The Divided Guardian [Cursed Anti-Hero, Progression, Dark Fantasy]

Hugo and Blue faced off over the churning ocean, tension crackling between them like electricity.

"You think some fancy costume is gonna scare me—" Hugo started, but mid-sentence his arm swept sideways. Water erupted from the ocean like a living geyser, rushing toward Blue's head.

Blue ducked low, Angelo's vision locked onto the helmet as the water stream roared overhead. Hugo twisted his wrist, redirecting the flow downward in a crushing cascade. Without hesitation, Blue leaped aside from an attack he shouldn't have been able to see coming.

Hugo's face twisted in confusion, then fury. His aura shifted to ice-blue as he swept his arm upward, wind following the motion and launching Blue high above the waves. Hugo rocketed after him, small tornados propelling his massive frame.

Blue adjusted himself mid-air just as Hugo closed in. At the last second, Blue twisted away from Hugo's crushing fist and drove his own into the giant's stomach. It was like punching a mountain—no effect at all. Hugo retaliated instantly, but Blue flowed around every strike like water. When Hugo threw his final punch, Blue saw his chance, dodging and using Hugo's own momentum to send him tumbling through the air.

"We're getting nowhere fast!" Red's voice echoed in their shared mind.

Angelo's frustration bled through their connection. "You dodge everything he throws, but your hits are useless..."

Blue studied Hugo as the gang leader recovered, his analytical mind racing. "I may have a solution, but I'll require your assistance. When I strike, we'll detonate small portions of the Trinergy gauntlets."

"That'll leave your hands defenseless after a few hits," Angelo thought with concern.

"Precisely. However, if several enhanced strikes can destabilize him, we might create an opportunity to regenerate the armor. A prolonged war may favor us," Blue explained calmly.

"Incoming!" Red warned.

Blue tilted his head at the last possible moment, Hugo's fist whistling past his ear.

"STOP DANCING AROUND, YOU LITTLE PEST!" Hugo exploded, his attacks becoming a wild hurricane of fists and fury.

Blue remained serene, moving with Hugo's rhythm like a leaf riding a river current. His eyes flashed with calculation. "Now!"

Blue's fist connected with Hugo's chest. Half a heartbeat later, a shockwave erupted from the impact point like a hidden bomb, hitting Hugo with the force of an equal opponent. The giant stumbled backward, staring at Blue in disbelief. But Blue was already moving, his next strike aimed at Hugo's jaw. Another delayed explosion made it feel like a professional boxer's hook.

Hugo shook off his shock, his expression turning deadly serious. His emotions cooled, his attacks becoming surgical precision instead of wild rage. Blue dodged several strikes, but Hugo wasn't leaving any openings this time. Blue was about to take a devastating hit when something impossible happened—a crimson hand materialized from thin air, grabbing Blue and yanking him to safety.

Hugo watched in amazement as an orange scythe appeared in mid-air near Blue, while crimson energy formed into another Angelo on the opposite side—this one wearing a twisted carnival mask.

"What in the name of hell...?" Hugo breathed as the scythe streaked toward him, followed by the grinning puppet.

Hugo shattered the scythe with a single punch and blasted the puppet apart with a wind wave. But then a silver boot slammed into his back, and half a second later he was launched downward like a meteor.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Hugo screamed, veins bulging across his arms and neck like angry snakes. Without warning, Blue was sucked downward by a massive vacuum that covered the entire area—there was nowhere to run. Hugo's nose began bleeding from the strain as Blue plummeted toward him. Orange and crimson constructs tried to form around Blue, but crumbled instantly in the intense suction.

When Blue reached Hugo's position, instead of the vacuum, Hugo unleashed a crushing air wave that drove Blue toward the ocean like a hammer blow. Blue hit the surface hard. Hugo switched auras and dove after him, landing on the water with a tremendous splash while standing on the surface like solid ground.

"DIE!" Hugo roared as the ocean came alive around Blue, dragging him into the depths. Blue reached the rocky bottom, his body carving grooves in the seabed, completely immobilized by the crushing water pressure.

Red's laughter rippled through their shared consciousness. "What a moron! He thinks he can drown you!"

"How delightfully ironic," Blue thought dryly. "The Trinergy armor shields me from the crushing pressure, though I remain unable to move."

Angelo's mind was already working the angles. "We need to use this before he figures out his mistake."

Hugo relaxed his control for a moment, and Blue began to rise. But Hugo sensed the movement and resumed crushing him beneath the waves. "What the hell? How long can this bastard hold his breath under those conditions?!" His confusion and frustration were obvious.

"I have an idea," Angelo finally said. "Red, follow my lead exactly..."

Beneath Blue's back, a tiny crimson orb formed, boring through the ocean floor like a drill. It tunneled away until it escaped Hugo's crushing zone, then emerged from the water, growing larger and larger until it formed another puppet. Its twisted mask reflected Red's mental cackling perfectly.

The puppet rose silently behind Hugo while he focused on drowning Blue.

"Ready?" Angelo called. Red made the crimson puppet cup its palms together as all three anchored their perception on it. "Three... two... one... now!"

A Trinergy sphere materialized between the puppet's hands, growing steadily behind Hugo's unsuspecting back.

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Hugo finally released his control. "There. No way that bastard's still kicking." He waited, straining to feel any movement from Blue beneath the water, listening for the slightest sign of life.

"Damn it, he'll think Blue's dead if there's no movement. We have to strike now before we lose our chance!" Angelo urged.

"Eat this, you son of a bitch!" Red thought as they launched the Trinergy bomb straight at Hugo's spine.

Hugo slowly lifted his head, as if hearing something. He began to turn, but just as he did—

BOOM! A massive explosion rocked the ocean's surface.

Hugo's body crashed into the water, his aura flickering like a dying flame.

"Hell yeah!" Red cheered.

"This confrontation is far from concluded," Blue said, launching himself upward to meet Hugo, whose eyes opened like a furious serpent's. The two erupted from the water together. Hugo's clothes were charred, his body bloodied but still dangerous.

"What the hell are you people...?" he said with deadly calm, water coiling around him and forming massive gauntlets of ice. "How do you keep pulling off these impossible tricks?"

Blue didn't reply, his piercing blue eyes locked onto Hugo's venomous yellow ones. Blue assumed his combat stance as Hugo rocketed toward him, running across the water's surface like it was solid ground. His gauntlet transformed into a massive ice blade that cut through the air in a wide arc. Blue dodged, but Hugo's swing wasn't finished—the blade caught Blue from behind. It shattered against the Trinergy armor, but Blue went skipping across the water like a thrown stone.

"Watch yourself, blueberry!" Red warned.

"Your body's taken damage!" Angelo noted. They could all feel the cracks spreading across Blue's back beneath the armor. "A few more hits like that and we're finished!"

Hugo didn't attack immediately. He used the pause to think, his tactical mind working. "He can pull off all this weird supernatural crap... He can survive underwater way longer than possible, and I've never heard of an Auron who could use different colored attacks. Especially not his brothers' colors."

He thought back to Red dissolving into smoke in his grasp, his foot doing the same. "It's like they aren't even real... One turns into fog, the other doesn't need to breathe. But Angelo..." His eyes widened with realization. "I know I broke his arm—I felt the bones snap..."

Hugo's head snapped up, understanding flooding through him. "He's the only real one... That's why they sent this bastard alone—one's missing a foot, the real one has a broken arm."

Hugo shook his head with grudging respect. "You bastards have been playing me this whole time... but it ends right now." He turned toward the beach, his aura shifting to ice-blue as he launched himself straight toward the cave.

Back in the cave, all three fragments froze in horror.

"What the hell?!" Red shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Why's he ignoring Blue and heading straight for us?!"

Angelo's face twisted with frustration as he watched Hugo getting away. "Smart bastard figured it out! He's coming for me!"

Blue was already chasing after Hugo's massive form. "Quickly—help me intercept him!" he called to the others.

They immediately crafted their flying setup on Blue's back and launched themselves after the gang leader. Blue managed to grab onto Hugo's shoulders, but the giant didn't slow down. Instead, he started spinning like a human tornado, making it impossible for them to focus or maintain their grip.

"We need to detonate the armor—it's our only shot!" Blue said through their mental link.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Angelo shot back. "Do that and we've got no protection left!"

"There's no alternative! Do it now!" Blue insisted.

"Damn it, Angelo, just do it!" Red yelled.

Angelo hesitated for precious seconds, torn between terrible choices. Finally, they all focused together. Blue's silver armor flashed brilliant white around Hugo. The gang leader stopped spinning to see what was happening, realizing his mistake too late. Blue's form dissolved into azure smoke just before—

BOOM!

Hugo crashed into the water again as Blue's smoky essence drifted back toward the cave. The gang leader slowly rose from the waves like some vengeful sea monster, coughing up blood but far from finished. He wiped his battered face, too exhausted to even rage anymore, and pushed forward toward the beach.

Blue had already returned to Angelo's body and immediately re-emerged. Angelo studied him with concern. "Let me see your back."

Blue turned and lifted his shirt. His entire back was covered in glowing cracks that leaked soft azure light and particles like a broken window.

"This is bad," Angelo said grimly. "Your form's about one hit away from total collapse." Meanwhile, Red was placing his crimson surveillance marbles at the cave entrance to monitor the outside.

"He's getting closer fast," Red reported. "Got any brilliant ideas? Because he'll be here in minutes."

"We lack sufficient time for another Trinergy bomb, but we must take action immediately," Blue told Angelo.

Angelo thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Misdirection... huh?" He turned to the others. "Alright, this is our last shot. Here's what we do."

Hugo approached the cave entrance like a predator closing in on wounded prey. "There you are, little rats..." But to his surprise, Angelo stepped outside and faced him from a safe distance. His broken arm was encased in orange energy like a crude cast.

"Looking for me, big guy?" Angelo called out.

Hugo chuckled despite his exhaustion. "You gave me quite the chase, kid. What, finally grew a spine to face me yourself?"

Angelo locked eyes with him, preparing for something desperate. "Not exactly!" he shouted. "You want me? Come and get me!"

Orange smoke suddenly exploded around Angelo covering him completely, making Hugo ready a wind attack. The smoke solidified into orange armor covering Angelo from head to toe, his broken arm fused to the armor to keep it immobile.

As Hugo launched his attack, the armored Angelo shot toward the ocean, flying away as fast as possible. Hugo gave chase immediately.

"Help me out here!" Angelo called through their shared mind. Azure energy formed boots and gauntlets around his good limbs while crimson energy created glider wings and a booster, launching him forward at incredible speed.

"Get back here and fight me like a man, you coward!" Hugo screamed as he pursued the fleeing figure.

Angelo kept getting further and further with each passing second, fueling Hugo's rage to the breaking point.

"ENOUGH!" Hugo screamed as he chased Angelo. He didn't care about his injuries anymore—he'd tear himself apart to kill this pest. With a massive wind shockwave behind him, he closed the distance at terrifying speed, coughing blood that streaked sideways as he pushed himself far beyond his limits. Finally, his massive arm grabbed the flying figure.

He began tearing apart the armor like a wild animal. He stopped dead when he saw that the orange armor was covering another crimson puppet, which gave him a mocking gesture—hands wiggling beside its twisted face.

"WHAT THE F—" Hugo started before the puppet exploded in his face. It didn't do real damage, but his expression could have killed someone just by looking at it.

He blasted himself back toward the cave, ready to murder anyone in his path.

"Now!" Angelo called to the others beside him. Blue stood in the cave's center, both hands stretched forward as Trinergy energy began building between his palms like a miniature star.

Through the crimson marbles, they watched Hugo approaching fast, an attack already forming in his massive hand.

"Crap," Angelo muttered. "You know what to do. This is everything we've got."

When Hugo reached the perfect range, just before he could throw his own attack, all three fragments called out in perfect unison:

"TRINERGY BURST!"

The sphere exploded outward from Blue's palms—a massive silver wave shot through with streaks of red, orange, and blue, tearing through the cave entrance like liquid lightning. Hugo was just throwing his own concentrated air blast, his eyes going wide as everything slowed to a crawl.

The wave swallowed his air projectile whole, expanding outward as the attack exploded inside it. But the wave kept growing, stabilizing as it slammed into Hugo. He grabbed at it with both hands, using his wind powers to push back with everything he had.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Hugo screamed as the beam drove him backward, ending in a massive explosion that sent sand flying everywhere like a localized sandstorm.