Horror vs Tragedy: Brunaulf vs Storm (1/2)

Brunaulf POV:

I tucked her hair behind her ear and stood up. My face devoid of any emotion that I could describe apart from one: Rage. Pure rage.

"Which one of you touched her?"

I examined the three men and boy standing in the distance. My gaze rested on the large man who seemed to be licking his lips excitedly.

"A shame. If you were going to defile her, Reg, you should have waited till the Hero arrived."

"You're right, Storm. But she was no fun anyway... I like big girls..."

I took my glasses off and pulled my mask over my nose.

"Are you not angry? Reg had his way with her all while she screamed out, "Brunaulf, Brunaulf." Maybe that's just her way of showing she enjoyed it, right?"

"....Kehehehe."

I cackled to myself uncontrollably as my Ki exploded. The expressions of Reg and the two men behind Storm instantly changed.

"You like tragedies, correct? My favourite genre is Horror. Allow me to show you why."

"!!!"

My bloodshot eyes grew wider as I gripped Reg's neck. The other two men tried to retaliate, but I was already gone. I reappeared a few meters away from Storm and squeezed the air out of Reg's lungs.

"Are you not angry? Your subordinate is clawing away at my arm, unable to break free from my grip as I choke the life out of him."

Storm's lips curved upwards at my response. The colour of his eyes changed, and he waved his hand at the other two men.

"Lance. Pip. Get Reg back."

"Understood."

They dashed forward, and I immediately pierced my hand right through Reg's abdomen. I smashed his head into the ground repeatedly, again and again, and again. Blood splashed all over my face, but I didn't care. My eyes curved upwards as I saw his face begin to cave in.

It took me a few seconds to realize that Lance, the man with a slim body frame and Pip, who was lean with short brown hair, had been attacking me. The wounds had piled up on my body, but I ignored them.

I picked Reg up and slapped him awake. His eyes rolled open as I smashed his jaw to the side.

"Did you truly touch her?"

"Heuk..."

He coughed up blood as I dashed his head into a nearby building. Lance and Pip's constant attacks grew tiring.

"!"

A sidestepped Lance's lunge and smashed his face into the pavement. I grabbed Pip by the neck, but his body suddenly disappeared.

'Teleportation or an illusion? Most likely the latter.'

I painted the street a new colour as I scraped Lance's face across the pavement. I left his motionless body in front of Storm, whose smile grew wider while I patted Lance's head with elated eyes.

"Did you truly touch her? Yes or no?"

I reappeared in front of Reg and held him by the neck.

"N-no... I d-didn't..."

He looked at me with fearful eyes, and I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

"Kehehehe~ So you want to play games? Let me show you what true madness looks like."

A maroon colour energy exploded out from my back, coating the surrounding area in the process. It was a sticky substance that had darker shades of red in some parts and black in others. It took on the form of spider legs attached to my spine as they flexed back and forth.

I watched Reg's soul leave his body as the madness bubbled, merging together to form a revolting face. Parts of it bulged like sacks of vomit, its teeth were brown and rotten, and its eyes disfigured as it peered down at its target. It opened its mouth wide, and Reg screamed.

"Heuk!"

I slapped him with the back of my hand as I watched him soak his trousers in pee. The stench coming from him was proof that he had also soiled his pants too.

"Madness: Slumber."

Three more legs sprouted out from my back and pinned Reg against the wall. His consciousness returned, but next time it wouldn't. A bloodcurdling scream shook the atmosphere as the face engulfed him whole.

I watched his body drop to the floor lifelessly. His eyes rolled back into his head as saliva dripped down the sides of his mouth. He wasn't dead, but he'd wish he was.

"!"

The sound of clapping entered my ears from Storm's direction. He stopped once I glared at him and pointed his finger towards where the Senior Vices were.

Pip was holding Denise by the neck with a large grin on his face. I grinned back at him, and a thick strand of madness shot through the other side of the street, lacerating his shoulder as he recoiled back in pain.

"Mediocre. Your illusions are mediocre at best."

The strand wrapped around his neck, preventing him from using his ability, while another one caught Denise gently and placed her down carefully by Triste. I smashed Pip's face into the walls while walking forward.

"Are you a Royal Guard?"

"That is correct. I am Storm, rank 15th."

"I don't give a damn what your rank is."

Pip's face brightened up the estate buildings with a new colour as I threw his motionless body on top of Lance.

"What happens when a Horror meets a Tragedy?"

I watched his eyes turn into half-crescent moons as his lips curved upwards. The answer to his question was obvious. I cackled to myself while I placed my hand over my mask.

"Someone dies."

Our bodies flickered forward, and we met in the middle, followed by a loud explosion of air.

"Madness: Distortion."

I jumped away as the madness, previously spread out on the ground, wriggled. It launched towards Storm's current position and penetrated the surrounding buildings. I observed his body flicker as he dodged the incoming strikes with precision.

The thick strands had formed a network of webs that blocked off the entire street. The madness separated from my back as I peered down at Storm.

I had never stopped training.

Ever since the new District Leader took over, we sparred almost every day. Our sessions weren't long, but they were enough for me to constantly grow, and soon, I broke through to Shin.

Shin was a painful experience for me, especially since I had changed my life around, but thanks to it, I knew what ability I needed to create. The one thing that had swallowed me up for all those years was madness, but this time I'd use that madness for good.

The result of that was this: Storm was currently trapped in the network of madness below; his body beginning to feel more and more disoriented as time went by.

"It must be frustrating to serve someone weaker than you."

He looked up at me while smiling.

"Weaker?"

"Your leader barely beat Solina, who is only ranked 19th."

I stared at him silently. I wasn't sure where that misconception had come from, but the District Leader did not fight Solina one on one, nor did he fight her at full strength. However, if they wanted to assume he was around Solina's level, that would only benefit us in the end.

I didn't see the merit in engaging with Storm any further. The only Senior Vice that was missing from here was Gunnar.

"Do you know where a man with messy black hair went?"

Villains like to talk a lot—I would know since I used to be one.

"If you want to know, then beat me."

My lips curved upwards. I was truly grateful that was his response because I still had so much uncontrollable rage boiling up inside of me; it was a struggle to stay sane.

The madness squirmed with elation as it began to react to the emotions I was feeling. Distortion blanketed the street in darkness as the maroon strands turned a darker shade of red that glowed within the isolated area.

I moved nimbly through the webs of madness and quickly appeared by Storm's side. The strands of madness matched my timing by wrapping around my fist as it launched forward.

"!"

Storm's body phased out of existence and reappeared meters away from me while I hit the empty space. I instantly splayed my hand as the surrounding strands responded to my will and wrapped around him. But once again, he vanished just before the enclosure was complete.

'Some sort of superspeed?'

I ruled out teleportation because creating the ability to teleport was not a simple feat at all. I continued to manipulate the strands while observing his reaction.

After a while, he began to counterattack. His hands would flicker, and the strands of madness would be cut in half while he tried to close the distance between us. I furrowed my eyebrows as I struggled to get a read on him.

'The speed of my technique isn't fast enough to isolate him already, yet he's still getting faster and faster.'

I crouched down as the strands of madness covered me whole. They wrapped around my body, enhancing all of my physical abilities— bolstering me to an even higher level.

"Madness: Chaos."

I kicked off the ground, obliterating the buildings behind me. My fingers grazed past his face before he vanished away.

"...Your ability is quite something."

He hung off the ledge of a balcony with his arm. His smile had mostly vanished, and it seemed like he was beginning to treat me as a true threat.

"Kehehehe~"

I cackled to myself like a madman while I sprinted forward. I manipulated the network of madness around me as I jumped off of them like a springboard in order to chase Storm. His speed continued to increase, but I was closing in on him fast.

"!"

My madness-empowered fist brushed past his arm, blowing away the corresponding part of his jacket. It wouldn't be long now before I'd catch him.

We left dazzling sparks of light whenever we clashed as we dashed along the street in this intense game of tag. His counterattacks were gradually neutralized by the madness acting on its own to contain him. The corners of my mouth rose as I sensed this fight approaching its climax.

Storm attempted to kick off a strand of madness, but thinner tendrils shot out and wrapped around his leg before he could flicker away.

"Kehehehehehe~"

My fist smashed right into his abdomen and his face crumpled in pain. The force of the blow was restrained by the madness holding him in place. The tendrils wrapped around both his arms and legs, stretching them to the limit in the middle of the street.

Dozens of arms sprouted out from my back as I giggled uncontrollably. They formed hardened fists and shot forward towards Storm. After 10 minutes of fighting, my true assault had finally begun.

The dizzying barrage of fists showed no signs of stopping as I smashed his body and face again and again with terrifying force. My bloodshot eyes curved into half-crescent moons as the strength of the madness grew...

Yes.

This was power.

I roared as I saw Storm cough up mouthfuls of blood. This was the limit of a rank 15 Royal Guard? It was quite frankly disappointing. The sprouted arms folded back away, and I focused the power into my fist.

"B... Bru... naulf..."

"!!"

I froze.

My body grew cold, and I could hear my heart beating in my throat. I felt nauseous while beads of sweat instantly formed on my forehead.

'Why... Is she awake?...'

I didn't expect Denise to wake up so soon. How did she know it was me? Distortion had covered the street in darkness, and I was too far away from her to accurately see me from the glowing strands of madness.

"B... Bru... naulf..."

I struggled to dispel my ability as her voice grew closer. The madness cleaved to my skin like a leech that refused to part ways with its host.

'Dammit...! Why isn't it listening to me?!'

I cursed this damn ability inwardly, and it responded by wrapping even tighter around me. I begged and pleaded for it to go, but it persisted.

"Consumed by the very power he supposedly wanted to use to save others. Now his lover will see his true form... An unstable, power-hungry freak. Now, this is quite the tragedy."

I glared at Storm, who had a freakishly wide smile on his face.

"You... You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"I hear that dying mentally is quite painful. I suppose I'll get to witness it first hand. Now show me your tragedy!"

He laughed like a lunatic as his body emitted a flash of light that dispelled Distortion. The ugly brown, black and red strands of madness were displayed clearly within the mist-free dome of space.

I heard the dragging of footsteps in the distance, followed by a weak, small voice that continued to call out to me.

"Bru...naulf..."

'Stop... Stop it! Don't call my name... Don't... Don't look at me like this...!'

I looked down at the madness wrapped around my body that refused to go away. It was enjoying my current predicament but seemed to be even more excited at what was going to happen next; it was looking forward to sinking me into a deeper despair.

Grotesque tendrils cleaved to one half of my face while the remainder of the madness coiled around my body, reinforcing the hideous monster I was. This isn't what I wanted. I glared at Storm, who was giggling away despite his wounds as the scene unfolded before him.

'Please... Go away...!'

I dropped to my knees, and my mind went blank. My body shook violently as tears streamed down my face. Denise would soon see the monster I had once again become.

"Bru...naulf... Don't...Cry..."

Her voice grew closer, and I knew she could see me. I... I couldn't move. My hands trembled as I looked down at them ashamed, while I felt her soft gaze rest on my unsightly back.

"Perfect. Now we reach the climax of a tragedy! It's a shame, but I've decided to also kill you. Literally."

I lifted my head up weakly, staring at Storm in half a daze as he broke free from the strands holding him in place. My tears had blurred my vision, but a split second later, I felt his fist slam into my chin.

The force of the blow peeled the madness off and catapulted me into a building complex. I smashed through the walls as my brain rattled around my head.

"Keuk!"

A spat out a mouthful of blood as I struggled to get to my feet. My gaze shifted to Denise standing weakly in the middle of the street. She stared at me with affection through swollen eyes. Denise closed them briefly as her scabbed lips rose.

"Don't... Cry..."

Storm appeared beside her, and my eyes widened. My pupils dilated to the extreme as time compressed to the limit. I watched his fist rise slowly as I stretched out my hand towards her. She smiled warmly at me while stretching out her own hand, and then...

It happened.

Storm's fist shattered her jaw, launching her out of my vision and cracking the earth apart in the process.

"D-DENISE!!"

I roared as I saw her motionless body fly through the air. She had already taken too much damage, any more, and she really would die.

I chased after her mindlessly as Storm skidded to a halt in front of me. He spun, and his foot struck my abdomen, breaking at least three of my ribs in the process as I shot backwards.

"Heuk!"

I smashed into the building behind me, and my head slumped forward.

"Yes. This is a tragedy. Can't you see the beauty in it? The raw human emotion that's felt and transmitted? If that is not beautiful, then what is?"

I saw Storm walk towards me slowly as my strength began to leave my body.

"Worry not. For I will remember your tragedy even after your death."