Previously on Hakuna, the Citadel of Crowns has begun, but we got attacked by a Level 8 Demon. Hakuna dealt with it quickly though, but this guy, Sparta, showed up and tormented Hakuna. The prince is in a precarious emotional state. I hope he's okay…
The Proposal and the Fury
Fade in.
Hakuna stands in front of Rorisang, both still outside the palace, surrounded by the remnants of the demon fight. His eyes are fixed on the spot where Sparta faded, his body still trembling with restrained fury. "I swear, if he ever threatens my family, I will find him and kill him. I don't care where he hides," the prince declares, his voice low and cold.
"I'll protect you and your family, Hakuna. Let me stand by your side. We can face anything together," Rorisang says, stepping closer, her expression intense and earnest.
Hakuna snaps back, the sudden shift in conversation pulling him instantly out of his internal rage. "Huh, what?"
Uh oh, he just woke up from his homicidal fugue state. Bad timing.
"I'm in love with you, Hakuna. I have been since the moment I saw you. Let me be your Queen," she declares, shooting her shot with the terrifying confidence of royalty.
This is weird. Since when do princesses shoot their shot with such alarming directness?
Hakuna stammers, his combat readiness replaced by awkward social panic. "Oh no, I'm sorry, Rorisang, I really am, but I'm already seeing someone else. My heart is taken."
Rorisang's expression hardens, and she flares her aura, a surge of controlled, aggressive power that makes the ground crack slightly. "Leave them, for me. I am a Princess of the Tswana Tribe; I am infinitely superior to any other choice you could possibly make," she commands, the power in her voice undeniable.
Psycha chimes in, "Sheesh, you have quite the luck with crazy, powerful women, huh? They always want to fight for you."
Hakuna then says, "I'm sorry, but that's not possible."
Rorisang barks, her temper flaring. "No one says no to me!" She turns abruptly and walks away, her exit a statement of volcanic, offended pride.
"Women are so confusing. One minute she's an observer, the next she's a fiancée, the next she's furious," Hakuna mutters, shaking his head.
"Oh, you have no idea, my friend. You have no idea," Psycha agrees.
Hakuna runs back to the palace, quickly re-entering the grand conference room, still shirtless. As soon as he gets to the center, he's ambushed.
"What did you do?" Sehloho questions, his arms crossed.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hakuna murmurs, still mentally tracking Rorisang's confusing exit.
King Thlomamo shouts, his face crimson with fury. "You dare refuse my daughter's sincere profession of love towards you?! You publicly humiliate the Tshabadira clan!"
Hakuna then speaks, standing firm. "King Thlomamo, I am truly sorry, but I already have someone I hold close to my heart. It is not an insult to your daughter, but a testament to my devotion."
King Thlomamo argues, his voice incredulous. "You cannot be serious! At such a young age, you already have a Royal Tie with someone? That is unheard of for a prince!"
"Yes, she is a Xhosa princess, and I cannot look at any other girl like I look at her. Ever." Hakuna replies, his gaze unwavering.
"Hmm, well, there is only one way to prove this theory of yours, this 'absolute loyalty,'" the king declares, a cold, calculated cruelty entering his eyes.
Tshabadira guards appear behind Hakuna with blurring speed and grab his arms, restraining him instantly. "What is the meaning of this? Unhand me!" he questions, trying to pull away.
King Thlomamo then speaks, savoring the moment. "If you have faith in your Royal Tie, you risk everything to prove it. Loyalty is weakness in this game, boy. So let's see if your princess will protect you from a distance." He charges a blast in his hand, aiming it squarely at Hakuna's head.
The Xhosa Princess Arrives
…At the Mehlomanelo Palace, thousands of kilometers away…
Nolitha is seen doing some sort of superhuman yoga, a routine that defies physics. I mean, who does a handstand with their elbows while holding their feet behind their head?
Anyway, Nolitha is disturbed by something deep within her soul. She then says to herself, "This feeling… it's like danger, but…" She looks around, but sees no physical threats. "There's no one there, but I still have this feeling, a knot of pure dread…" She gasps, clutching her chest.
She immediately accesses a heightened state, a psychic resonance, and can sense exactly where Hakuna is and the specific, violent intent directed at him. "HAKUNA!" she screams. She immediately flies upwards, shattering the palace roof, accelerating faster than Hakuna himself is capable of.
…Back at the Citadel of Crowns…
King Thlomamo addresses the host. "King Sehloho, you won't mind if we have this little experiment, would you? A test of his legendary loyalty?"
"No, not at all. Carry on," Sehloho says, shocking the entire room.
What?!
Sehloho then thinks to himself, "You fool, that level of blast won't even scratch Hakuna. It'll just be a dramatic show."
Oh, right. He's right.
"Wonderful," King Thlomamo says, his smile widening. The blast charging on his hand enlarges fourfold, growing into a terrifying orb of pure, volatile energy.
Sehloho thinks to himself, "Oh shit. That's enough to hurt him badly!"
Hakuna argues, "There's really no need for this, King Thlomamo. Stop it!"
King Thlomamo snaps back, "Of course, there is. Who do you think you are, brat? Is my daughter not good enough for you?"
"It's not that at all. I just want to remain loyal to the girl I love. It's a simple choice," Hakuna says.
"Princes don't ever stay loyal. They take what they want. That's the rule of the land," the king says flatly, and fires.
As the blast leaves King Thlomamo's hand, a violent, high-pitched scream splits the air. Nolitha breaks through the ceiling in a shower of stone and dust, slamming into the blast and destroying the energy with a single, massive counter-force.
As the smoke clears, the Tshabadira guards are knocked out by the residual shockwave, and Nolitha is seen standing, shielding Hakuna with her body. The kings see that she has a Royal Stance, honed and lethal. They see the violent, dark-red aura radiating from her body, and then they see… a look of pure, concentrated fury. DEATH STARE!
Everyone is instantly frightened by the raw, terrifying intensity in her eyes.
"Ahh, so you must be The Girl, huh? Quite the entrance," Sehloho says, recovering quickly.
King Thlomamo asks, his voice surprisingly calm. "What is your name, princess, and what right do you have to interfere with the affairs of kings?"
Nolitha then introduces herself, her voice shaking with controlled rage. "I am Princess Nolitha Mehlomanelo of the Xhosa Royal Bloodline, and I will vaporize anyone who lays a hand on Hakuna."
"Haa… now that's a Lewotla kind of woman! I approve!" King Kutlwano laughs with intrigue.
Rorisang, who had followed her father back in, thinks to herself, "That's his girlfriend? She's gorgeous. And terrifying."
"Megami…" Hakuna says, using his private term for her, a mix of awe and relief. Hakuna smiles as he sees her, his anger momentarily receding.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" The princess asks, checking him quickly.
"I'm fine, thanks to you. But I just really wanna kill someone right now," Hakuna says. As he says this, his aura bursts into the color purple, and he opens his eyes, which are now burning yellow.
King Thlomamo then speaks, "A princess should not intervene with matters involving kings, now step aside. I'll deal with this brat myself."
Hakuna warns, "Stand back, Nolitha. This is about to get a little violent."
King Thlomamo takes his coat off, revealing a lean, powerful physique, and leaps over to where Hakuna and Nolitha are standing. "You really have a problem with me, don't you?" Hakuna queries.
"No one says no to my daughter, and no Xhosa woman interrupts me!" the king roars.
"Well, that's too bad, because I don't want her," Hakuna responds flatly.
They both launch towards each other at the same time. As they clash, the speed is impossible to track, and lightning is sent shooting out in different directions from the friction of their movement. No one has landed a single hit; both are dodging and blocking effortlessly, a perfect stalemate.
King Tshenollo thinks to himself, "This clan is ferocious. One of their youngest is strong enough to take on kings. I definitely don't want to go into war with them."
King Thuto then thinks to himself, "This boy has unparalleled power. However, he has many enemies now. I would love to see his true potential, but it's probably that his enemies have no idea what an animal he can be. I don't wanna cross paths with him. It's too dangerous."
Each and every king felt this way; they felt like ants to Hakuna's level of power, all but one, King Thlomamo, who was, at this moment, an equal match for the prince's pure strength and speed.
"You seem well adept to combat, Prince. How many men have you fought to achieve this ferocity?" King Thlomamo asks, panting slightly.
Hakuna then speaks, his voice coming through the rapid fire of their exchange. "I'll be honest, I haven't fought many men, but I've fought sixteen demons, including the Level 8 Demon Merca, the demon who took my father's life."
Sehloho thinks to himself, "Merca?! So, he found out about our greatest shame? Hmm…"
King Thlomamo then comments, "Avenging your father? Impressive… if you had won."
Hakuna then says, his voice gaining an edge of cold confidence. "Oh, you don't know? I've never lost a fight in my entire life." Immediately his aura flares tenfold for a few seconds, a blinding pulse of purple power, until it instantly disappears.
"Well, this will be your first!" The king barks, smashing the ground in an attempt to hit Hakuna. But obviously, Hakuna effortlessly dodged it.
"I doubt it," Hakuna replies flatly.
King Thlomamo throws debris towards Hakuna, but he effortlessly dodges and deflects the debris as he slowly walks towards King Thlomamo, controlling the pace of the battle. Hakuna then comments, "You seem quite stressed for a guy who has a 'Beautiful' daughter to marry off."
King Thlomamo snaps, "There is no way I could be stressed dealing with an insignificant brat on my own! I will not be humiliated!"
"Hmm… sorry, but I'm gonna have to end this. You're wasting my time," the prince declares.
"It's not over until I say it's over!" King Thlomamo roars. He launches towards Nolitha in a cowardly, desperate attempt to stab her. "Maybe you need a little motivation, brat," he sneers.
He was an inch away from Nolitha when Hakuna catches his hand immediately, his grip like steel. "I really wouldn't recommend that," Hakuna says, his voice dangerously shifting between syllables, losing its human pitch.
He turns, his eyes glowing red as he flares his aura violently. Sehloho, watching the shift, says quietly, "This is it. Mode: Kill…."
"What is this? I can't feel him anywhere. His entire presence has changed," Nolitha murmurs, unable to sense the boy she loves.
"Alright, here goes…" Psycha speaks, her voice originating from Hakuna's mouth, having taken full control of his body.
Hakuna throws King Thlomamo to the ground with devastating force. King Thuto then comments, "That was definitely a bad idea. Attacking the Xhosa princess while the boy is at a state of rage, or attacking her at all, is a bad idea. You don't poke the beast."
"Daddy!" Rorisang cries out, tears streaming down her face as she sees her father helpless. Nolitha sees Rorisang crying out for her father. Nolitha she says to herself, "I have to stop him. He's gone too far."
Hakuna lands punch after punch all over King Thlomamo's body, a brutal, merciless barrage of blows until… "Like I said, all things should come to an end. Fist of Inferno!" Psycha says, emulating Hakuna's words with cold satisfaction.
He sends a flaming fist toward the king's face, but before it could land, Nolitha knocks Hakuna away with a focused blast of her own power. "You should get out of here, now. Run!" she says to the King. King Thlomamo, battered and defeated, runs away instantly.
Hakuna comes out of the dust-filled crater as a dark figure with red glowing eyes and a massive, oppressive purple aura. "Hakuna, it's time to sleep, my love. I need you to calm down," the princess says. She immediately goes into a fighting stance.
"Oh, let's have fun. This really is a stronger vessel than the old one," Psycha says, using Hakuna's voice.
Sehloho mutters, "It's never been released before… I didn't know he could handle the full transfer."
Psycha then continues, "Don't worry, Princess. I seek no evil. I just want to stretch my legs. Knock me out, and I'll go away."
Sehloho thinks to himself, "I am so glad Psycha is on our side. Imagine if she were our enemy."
Nolitha then denotes, "So, I knock you out, and I'll have him back?"
"Seems fair, does it not? A worthy challenge for the one he loves," the demon voices.
"Hmm, okay," Nolitha responds.
"Do you have any idea what you are putting yourself through? Psycha is the strongest entity you will ever face!" Sehloho warns.
Nolitha snaps back, her eyes fixed on the demon-controlled prince. "Yeah, and I hope you'll keep your mouth shut and let me do my job."
She flies towards Hakuna and immediately sends a barrage of attacks—punch after punch, kick after kick, slam after slam—all perfectly targeted and delivered with blinding speed. "Interesting. Very fast," Psycha says, casually blocking the initial assault.
Psycha immediately stands up straight, bored with the defensive posturing. "Kihimurra…" With one hand, she sends a powerful blast towards Nolitha. But it hits no one. What could this be? Where is she?
Nolitha already appeared above the now-distracted Hakuna and slammed him into the ground with a devastating chokehold. "Like I said… easy. He's out," the princess concludes, dropping the unconscious body.
"How did you do that? He couldn't even sense you!" Sehloho asks, completely flabbergasted by the impossible speed.
Nolitha then speaks, looking directly at the stunned Kings. "You male-dominant clans seem to forget and underestimate the power of your women. You are so enveloped in the prince's power, but the very reason he's this strong is because of his respect and love towards women. But all in all, I am still, much stronger than him."
She vanishes with the unconscious Hakuna in her arms.
Queen Tharollo looks on with slight admiration.
Fade out.
End of Episode 26…