Chapter 760: The Bad Student

Hugo’s fight against Hercules was exactly what someone might imagine a battle between two superhumans would look like. Because of their sheer strength, no one dared to get close to them.

They had already seen Hercules hurl Hugo into a shipping container with enough force to cave in part of its metal wall. Even more frightening was the sight of Hugo climbing out of the wreckage moments later, still standing and ready to continue.

Getting involved in a fight like this would mean risking their lives.

Hercules wasted no time. His muscles exploded with power as he launched himself forwards, closing the distance between them in a single leap. Hugo was ready for him, pulling back his arm and throwing a heavy fist of his own.

Their fists collided.

The impact travelled through the ground beneath them, making it feel as though the entire dock had trembled. For a moment, neither man moved. Their bodies strained against one another as they poured everything they had into the clash.

There was a clear winner in the contest of strength.

Hugo’s fist was forced backwards, and he stumbled slightly as Hercules pushed through his attack. Hercules immediately followed with another powerful swing, but Hugo ducked beneath it before it could take his head off.

Although Hugo was smaller than Hercules, that difference in size made him slightly more nimble. He could move around the larger man and avoid some of his wider attacks. However, if Hugo wanted to cause any real damage, he had to enter the danger zone.

He had to get close.

After ducking beneath the swing, Hugo stepped inside Hercules’s reach and prepared to strike. Before he could throw the punch, Hercules lifted his foot and drove it straight into Hugo’s chest.

Hugo’s entire body was sent backwards.

He crashed into the shipping container again, striking it with enough force to make the structure tilt onto one side. For a second, it looked as though the container was about to topple over completely, but it rocked back into place.

Hugo forced himself out of the indentation he had created. Once he was free, he glanced behind him at the container.

Then he bent his knees.

Every muscle in his body strained as he reached beneath it and began lifting. The container slowly rose from the ground until Hugo held the entire structure above his head.

With a roar of frustration, he hurled it through the air.

Several of the people fighting nearby immediately ran to either side. None of them wanted to be caught beneath the enormous container when it landed.

Hercules didn’t move out of the way.

Instead, he raised both hands and caught it.

The weight forced him to bend his knees, and the ground beneath his feet shook as he absorbed the force. His arms strained, but he managed to hold the container above him.

That was exactly what Hugo had expected him to do.

Hugo sprinted forwards while Hercules was occupied and drove a fist into his side. Before the larger man could respond, Hugo struck him in the same place a second time.

Pain tore through Hercules’s chest.

Gritting his teeth, he hurled the container away from them, sending it flying towards the part of the docks that the others had already fled. He then reached down and caught both of Hugo’s fists before another blow could land.

Even though Hercules had stopped him, the damage had already been done. The strain on his face made it clear that Hugo’s punches had hurt him.

"It’s time for you to go, old man," Hugo said. "I know this is what you were always afraid of. You knew the student would one day surpass the master, and you couldn’t handle it. You lived in fear that I would become stronger than you and eventually finish you off."

Hugo pressed forwards, testing Hercules’s failing strength.

"And now that fear is becoming a reality."

The wound in Hercules’s chest began to burn. Every time he drew upon more of his strength, the pain became worse. Under normal circumstances, this position would have heavily favoured him. With their hands locked together, strength was the only thing that mattered, and Hercules should have been able to overpower Hugo with ease.

This time, however, he was struggling.

"You think that’s what happened?" Hercules shouted through the strain in his voice. "You think that’s why I abandoned you as my student? Did you not listen to a single word I said?"

Their arms trembled as they continued pushing against each other.

"I helped you because I believed you needed it," Hercules continued. "You were being tortured by this cruel world, just as I once was. You had no family around to help you. The government was nowhere to be seen when you needed protection, and your school had become a living hell."

Hercules’s grip tightened.

"I was given an opportunity to climb out of that situation. When I found you, I wanted to give you the same chance."

"Ha! You think I believed the reason you gave me?" Hugo replied. "You abandoned me because I killed the students who bullied me. You’ve killed people yourself, with your own hands. If you truly believe what you’re saying, then you’re one of the biggest hypocrites in the world!"

"I had no problem with you taking revenge," Hercules said. "When I gave you power, part of me expected that you would use it against them. But it never ended with revenge. The blame kept spreading. In your eyes, every person around you became responsible for what had happened."

Hugo’s expression hardened.

"You didn’t stop after killing the students who bullied you. You went after their families as well."

"Because they deserved it!" Hugo shouted. "Their families were the ones who raised that scum. They were the reason I had to suffer in the first place."

"You didn’t only kill their parents," Hercules said. "You went after their siblings too. Do you truly believe they deserved to die?"

"Yes," Hugo answered without hesitation. "They were all raised in those households. They all needed to be punished so that it could never happen again."

"And that is why I had to stop teaching you," Hercules said. "In your eyes, everything and everyone became part of the problem. Look at yourself now. Why are you still fighting? Why do you continue trying to kill others, including me?"

The pressure between their locked hands continued to build.

"You see me as someone who abandoned you, rather than the person who gave you a chance to escape the life you hated. Because of that, you decided I needed to die as well."

Hugo bared his teeth as he forced more strength into his arms.

"If you want this to end, Hercules, then you’ll have to kill me!"

"I know," Hercules replied. "And that is what I have decided to do."

Hercules’s heart thumped painfully inside his chest. The wound burned as he drew upon his strength once more, but he refused to loosen his grip. With a sudden movement, he tore one of his hands free.

Before Hugo could react, Hercules swung his open palm across his face.

The slap struck with tremendous force. Hugo’s head snapped to the side as the skin across his cheek turned raw and red. Part of it had been torn away by the impact, and blood began running down the side of his face.

Hercules stood before his former student, breathing heavily as the pain in his chest continued to grow.

"If I have to break my Vow today to end what I created," Hercules said, "then so be it."