Hugh was silent at Aric's words. He knew that Aric was right. If he fought Aric with his armor, then winning the fight would be almost impossible.
Aric's fighting ability was enhanced and sharpened for years and years, while Hugh had next to nothing experience. Even with the help of his eagle eyes, Hugh would only able to see Aric's movements, not dodge them.
"We all know what would happen once I transform. You would not stand a chance."
Hugh replied to Aric with confidence in his tone. The only reason why he was not worried about losing the fight was his transformation.
If his life was ever in danger, then he would pull the trigger and transform to quickly take himself out of the situation. It was his ace in the hole.
Hugh assumed that Aric knew that, so it was weird that Aric wanted Hugh to transform.
"You're so confident, but you can't even show that strength to the public."
Aric continued to taunt Hugh with fire bellowing all around his body. He had this smirk on his face, that only served to make Hugh more irritated.
"I don't have to."
With his armor available for thirty seconds, Hugh did not have to use his transformation in most situations. This was very evident in his fight with Tanner, Brad, and Chip.
Because he was one rank ahead of everybody in the class, he was already stronger than them without his transformation.
"Hehehehe. Well, what if I told everybody your secret?"
Aric's words struck fear in Hugh's heart. His heart skipped a beat and his face turned serious. This threat from Aric was very real since Aric had influence over the classroom.
Even without evidence, Aric could sway the students' hearts into believing that Hugh had a transformation. Hugh could almost see what would happen once everyone knew his transformation.
They would immediately question why Hugh was able to get a very strong Desire. Because it was common knowledge that Hugh was poor, they would question how Hugh was able to get a Desire pill.
More investigations would occur, and it would be found out that Hugh never got a Desire pill. Every pill dealer took records of people who buy pills, so Hugh could not fake that.
Then, the CDA would get involved, and Hugh would be taken into question. They would do experiments on him, and his life would be on the line.
"Use your transformation, or else I will tell all your secrets."
That was the last straw that broke the camel's back. Hugh could not hold on any longer, and he activated his transformation.
Hugh could feel the heat forming in his body, and burning all of his fat. Steam started to pour out of his pores, and his fat slowly deflated.
Hugh's body continued to deflate until he reached a normal body. It was then that his muscles started to replace his fats.
His jaw became sharper, his hair became white, and his overall look turned into a being full of explosive power.
Aric could immediately feel the difference between them. The pressure that was emanating from Hugh was as oppressing and scary as he had first felt it.
Aric suppressed every nerve he had to retreat away from Hugh. Instead, he willed himself to bring out more firepower from his body.
He smiled towards an intimidating Hugh, but there was a clear terror in his eyes. There were beads of sweat forming in his forehead, but they quickly evaporated from the fire in his head.
Aric kept his eyes directly on Hugh, but he suddenly saw a blur in his vision. Hugh had disappeared from his eyes as if he had teleported.
Then, Aric felt a cold breeze to his left cheek and gave him a chilling feeling. He turned his head sideways, but before he could even move, a sharp force punched him in the face.
Aric felt a tremendous amount of force on his cheeks, and he could internally feel his cheekbones getting shattered. His body was flung sideways and continued to fly until he hit the wall.
Aric had only realized this fact as he slid down from the wall. It was all too fast for him to react, and he could only feel the numbing pain after the fact.
He tried his hardest to stand up, but his body seemed to have betrayed him. His muscles twitched, but it could never make a full movement.
He could only look up at Hugh with the bright light of the ceiling over his head. Aric could see the cold look that Hugh was giving him, and he knew that Hugh was far from over.
Hugh looked at Aric with eyes that were staring at every expression on his face. He could not understand why Aric wanted him to transform even though Aric knew this would be the result.
Aric could have attacked him earlier, but Aric waited until Hugh transformed. Hugh could not even think of a reason why Aric wanted him to transform.
Hugh could see the orangish fire around Aric start to dwindle out. Aric's half-opened eyes were losing focus, and Hugh could tell that he was on the last line.
"Why are you doing this, Aric?"
Aric heard Hugh's words, and he displayed an indecipherable smile. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but no words came out.
"Stop what you were planning. Don't tell my secret. If you do that, I will spare your life."
Hugh still felt some sympathy for Aric, so he gave him a second chance. Aric opened his eyes fully and looked at Hugh.
"F*ck you. Kill me now."
Hugh frowned at Aric's words. He could not understand the arrogance and pride in Aric. Even though Aric was close he death, he would rather die than not sabotage the school.
He did not know why Aric hated him and the school so much.
Seeing that Aric still had energy in him, Hugh lifted Aric by the collar and slammed Aric back down on the ground. Hugh continued to smash Aric's body in the ground as a merciless barrage.
Hugh made sure that Aric did not have any more muscles to move, nor energy to fight, but he kept Aric alive.