64~ Hatered Begets Hatered

At the Beginning of the Great War...

Planet Valis

Planet Valis had once been a peaceful world, where its inhabitants lived far removed from wars and conflicts.

The men trained constantly to protect their people from any threat that might endanger them. However, they refused to allow women to become warriors. They believed that defending the planet was their responsibility alone, and that men were better suited to the task than women.

Not all the women accepted this belief. Some felt they had the right to defend their people as well, so they secretly began training away from the men's eyes.

But that peace did not last long.

The Great War had already begun, and the spirits were destroying anyone who dared to stand against them.

The men of Valis realized they couldn't simply wait for these beings to reach their planet. They decided to launch an attack before it was too late. They assembled a massive army and prepared to head for the battlefield.

Everyone was ready.

Suddenly, a silver entity appeared in the sky.

One of the warriors looked at his commander and asked,

"Commander, who is that up there?"

The commander watched the entity and replied,

"I don't know."

He was the strongest warrior on Planet Valis, and he wasn't the type to back down from an unknown opponent.

He shot toward the entity at tremendous speed, appearing directly behind it before raising his sword and attempting to cut off its head.

But the entity dodged the strike with ease.

The commander didn't hesitate. He continued attacking, trying to hit his opponent from different angles.

Yet the entity instinctively evaded every strike, as though it didn't even need to focus on its attacker.

More insulting still, it didn't even turn to face the commander. Instead, it turned its head toward the army gathered below, completely ignoring his attacks.

Then it extended one hand.

Silver light radiated from it, and a wave of energy swept outward, reaching the planet's surface.

In the next instant, half the warriors in the army collapsed unconscious.

The survivors stared in shock as the entity's voice rang across the entire planet, cold and devoid of emotion.

"Either you kill half your people... or I will destroy this planet."

Having delivered its ultimatum, the entity vanished in a flash of silver light.

Its goal was not to give the people of Valis a choice so much as to impose a decision they wouldn't dare disobey. It wanted to eradicate any thought of attacking the spirits before they could consider doing so again, forcing them to understand that the fate of their planet meant nothing against its will.

The survivors were left with no choice but to confront the situation forced upon them.

The commander descended before his soldiers. One of them stepped forward and asked anxiously,

"What do we do now? Do we really have to carry out its orders?"

The commander didn't answer immediately. He surveyed the warriors around him before speaking firmly.

"We must think rationally. If we lose our men, who will protect this planet?"

One of the soldiers hesitated before speaking.

"But half our people will be killed... Can we really sacrifice them so easily?"

The commander turned toward him, displeasure evident on his face.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? The men are the ones who train for battle, and they're the ones responsible for defending Valis. The women took no part in preparing our army, and they won't be able to make up for our losses if we lose our warriors."

Another soldier objected.

"But that doesn't mean their lives are worth less!"

The commander's gaze hardened.

"It means their loss would have less impact on our ability to protect this planet. Do you want us to sacrifice our finest warriors and leave Valis defenseless?"

Silence fell among the soldiers.

Some remained hesitant, but the commander continued pressing them.

"Think about what will happen if we refuse. That entity can destroy our planet without even making an effort. If we want to save what's left of our people, we must make the decision that preserves our strength. We cannot save everyone."

The soldiers looked at one another.

The decision was not easy, but their fear of losing their planet, combined with their deep-rooted belief in men's superiority and importance, gradually overcame their hesitation.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

At last, they agreed.

The commander issued his final order.

"Kill every woman you encounter. We will sacrifice them to save Valis."

And so, the massacre began.

Bodies and blood spread across the planet as the men slaughtered women to carry out their commander's orders. Some genuinely believed they were saving their people. Others followed orders after convincing themselves they had no other choice.

But the women who had trained in secret refused to surrender.

The surviving warriors gathered together under the leadership of an elderly woman who knew a forbidden technique that no one had ever dared to use.

She explained how to absorb the souls of their opponents, knowing that this technique might be their only chance of survival.

And the battle began.

For days, the women fought the men who had decided to exterminate them. With every battle, they grew stronger by absorbing the souls of their enemies, until the balance of power shifted completely.

They didn't stop after defeating those who had attacked them. They continued fighting until they had absorbed the souls of every man.

Only the women and the bodies of the men who had fallen in the massacre remained on Planet Valis.

After everything was over, the silver entity returned.

The surviving women gathered and stood facing it, waiting to see what it would do this time.

But the entity didn't attack them.

It merely looked at them with its cold expression, as though inspecting the outcome of its decision, before vanishing in a flash of silver light.

The women did not celebrate their survival.

They had lost their people, and their planet had become a graveyard, a constant reminder of what had happened during those days.

The only one they could hold responsible for the tragedy was the entity that had forced this choice upon them.

From that day onward, they swore to take revenge on it, no matter how long it took or what it cost them.

Their goal was no longer merely to survive.

They wanted that entity to pay for what it had done to Planet Valis.

After the women of Valis kidnapped Wail and he killed many of them...

Heda realized that her warriors were no longer a match for Wail.

Their previous attempts had failed, and the power they possessed was no longer enough to defeat him.

As her hatred for him grew, she began searching for another way to kill him without having to absorb his power.

She decided to exploit his emotions and push him into a state of despair that would make him easier to defeat.

For this reason, she sent Layla to carry out her final plan.

But Wail exceeded her expectations and managed to kill Layla as well.

At that point, Heda felt that everything she had done had only taken her further away from her goal.

Despair began to consume her, and she could no longer see a clear path to revenge.

---

One day, Heda was sitting on Planet Valis, lost in thought as she tried to find a way to end Wail's life.

Suddenly, someone appeared behind her, wearing a black cloak.

Heda spun around and attacked immediately, but the man evaded her strike before punching her in the stomach and knocking her to the ground.

He stood before her, reached for his hood, and pulled it back.

It was Vale.

He looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"You'll never defeat him as long as you let despair control you."

Heda raised her head and glared at him.

"And who are you to tell me what I can or can't do?!"

Vale didn't seem bothered by her response.

"Someone who can help you achieve what you want."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I know how much hatred you carry toward Wail. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in the way you speak about him."

Heda's expression changed, but she didn't answer.

Vale gave a faint smile.

"That hatred is exactly what I'm looking for. If you learn to use it properly, you might gain the power you need for revenge."

Heda narrowed her eyes.

"And what do you want in return?"

"For us to work together. You want revenge on Wail, and I have my own reasons for dealing with him. We can help each other and make him experience the same despair that brought you to this point."

Heda eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't want your help. We have nothing in common, stranger."

Before he could respond, a familiar voice rang out from behind her.

"Heda! Listen to him!"

Heda quickly turned around.

A girl wearing a black robe stood there, her eyes glowing with a strange red light.

"Evelyn?! Where have you been all this time?!"

Evelyn smiled and pointed toward her eyes.

"We never had a chance of killing Wail, so I started searching for a way to gain the power we needed. During my search, I met Vale. He helped me obtain this power."

Heda studied her glowing eyes.

"The Bloody Eyes..."

Evelyn approached her and extended a hand.

"Come with us, Heda. We'll obtain the power we need for revenge. Then we can return to Valis and live in peace with our people."

Heda remained silent.

She didn't trust Vale, and she knew nothing about his true intentions. But she knew one thing: she had no other way to confront Wail.

And despite everything she had endured, the hatred in her heart had never faded.

She realized that Vale wasn't offering his help out of pity. He had seen something in her hatred that he could exploit.

Even so, she didn't care.

If he could give her the power she needed, she would accept his offer.

She reached out and took Evelyn's hand.

"All right. I'll go with you."

Evelyn smiled, and Vale nodded.

At that moment, a faint red glow began to appear in Heda's eyes.

Her Bloody Eyes were beginning to respond to the hatred and despair that had taken hold of her.

---

Heda left Planet Valis with Vale and Evelyn, and the three traveled to Earth.

There, Vale began training Heda himself.

His goal wasn't simply to improve her combat skills. He wanted to exploit the intense hatred she carried toward Wail and deepen the despair she felt whenever she remembered her failures.

He knew that hatred and despair were the primary catalysts for awakening the Bloody Eyes, so he deliberately forced Heda to confront her emotions instead of running from them.

He never allowed her to forget why she wanted revenge. Instead, he repeatedly brought her back to the moments when she had felt helpless before Wail.

As time passed, those emotions grew more intense.

Then, one day, Heda faced Vale in a training fight.

Under the pressure of her anger and despair, her Bloody Eyes finally awakened.

Heda continued training until she mastered her ability. Only then did Vale decide to send her on her first mission.

It took place during the three years following the battle with Aetherion.

Before she left, he told her,

"Go with Evelyn. I want you to make Wail drown in despair and hatred, but don't kill him."

Heda looked at Evelyn, then smiled.

"Don't worry. We'll make him regret everything he's done."

Evelyn smiled in return.

"Leave it to us."

---

Afterward, Heda and Evelyn encountered Noah and Adam and managed to defeat them.

When Wail arrived, he confronted the two girls, but he was defeated as well.

At the time, he didn't realize that Heda's Bloody Eyes were responsible for his defeat. He couldn't understand how she had turned the battle against him.

As it happened, the fight took place in the city where his mother lived.

When his mother saw Wail in that condition, she screamed his name in fear for his safety.

Heda turned toward her.

She knew that killing Wail wouldn't be easy, but she didn't need to kill him to carry out Vale's plan. All she had to do was drive him into despair and make him feel helpless in the face of a loss he couldn't prevent.

So she decided to kill his mother right before his eyes.

While Wail remained powerless to intervene, Heda ended her life.

Then she left with Evelyn, abandoning him to a truth he could never change.

But what happened didn't make Wail surrender to grief.

Instead, it made him realize that hesitating to kill his enemies could give them the opportunity to harm more of the people fighting beside him.

If an enemy could kill someone dear to him, that same enemy might also be able to kill his friends.

From that day onward, Wail began to see his enemies differently.

He no longer believed that giving them another chance was a decision worth considering.

He had made up his mind that he had to kill every enemy who stood in his way before they could take someone else from him.

---

In the Present...

Wail stood atop the hill, surrounded by green grass beneath a clear sky.

The place seemed peaceful, but his thoughts were anything but.

He turned his gaze toward the horizon and spoke quietly.

"My brother disappeared from our lives... and then I disappeared too."

He fell silent for a moment before adding,

"I didn't understand what was happening back then, but I won't let it happen again."

He wasn't standing there to surrender to memories of the past or drown in grief.

He was recalling what had happened to remind himself why he had made his decision.

Every enemy he allowed to live could become a threat to his friends in the future. Every moment of hesitation could give his opponent an opportunity to hurt someone else.

He refused to let that happen again.

He raised his head and spoke coldly.

"All right... Enough waiting. When are you two going to attack?"

Suddenly, Heda and Evelyn appeared out of nowhere.

Heda looked at him in surprise.

"Did you know we were here this whole time?"

Wail answered without changing his expression.

"You've been watching me ever since my fight against Amin. And this time, you failed to conceal your energy completely, unlike what happened that day."

Then he looked directly at her.

"Why?"

Heda laughed.

"You want me to reveal my ability? Not a chance!"

Wail showed no interest in her answer.

"It doesn't matter. You'll die either way. All I want is to end this quickly."

He then turned toward Evelyn.

"And you... Are you the same girl who was with Heda when you tried to kidnap me?"

Evelyn raised a finger excitedly.

"Bingo! That's me!"

Wail regarded her indifferently.

"You don't pose any threat. So I'd advise you to run before I kill your friend."

He paused briefly before adding,

"As for what I'll do to you afterward, we'll see."

The two girls burst out laughing.

Evelyn looked at Heda and said,

"What is this idiot even talking about?!"

Heda replied dismissively,

"Ignore him. Let's enjoy ourselves and kill him this time! To hell with Vale and his plan!"

Evelyn laughed before saying,

"Right! We told him we might make a few minor changes to the plan, and then we..."

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Wail had appeared right in front of her in an instant.

"So... You're with Vale."

He drove a powerful punch into her, sending her flying toward the mountain.

At the same moment, he grabbed Heda and unleashed a barrage of punches before sending her flying into the sky.

But Heda didn't look afraid.

Instead, a wide smile spread across her face as she drifted away from him through the air.

Then she shouted excitedly,

"Let's have some fun, Wail!!!"