Chapter 119: Fury

Hugh saw Aric's body completely immersed in black fire. Strangely, he could not feel any heat nor warmth from the black fire, only the chilling cold.

The black fire spread because of the explosion. There were small black flames that caught onto the walls, destroying those parts that were touched.

The walls were not burnt but freezing. The walls that were supposed to melt into a liquid-only became more solid until it was so brittle that it shattered into a million pieces.

Hugh looked at Aric with a shocked and confused expression. Aric had not only come back alive with not a scratch on his body, but his burning fire had also turned into something else.

He looked down and saw that a part of his clothes had black flames spreading, so he quickly patted them down. This was his reflex acting, and he did not think about the consequences.

Just as he thought that his hands would be affected by the freezing ability of the black fire, he felt nothing. He touched the black flame, and his hands did not freeze into ice.

It felt like he was touching air, and its consistency was that of smoke. He patted the fire down and it extinguished.

He recovered himself and stood up. In the meantime, he never took his eyes off Aric. The black fire was raging around Aric's body, as wild as that of a forest fire.

Aric's face was strained, and it was not until a few moments later that his face relaxed. His muscles loosened, and his black fire mellowed.

He opened his eyes and he noticed the black fire around his hands. He looked at it, intrigued at the feeling of strength and power around his hands.

"Wh-what is that?"

Hugh gulped and let out his questions. He did not know how Aric got his powers back.

From what Hugh had learned from professor Kain's classes, Desire came from the heart of a person. Hugh thought that Aric's powers would be gone since he had eaten Aric's heart and gained Aric's ability.

Aric looked at his hands with a sense of wonder, but he was as clueless as Hugh. However, just as he looked at the black flames in his hands, he felt a sharp pain in his brain.

"Ahh!!!"

Aric screamed in pain as he held his head with both hands. Flashes of pictures came through his head and he recollected the time when he had woken up.

He remembered the feeling of despair and relief. He remembered how he was able to freeze and destroy the rocks and boulders that were covering his body in the Central building.

This was the only memory that he could muster. When he had no idea of himself, he felt empty. Aric could feel nothing as he could remember nothing.

Now, all he could feel was anger, deep within his heart. Maverick. That name echoed through his brain and gave him despair. He did not know who Maverick was, but he k ew that Maverick was the reason for his misery.

All he wanted to do was kill him.

"Maverick! Do you know him?!"

Hugh saw Aric suddenly lift his head, seemingly recovered from his headache. Hugh could see the creases on Aric's forehead and the red tint on his eyes.

This sudden change of attitude was shocking, to say the least. Hugh was taken aback and he was not able to respond quickly enough to Aric's liking.

"ANSWER ME!!!"

Aric's anger exploded and the black flames ignited all around him. He was a flaming ball of black fire that affected everything around him, the floors, the walls, and the ceiling, except for Hugh.

"I know him. He...He's your father."

Aric heard Hugh's answer, and it calmed him down for a little bit. It was common knowledge that a father was someone that was a responsible and caring adult. Aric could not understand how he would be replayed from his father.

"My...father?"

Hugh could see Aric's eyes getting moist, and there were clear frustrations on his face. He could understand why Aric was getting mad, and he could emphasize with him.

When he had consumed Aric's heart, he had also gotten his fire ability and his memories. Hugh witnessed how Maverick abused and tortured Aric for the reason of making Aric stronger.

He could also feel hatred for Maverick. All the pain that Aric had endured, Hugh had also gotten them. He also wanted to kill Maverick, albeit to a lesser degree than Aric.

Aric put his head down and he retracted his black fire. All of his anger seemed to have vanished within a second, and he was eerily quiet.

Without any more words, Aric started to walk away from Hugh with his eyes covered in his bangs. His steps seemed determined as if he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Hugh grabbed Aric's shoulder and stopped him from escaping. From the hatred that he could feel from Aric, he knew that Aric wanted to kill Maverick at all costs.

"What are you going to do?"

Aric stopped, but his head was still down. He looked Hugh in the eyes and spoke as his voice broke.

"I'll kill him."

Hugh tightened his grip on Aric, but Aric wanted to get out. Hugh had to use his armor just to keep Aric in his grasp.

Aric enveloped himself in the black fire to try and make Hugh release his grip, but Hugh did not seem to be affected. He was surprised that his black fire was ineffective to Hugh, so he tried to get out with his physicality.

"You don't even know what he looks like, and where he is."

Aric did not have his memories, so he did not know about Maverick's physical appearance. All Aric could feel was the hatred towards Maverick, as if it was his only purpose in life.

"I'll know when I meet him."

Aric stopped trying to get out of Hugh's grasp as Hugh told him the difficulties of his mission.