Ch 8: Clash of Mad Dog

Leo's voice was raw and animalistic as he yelled, "You... you traitor! Curse you and your whole family!" Instinctively, he kicked Lucifer with all his might, sending him crashing into a wooden shelf. The impact knocked dusty boots to the ground.

Lucifer felt the impact of the kick, showing that Leo had more physical strength than him.

Seizing this moment, Leo rose, wiping the blood from his mouth. With a hateful gaze, not waiting any moment, he charged toward Lucifer. "You will pay for this!" he shouted, rage filling his voice.

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Anger)]

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Hate)]

"Traitor? Your mother is the true traitor. Brother oh brother, want me to pay for you? While she herself couldn't even manage to do that when she was in my bed?" Lucifer spat back disdain as he got up from the dusty floor, his sharp words cutting deeper than any dagger, while his wicked smirk, similar to devil-like, gleamed under the dim light.

Leo listening to Lucifer's words also vomited out of anger, Lucifer's words pierced Leo's heart like nails, twisting his face into an ugly grimace as if he'd just tasted something vile.

"It looks like our dear friend has forgotten about yesterday's incident," Lucifer continued with calm composure as dusting his clothes from a recent fall, which contrasted sharply with his mean words. "Why are you impatient? There are lots of things to discuss, wait patiently, will yaa? I will show you... No, I'll let you feel every bit of what I felt."

As memories of the previous day flooded back, Lucifer felt his veins bulge even more with anger. 'Calm down calm down… the fun has only begun… I need to let him feel the pain more than anyone had ever felt'

Finally, after putting every piece together, Leo realized who Lucifer truly was. "Lu-Lucifer? Wtf?" he gasped, the shock he felt was similar to seeing a dead body before him, "H-How did... How could you be alive? Even, y-your whole appearance has changed just within a day..."

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Fear)]

[Ding! Gained 1 Hatred Point (Anger)]

"Hahahaha!"

"Oh, do you mean that I should not be alive?" Lucifer mocked, the laughter dripping with malice as he stepped forward sharply, his crimson eyes gleaming like molten rubies. "Guess what? I'm very much alive, but I am not sure for you"

"Tsk, So, what if you are alive?" Leo's disbelief turned to rage. "Do you think you could win against me after attacking sneakily? Dream on…I will kill you for real this time" He spat on the ground.

With that, Leo pulled a sharp knife from his pocket.

One of the rules of street life was to always carry a weapon; who knows when a dire situation might arise like now?

[Detecting the next person within you is showcasing his Mid-level Dawnbringer power]

Did seeing the knife make Lucifer nervous? Hell nah… Unfazed by the threat before him, Lucifer charged toward Leo with a predatory grin.

Hate is something that will bring destruction to himself and others, if one loses control of it, one won't even care about their own life. So, hate is a dangerous emotion for everyone.

Lucifer saw Leo charging towards him, the knife glinting in the poor light like a spark. The tension in the atmosphere was about to explode as they met head-on.

Within minutes, they exchanged blows like mad dogs, every strike laced with deadly purpose as if they wanted to kill each other. The place blurred with rising dust, thick as fog.

Their attack was not filled with any fancy skills as they were still at the Mid-level of the Dawnbringer Rank and unable to perform like high-level Ascendants. This didn't mean that low-rank Ascendants could not perform such feats; rather, both Lucifer and Leo were poor, unable to afford any skills.

Because of their clash, the wooden type furniture rattled under their feet, scattering all around the place. The walls of the house also got damaged; books cascaded from the shelves. Everything around them seemed to distort under the weight of their rage.

Bam!

Lucifer saw that Leo's foot was coming, and aiming through his abdomen but dodging Leo's knife attack, he was momentarily unable to dodge that attack. Thus, he got kicked by Leo in the abdomen, stumbling back a few steps.

Without wasting any time, Leo got a chance to punch on the face of Lucifer, and he did. As a result, blood cascaded from Lucifer's lips.

"How is it?" Leo mocked as if he was already the winner of this game.

Lucifer, however, did not care about the injury he had taken and responded with savage grace.

"Ouchhh… Looks like this bastard has honed his ability quite far," Lucifer muttered, massaging his cheek. He launched forward using his Mid-level Kickboxing footwork, increasing his speed.

Seeing this, Leo swung his knife wildly not wanting to give any moment to recover, aiming at Lucifer's neck as if he wanted to cut his head off, wanting to end the boy before him. However, Lucifer ducked a little low, countering the attack with his elbow connecting with Leo's stomach.

"Cough… Fuck!" Leo coughed.

The battle became intense, they attacked with whatever they could find, both of them bloodied and bruised. Then, in a critical mistake, Lucifer left an opening. Leo lunged, thrusting the knife deep into Lucifer's stomach.

Puchii!

"Ughhh."

[Warning! The host has received a lethal wound. Ego suggests using your Hatred Points to heal yourself.]

"Kyaahahahah, you're dead meat now Lucifer. You should have never set foot in my house in the first place,"

"Cough!" Lucifer coughed out blood, his crimson hand gripping the hilt of the knife embedded within him. 'Looks like I am still weak as fuck, what a useless prick I am,' Lucifer thought, gritting his teeth, realizing he needed to hone his skills even more, he needed to increase his power even more.

Despite the intense pain, he kept a devilish smile on his face, further confusing Leo. 'Is this MF gone insane?' Leo thought inwardly as the cold wind flowed across his back, signaling that something bad was about to happen.

Lucifer, Ignoring the searing pain coursing through him, seized Leo's head with both hands like an iron cage. "Let the stone crush the stone."

Leo wanted to break free from the grip, but he could not. With that, Lucifer thrust forward with all his might, smashing his head against Leo's.

Bam!

The sound of the skull meeting with the skull echoed through the room. Thus, both Leo's and Lucifer's visions exploded into sparks. Their world spun upside down. So, how much force did Lucifer put on the headbutt? He put all his force into that, as much as he hated the person before him.

Not only Leo, Lucifer also stumbled, pain radiating from the wound inflicted by Leo. Both collapsed onto the ground, groaning with intense pain.

"ARGGGGHHHHH!" Lucifer groaned even harder gritting his teeth, sounding "Kit, Kit" through the dimly lit room as he writhed in agony. He fought against the pain as his mind raced wildly. "Fuck my carelessness."

"Use it now, or I might die from this pain," Lucifer said to Ego, realizing the dire situation he was in.

[Detecting that host injury is recent, 20 Hatred Points needed to recover]

[Deducting 20 Hatred Points to recover]

[Remaining Hatred Points: 17.3]

"20? Fuck, fuck, my precious hatred points….Leo, MF, Looks like I have to torture you even harder now," Lucifer grimly thought as his painfully earned points were spent in an instant.

Leo on the other side, was dizzy as hell, from the impact of the headbutt, but he was getting on his composer slowly as he massaged his temple.

After a few agonizing seconds, he felt the wound start healing. A horrifying and surreal buzzing sensation traveled through his stomach.

Still dazed, Leo struggled to comprehend what was happening before him. "Huh?" Leo gasped. "H-How is your wound healing? Are you perhaps a demon?" he mumbled as his mind raced insanely. Why did Leo mention demons? Because this world had many races and creatures, and demons were among them, wreaking havoc. As for their purpose? No one knew. Lucifer was aware of this. Well, did Lucifer care? Hell nah, he was weak like shit to care about this aspect.

"What are you talking about, brother?" Lucifer taunted, a smirk on his face, a glint of sadistic pleasure lighting his crimson eyes. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? Looks like you're not feeling well. Let me help you with that."

With that, he frantically scanned the messy place, searching for something to use as a weapon. His eyes landed on a thin, gnarled stick lying near him.

"Ohhhh... Man, you are so lucky. Your name should be Luck of Despair instead of Leo. Now you can feel what true despair is," he exclaimed, breaking the stick in half with a crack that sounded like a thunderclap to Leo.

"Wait, wait... let's talk nicely. Let's—"

"Talk? No need. Talk no jutsu won't work on me." Without hesitation, Lucifer thrust the broken stick into Leo's left leg.

"Oops! My hand slipped…. Sorry," he feigned innocence, a twisted glee dancing in his eyes.