Lightning Is the Only Way

It took quite a while for Mortis to calm down. 

In fact, it took several days. 

However, when he finally calmed down, Gravis immediately smiled and contacted Stella.

"Hello, honey! How's it goooin?" he asked.

In the eastern continent, Stella, who was currently in a cave with burning walls, opened her eyes and looked at the front with a smile. 

"Honey?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Gravis answered, "we are a couple. Why not give each other cute nicknames?"

Gravis couldn't stop his smile as he talked with his lover..

"I prefer calling you Gravis or dummy if you do something stupid," Stella answered with a smirk.

"Oh, don't hurt my fragile feelings, honey," Gravis answered with a melodramatic tone. "If you continue like this, I might go into a cold room and stare into a corner for some years, just playing with some knives."

Stella had to laugh at the image. 

"So, what happened?" Stella asked. "Why did you contact me?"

"Well, I want to talk to you," Gravis answered. "That's literally the entire reason. I do what I want, and, right now, I want to talk with my cute honey!"

Stella chuckled a bit again. "Honey is sweet, not cute, dummy," she answered.

"You are honey, and you are both," Gravis answered self-righteously. "You can't warp the truth."

Stella giggled a bit again. She had been so focused on comprehending Laws that she had totally forgotten how it felt to be with Gravis. 

She didn't mind delaying her Law Comprehension for some couple-time.

While Gravis and Stella were talking, Mortis gritted his teeth.

'He's wasting time again!' Mortis thought with hatred. 'How can he feel so much happiness while I feel so distraught and pressured!?'

When Mortis felt the feelings of love and happiness radiating off Gravis, his hatred exploded again, drowning out all the feelings of happiness.

'Gravis!' Mortis thought with gritted teeth.

Mortis' goal was reaching supreme power, and he focused his entire life on this goal.

Yet, a guy who only used power as a means to an end while not taking it seriously was gaining power faster than Mortis!

Many humans would have already felt hatred, jealousy, and envy if they were in Mortis' shoes. They would think that everything was unfair and that the other person didn't deserve the power they had.

However, Mortis wasn't entirely like this.

He did acknowledge that it was unfair, but he realized that it wasn't the world that was unfair nor that it was Gravis' fault.

It was more like Mortis lamented that his way of seeking power was obviously flawed. 

This was what he hated.

Mortis didn't hate Gravis.

No, he hated himself!

He hated himself for not being as good as Gravis, even though they were basically the same person.

'I need power! I need more power!' Mortis thought with gritted teeth.

While all of this was happening, Gravis sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry, but I have to cut our conversation short," Gravis said. "Mortis is getting uppity again."

Stella's expression morphed from a smile into a concerned look. "Oh, it's fine. I understand your current situation. Just contact me again later when Mortis calms down, okay?"

"Sure, love you," Gravis answered half-heartedly. After all, he was currently filled with hatred and self-loathing, making it hard to say these soft words.

"Love you, too," Stella answered.

Gravis cut off the connection with a sigh.

'This sucks!'

Meanwhile, Mortis was violently working on his battle techniques. He had fought against the Black Demon, just like Gravis, but he hadn't been nearly as effective, even though he knew the same Laws as Gravis.

This was another major source of grief for Mortis. He knew the same Laws but wasn't able to use them to the same effect.

A couple of days later, instead of calming down, Mortis' hatred actually increased.

'I'm slower in comprehending Laws!' he thought with fury. 

'My Battle Style is not as good!'

'Gravis is superior in everything! He even has the time to relax and feel happy!'

'Why!?'

'Why is it like this!?'

'Why can't I be as good as him!?'

'What am I lacking!?'

Mortis was slashing with his saber, and his attacks became more and more violent. 

He had only released some practice slashes in the beginning, but by now, he was going all out. Kilometers of land around him were turned into nothingness as Mortis unleashed all his power. 

Craters appeared below him, and it only became deeper and deeper as Mortis was creating more and more craters.

Meanwhile, Gravis was sitting with his head in his hands. 

'So much anger and hatred!' Gravis thought with gritted teeth. 'What the fuck is wrong with you, Mortis!? I swear, if you don't calm down soon, I'll fucking beat the shit out of you!'

Normally, Gravis wouldn't think like this, but Mortis' emotions were severely affecting him.

At the same time, Mortis was going crazier and crazier.

All the envy, self-loathing, and feelings of inferiority inside him were transformed into pure anger, making him attack more and more ferociously.

As time passed, even though Mortis' Energy was decreasing, his attacks became more and more powerful. 

Mortis didn't notice it, but his attacks started to slightly alter the color of his surroundings.

"ARGH!" Mortis shouted with hatred, unleashing one last slash.

BOOOOM!

Suddenly, Mortis stopped.

Then, Mortis gritted his teeth.

'What use is a useless level three Law of Anger!?' Mortis thought as his anger only increased.

'It's a fucking level three Law!'

'Gravis comprehended a level six Law!'

'What will this stupid level three Law do!?'

'So what if I'm closer to emotional independence!? Gravis is still growing far faster than me! Emotional independence won't change shit!'

Even though comprehending the Law of Anger was supposed to give someone more control over their rage, comprehending this Law only increased Mortis' rage.

It was like a person was envying someone that had just earned several God Stones, while the person only earned a couple of Immortal Stones after doing the same thing.

Mortis' surroundings turned red as the Law of Anger fully took effect. His attacks started losing control while gaining more power.

However, the more Mortis attacked, the angrier he became.

'This changes nothing!'

'I'm only venting my hatred, but it doesn't accomplish anything!'

'I'm fucking wasting time right now, and the gap between Gravis and I will only widen!'

BANG!

Another attack filled with hate.

BANG!

Another attack filled with hate.

BANG!

However, this one was not an attack filled with hate.

Mortis' jaw broke into pieces as his body shot through the wall of the crater. 

At Mortis' old spot stood a Black Demon, who was currently stroking the back of one of his right hands.

"Damn, that felt good!" Gravis said.

In his rage-filled state, Mortis hadn't noticed Gravis arriving beside him, and he also hadn't noticed how Gravis had punched him in the face with his full power before it was too late.

Mortis felt Gravis' feelings of satisfaction, and his anger exploded.

"You!" Mortis shouted with red eyes as he glared at Gravis, his body still buried in the ground.

"Yes, me!" Gravis shouted back. "You want to find an outlet for your anger? Sure, then confront the source of your anger!" Gravis shouted as his six arms assumed a battle stance. 

Mortis saw red when he heard that.

BANG!

Then, he charged out, directly at Gravis!