was that his leg was not where it should have been. In that shock, he searched for Ezigio, who had, for the umpteenth time, vanished from her sight.

"Just do it; bad luck will come to us no matter who or what we do," muttered Ezigio, standing not far behind Hazel.

He was holding his main sword with both hands, and the energy around him also changed drastically from being very stagnant to explosive.

"You... are indeed a strange child," said Hazel, who was standing on one leg.

Unlike him, who was under the influence of narcotics, that kid had moods and emotions that changed all the time. He swore that if he blinked his eyes at any time, the boy's attitude or personality would change once again.

"Strange? Sir, this is a very special day for me. It's only natural for a fan to get hysterical at the sight of his idol, right?" replied Ezigio with a very bright smile.

'Ah, yes… a natural occurrence for a sentient being stupid, that's bullshit.'

Hazel could no longer process Ezigio's attitude and behavior, and he could finally get a little motivation to end this fight soon. It was very easy for him to say because before, he had a very hard time even landing a single strike on him. The same was also the case with Ezigio, but that was back when he was playing cautiously. Hazel thought that if Ezigio would change his previous fighting style, it was a rough guess from him, and he expected a lot from it.

"No matter how hard I try… as long as I don't trust my swords. I wouldn't be able to defeat you." As soon as he said it, the golden aura that covered his body started to glow immensely.

"Now you are talking about it…."

Hazel's separated leg was thrown quite far, and retrieving it would be a troublesome task. He had more than one way to retrieve it, but he thought the traditional way was the best choice. Hazel placed both hands on the ground and positioned himself steady, then he grew some sharp claws on his fingers to get some grips. Instantly, he lunged quickly at Ezigio.

He used both hands to drag his body as fast as possible. His legs, which were still intact, also provided some additional kick to speed him up. The distance between the two of them grew closer, but Ezigio still showed no signs of moving.

Hazel should have been very suspicious about that, but somehow there was something in him that encouraged him to keep going.

'What is this... taunt effect?'

But unlike what he expected, Ezigio protected himself with his four swords as shields. Hazel could not stop, with all the momentum generated by him making it difficult for him to dodge.

"This is going to hurt..."

His original plan is just to distract and knock him for a second and take back his leg. But, because his plan is already screwed up, he needs an improvisation. Hazel did the same thing he did every time he wanted to attack—he strengthened his body and filled both hands with catastrophic energy.

Just one swing and Ezigio would feel what it was like to be shredded into pieces. The shield would not protect him from the impact of his blow.

But one simple act, could change everything.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"Sun's Screamer."

"!!?"

An explosion of light made him once again blinded—he could feel his hand hitting a hard object. Instantly, the sensation was gone and replaced by a stinging pain in his neck.

Sun's Screamer is a highly effective light bomb for escaping monsters. This is one of the must-have items for every hunter, as its usefulness has been proven to save one's life at a crucial time.

It has safety features that can sometimes be a double-edged sword. It looks like a small beach ball about the size of a golf ball, and there is a button on the top and bottom that can only be pressed after saying the password. It was designed for someone to accidentally press the button and blow themselves up, and it also had a very fast activation time. Holding it for too long is not a good idea if you don't intend to lose your arm.

Unfortunately for Hazel, his visor was unable to filter out the super-bright light and heat of the bomb.

"It's over. You've lost."

But he knew that it wasn't over.

Hazel collapsed like a puppet; it took him a moment to realize what was happening—he was decapitated. But the only thing that bothered him was how Ezigio was acting as if it was over.

He was still alive; being beheaded was not the end for him.

'Nice try fuck head, but this is far from over'

Currently, his head was rolling freely on the ground; he felt a little dizzy from it, but that wasn't the problem. He was still conscious; it would take more effort to kill him, and beheading him was just a precaution.

He pondered, 'Was it wrong for him to underestimate someone in a fight?' He had never behaved like this before, but now he somehow did.

'Oh my. I'm screwed.

Perhaps the boy was right about some things about him; he had never let a stranger cut off his head so easily. Hazel rejected the public opinion that he was a selfish dictator who used his own family. But if he traced his mindset, he found out that it was all true.

He was afraid to step out of his comfort zone.

No one had ever managed to defeat him; no one except the Crystal Dragon had ever put him on the brink of death. He had a goal back then; it was a noble one and the most basic one that all living beings have.

He just wanted to live, peacefully, of course.

Now here he was, lying weakly and staring at his own body. defeated by an edgy boy.

When he is too lazy to find his own, he will do something about it.

'I live to find strength, weakness is a sin.'

The consequences are clear: if he is strong, he will live, and if he is weak, he will die. very simple and easy to understand for anyone.

Therefore, what happens if a person loses his direction in life once he gains it again?

He is angry, an outburst of an unimaginable amount of anger came from nowhere and struck him.

The explosion of a blood-red aura from Hazel's body spread terror in all directions. Hazel's limp body began to move like a puppet. His body grabbed his head and stuck it in place. The burns produced by Ezigio's sword proved to be very effective against Hazel's regeneration ability, but it was still not enough. His catastrophic energy easily overcame that problem without a hitch. It was a waste for Hazel, but he had no choice.

"Hey, kid, how much information did that damned scroll tell you?"

"As much as Plovkrat knows."

"Then, that's a lot." He complained in a huff, and with some diversion, he connected his severed leg while sitting up.

"You know, son, underestimating you was a very big mistake. In short, I would like to apologize for that mistake. The second is…"

"The second one?"

Ezigio, who had a big question mark on his head, waited patiently for Hazel's answer. Hazel only smiled sarcastically; his attitude was so naive that it was ironic.

"You should know not to bite off more than you can chew."

A gust of wind began to flow forward, and Hazel stood up and entered a weird stance. Instantly, Hazel launched a flying kick with unreasonable speed and power. Ezigio was able to dodge the attack with ease, but he was slightly knocked back by the side impact of the kick. He could say that it felt like he was almost hit by a bullet train. Hazel ended up crashing into several other container crates, but instead of being dented or shattered, it melted into molten metal and splashed everywhere.

His dust-covered figure stood in a menacingly hunched posture. The sizzling sound of molten metal hitting several places on the skin of his feet and the smell of burning flesh spread everywhere. His figure was currently covered with a fierce red aura that made it seem as if he was being burned by it.

The attack was pure showmanship; it was extremely inefficient and a waste of energy. But he still did it because he knew it was cool.

Not long after, the jingling sound of chains could be heard in the distance, but instantly, Hazel realized that he was entangled in a golden glass chain. He tried to free himself, but the moment the chain broke, new ones would soon grow and entangle him more firmly. As he was still struggling with the chain, a white sword viciously stabbed him from behind. It pierced his back, but it could not dig too deep. Hazel felt that he was getting annoyed at his current state. He had just told himself that he would change, but until now it had all been for naught.

While Hazel was just contemplating himself, Ezigio was watching him from a distance, warily. If he were a computer, then his brain would currently be experiencing severe overheating. He knew that Hazel could release himself from his chains easily, but for some reason, he hadn't done so yet.

"Ugh, I did it again. Just do it, even if it will kill you damn it."

He cursed to himself, he had a bad case of overthinking every now and then. That wouldn't be so bad if the person he was fighting wasn't someone who could barely be killed.

Hazel is almost immortal, and he has no idea how to win this. He's getting out of tricks, and acting wouldn't be a good thing if he's going too far with it.

With that, Ezigio used all the luck he had for a counterattack. He recalled his main sword, the only one that could pierce Hazel's armor with little effort. Although it could penetrate his armor, Hazel's skin and muscles were other things that could turn his sword into a dull blade.

"This plan, it better work...."

The golden chain finally covered Hazel's entire body, making him look like a beautiful giant golden cocoon. He knew something was wrong, but he would not let this moment go to waste. The golden chain was made from his energy and making it also required a large amount of power and energy.

He couldn't fight any longer… at least now he can't.

"Then this must be resolved immediately."

Ezigio saw his sword return to his hand safely, the blood clinging to it slowly reacted with the air and started to eat his sword. The blood was highly corrosive, and he knew exactly why it was like that.

"Catastrophic Energy, something like that can create such a thing like him.", he said in amazement. The fact that Hazel could contain this kind of energy proved how tough he was.

Hazel could not hear Ezigio's muttering behind the chains that ensnared him. He was just busy focusing all the energy he had right in the center of his chest. By doing so, he was able to channel the energy throughout his body in one short burst.

There were only two things catastrophic energy could do: it's hot and makes you heal faster. That knowledge he gained from his hundreds of years of experience in using this energy One of the other things this energy could do was strengthen his body. If he continuously injected this energy into every cell of his body, it would go crazy and mutate quickly.

It would also make him regenerate quickly, of course.

"If... you meet me like this. Then that face of yours will fall out of place." He said before he felt a burning sensation in his chest.

"The time has come."

A powerful explosion erupted from within the golden cocoon. From there, Hazel stood firmly, his body now sprouting several large spines on his back. His armor was now covered with more energy veins that were more brutal than before. The strength he had now was something he could be proud of; this was his true combat form.

It took a lot of time and effort to be able to use it, so it was understandable why he rarely used it. But unfortunately, the black scroll also addressed this.

"Are you already satisfied with the cocoon, sir?" asked Ezigio kindly.

"...."

Hazel could not move his limbs; they were all firmly bound to the ground by the chain.

"How long... can you play with your weapon?" Hazel asked back to Hazel, who was standing not far in front of him.

"I know, you know the answer," he replied coldly, and he charged his sword with all the remaining energy he had.

"You're right...."

The other three swords surrounded him from afar; he had already destroyed one of them. Everything should be fine for him; he believed that.

He was very confident in his ability to take an attack.

Hazel tried to move his hand, but it did not respond to him either. All his limbs were already paralyzed; he would blame the chains for digging into his flesh. Ezigio and his three swords surrounded him in a square formation, with Hazel in the center. The four swords began to shine one by one, and the air inside the square formation also began to compress.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Ezigio once; this time there was no expression behind his tone.

"Just curious; it's not every day I do this. You're a lucky person, you know?" he replied confidently.

"I take that as an insult."

"Because it is an insult..."

Ezigio did not continue the conversation any further; he ended it with a pathetic nod of despair. Hazel did not know whether he should escape from this confinement as soon as possible or not. He felt as if he could take a few more hits before he finally acted properly.

'If I keep doing this stupid thing, soon enough I am gonna die.'

He realized this confident attitude of his was just sheer arrogant nonsense. The last time he went through this, he was almost killed by one of the monsters that had cursed venom on its spines.

He cried bitterly at that time, it was so painful for him.

"[Final Destination:Heaven]"

With that, Ezigio's body and his sword shone brightly like stars. They lunged towards Hazel, delivering lightning-fast slashes with dazzling movements. The light show could be seen from so far away that even the city gate guards could see it from a distance.

Hazel, who was the main object of the show, even felt mesmerized by it. His body was now being roughly chopped up, and fortunately, his head was safely and peacefully lying on the ground. He could only watch as his body was elegantly dismembered and filled with a beautiful golden luster.

He didn't mind; after all, healing a cut was an easy thing for him.

To him, as long as his limbs were still there and not destroyed, He could still heal them easily at a modest energy cost. Growing new limbs was a very difficult and energy-intensive process.

10 seconds had passed, and the show was over. The remains of the body parts were thrown around and emitted a disgusting burnt smell. Hazel had dark purple blood; it made the scene around her look like someone had just spilled a gallon of ink. Meanwhile, not far from him, Ezigio stood weakly and helplessly.

He was trying to support his body with his main sword. He had expended all the energy he had; there was almost nothing left of him.

He was exhausted; there was nothing else he could do.

To add insult to injury, Hazel reassembled his body again.

Each piece of his body began to emit red sparks of electricity. It acted as a link between the other pieces, and they began to tug at each other. Slowly, the horror show began to pay off as Hazel's body finally became whole again. His body walked awkwardly like a puppet to pick up his head face up on the ground.

"That's it; isn't there another show?" he asked immediately after fixing his head properly.

"...."

"I take it, so there isn't."

"...."

As he expected, not a single answer came out of his mouth. From the start, he knew where this fight would take him. This was simply a chase between the brutal attacks of a child and the arrogance of a pathetic man.

He won, but he still felt unsatisfied.

Someone like Ezigio was often referred to as a 'Psykos'. It was a nickname for a Kuroner who could control their weapon completely by just using their energy. It sounded easy at first, but every professional Kuroner knew how rare people like him were. Trying to control a weapon using energy was like moving a doll with a fragile string that was easily broken. It required a lot of concentration and focus, not to mention the energy that was constantly being used.

"Tell me, kid, why are you trying to fight with me so hard?"

"...."

"There's nothing strange about it. It's just that you're the only one who took a detour. Most people just try to throw the first punch when they want to deal with me. But now here you are, carrying the severed corpse of my missing nephew. Not to forget all those insults, but if I think about it, they weren't as bad as people say back then."

"...."

"Still no answer?"

Hazel didn't want to wait too long to take his prize. When he said that he would take everything from him, he was exaggerating. All he wanted from Ezigio was not just one of his eyeballs; he had been eyeing him since the first time he saw his abilities.

He sat not too far away from him, giving Ezigio a little space out of the goodness of his heart. He knew what it was like to be soundly defeated; it was pretty bad if he looked back at his memories. His current form was still in his fighting mode, and his precious energy was still actively emitting radiation on a small scale. It would not cause any fatal effects, just a slight warmth in the surroundings.

Not long after Hazel sat down, Ezigio finally collapsed to the ground. At that very moment, Hazel decided that he would take his prize.

"If you don't mind...."

"!!!"

A scream of pain and agony came from Ezigio, who was withering on the ground. Hazel scooped out his eyes without hesitation. The process happened quickly and efficiently; after all, it was not in his nature to torture someone.

Hazel looked behind him; he saw Ezigio's body shaking in pain from what had just happened. He knew this kid would be severely depressed after this. He had previously guessed a little at the reason why this boy had tried to fight with him earlier. So at least he would give the boy some of his respect as well as thanks for finding his nephew's head.

"Hey kid, you know... you're the one who got me down pretty bad, you know. It was both emotional and physical, and it was very, very painful. Maybe you can't beat me now, but maybe in the distant future... you might be able to."

"...."

"Alright, if you have nothing to say. I'm going to leave now, and also, this is something that will make you better."

He threw a roll of red-colored bandages over his face. After that, he walked away in the direction where the sun was about to set. It had been a bad day for him, but after this fight, he somehow felt a little relieved.

"Thank you..."

He could hear that faint voice from afar; it was said with gratitude. Hazel just kept walking while waving his hands behind him. He knew that if he were to meet him again, it wasn't every day that he met someone like Ezigio.

That boy was trying to enslave him; he was sure of it. That was probably the reason why he didn't bring up the details about being a subordinate.

"Well, luckily I won."

However, there was something a little off in his head.

At that very moment, he knew that his head had been cut off again.