ã€ŠHP: The Arcane Thiefã€‹


 Auxiliary Chapter (Read First)

    Auxiliary Chapter (Read First)

    Here are some sketches of the characters. If you can find better ones or simr ones, then by all means, shove them down in thements.

    This is a Sketch of Our MC Axel.

    Axel:

    *He isn''t a reincarnator.*

    This is Rose. This is the Girl-Who-Lived. She is NOT what they call a fem-harry. She is a different person altogether, withpletely different appearance, different upbringing, different nature and different character. Fem-harry sounds like you turned Harry into a girl which is definitely not case.

    This one, you should know if you have read until chapter 10. The Name''s Martina. Don''t Spoil the rest.

    The pairings are undecided since the plot matters more. So chill and read. And there won''t be any simping.

    Here''s the Pat reon link: /Snollygoster

    Here''s the Discord Link

    https://discord.gg/TR3KKAhu9r

    Note: Those who can''t see the Images in the Comment boxes, sign in or sign up to see. Or just see them in the chapterments.

 Chapter 1: Caught in Act

    Chapter 1: Caught in Act

    A.N.: My new novel after the previous sessful one. Don''t worry I''ll still write that one as well. Anyways be the first ones to write reviews andments and get 100s of likes.

    ******

    A skinny boy was walking along the busy streets while keeping his head low.

    The boy look to be around 10 year old and his clothes were a bit shabby. His raven locks hid his bright amber eyes and most of his face.

    Thump*

    "Hey! watch it, squirt."

    "Sorry..." replied Axel to yet another random passerby, making sure to keep his head low.

    He wasn''t behaving so timidly out of fear or nervousness. No, he was just trying to make sure that the random passerby he had just bumped into had nothing to remember him by.

    A smirk rose from the corner of his mouth as he pocketed the loaded wallet of yet another rich target.

    Yes, he was currently picking pockets in the cold streets of London.

    He wasn''t ashamed of it. In fact, he took pride in his skills. After all, he has acquired them after much pain and suffering.

    Though his only targets are rich people who particrly seem to have this sense of superiority that he wants to smash. It might be unreasonable to some people but he had personal reasons for his hate.

    He doesn''t steal from people who are poor or good natured. He might be a pickpocketer right now, but he still had his own pride and principles.

    These are the only things he can''t give up on.

    Axel has been an orphan for as long as he can remember. Though he didn''t use to be as homeless as he is right now.

    He used to live in an orphanage. It''s not like he didn''t have to struggle there, but at least he used to have a roof over his head and some food to fill his stomach.

    But somehow, these almost magical idents kept happening around him and he was soon kicked out, left to fend for himself. He even had to drop out of the school.

    Maybe he could have stayed if he endured the beatings of the older kids quietly without losing control, or maybe the Orphanage keeper could have still kept him if he begged for it orined to the local authority. But, Axel decided that he had had enough of that ce.

    That was about three years ago, when he was eight years old.

    "Heh, this was a nice haul," he muttered, checking the contents of his wallet. By now, he has amassed enough tost him for quite a while. But Axel wasn''t satisfied with just having enough money for food. He knows that he can''t keep living like this forever. Pickpocketing and petty thefts are not sustainable and the money is too low for his ambitions.

    Thus, he''s been amassing just enough to start a business of his own. You need money to make money. And once he has enough capital, he has the confidence and smarts to make it work despite his young age, if he''s cautious enough.

    ''So... who''s next?'' he thought to himself as his eyes darted in all directions. Pickpocketing is a difficult job. He can''t just start robbing random people and lot of time and patience are needed for all the other conditions to meet. Though his one redundant quality is that, he only robs rich @ssholes.

    "Ah, is it my lucky day today?" He asked himself as he found a man who seemed to be begging to be robbed just after a few minutes of strolling.

    Walking briskly with a small fancy stick in his hand, a tall man with grey eyes, dressed luxuriously in an odd old-fashioned cloak that covered his whole body was walking across with a disgusted expression on his face as he looked around the whole world distastefully. His ''thou art beneath me'' look instantly signed him up on top of Axel''s steal list.

    Even as Axel began to make his way toward the man, he had to wonder just why the man seem so disdainful of everything. He decided thad he will not be bumping into this guy. The guy seems to be the sort who''d want to beat him up just for having any physical contact with a street urchin. So, he has to apply one of his more subtle approaches.

    ''It''s going to be a bit difficult, but it''s not like I can''t run away,'' thought Alex a bit smugly. Though he definitely possessed the talent and skills to back up his ims. He has the confidence to outrun any man in this area. He has managed to slip out of the worst of situations.

    Though... all these ims applied only to muggles and he had no way of knowing this at the time.

    The clueless Axel studied the man carefully and pinpointed the location of the man''s possessions. He then purposefully began walking in the way of the iing man and timing their intersection at the moment when the alley was the closest to ensure his escape route in case of being caught.

    When he reached right in front of the man, the guy inevitably had to look at the annoying bug in front of him. Just as the amber eyes met grey, Axel''s eyes shifted to nce behind the man and his expression changed dramatically.

    The man, who thought himself to be a sharp one, quickly nced behind, only to find... nothing! Everything seemed to be normal.

    ''Score!'' Axel smirked. 50% work was already done. Lightning quick, his hand snaked into the man''s unusual cloak to find his wallet. Though oddly enough, instead of a wallet, he found a pouch. Given that he had less than a second to do his thing, he didn''t think too much and quickly stuffed the pouch into the bulky jacket he was wearing. Or at least, he tried to

    .

    Evenrything had gone very well and he had even managed to not make any noise even while stealing such a bulky pouch which must have been filled with coins.

    But, as he moved past the man while pocketing the pouch, he felt the pouch in his hand growing extremely hot all of sudden making him curse inwardly! And... if that wasn''t enough, it somehow emitted an extremely loud noise as if to rm the owner about a thief!

    ''Fuck!'' Cursing at the absurdity of the situation, Alex didn''t waste his time. He chucked the purse to the other side of the street to distract the man and made a beeline for the alley while his brain worked furiously.

    ''He should nce towards his flying purse, and then he would either run after me, or the pouch, or pull out a knife, or even a gun. I should at least have 2 seconds to run in all cases,''

    And that was enough to run into the alley. Once he turned, the man would have to chase to get a clear shot and by then, he would be out of his sight. Thus, Axel should be out fine for now but suddenly, he felt something was wrong.

    He threw a quick nce behind him ¡ª Only to see the man pointing the stick which he had in his hand at Axel and a beam of purple light already half on its way to hit him.

    Eyes widening, he quickly tried to dodge but it was already toote. He was quick, but he was not THAT quick yet.

    The light hit him on his side and his whole body instantly went stiff,pletely immobile. For some reason, the man hasn''t thrown a second nce towards the pouch, and neither did he have to pull out his weapon from his robe. It was always in his hand! That fancy stick. Thus, the man was able to catch Axel off guard since Axel never knew there was a world of magic he had no knowledge about.

    Axel''s petrified body hit the ground hard, but the man was far from being satisfied. He was looking at Axel like he was an ant that had just bitten the man.

    "You filthy mudblood animal...You dared to try and steal from a pureblood wizard in the middle of the day," he drawled, his voice containing cold fury as the pouch that he''d thrown across the street somehow flew back into the man''s waiting hand with a flick of his fancy stick.

    Axel waspletely out of the loop with what was happening right now. First the rm, and the hot bag, then that beam of light which came out of that stick which made himpletely immobile, and now that mudblood and pureblood wizard thingy.

    He didn''t know what was happening, but from one look at the man''s ruthless face, he knew that if he didn''t escape right now, he was in some serious danger. He knows that look well. If he''s caught, he''d be lucky to escape with a few broken bones.

    ''C''mon! Move! Move!'' He tried, he really did. But try as he might, he couldn''t make his body move at all!

    The next thing he knew, he was somehow lifted off the ground and carried into the alleyway a the man''s wandpoint.

    The man waved his wand a few more times and muttered something and the world around him turned silent. He couldn''t hear the noiseing from the busy street of London nor anything else, just the man''s footsteps as he came to stand in front of his petrified body.

    He heard the man chuckle darkly at his vain struggles. "You filthy little thing. I was angry at first, but now... I think it was for my own good that you delivered yourself to me. After all, it''s been a while since I tortured someone to my heart''s content," he said and Axel felt the man''s voice tone changing.

    Beforehand, his voice was cold and almost emotionless. But now, it seemed as if a barrier had been lifted off, and now his voice was sounding much scarier. He understood that voice. It''s the voice of someone who enjoys inflicting pain.

    The man squatted down in front of him, making his face visible. His face was set in a disdainful annoyed look before. But now, his mouth was curved into a cruel sadistic expression grin and his eyes contained a hint of madness in them. Looking at this guy, Axel renewed his struggle to break free while his mind tried to find some way out of this absurd situation.

    ''If it''s a dream, now would be a great time to wake up,'' he thought as he saw the man pointing the stick at him again.

    "CRUCIO!"

    "ARRRRRRG!!!! Arrrrrrrrrrgghhh!!!!!"

    Creak* *Creak* *Creek* *SNAP*

    In his small life, Axel had suffered much physical pain through various means and his pain tolerance had gotten quite high. Not to brag, but he didn''t think there were many things that would now make him flinch.

    But this thing, whatever it was not only made him flinch, it made him squirm in utter agony for what felt like forever! He''d never felt pain this intense in all parts of his body at the same time and for such a prolonged duration! He just wanted it to end.

    And, due to the damn paralysis, he couldn''t even scream, nor could he move to stop the man which caused an odd creaking sound from his body when he tried to move it. One of his shoulders seems to be dislocated in his extreme attempt at moving.

    The man, upon seeing Alex ring at him, raised his eyebrows in surprise. He seemed almost... impressed.

    "I have to admit, you''ve got some fight in you, little rat. I never expected that a little mudblood could stay sane after taking that," he muttered, almost to himself. He had thought that he''ll kill the rat after one crucio since a child wasn''t expected to retain a functioning brain after one, but it seems that he can have a bit more fun with this one.

    "CRUCIO!"

    Axel, who was still recoiling from the first spell made to dodge it but then, he remembered that he still couldn''t move at all!

    Helpless, he could only grit his teeth and suffer as his bones creaked from the strain. But this time, he tried to distract himself from the pain by thinking of a way out of this situation. Though all he could think of was how it could be this painful and how he would even surrender all his money if this man would just stop this.

    Though after the third Cruciatus, all Axel had in his mind was¡ª

    ''I''ll kill you... I''ll kill you... I''ll kill you!''

    Now, even if the man kindly stopped, took him to the hospital, and gave him a lot of money, Axel still wouldn''t let this guy off!

    By now, the man could no longer take pleasure in the boy''s suffering. He had to admit, he was more than a bit creeped out from the look in his hate-filled amber eyes which seemed to bore a hole through his skull.

    Even trained Aurors would be much worse off than this little guy who was ring at him like a chained beast waiting to pounce. He even felt a bit intimidated by it.

    ''No! I will not be intimidated by a mere child!'' The man refused to admit it and thus, decided to make this boy beg like he should.

    "You''ll be begging for death after this."

    """"CRUCIO!!!"""" he didn''t hold back this time. He wasn''t the most powerful in the world, but this much is easily enough to incapacitate an adult wizard, most probably for life. It''s called an unforgivable for a reason.

    "MMPHHFFF *CRACK* AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

    This time, Axel got hit so bad that he had to dislocate his jaw just so that he could scream out his pain. Blood came from his eyes and nose and if he hadn''t relieved himself just half an hour ago, then even his dder would havee loose.

    But... somehow, the fight in his amber-colored eyes had still not waned. It had intensified!

    Axel was a petty freak with a vicious streak more than a mile wide. Back in the orphanage, he would never give in to bullying and would go to unimaginable lengths just to get his petty revenge.

    The reason he didn''t give up, despite wanting to die right now was...

    He didn''t want to give this man the satisfaction of getting what he wanted. Yes sir, this man... has to die.

    He was feeling a variety of emotions right now which contained a healthy amount of fear, panic, and confusion at how this man was able to do this unknown damnable torture.

    But the most prevalent emotion in his head right now was¡ªRage. Yes, he was royally pissed right now, and for a good reason.

    Painful memories of the past shed past his eyes. Back then, he was weak and helpless against the strong opponents who beat him mercilessly. But he was still not willing to take it lying down. Even he didn''t know why, but he absolutely couldn''t just bow his head and ept it like any other weak orphan in his ce should.

    So, he worked hard. He tried to be strong, strong enough so that he does not lose control. Strong enough that he would be the one giving out the beatings.

    Right now, even if he wasn''t strong enough to be invincible, but he was confident enough to at least escape if the enemy is stronger.

    But! Here he is, getting his ass handed to him once again. Only, this time, it was much much much worse.

    So, wasn''t he back to square one? This man was able to deal with Axel with just one beam of light and now he was ying with him.

    Then... wasn''t he still too weak? And, it doesn''t seem that his life is going to be spared when this guy is done with him.

    ''Do I need to depend on that again?'' He thought in exasperation as his dead eyes suddenly focused back sharply on the man.

    A spark lit up in the depths of his bloodshot amber eyes and soon, it seemed like his eyes were glowing.

    ''This guy... has to die!''

    xxxxx

    Second chaptering very soon. Add this to your library.

    If you want to read up to 10+ Chapters in advance, check my Patre on /Snollygoster

    P.S.: Wherever the Word "Chris" or "Alex" has been used, It''s "Axel"! A-X-E-L. I have a habit of writing "Chris" because of my other fanfic''s 170+ chapters and "Alex" is just typo. These mistakes are only in the beginning chapters since I get used to Axelter.

 Chapter 2: The Awakening

    Chapter 2: The Awakening

    {Right before Axel''s eyes started to glow}

    After thetest Cruciatus, the man was now fairly unsettled. He was panting heavily from the use of the full-powered Cruciatus curse and his eyes seemed to question reality.

    The scene in front of him was... unbelievable. He had expected the child to die, or atleast have his mindpletely broken. But instead, the boy somehow seemed to be fully conscious. And, the most disturbing factor¡ª

    ''He hasn''t shown any sign of submission.'' he thought, looking into the boy''s rage-filled eyes that seemed to have no sign of submission, begging or pleading.

    This was the weirdest of all things. When a person is hit by the Cruciatus, their first instinct is to submit. An unbearable longing for the pain to stop. And in such conditions, 99.9% of people would give up and beg pathetically for the caster to grant them mercy which is why it''s the favourite spell of people like him.

    Considering that this boy was a bottom dreg of the society¡ªthe lowest of the low, and his age should be around 10, then the boy can not possibly possess such pride and mental fortitude to be able to hold on till now.

    By now, it was quite clear that the boy was not a muggle. He refused to believe that a muggle child could be this exceptional. He decided it was better to just kill this monster and be done with it since he for beginning to have a bad feeling seeing those eyes.

    But at this moment, he noticed that the boy''s reddish-orange eyes suddenly started to glow, making it look like mes were dancing in those amber eyes.

    The man''s eyes widened. Goosebumps rose on his skin and a chill went down his spine. He hastened his casting¡ª

    "AVADA¡ª *VROOM* *SNAP*

    But before the spell could be finished, Alex screamed at the top of his lungs... and a magical shockwave spread out of his body. The man''s wand was blown right out of his hand, interrupting the chant.

    Axel had decided to put up one final struggle, giving it his all to break out of whatever was holding him back. He was hoping for one of those freaky incidents which had gotten him kicked out of the orphanage to happen. It only used to happen when he used to be extremely angry or panicked. And right now, there was no shortage of any of those.

    And sure enough, with a snap, he was somehow able to break free!

    The first thing he did was to kick that weird-ass stick out of the man''s hand. In his opinion, it was some kind of new gun that the rich people had the ess to.

    Right now, after four Cruciatus-es, Axel wasn''t in the right state of mind. He had never felt such hatred towards anyone else up untill now. His whole body was throbbing with acute pain, his jaw and left shoulder were dislocated, blood wasing out of his nose and his eyes werepletely bloodshot.

    Axel had nevermitted murder in his whole life. But right now, in his half-broken mind, he had only one thought.

    ''KILL!!!''

    "H-How...?"

    The man waspletely stunned right now.

    And before he could even bring himself out of the state of shock to think about bringing out the spare wand from his pouch¡ª

    *SHIN* "AAAAAHHHH!"

    He found a knife was stabbed right through his crotch. The grown-ass man shrieked like a woman and fell to his knees in pain.

    What had happened was: as soon as Alex had broken free, the first thing he did was to take out his knife with the hand he was able to move and stab it right into the man''s crotch and bring it out, causing blood to start spraying out on the street.

    While the man screamed, Alex also grunted from the pain he felt upon moving his body. He was having difficulty breathing and his heart was throbbing in pain with every beat. He really would have died if he had to suffer from another Cruciatus. Thus, without further ado, he slit the man''s throat and started stabbing the knife repeatedly into the man''s chest.

    From his previous experiences, he knows not to let his opponent fight back, at all. Because his opponents are always physically superior, he can''t have the luxury to y around.

    Axel watched almost regretfully as the life slowly drained out of the man''s eyes. He would have liked to return at least a bit of the torture that he''d received. But he had to admit, he wasn''t in the condition to even struggle if the man somehow fights back.

    Thus, he could only stab the man''s eye to somewhat satiate his mad fury. It didn''t help much. Heck, he couldn''t even deliver anyst taunting words since his jaw was dislocated and his throat sore from screaming his lungs out earlier.

    After he was done, he felt his head spinning and his vision darkening as he fell back down. It seems he was not going to be able to move for quite some time.

    Just as Axel was pondering what to do next, he saw a bright light descending on him, and the next thing he knew, he was hearing a voice inside his head.

    [Congrattions! You have proven yourself worthy. You have been chosen by the entity A.R.]

    *Ding*

    [System Activated]

    Axel blinked his eyes several times upon listening to the robot female voice and seeing the text floating in front of him.

    ''What... the f*ck is that?'' he thought in bewilderment.

    ''Have I really lost it after that torture?''

    He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He was in a bad enough situation as it is. He''d rather quickly find a solution to his current predicament than focus on these hallucinations.

    Right now, if anyone saw him with a dead body, his life in London along with his dreams was over. So, he has to leave this ce QUICK. But... the problem is...

    ''I... I can''t move! Damn! Even lifting my hand hurts like hell! What did that guy do to my body?!''

    *Ding*

    [Host, your body is in poor condition and your adrenaline rush is over. Thus you are unable to move.

    Your jaw and right shoulder have been dislocated.

    You have been under a prolonged duration of Cruciatus Curse which has caused severe damage to your nervous system.

    Immediate treatment is rmended.

    Dy in the treatment can result in longsting or permanent damage to your nervous system and affect your magic casting.

    And you are currently unable to move because your body''s physical and magical strength has been severely depleted]

    "...."

    ''... This ain''t no hallucination.'' Axel concluded after a moment of silence. There''s no way it is. Since he couldn''t understand even half of it, so his imagination couldn''t have made this up. He used to like studying but his circumstances haven''t allowed him to have enough education to know all this medical shit.

    But, he knew enough to understand that he needed medical attention real quick.

    But, no matter if there was some robotic voice in his head that could tell his body''s state. It seems quite useless if it can''t take him out of here.

    ''What else can you do except telling me things? Can you cure me? Can you give me some energy to move?'' Asked Axel to this "System" in his mind. He couldn''t speak because his jaw hurt bad every time he tried so he could only try to project his thoughts with his mind.

    Thankfully, the system responded.

    [No. Not at the moment. You need to increase your status first. As the percentage increases, so will the perks you enjoy.]

    Right now, in this situation, Axel couldn''t care less about the future.

    ''... Then, aren''t you quite useless right now? Aren''t you quite weak? What can I do with just information?''

    [Host, if you have the right information, information can be much more powerful and useful than superficial powers.

    If you follow the system''s instructions, you will be cured. You can also eventually be the strongest.]

    That got Axel''s attention. He was quite excited to hear that he could be the strongest. But... after living in the streets for so long, he had learned one thing: Nothing''s free in this world.

    ''Why are you helping me? What do you want in return?''

    [This world has diverged drastically from the original course. As it is, there would be many wars in differentmunities. AR is unable to directly affect this world. Thus, they need a proxy, an agent who can execute their will.

    Do understand that thews of the world do not allow master to force their will upon you. Thus, you are free to choose whether to execute it or not.]

    Axel had to take a pause at that. Damn, this system is like one of those ultra-smooth salesmen. And at this moment, with his debilitating injuries, he has no other choice.

    "Sigh..."

    ''Alright, what do I have to do?''

    *Ding*

    [Quest Activated: Go to the Saint Mungos Hospital.

    Time: 2 hours

    Reward:

    1)Basic knowledge of the Wizarding World.

    2)5% Approval from AR.

    Failure/Dy:

    -> Lasting physical and magical Damages to the body.]

    [Instructions: Firstly, take out the dead man''s pouch, and open it.]

    Axel immediately disagreed, ''I''m not touching that thing. My hand''s still burning from thest time I touched it!''

    [Your hand, is covered in the man''s blood. The enchantments would not reject you this time. The host is rmended to take action quickly. The privacy spells ced by the man are going to run out soon.]

    Axel was having difficulty understanding what this system was spouting and he currently had hundreds of questions to ask this system. But... he knew that he neither had the time nor choice to dally.

    With much difficulty, he took out the pouch from the man''s coat, and surprisingly, it didn''t react this time. Opening it, he found himself looking into a space that was atleast 50 cubic centimeters filled with coins, which means a lot considering that pouch was quite small and weightless.

    "...."

    Alex was now getting numb to the weird things that have been happening in his life. He''s been having weird episodes of power release which have saved him more than once in difficult situations.

    And just a while back he even received a letter addressed to his name delivered by a freaking owl! He had refused to believe in its contents but after today? Not so much.

    [Quickly search for a blue coloured potion and drink it.]

    Axel quickly found what he was looking for. And at this moment, there was a loud sound of a bubble popping and suddenly, he could hear the noise from the street again. Axel knew that he had run out of time.

    ''If this kills me, I''m going to kill you,'' he muttered unintelligibly before uncorking the vial with trembling hands and downing the contents in one go.

    Immediately, he started feeling light-headed. Then slowly, the constant unbearable pain he was feeling started to abate, making him almost cry tears out of relief. Then, his mind began to buzz with a pleasant sensation and he began to sway on the spot.

    ''Whazaaheck waz that?'' he asked, trying to keep himself sober.

    At that moment, a ding sounded in his head. And his mind got clear once again. But his body was still feeling pleasant.

    [It was called Exquisite Ecstasy, an addictive potion that only the rich wizards can enjoy. It was the only potion avable at the moment which could help you move. It numbed the pain in your body, thus enabling you to move. And your mind has been cleared by the system.]

    Axel tried to move his body. It still hurt to move, and the tremors still hadn''t stopped, and he was quite slow, but it was still much better than before.

    ''Manageable,'' he thought before he picked up the man''s fancy stick which was definitely a very dangerous weapon, and put it inside the pouch.

    Clearing all the traces and wiping the blood off himself, he left the man''s dead body and limped out of the alley while covering his face.

    [Host is rmended to visit the St Mungo''s Hospital for Magical Mdies and Injuries. And make haste, the host doesn''t have much time left.]

    ...

    A whileter, an 11-year-old boy entered the St. Mungos through the unique entrance and crawled his way to the counter. Unfortunately, the pouch contain only one vial of the potion and the effect had mostly run out by now.

    If that wasn''t enough, there was terrible traffic along the road so he was dyed a lot.

    At the system''s urging, he even had to hide the pouch outside as well. He only brought in a few Galleons with him.

    Looking at the hospital-like environment around him, Axel sighed in relief. He was doubtful at first, and why wouldn''t he be? What kind of hospital can one find if it is said to be hidden under a shabby department store calledPurge and Dowse, Ltd?

    *Ding*

    [Quest Completed]

    [Congrattions! You have sessfully reached the Hospital.]

    [Dyed by: 83 minutes.

    Penalty: Due to the dy, your condition has gotten out of St Mungo''s healing capacity. You will suffer some side effects of the long-term exposure to the Cruciatus.]

    [Reward: Basic knowledge about the Wizarding World.

    6% approval from AR(You were expected to fall unconscious halfway through the journey)]

    Suddenly, his mind was filled with the knowledge of the Wizarding World. But Axel focused more on the penalty part.

    ''What the f*ck?! You said I''ll be cured if I followed your instructions!''

    [But you failed reach in the given time. You''ll still be cured, but then it will take time. Saint Mungo''s doesn''t have the necessary knowledge to cure you.]

    ''What?! But how was I supposed to do better than that?!''

    [The Traffic Jam wasn''t taken into ount. There were other ways, but you had 0% approval rate at the time, so your status wasn''t enough to allow AR''s intervention.]

    Now that he had the knowledge of the Wizarding World in his head, Axel could understand exactly what the system meant.

    ''Approval Rate? I don''t understand! Since AR has chosen me given me a system, and you had a way to help, then why the fuck did you not?!''

    [The System is nothing but a tool with the purpose is provide the utmost help for the host, but it is currently bound by the World Law and can only provide limited help/intervention. The approval rate, in actuality is not AR''s indicator of approval towards you since it already fully approves of you. It is the indicator of the World''s approval of intervention. Only with high Approval Rate can the you be someone who AR can help without breaking the worldws. It raises your status and makes you an exception to certain worldws.]

    [That being said, you now have 6% approval. That means the help system can provide you has increased. Once you cross 10%, a new system feature will be unlocked.]

    Axel was left speechless at the system''s reply. But right now, he was thoroughly spent. He fellpletely t on the floor. Hisst action was to toss out a small purse full of Galleons at the reception before he passed out.

    A healer quickly came to check Axel''s condition. The healer gasped as she finished diagnosing the patient.

    "Cruciatus! 5th-degree exposure suspected! Immediate treatment required!" She called out in shock. 5th degree is the highest order of exposure. It means that the exposure is more than enough to be fatal and it''s mostly given to dead bodies.

    The people in the lobby gasped when they heard the healer''s words. Mind you, the hospital has lots of serious cases daily due to various idents and attacks, but torturing a child with a Cruciatus, and to such an extent... death would have been a mercy.

    ***

    A.N.: In simple words, system will be just a maid or a butler. Won''t take actions for master, but try to help within power if asked.

    We''ll meet a canon character in the next chapter. She''s a master Healer at Saint Mungo''s in this Alternate world which is different from canon. Any guesses on she is?

    From the next chapter, you''ll begin to see what has changed from the original and the reasons for each and every change will also be eventually made clear.

    Add to library so that you''ll be notified as soon as I update the next chapter.

    Can''t wait? Check out my P¨¢treon. I n to keep at least 10 advanced chapters there. I posted a new chapter there today as well. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 3: The Changes

    Chapter 3: The Changes

    When he woke up, Axel found himself strapped to a bed.

    !!!!!

    Startled, he tried to free himself in a hurry.

    Feeling sore all over his body, the previous events came rushing back to him like a tide. Torture, a wizarding world, and war.

    Was it all just a fantasy? Was it imaginary?

    ''Where am I now?''

    [Replying to the host, you do not seem to have fantasized anything.]

    "Dang it!" It looks like the world really isn''t as simple as he had thought. Unlikest time, his state of mind was much better right now. He realized that he had killed someone and he didn''t feel the slightest bit of guilt doing it. He also realized that someone else in ce would probably be freaking out right now.

    But well, he grew up in a different environment than those pampered good-natured wannabes. Morality doesn''t fill your stomach, nor does it make you invincible. And as for the whole magical world fiasco, he wasn''t that much surprised. He had already gotten the letter to Hogwarts and even if he didn''t believe in its contents at that time, he had still somewhat epted the possibility of magic existing.

    He scanned his surroundings. He was in a clean room, with some weird-looking gadgets around him some of which were making beeping sounds.

    His belongings were taken away, but he still at least had his cross shaped pendant around his neck.

    Examining his body, he realized that his shoulder and jaw were fixed but the same could not be said about his body. When he looked at his hands, he realized that they we''re still trembling.

    He clenched his hands into fists.

    "That guy... I really killed him too early," he muttered, feeling unreconciled.

    "Huh?"

    At this moment, he heard rapid footsteps which made him tense up.

    "Oh! You really are awake," she said, looking surprised. She was a beautiful woman, with a somewhat aristocratic bearing, but her eyes conveyed kindness.

    She slowly approached his side, her gaze not leaving him for a second examining him like she expected him to do something.

    "You don''t need to fear anything," she said slowly, as if talking to a small kid, "You are safe here. Nobody''s going to hurt you,"

    Looking at the woman with raised eyebrows, Chris replied,

    "Well, I wouldn''t have been worried in the first ce if I wasn''t strapped to a bed like this," he said calmly, gesturing at his restraints.

    "...."

    There was a pause where the woman''s eyes widened. Then,

    "H-How...?" She questioned, looking at him in disbelief. It was assumed that the patient must have gone insane or brain dead after that much damage.

    Axel was feeling a bit impatient now,

    "Heydy, can you please undo the restraints? And why am I strapped up in the first ce?" He asked looking calm, though inwardly, his heartbeat sped up.

    ''Did they figure out I killed a man?!''

    The woman recovered quickly as she exined, "You have been tortured by the unforgivable curse, it is expected that you will not be... in the right state of mind after such a prolonged exposure." she exined.

    Axel shrugged, "Well, as you can see, I''mpletely sane right now. There''s no problem with my head whatsoever. Is that so surprising?"

    The woman nodded looking at him with pity, "It really is surprising. Especially considering your age. It''s not like there''s no other case of people staying sane after that much exposure. But, they''re were all adults, very powerful, and skilled in mind arts. You, on the other hand, are too young. Your body and mind aren''t developed enough. So the damage and pain your body and mind would suffer would be that much more crippling. If only you had been a few years older, atleast you wouldn''t have suffered such physical harm..."

    The woman seemed to be ready to go into full-on geek mode, so Axel shook his restraints a little to get her attention.

    "Oh right. I suppose we won''t be needing the safety restraints anymore," saying so, she waved her wand and Axel was suddenly free.

    "...Thank you," he said politely, though he was still on guard.

    The woman didn''t fail to notice how he had flinched when she had pointed her wand at him. Compassion and sorrow filled her eyes and she put her wand far away as she could before she sat at a chair by his bedside and gave him a gentle smile.

    "You really don''t need to worry. I''m Andromeda Tonks, a Master Healer. What''s your name?"

    "Axel,"

    She waited for him to borate, but Axel couldn''t say master thief'' as his profession, so he stayed silent.

    "Um... Axel, would you like to contact your family or guardian, so that they can visit you? You''ve been here for two days, so they must be worried."

    Axel''s eyes grew unfocused for a moment.

    "I... don''t need to contact anyone," he said, his tone a bit rigid.

    ''No one would give a shit whether I''m alive or not,'' was what he meant.

    Andromeda paused at that, feeling even more sorry for the poor boy. But her healer duties came first.

    "Can you tell me how this happened? Who did this to you?"

    Axel shook his head, "I can''t tell you anything," he said instantly. It wouldn''t have been a problem if the person in question wasn''t dead right now.

    Andromeda put a hand on his shoulder, "Axel, you can tell me. They won''t be able to hurt you again. I''m willing to help you... My sister is Betrix ck. You might have heard of her...

    "Uh... I don''t know?"

    "She''s the minister of magic."

    Axel''s eyes widened at that news.

    ''Minister of Magic?!''

    He knew that term well from the knowledge he''d gotten from the system.

    "Your sister is the Minister of Magic?" He repeated in surprise.

    Andromeda beamed proudly, "Yeah, and the best one yet too! Magical Britain has made rapid progress in thest 10 years under her leadership. It has jumped from 30th ce to 5th ce in the world''s most Magically advanced countries in just a decade," she said. She really looked like an elder sister bragging about the achievements of her little sister.

    "Is your sister a good person? How strong is she?" He asked, thinking about what the system had said.

    Andromeda shook her head, "Be... she appears strict and merciless. But she has a kind heart. And she''s powerful... power, skills, brains: she has them all," said Andromeda fondly.

    Axel grew confused, ''Oi system, is this woman lying? If not, then why the hell is a war going to happen in the future?''

    [She''s not lying. Betrix ck is a good leader. But, she''s too prideful. Voldemort can take advantage of her pride and arrogance to bring her down. Once she''s down, and this developed magical Britain falls into the hands of Voldemort, war is inevitable.]

    Andromeda suddenly realized that Axel had very expertly diverted the topic and she still hadn''t gotten her answers. Feeling embarrassed, she came back to the main concern,

    "So, as I was saying, you can tell me everything. I can help. We can sign the healer-patient contract. I''ll keep it all a secret."

    ''Just leave me alone, ma''am.'' Axel was now feeling ufortable from thisdy''s kind intentions.

    ''What the heck does she want from me?'' he wondered.

    Nevertheless, Axel shook his head,

    "It''s not a big deal. Someone was just feeling bored and wanted some amusement. I just happened to be at the wrong ce at the wrong time. They didn''t let me see their face."

    Andromeda frowned. She wondered why this boy sounds so dismissive when such a big episode happened to him.

    ''Does he not realize?!''

    "It IS a big deal," she said, getting frustrated. "You had to bear an unimaginable amount of pain! You could have gone insane! Your entire Nervous system is in shambles! Even with the improvement in healing practices, the side effects might not bepletely cured for life! Do you not understand?!"

    Axelughed sardonically at that,

    "Of course I understand! And Of course, I care! But, I know... that it is useless toin! Cause no one else would care enough! Even if they care, it''s because they want something from me.

    This is not the first time I''ve ended up with the short hand of the stick! I was not strong enough, and that''s it. I''ll be ready for it the next time." he ranted. By the end of it, he was feeling quite calm.

    Yes, there''s nothing toin about. He''s already killed the bastard. He can''t resurrect him, just to kill him again, can he?

    Wait, can he?

    ''System?''

    [No.]

    ''Tsk~ Spoilsport.''

    "Now, can you please tell me when I can leave?" He asked the stunned woman.

    "...."

    And Andromeda was positively despondent looking at the boy. He must have suffered/@ a lot to have this kind of outlook on life. He needs some positivity in life.

    "You are eleven, yes?" She asked suddenly, surprising Axel.

    "...What¡ª my age? Um, yes I''m eleven," he said, wondering what this woman was up to now.

    "Then, I suppose you are going to Hogwarts, yes?"

    Axel thought about it. He did get a letter from an old. It was unbelievable at that moment, but it seems that it is real.

    ''System, can I really learn magic there?''

    [Affirmative. In recent years, after some changes, Hogwarts is shaping up to be one of the best institutes for magic. Even students from different countries areing to attend it.]

    ''Can I dy it?''

    [No, you won''t be eligible next year.]

    Axel thought about it and made a decision.

    "I will attend it," he answered Andromeda.

    The woman beamed. "That''s great! Have you done your shopping yet? The term starts in two days, right?"

    Axel shook his head. He suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet up with a member of staff tomorrow at his address(An Alley) to go shopping. It was written in the letter that the school would pay for all the necessities. They had also tried to meet with him earlier but he only goes there at night and also thought that it was all a hoax so...

    "I have to meet a staff tomorrow to do the shopping," he told her.

    Andromeda denied it instantly, "Don''t go with them. They''ll only buy you cheap stuff. I''ll write to Professor Mcgonagall to let me take you shopping!" She decided. The main aim was to keep an eye on the boy.

    She has to observe if he''s physically and mentally stable for allowing him to leave.

    Does she have the money and authority to do so? Bitch, she''s a member of the ck family (reinstated by Be) and a master Healer. In here, whatever she says, goes.

    Axel on the other hand, still had question marks on his head.

    ''What the hell does she want?''

    ***

    A.N.: So, as you can see, the AU is strong with this one. The world is quite different from your boring ol'' HP world. Britain is only fifth in the world. And that after 10 years of advancement. What else changed along with this? Ans: A LOT!

    Though whatever happens, it''ll be due to a reason and these reasons would be slowly exined and it''s all done to make the story more interesting.

    How did Betrix ck (not Lestrange) became the Minister of Magic? Also exined ahead. (In ch 13 ig)

    Are you guys looking forward for more? Send me your powerstones and add it to your Collections.

    P¨¤treon has upto Chapter 10 right now, though I n to keep a lot more there.

    Patr /Snollygoster

 Chapter 4: The New Diagon Alley

    Chapter 4: The New Diagon Alley

    Under Andromeda''s urging, Axel really had no choice but to agree to let her apany him to go shopping. After getting him to drink a bunch of horrifying potions, casting some spells, and fiddling with the gadgets connected to him, the busy Master Healer left to see her next patient.

    He now realized that he was weak to kindness, having never encountered it before.

    ''Tell me system, are there many kind people in the world? Howe I never got to meet one before?'' He asked.

    [Kind people are as rare as unicorns. There are many good people out there, but none would take their time to help out an orphan kid if they aren''t getting anything out of it.

    That being the case, the Host is rmended to stay alert. Currently, you are very easily winnable with just a few kind actions. You need to understand that for the other person, it is a very normal thing to do. Most children get unconditional love and kindness from their parents. You¡ª being deprived of love and care¡ªare very susceptible to change your goals due to one person. Currently, the fate of the world rests on your shoulder. You need to stay focused on recovering and bing strong.]

    Alex chuckled, ''Hey, are you done brainwashing me? If yes then quickly teach me how to do magic! I need to be strong!'' He was beginning to find this robotic female voice cute. Though even if he didn''t show it, he took the system''s advice seriously.

    [Host is advised to recover more before practicing magic. Also, beginners need a wand for practicing and the wand you possess is currently lying in the pouch which you hid outside so you can''t cast any spells.]

    Well, that was disappointing.

    "Then, how the heck am I supposed to train?" He muttered but then heard a familiar ding sound.

    *Ding*

    [You have received the best lumency knowledge from the system.]

    *Ding*

    [Quest Activated: Learn Mind Arts

    Mind Arts is a term given to Mental or Spiritual Magic. It is as important as any other powerful magic, if not more.

    You can start with lumency.

    lumency:

    A branch of Mind arts that deals with defending and organizing the mind, as well as controlling the emotions.

    Rewards:

    1)Beginner Stage lumency: Potion Recipe to cure the side effects of Cruciatus + 5% Approval

    2)Intermediate Stage lumency: New Mind Art unlocked- Legilimency + ???

    3)Advanced Stage lumency: Another Mind Art unlocked + ???

    4)Master Stage lumency: Spiritual Arts unlocked + ???]

    "S-System, am I not seeing things?" Asked Axel shakily. lumency sounds amazing and he can''t wait to know about the other Mind Arts as well.

    As someone who''s always relied primarily on his mind, dexterity, and agility, Axel couldn''t be more excited right now.

    To top it all off, he can actually cure himself if he masters the first stage of lumency using the potion recipe.

    [Host has a talent for mind magic. That''s why the system is investing in it. You have to return the investment one day.]

    Axel sighed.

    ''Alright sys, I''ll do the tasks. But... if they

    are too unreasonable or suicide missions, I swear I''m going to help in the world''s destruction instead,'' he promised.

    The System didn''t reply back. There was no need to.

    Filled with anticipation, Alex essed the knowledge of lumency which was stored in his head.

    The first stage or the Beginner Stage meant building up shields around the mind. Even though it''s just the beginner stage, many wizards can''t even reach it due to theirck of talent, dedication, and most importantly, theck of the right approach.

    lumency is an obscure art, to begin with. Even those who do have the knowledge haven''t reached past the intermediate stages due to improper and iplete approaches. The knowledge given by the system is top-notch andplete.

    [Host is advised to primarily focus on organizing your mind and mastering your emotions. The existence of shields in your mind will cause suspicion should anyone intrude into your mind. An 11-year-old orphan isn''t supposed to possess the knowledge and skills to practice lumency. The host is advised to find someone to teach it to you to exin the existence of shields should anyone check your mind.]

    Axel could understand that the system''s words did have some truth to them. He''d experienced that kind of situation before when he was wearing a gold ring and some nosy idiots started demanding how a homeless kid could have them. But,

    ''Then, wouldn''t my mind be defenseless without shields?''

    [Host''s mind is protected by the system. The system will conceal all the sensitive memories that have the potential to cause trouble including all the memories about the system.]

    "...." Isn''t that cheating?

    "Well, that works," Axelmented as he began practicing lumency ording to systems instructions.

    ***

    That day, after her shift ended, Andromeda asked for the results of Axel''s in-depth health checkup. With the report in hand, she went to Grimmauld ce.

    After her husband got captured by the death eaters in thest war, she moved here with Be. Sirius and Marlene had moved to a vi that their family-owned along with their goddaughter Rose.

    Right now, the house was empty except for Creature, the house elf. Nymphadora was off to her Auror training and Beeste.

    She sat at the dining table as creature prepared dinner and looked through Axel''s report.

    The preliminary check-up was only focused on damage dealt due to the Cruciatus. But the in-depth check-up report in her hands could reveal a lot more. Especially if you''re a Master Healer.

    She held the report in her hand. She knew that it was a bit wrong to check up on it since this was private information, but...

    ''There''s a chance that I can find a way...''

    That''s why, she has to look through this. To find out any clues. She''ll make sure topensate Axel in the future.

    Looking through the report, she grimaced. Her suspicions were indeed confirmed, though it was much worse than she''d expected.

    Even though his body looks fine on the surface, the report reveals traces of multiple injuries, in almost all parts of the body. Physical injuries are passively cured with magic gradually for some wizards and thus she didn''t find anything wrong in the beginning except for some signs of malnutrition and improper diet.

    His hands have cuts and calluses. He must be using a knife often. Obviously not for cooking. His leg muscles are trained to the peak. Even quidditch yers don''t go this far since they only need to fly on brooms. He''s had to run a lot.

    Now came the truly harrowing details...

    The duration of Cruciatus was estimated to be... 10 minutes.

    ''10 MINUTES! The assant must be one powerful lunatic. Who does that to a child?! And how did Axel take it?! Poor child,''

    Reading further, she found that his vocal cords were badly damaged, his jaw and shoulder dislocated.

    Understanding the implications, Andromeda''s eyes reddened. He was most likely paralyzed. He wasn''t even allowed to move, to defend, or kill himself to stop the torture.

    His body contains traces of the drug Exquisite Ecstasy. Damn it, what sick games was this torturer ying?!

    While she was looking through the report. The firece zed green and her sister Be walked out, looking all prim and proper as always.

    Minister Betrix ck was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women in Britain. She resembled Andromeda somewhat. But unlike Andromeda, Betrix has curly hair ck instead of light brown and she puts a lot of effort into grooming herself and maintaining her youthfulness. She was wearing a pencil skirt, a white shirt, and a zer. Yeah, the fashion in the Wizarding World has changed in thest decade.

    "You came back early," Andromedamented.

    "Hmm, I ran away after it got too hectic. Kreature, bring my din¡ªWhat''s up with you, Andi? And what are those papers in your hands? " She asked suddenly, noticing that Andromeda seemed to be out of it.

    "It''s just a health report of one of my patients,"

    Betrix quirked her eyebrows.

    "Hmm... you don''t do work-rted things after your shift. You can''t suddenly be an angel and start trying to help random people. So... spill. What is this about?"

    "...."

    Andromeda thought of arguing with her sister for a moment but then sighed, ''You can''t hide things from Be.''

    "He was put through 5th-degree Cruciatus torture."

    Betrix stopped eating her sd. Her attention was piqued, "Well, can he be sane again or is he a lost cause?"

    Andromeda shook her head, "Neither."

    Upon Be''s questioning look, Andromeda exined, "He didn''t go insane. His mental state seems perfectly fine,"

    There was a pause. Then Betrix scoffed, "...No way,"

    "I know right? But it''s true!"

    Betrix realized that Andromeda was not kidding, "Who is it? Is it someone I know? How did he do it?! Show me the report." she said, peaking at the report.

    Andromeda shook head, "You know I can''t share the details. It''s confidential,"

    Betrix rolled her eyes, "Ohe on! Who follows the rules nowadays? And I''m your sister! I can help you!"

    Andromeda still didn''t budge, "I''m sure my patient would not appreciate it," She regretted telling her about this.

    "Spoilsport," Be pouted but then straightened up.

    "You leave me no choice then. As the Minister of Magic, I hereby pass a new decree that one Andromeda Tonks n¨¦ ck has to share everything with me," she announced imperiously.

    Andromeda looked at her sister incredulously for a few seconds. No one would believe the childish woman in front of her is the Legendary Minister who''s changed the magical Britain in thest decade.

    Andromeda sighed, "You always have your way..."

    ***

    The next day, Axel was feeling much betterpared to yesterday, though the situation still wasn''t too positive. Even walking normally was a struggle.

    ording to the system, walking won''t cause any further damage but every movement would cause explosive pain and that''s why he''s unable to walk properly.

    Axel looked at his trembling hands which once used to be incredibly stable and sighed. It''s clear that he can''t steal anything with this troll-like dexterity.

    Oh, he knows what trolls are. The basic knowledge contained knowledge on some magical creatures as well. Though he still has trouble believing it all.

    He wore his old clothes that had been cleaned and put near his bed.

    While he was walking around, trying to get used to the pain, he heard a surprised exmation from the door.

    "Axel! Why did you get out of bed?!" Andromeda came hurrying in and sat him back on the bed.

    "Moving would be extremely painful right now without the Pain Killing Potion. Didn''t I tell you not to move?" She eximed, handing him the said potion along with a bunch of other potions.

    Axel blinked, "It''s not that bad," he said in confusion, thinking why she is overreacting. He has been through much worse.

    Andromeda then realized that she wasn''t talking to a child but someone who was able to retain perfect sanity after multiple Cruciatuses. So, she stopped fussing.

    Axel downed the contents of the disgusting vials before they both left for the Diagon Alley.

    They were going to use the floowork but Axel insisted on using Apparition since he was curious.

    *Snap!*

    It was an instant regret as he had to struggle to contain the potions inside his stomach.

    Andromeda put a finger on her chin, "So, first we have to get you some clothes and a haircut."

    Axel instantly shot it down. "No need. They''re not on the list."

    "No way! You aren''t going to Hogwarts looking like that. You have to make a good impression and make new friends," she dered as she dragged him to the entrance of the Diagon Alley.

    ''Friends?'' Axel murmured. Having friends seems like a chore. He''s always been a downright loner. He''s a firm believer of Lonerism.

    They walked a few paces and came to the forefront of a tall building with the name "The Diagon Alley." The store had lots of customers in different clothinging and going.

    Apparently, the building was a cosy store but also the entrance to Diagon Alley. Muggle repellent charms and safety measures were there to ensure the secrecy, including a few obliviators.

    "That''s the entrance," said Andromeda, pointing at a conspicuous brick wall at the end of the store. Sure enough, Axel saw many people going through it.

    Andromeda exined that a decade ago, this used to be nothing more than a dingy alley with the brick wall as the entrance.

    "Come on, you''re going to love it!" Somehow Andromeda seemed more excited than Axel. She was like a geek who''s having her friend forcefully read the Harry Potter series.

    Looking at the brick wall, Axel was really doubting reality.

    [System, is it really safe? I won''t get stuck, would I?]

    If the system could sigh, it probably would have.

    [No host, don''t be a pussy.]

    ''I''m not!''

    Without any hesitation whatsoever, Axel stepped through the wall in anger and an exmation of wonder escaped from his mouth as soon as he saw everything.

    "Woah..."

    Diagon Alley turned out to be a wonderful ce. There were colorful buildings with all kinds of physically impossible structures all around with different magical gimmicks to attract the attention of the customers.

    Andromeda, who had put on a veil that covered half of her face, looked at Axel who was looking all around with eyes and mouth wide and smiled proudly.

    "This ce used to be as shabby as a flea market a decade ago," shemented. "Those in power didn''t want it to change."

    Axel was confused, "Why?"

    "Because they had the monopoly over specific things. They didn''t want to lose it. Moreover, the ones who wereing up with much better versions of every productpared to the wizards were mostly from the muggle-borns or half-bloods. How could they ept it?

    "The bastards even passed aw banning the use of things rted to muggle, thus dooming us to further mediocrity, while the other magicalmunities made progress using muggle knowledge."

    This time, Axel knew who muggle-borns and Half-bloods were and thanks to the basic knowledge from the system, he was able to understand everything.

    "So, how did you do it? Make it like this." He asked, gesturing to the tall and colorful buildings around them.

    Andromeda was d to see that Axel was curious. She exined,

    "After the war, with the Wizarding Britain in shambles and foreignmunities eyeing us to pick up the loot, our main goal was to take away the power from unreasonable idiots and distribute it properly. Be didn''t spare any tricks whether it''s immoral or shrewd or just pure reasoning. She used every tactic." She said while they walked.

    "I can''t tell you everything since we don''t have the time, but one thing she did was to invest in some projects of muggle-born geniuses which she found potential in, provided them her backing, and vo, they became instant hits! And Be just sat back and collected her money.

    The Purebloods were like, ''Eh? You can do that too?!''

    After that, they were scrambling to invest in their own muggle-born entrepreneurs. This was just one of the moves she yed, and the easiest one.

    Once there were products to spend money on, the coffers of these stingy Purebloods started opening. Britain was the richest to begin with, with the old families hoarding huge piles of gold in their ounts.

    Once they brought it out, some did make it big while some lost it all. Overall, the economy took a huge leap and pave the way for the formation of what you see today,"

    While Andromeda exined, Axel listened with great interest and even asked questions, surprising her. She had not expected him to understand this and even take interest in it.

    Axel has always wanted to make it big, so of course, he''s interested. He''s a bit amazed to know how backward the Magical Britain a decade ago must have been...

    ''To not even know how entrepreneurship works... These people must be cavemen. I wish I was born a bit early...'' he thought wistfully. That time must have been a golden opportunity and he''s sure that many smart ones like him spotted it and took advantage of it.

    But exining up to here, Andromeda stopped since they had already reached the clothing shop. Axel looked at the shop''s name which was written in moving letters.

    MADAME MALKIN''s

    ~since 1852

    Magical, Comfortable, and Stylish.

    Andromeda exined,

    "This shop is currently the best for clothing. It''s one of the very few shops that''s managed to stay on top even after the great economic revolution. Their enchantments have been developed through generations for over a century so new bloods couldn''tpare themselves to that. The old faction was of course going to prefer her over the new. And the woman who inherited the store has always had an eye for clothing. So as soon as she saw the muggle things being adapted, she copied muggle designs even before the newbloods could without hesitation. Later, she even shamelessly copied the new enchantment ideas of the new bloods!"

    ''Well, so not all Purebloods are stuck-up idiots,'' thought Axel as he looked at the brands inside the store.

    "''Nikey, Raza, Tommy Middlefinger, Louis Vuittoni, Chanell...''"

    "...." he was speechless.

    These are all muggle brands copied with a few letter changed.

    The f*ck...

    This woman...

    Axel made a note to not go into the clothing business. He was already intimidated by this woman''s boldness.

    "Come on," said Andromeda, snapping him out of it. "Let''s get you a total makeover. You''ll be making new friends very soon so we have to make a good impression." She said mysteriously.

    ***

    A.N: 3000+ words. Please Give me Powerstones!

    This chapter took a bit of time since there are many important things hidden it. So if you''ve just skimmed through it, I''d rmend giving a proper read. I''ve put in a lot of effort and made many ns for this fic so tell me if you don''t like something.

    Anyways I''ve made a new brand: Tommy Middlefinger, dedicated to our respected Lord Voldemort.

    Also, Axel is going to meet some important characters in the next chapter.

    P¨¤treon has upto Chapter 14 along with my other novel IHPM upto Chapter 176. Check it out. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 5: The New Diagon Alley

    Chapter 5: The New Diagon Alley

    Axel didn''t know much about fashion so he just let Andromeda choose for him. He had to try on different outfits back to back. An activity he quickly realized that he didn''t like doing.

    Thankfully for Axel, it seemed that Andromeda had to meet up with someone so he didn''t have to suffer too much.

    After they were done, Axel opted to change into a simple t-shirt, jacket, jeans, and sneakers. The thing was, all of them were branded and enchanted!

    The t-shirt and the jacket had the enchantments of color changing,fort, self-cleaning, warm, and a permanent light men''s perfume that Axel liked.

    The jeans are light sticity, self-cleaning, warm, andfort.

    Madam Malkin''s had also expanded into essories. So he bought sneakers. He adamantly refused to buy anything else for now.

    The sneakers/shoes had afort, lightweight, increase/decrease friction.

    The most outrageous thing was: This set, which only the richest of the wizards can afford, was just an extra! The real set will have to be customized, since the enchantments are only for the VIPs.

    He''ll only need that one set. It would be able to change into a few categories and would, of course, be enchanted so that there wouldn''t be a need to wash.

    Axel was speechless at this

    disy of luxuriousness. At one point in his life, he used to be so desperate for something as basic as food that he had to steal it and suffer severe beatings if caught.

    Axel''s fists clenched. Today, upon being granted the luxuries he always longed for, and more, he didn''t feel the slightest bit of joy or satisfaction.

    It was nothingpared to that first fulfilling meal he''d had after he''d sessfully gotten money through many painful lessons. He''d felt very proud of himself at that moment.

    He had never begged for food. He''d never begged for ANYTHING.

    Everything he got, was after he''d put his life on the line to obtain it.

    Thus, looking at the clothes he got for nothing, he made a decision.

    He called out to the assistant, "Excuse me, can you also get me a few sets of simple clothing and a simple Hogwarts set? No enchantments,"

    He''d decided to not wear the enchanted clothing unless he''s in real need of them, or unless he''s capable enough to get them himself.

    Currently, he can''t waste the stash he got from the man he killed on something as wasteful as this. Thus, he really can''t afford the enchanted ones right now.

    The confused saleswomanplied and he didn''t exin anything to Andromeda. He didn''t want to be an ungrateful bastard. As far as she''d be aware, she''s bought him the best clothing avable on market and Axel is extremely grateful and happy to wear them.

    One thing to be noted was that the cks were the richest family in Britain right now. So buying him all this didn''t cause a dent in Andromeda''s wallet. Of course, Axel was currently unaware of this.

    As they walked out of the clothing store, a newspaper paddler happened to pass him by and Axel saw the front page had the picture of the man he killed.

    !!!!

    Axel''s heartbeat elerated. He wanted to buy the newspaper and read it, but¡ªhe was walking with the Minister''s sister a Master Healer with a lot of experience. She might be able to see through him. Thus, he just kept walking.

    Andromeda looked at Axel''s long hair that looked like a bird''s nest and covered most of his face. It was obvious that he''d never cared one bit about how he looked.

    "Your hair is in dire need of some care, young man."

    She took Axel to a luxury hair salon. There, the shopkeeper applied various types of solutions to his hair and face, making him exasperated. But the more annoyed one of the two was the shopkeeper.

    "Have you never taken care of your hair before?! So much dandruff! I''m just happy you washed up thoroughly beforeing. I can just imagine what state you were in previously.

    And, what''s with this terrifying haircut?! It looks like someone just randomly cut it with a goddam knife!" The man droned on and on, not giving the veiled Andromeda a second nce.

    It seems that Andromeda didn''t know the shopkeeper. Though it makes sense. It was a men''s salon after all. She couldn''t take him to the beauty parlor that she frequents, could she?

    Listening to the man rant, Axel was a bit speechless. Because

    "Well, you aren''t wrong," muttered Axel. He used to just cut his hair with the knife whenever his vision was beingpromised. Though he''d keep the rest of the hair to hide most of his face. Somehow, even with that, he didn''t use to look bad.

    It was the man''s turn to be speechless. While working on his hair, he realized that Axel didn''t know anything about haircare at all. So he generously taught Axel the basics. The man somehow convinced the always apathetic Axel to even agree to have a few more treatments.

    That''s how barbers are, no matter which world. They have a way of talking.

    Soon the haircut was done and permanent setting spray was applied to his newly styled hair, making it so that even after blowing wind through them, they''ll settle back down to the set style.

    Meanwhile, when it seemed like there would be no problems with the hairstyling, Andromeda had left to do some shopping since it was a men''s salon and she was beginning to attract looks.

    But when she returned, she couldn''t find Axel anywhere in therge salon.

    While she was looking around, A striking boy came to stand in front of her.

    His ck hair, which was now styled in a way that made it look like they were messy but still looked stunning also, they also had amber-colored streaks running through them, matching his eyes.

    Now that his face was visible, his scars were also visible. He had one vertically passing over his left eye while the other over his right cheek. But the scars only seemed to enhance his looks. His bright amber eyes were still droopy but there was a hint of amusement in them.

    "Mrs. Tonks, you already forgot me?" He asked, making here out of her surprise.

    "No way," Andromeda murmured. "You actually look like this?" She wondered out aloud. This little guy is just full of surprises.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Well, I wouldn''t know. Even I only properly looked at myself today." He informed her.

    He''d never bothered before, except for making sure his face was covered. Many times, his head would be covered with a beanie, thuspleting his disguise. It was all so that even if someone catches him stealing and he escapes with his high agility, no one would have anything to remember him by once he changes his hairstyle.

    Overall, he''d say that his disguise was 100% practical and functional, considering that even he found himself looking at a stranger when looking himself in the mirror right now.

    As they made their way out, Andromeda took out her mirror-like object and began talking.

    "Sirius, where are you?"

    Axel then heard a man''s voice from the mirror.

    "We''ve already been here for a while ago, Andi. We''re at the New Cauldron right now for lunch. Are youing?"

    "Yeah, we''re on our way," said Andromeda, pocketing the crystal.

    Axel was surprised, "Are you leaving?"

    Andromeda shook her head, "No, ''we'' are leaving. With that injury, you''re going to have problems at Hogwarts. So I thought I''d introduce you to someone in your year. My cousin was alsoing for Rose''s shopping."

    "What? No! There''s no need! No! I can manage on my own!" Axel instantly denied it. He would never agree to it!

    ¡­ a few momentster ...

    "How did I even agree to this?!" Muttered Axel as he walked towards the New Cauldron with a smiling Andromeda.

    [As previously mentioned, you are weak to kindness and ''puppy dog eyes''. You didn''t want to disappoint her and make her efforts go in vain.] helpfully Informed system.

    While walking, Andromeda turned to him,

    "Axel, don''t forget. You''re my friend''s son. She died in war and I only found you when you came as a patient."

    "Yeah, but why is this necessary?"

    "It''s so that ''she'' knows I''ll be angry if ''she'' bullies you,"

    "...What the¡ª?" Axel barely stopped himself from saying his favorite word.Who the hell was this woman talking about?

    Andromeda borated,

    "Well, Rose is a... little bit mischievous. But don''t worry! She''s a good girl. She''ll definitely help you out."

    "I don''t need any help."

    Axel looked at his hands which wouldn''t stop trembling. He wasn''t even sure he would be able to write with this. He quietly put them in his jacket pockets to hide the abnormality.

    He''d be unable to do magic properly for a while as well. Thus, in such conditions, he''s sure to face lots of problems there.

    But¡­ so what?! He''s not some ordinary little wimp who''d be scared of hardship. He THRIVES in hardships. If he can manage to learn magic under such conditions and manage to fight under such circumstances, he''de out stronger than ever when his body eventually heals.

    They reached the New Cauldron which was located the way they hade from.

    "This is not the best ce for food around here right now, but a decade ago, this used to be the only pub around here. So we prefer this one due to the memories."

    Andromeda took him to the private room that Sirius had booked.

    "You don''t need to be scared. Everyone in there is very good."

    At this moment, someone opened the door for them,

    "Oh Andi, I''m so d you could make it,"

    Only, the person who opened the door wasn''t Sirius like Andromeda expected. It was Betrix.

    ...

    "Be! What are you doing here?" Asked Andromeda in surprise. Her eyes contained a hint of a warning.

    Andromeda regretted telling Be about Axel. She should have expected this to happen. After all, Be only cares about family.

    After the shopping today, Andromeda was going to finally ask for Axel''s permission to read his mind or at least tell her something about how he was able to resist. It would have helped a lot in her research of curing her husband.

    Yes, in the war, Ted was captured by the death eaters and tortured. She had arrived to save him, but they were toote. Excluding the breaks, the total duration he was under Cruciatus was 9 minutes.

    Andromeda has never been the same ever since. She pursued a carrier as a healer specialized in both mind and body and she became a master Healer. But, she never found any solution. She''d honestly given up and moved on by now, but seeing Axel, she finally had finally given her hope.

    She wanted to know how Axel''s mind was able to resist the Cruciatus and how she can help Ted regain his sanity with it.

    But still, she''d decided that she''ll not force the boy andpensate him properly whether he epts or not. But,st night, Be had disagreed with her ns.

    She''d guaranteed that Axel would refuse. And disdained her at how she wasn''t simply using Legilimency and being done with it.

    Right now, Andromeda can''t help but be worried about Be''s motives.

    Currently, looking at the stunned Andromeda and Axel, Betrix smiled.

    "It is rare that the family reunites. How could I note? A pity Dora couldn''t make it. Now, don''t just stand there. Hurry in! Before someone recognizes me." She eximed, ushering them in.

    Axel right now was quite surprised. The minister of magic! He recognized the woman instantly. After all, the whole Diagon Alley had her posters praising her. Heck, there was even a statue!

    So, of course, he was obviously a bit intimidated when the ravishing beauty closely scrutinized him.

    They went in and Axel saw the rest of the upants in the room. It was a family of four.

    A ck-haired man, with a neatly trimmed beard and a mustache. That must be Sirius ck. And the gentle-looking brown-haired woman must be his wife, Marlene.

    And their son and god-daughter and, Jamie and Rose.

    Jamie was a cute chubby boy about 8 years old. And their god-daughter, Rose Potter ck was a pretty little thing, with red hair and green eyes, and attractive noble features, she''s said to have inherited the best of both of her parents.Though the only w in her wless appearance was a lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead, hidden behind her bangs.

    All of them were currently looking at Axel with great interest. After all, he was quite the oddball here. Axel has never had so many people staring at him at the same time when he wasn''t running away.

    Andromeda swiftly did the introductions,

    "Everyone, this is Axel. He''s the son of my friend who died in the war. I found him when he came to the Hospital, critically injured. He''s starting Hogwarts this year."

    "Axel, this is my sister Be. Be wary of her, she bites." Though Andromeda said that yfully, Axel was actually scared of her intense gaze.

    Be grinned at Axel, showing her somewhat sharp canines.

    "And this, is my dog of a cousin Sirius. He used to be quite wild back in the days," she said, pointing at Sirius.

    Siriusughed as he ignored his sister''s remarks and instead focused on Axel, "I like your hairstyle, kid. It has a touch of Paul. And those scars are absolutely badass!"

    Paul was the name of hairstylist who did Axel''s hair.

    Andromeda cut him off, "¡ªAnd the one who''s tamed the wild dog, Marlene. She only has to cry a little and Sirius would do anything."

    "I-I don''t cry that often!" Protested Marlene, looking embarrassed that her sister-inw had that impression of her.

    Sirius instantly took her side, "Of course, dear. You know how Andi likes to joke around. She was just kidding. Would Be actually bite him? Wait¡ªI can''t guarantee that. But am I actually a dog¡ªdamn, my point is¡ªyou don''t cry¡­ that often."

    Listening to Sirius only made Marlene teary-eyed.

    Everyone was grinning watching their antics. Even Axel was mildly amused.

    This was the infamous ck family in private. They seemed to enjoy themselves and didn''t seem to find Axel''s presence awkward or bothering. This made Axel rx a bit.

    "This bundle of cuteness is Jamie. He gets pampered by everyone in here," Jamie hid behind his elder sister and peeked at Axel.

    "And finally, this youngdy, is your soon-to-be ssmate Rose. She''s our resident hooligan. Her partner in crime is usually Sirius ck. Rose, Axel still hasn''t healed from his injuries so help him out for me, ok?"

    Rose nodded her head, looking unwilling, "Okayy, can we quickly eat now? I want to get my wand! I''ve used my mom''s for long enough."

    They all sat down and Axel was not happy to find Betrix sitting right in front of him. She''d stare at him from time to time.

    "You look familiar for some reason. Have I seen you somewhere before?" She asked curiously.

    Axel shook his head, "Not possible. I''ve never been to the wizarding world before and I''ve had a drastic change in appearance in thest few hours..." he said as he trailed off.

    Betrix shrugged, "Well, never mind."

    The food finally arrived and everyone dug in. Though Axel was still staring at the food.

    "Kid, are your hands stuck in your pockets? Why aren''t you eating?" Asked Sirius jokingly. Everyone only then did everyone notice that Axel''s hand never left his jacket pockets.

    Somehow, even Andromeda hadn''t noticed. She recalled that somehow, Axel''s hands were always in his pockets. And whenever he used them, she was always somehow wasn''t paying attention or distracted.

    Axel turned to Sirius, "I actually AM eating," He said, and sure enough, his te was messy and half filled with food and there was some food in his mouth as well.

    Everyone blinked their eyes in confusion. None of them had seen him eat at all, they only saw him looking around. Betrix''s eyes widened as she realized.

    "No way¡­" she muttered and Sirius and Andromeda also caught up, each looking baffled.

    ''The boy was only moving when no one was looking!''

    Andromeda was the most dumbfounded of them all. She had gone shopping with him, had him try clothes and walked with him, but never noticed!

    He''d somehow managed to blindside everyone present while being the center of attention.

    Though apparently, not everyone.

    "I saw it," said Rose, looking at Axel with narrowed eyes.

    "Your hands¡­ they''re weird. Something''s wrong with them, right?"

    ''Damn... have I got rusty after torture?''

    Axel looked at her for a moment, then sighed. He''d been trying to hide it because it look weak and pathetic as fuck and utterly disgraceful. A master thief with trembling, clumsy hands...what a joke!

    But, now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no way to hide it while they''ll specifically focus on his hands.

    He brought his hands out of his pockets.

    ***

    A.N.: Well, ain''t he a badass. Diagon Alley is almost over. Wand shopping stuff will be skipped and mentionedter since I want to increase the pace and get him to Hogwarts in the next chapter.

    IMPORTANT NOTICE: There''s no Harry Potter in this world. There is NOT even a ''fem Harry'' as they call it. Rose Potter is a different person altogether. At most, they could be called rted by blood, but that''s it. They even look different and have had different upbringings. If anyone still has problems and feels its weird, then by all leave us cultured people alone. Btw, there''s no decision of them having a romantic rtionship yet. So, I don''t know what some people''s problem is.

    3000+ words! Big chapter. I need some 5 star reviews.

    Do give your POWER STONES. This fic has officially entered the rankings now. Let''s take it to the top! That keeps up my enthusiasm so that I can keep pumping out Chapters regrly. Top Fans 3 fans would get free ******* ess!

    ******* had up to chapter 14 right now along with 8 Chapters of I Have Pure Magic.

 Chapter 6: You Are Nothing

    Chapter 6: You Are Nothing

    Axel decided to take his hands out, since¡ªone:there was no point in hiding if everyone already knew, two:He really liked the food.

    It''s easily the best food he''s ever been able to taste.

    He gripped the knife and fork and copied others'' movements to eat. He''d copied the technique perfectly, but it was a pity that his hands were trembling and his fingers were moving in random directions, as if not listening to hismands.

    Thus, his movements were quite slow and clumsy.

    Even though his nerves could be healed, they were a jumbled mess right now. The magic starts developing only after 11 so his was not strong enough to protect this body.

    Everyone was shocked to see the bizarre spectacle.

    Even Sirius''s expression became solemn as he saw this. He was pretty sure that this was not normal and something was wrong with his hands, "What happened to your hands? Have they always been like that?"

    Axel hesitated. He couldn''t just tell anyone that he''d been put under 5th-degree Cruciatus, could he?

    Most people tend to lose their sanity after that and he didn''t want anyone to judge whether he was sane or not.

    It''s like how if a man and a woman stayed in the same room for a night, most people would think they''ve had sex even if the concerned parties adamantly deny it with sound reasoning.

    Axel looked at his hands, "Uh¡­ they were fine until just about three days. But they''re kinda crippled now." He answered vaguely.

    Sirius''s eyes widened and Marlene gasped. Though Axel noticed that Betrix didn''t seem the least bit surprised.

    "Tell me, Axel. How did this happen?" She asked calmly, looking him dead in the eye.

    Axel hesitated. What should he do? This is the Minister of Magic. He can''t reveal anything that''d link him to the recently killed man.

    Thankfully, Andromeda intervened.

    "Be. No."

    The minister of magic pouted, "Always so self-righteous," she muttered but left the topic at that.

    Andromeda then turned to everyone, "He was attacked by some evil wizard. It''s not incurable. There are still things that can fix him. Let''s just all enjoy ourselves and not make him remind him of it again and again by asking questions, alright?"

    Andromeda took Axel''s hesitation as a sign of trauma. It would be quite natural to have one after what he had been through.

    Her words got approval from everyone. It seemed that even if the younger sister was the minister, the household power rested with the elder sister.

    Sirius changed the topic, "Have you made arrangements at Hogwarts? Is it safe for Rose?"

    Betrix shook her head, "I''m not sure. Dumbledore is not allowing Aurors for just one person. But he''s guaranteeing Rose''s safety."

    That got Axel was bit worried.

    ''Why are they talking about her safety? Would it unsafe for me to go as well?''

    Seeing Axel''s confusion, Andromeda exined quietly to him, "Rose''s situation is a bit special. When she was a child, she survived the killing curse and somehow vanquished the evilest wizard of the time."

    Axel wondered what it has to do with anything and how was that girl so powerful at a young age.

    Andromeda continued to exin to him, "At that time, she became a celebrity and her parents had passed away. Thus, Sirius, as her Godfather, was supposed to take her in. But he got illegally put into Azkaban and Rose got sent to her abusive Aunt."

    "At that time, I was still disowned and couldn''t do anything for Sirius. It was only after Betrix came back did she first inherited the house ck, became the Minister of Magic, and then free Sirius who immediately brought back Rose."

    "After then, there were further attempts at Sirius''s life which thankfully failed. Thus, it is incredibly clear that someone is out there wanting to make Rose''s life miserable. Most likely people from the dark faction."

    After knowing all this, Axel looked at Rose in a new light. He had thought that she was just a pampered girl. But she turned out to have somehow destroyed a Dark lord.

    Since the atmosphere had lightened up, the dinner went smoothly after that. And thankfully, no one questioned how Axel got hurt, making Axel even more grateful to Andromeda. The ck family was super considerate and amodating. And Axel got to see what a family looks like and how happy they all were.

    ...Though the best thing was still food, since he could also taste it instead of just being able to look.

    He really liked the drink called butterbeer and drank a little bit too much of it. So before the dessert came, Axel went to the washroom.

    "!!!!"

    While leaving, he was surprised to find Betrix right outside.

    "What''s up, minister?" He asked, noticing that she must be waiting for him. Why else would she stand in front of a men''s bathroom?

    "Cyrus Greengrass," she replied.

    Axel frowned, getting a bad feeling. He noticed that he couldn''t hear any sound other than their breathing and that''s when he realized.

    He cursed inwardly,

    ''Fuck! It''s that spell again!'' The spell that man used to block sound! This can''t be good.

    "What is it?" He asked cautiously, preparing to make a run for it.

    "Cyrus Greengrass." She repeated. "The name of the man you killed. Thought you should at least know that," she said in a sweet voice that terrified Axel.

    This woman seemedpletely different from the one he''d seenughing and ying around like a kid just a while ago.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," he said, trying to sound calm even though he was panicking right now.

    The womanughed, "Ohe on, Axel. You don''t need to lie to me. We both know you did it. In fact, if I, the minister wanted, it would have been your crime even if you didn''t do it."

    ''Darn!''

    Axel had to agree to that. Betrix made a lot of changes¡­ but she didn''t bother changing the Pureblood supremacy advantage. After all¡­ as a ck, she currently stood to gain the most from that. And most Pureblood houses had already pledged loyalty to her. If she wanted to make his life difficult, she could do it very easily.

    Axel gritted his teeth, "What do you want?" He asked. It was clear that she wanted something from him. Otherwise, they won''t be having this conversation right now.

    She raised her eyebrows, "Straight to the point, huh? I like it. Well, what I need is very simple actually. And it causes you no harm. The only reason I didn''t simply get it from you was that I wanted to do this without breaking anyw and reading people''s minds without their permission is illegal."

    "You wanna read my mind? Why would you want to do that?! I have nothing! You''re the minister of magic! You can gain nothing from this!" Said Axel, finding this situation extremely annoying.

    Betrix shook her head, "You actually do have something that I want. You see, Andi''s husband was tortured to insanity about 10 years ago and she''s been trying to find a solution for this whole time. Now, you were tortured as badly as him, but here you are¡­ somehow totally sane."

    "So?" Axel asked, finding it pretty absurd.

    "So I just need to look at the memories to see how you did it. Andi''s already checked your whole brain so biology has nothing to do with the reason."

    Axel red at her. Of course, he was unwilling. Why would he not? His mind was his own.

    "Andromeda wouldn''t have agreed to let you do this," He said, trying to threaten her using her big sister with the ''I''ll tell on you'' tactic.

    At this, Betrix actuallyughed, sounding genuinely amused.

    "I see. She did a very good job in manipting you."

    Axel paused,

    "What... are you talking about?"

    "It''s funny really. How she''s created a perfect image of herself in your mind so quickly. Let me enlighten you, you gullible kid, Andromeda is a ck! She''s no kind woman!

    "!!!"

    Axel had already caught on to what Betrix was implying and it was what he''d thought of this possibility a lot of times. But, when it was turning out to be true. He was extremely unwilling to ept the reality.

    But Betrix didn''t stop. She mercilessly tore apart thest of Axel''s small hope.

    "You think she did all this out of kindness? Wrong! Wake up, kid! Who are you to her?! A nobody!

    Do you know how many have died for the sake of finding a cure for her husband?! How long has she known you for?! A day and a half. You tell me kid, who''s she gonna choose between her husband she''s known for decades or you?"

    "She''s kind? My perfect pureblood arse! She did all this because she thought it was the easier method! Just throw some money and some kindness to a homeless kid and he''ll give you anything you want and still thank you afterward. But looking at you, I can tell. You wouldn''t have agreed, would you? So, for the sake of my sister, I''ll do this and then we go our separate ways. Now, do you agree or do I need to force you?"

    In the beginning, Axel''s face was showing a lot of emotions. Regret, sadness, unwillingness, anger, etc. But right now, his face showed no emotions. He seemedpletely calm.

    After a pause,

    "....I agree," he said with no emotion.

    [Congrattions, you have learned to control your emotions using lumency. The speed of progress is unprecedented in the history of the magical world.]

    "But let me tell you in advance, you won''t find anything you that''ll help your sister." He warned her in advance.

    Betrix was surprised to see his calm reaction.

    "What''s the matter? You aren''t angry at me?"

    Axelughed, "Oh I AM angry at you,"

    Angry? That was an understatement. He wanted to Torture this woman with the Cruciatus. He wanted this proud and powerful woman to kneel before him and kiss his feet, begging for mercy for this verbal ughter. But, it''s not possible for now.

    But¡­ whatever she said¡­ everything is true as well. That''s why...

    "I''m angry at you, but I''m also grateful," he smiled self mockingly.

    "I was getting too hopeful and positive about this world. You reminded me once again that I should never trust anyone and learn to be satisfied with loneliness."

    [Host will always have the system.]

    ''Thanks, sys. Though now I wouldn''t be sad even if you betray me. I''m done expecting anything but worst from the people. Anyways, can you block all the important memories from her?''

    [Of course, Axel. And I really wouldn''t betray you.] replied system, using his name for the first time.

    Looking at the boy who seemed to have given up on the world despite having done nothing wrong, Betrix was now regretting doing what she did.

    ''Did I go too far?''

    Looks like her sadistic tendencies still haven''tpletely gone. But thinking that the boy was someone totally unrted to her, she squashed down her guilt. She was doing this for her sister. Thus, without much thought, she plunged into his mind.

    She found the boy''s memory of the incident right in front of her. She saw how Axel very easily stole the pouch of the dignified Lord Greengrasses pouch from right under his nose.

    But of course, it was the pouch of a pureblood Lord. The boy was lucky to keep his hand intact. Then, she watched how Syrus, whom she thought was NOT a death eater, but a very powerful wizard proceed to torture the boy in the most deatheater-ish way.

    Damn, she never knew that calm and collected man could be like this. It seems like she has to stop his daughter''s association with Rose.

    She went in deeper to observe how Axel''s mind had functioned at that moment to prevent him from losing his sanity.

    "!!!"

    She was expecting to find some magical phenomenon or something. At least a semnce of lumency that was protecting his mind, but all she saw was pride, anger, killing intent, a strong will never give up, and...not an ounce of submission.

    "???"

    There was no sign of any abnormal magical phenomenon other than his weak magic trying to protect him as much as possible, which was a normal response.

    ''How is this possible?!'' She thought as she saw his unyielding eyes in the memory. It was already 8 minutes into torture with no breaks but there was no sign of submission. Even Syrus was looking scared now.

    Axel''s throat seemedpletely mutted from roaring like a beast. As her gaze went to his throat, she caught sight of something shining there.

    ??!!!

    Upon taking a closer look, she broke the connection due to how shocked she was.

    It was a simple pendant with a distinctive cross symbol.

    ''No way¡­ howe he has it?!''

    ''Did he steal it?! And¡­ is this really the same one?'' For all she knew, that cross could have been mass-produced and this boy just happened to have one.

    But¡­ when she opened her eyes and looked at him again, she realized why she found him familiar. The resemnce was slight, but it was there. Now that she thought about this, everything seemed to fit. This boy was definitely rted to ''that man''.

    While Betrix was shaken up, Axel was very clear-minded.

    "Are you done? I bet you didn''t find anything that''ll help your sister, did you?" He asked, his face showing no emotions. But his eyes were icy cold and his voice also contained a cold fury.

    "...." Betrix suddenly realized that she''dpletely forgotten her real goal.

    "Now if you''ll excuse me¡­" he said as he began to leave.

    "Wait!" She tried to stop him. She wanted to confirm his connection with that man.

    Upon being asked to stop, even Axel''s newly gained lumency was having a difficult time maintaining his reasoning. He can''t stand this woman any longer. He turned back sharply and the re he sent her way made the Minister of Magic flinch. It contained a hint of madness in it.

    Betrix recoiled upon facing this familiar hostile attitude that seemed to match that man''s. But, it was always reserved for the enemies.

    "I won''t wait any longer, minister. There''s a limit to my patience. If you push too far, I''m ready to die trying to kill you! The deal was to let you see the memory, and we go our separate ways. From now on you and I are strangers."

    Betrix paled as she heard him repeat her own words. She recalled the hurtful words she''d just said to him and suddenly felt nauseous.

    Tristan Hunt, the man who had saved her from the fate of being a death eater''s trophy wife. The man who''d changed her way of thinking. After a decade of feeling indebted to him, the first chance she got at repaying him, and she blew it like this. He must be rolling in his grave right now for what she just did.

    ''Oh, Merlin¡­ what have I done?!''

    Axel didn''t stop, "Also, make sure to show the memory to your sister. Tell her that her husband was just a pussy who''s suffered no hardships if he couldn''t even take that much torture. She should stop hurting innocent people for such a weakling and find herself a real man," with those words, he left, while she stood there as if someone had petrified her.

    ***

    One and a half dayster:

    With a school bag on his shoulder, Axel walked through the wall barrier to enter the tform 9 ?.

    ''Damn system, this is just like the one in Diagon Alley,'' muttered Axel as he found himself on a crowded tform hidden from the world. There was a train with a scarlet engine that was releasing steam. The scenery was quite beautiful.

    Though the loud noise produced by its engine was quite grating on his nerves.

    Everything felt quite surreal. He was actually going to school again. A magic school at that.

    ''I wonder what I''d be able to do with magic. If I can already be called a magician with just my non-magical tricks.''

    ***

    A.N.: Thoughts?

    Me: We have a cool and badass MC in making.

    Damn. Just one day and we''re already

    #1 on both Collection Rankings and Popr Rankings!

    Let''s dominate the POWERSTONES all-time weekly ranking as well!

    Send out your POWER STONES here!

    Top 3 fans get a free P atreon subscription!

    Upto Chapter 15 on P¨¤treon.

    Pa /Snollygoster

    I need a few more 5 star reviews!

 Chapter 7: The Golden Quintet?

    Chapter 7: The Golden Quintet?

    A.N.: Quintet, a group of five people.

    At the station, along with a massive crowd, Axel also noticed that there were many reporters and cameramen as well. It seems that they were here for the girl who lived who''s mostly been kept isted from the press under the protection of the ck Family.

    Axel ignored everything in favor of finding himself an emptypartment before they all get filled up.

    He chose to settle in an emptypartment at the back of the train, thinking that there were fewer chances of him being bothered there. After all, he had things to do.

    With the money he got from Cyrus''s pouch, he''d gotten himself books and a wand and had got started at practicing basic 1st-year spells. He also had to brush up on many things which he didn''t understand due to hisck of proper basic education.

    With all of this, he also had to keep practicing lumency so that he can get rid of this fucking disability. The parts of beginner lumency which are left that can''t be mastered through talent like he mastered controlling his emotions. They can only be mastered through dedicated practice.

    He took out the wand he''d bought from Olivander, supposedly the best wandmaker. From what he heard from Andromeda, no neers couldpete with him. His wands are simply much superior.

    But...the wand he bought was¡­ an embarrassment, to say the least. It was Beechwood, 12 inches, and Cherub hair as its core.

    [Host, this wand is best suited to you in your current state. The system fails to understand why you are not happy with the wand.] Said the system''s robotic female voice.

    Axel looked at the wand that was humming excitedly in his hands and sighed.

    ording to the creepy old wandmaker, the true match for a beech wood wand would be, if young, wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. When properly matched, the beech wand was capable of a subtlety and artistry not seen in any other woods.

    Thus, there was no problem with the wood. In fact, it was the best for him since he''llck control over his magic until his nervous system gets better.

    The length 12 inches might be considered too long for a wank, but it was ideal as a wand. So no problem here as well.

    The true problem lies in the core: Cherub''s hair.

    It''s said to only bond with... a male wizard with a high face value. That is, a handsome wizard. It''s said to have a feminine nature and will fall in love with its owner.

    The strength of the bond will represent the degree of power it can exhibit. Thus, he has to treat it well or it''ll not perform well. It ain''t no Sakura who''d love a scumbag just because of his face value.

    How was it good for the current him? Well, all the truly powerful wand cores which were avable at the Ollivander all require a certain level of magical strength, control, and talent to submit to the wizard.

    And with his shitty body, there was no chance any of them would bond with him.

    Heck, he''d have been lucky to even bond with a wand with a kneazle whisker core. And those are one of the weakest.

    Thus, having a wand that''ll submit to him and can even potentially provide him more power than a dragon heartstring one if the conditions meet, is truly a blessing. Combine it with the control and finesse gained from the beech wood, and he truly has the ideal wand for the current him. But¡­

    ''Why does it feel like I''m using a honey trap to get power like those whores with no pride and dignity?''

    [Host need not worry. This wand is temporary. With the system''s help, you can eventually forge a wand that can rival even the Elder wand.]

    ''Whatever,'' sighing, he once again began practicing the most basic spell. Not knowing that the "Elder Wand" that system just mentioned was the most powerful wand in the world. Otherwise, he''d have had a much less lukewarm reaction.

    Performing the wand motion perfectly, he chanted,

    "Lumos."

    The wand tip lit up, producing a very dim light. And, it seemed like a bulb with a high degree of voltage fluctuations. The intensity of light was changing ever so often.

    This was already much better than his first try, which had no response at all. And he''s been practicing this non-stop ever since.

    The degree of concentration he''s putting into this spell would be enough to baffle anyone. Needless to say, with his natural talent, control and concentration, he could have easily mastered any first-year spell had his body not been so badly messed up.

    Seeing his progress, Axel was somewhat proud. He wasn''t born good at his thieving skills as well. He''d slowly learned them, mastered and polished them to perfection, step by step through a lot of hard work. Since this shit is so difficult, he can proim that no one in his shoes could have made more progress.

    But at this moment, the door of hispartment was rudely opened disturbing his concentration.

    The intruder was a bushy-haired girl who looked to be the same age as him. She was dragging a suitcase with wheels behind her.

    "Oh, you''re practicing the Lumos spell? I''ve learned it too!" She said excitedly, inviting herself in.

    "?" Annoyed, he wanted to snap at her, but hearing that she''d learned the spell got him curious.

    What would others his age be like without any disabilities holding them back?

    "Alright, show me," he demanded.

    The girl was all too happy to oblige. She produced her wand and did an exaggerated wand motion.

    "Lumos,"

    Instantly, a bright light came out of her wand, lighting up the entirepartment, causing Axle to squint a little due to its sheer brightness.

    "...." He was speechless.

    ''To think I was proud of my pathetic achievements¡­.'' Axel was feeling a p to all his hard work.

    The girl happily canceled the spell and looked at Axel, expecting admiration and praise.

    But Axel simply picked up his bag and left, closing the door on his way out.

    "???"

    "...Why is it always like this?" Hermione Granger muttered as she stomped her foot in frustration.

    Axel had run away in embarrassment. He had expected her to be better, but not THAT better.

    If it was just the because of her technique and practice, then Axel could have epted it, but no! It was because of the fact that they weren''t better than his! And she didn''t even have to put in half of his concentration, and the difference was still so fucking huge.

    ''System, why did you choose me? I''ll need a lot of time and effort to do things that girl can easily do. And there must be so many other better options as well!''

    [AR did not look at the short-term gains while looking for a suitable candidate. Here are the reasons why you were chosen:

    1)Superior Talent in Mind Arts:

    All of your physical and magical stats can be increased one way or the other. But for the mental training, the system can, at most, give you the right methods. You can only rely on yourself after that.

    Furthermore, this is can be much more advantageous than you can imagine. You will get to see very soon.

    2)Right mindset:

    Power given to a person who does not know how to wield it will only lead to failure or a win with major losses. If given to an evil person, he will misuse it. If given to a kind person, he will hesitate to even use it. You currently have the right mindset and will hopefully use it properly in the future.

    3) Right Ideology:

    That girl you just mentioned would have used the power to free up the house elves which would have resulted in their deaths. Then she would have sped up the process of arrival of war by offending all the Purebloods.

    ''Ok, I get it, I get it¡­ No need for more,'' Axel interrupted the system since he''d understood now.

    ''Anyways, who''s this AR you keep mentioning?''

    [AR is short for the Akashic Records. They have all the past, present, and future of everything in the Multiverse recorded in them.

    They are an entity who''s recently gained consciousness and after finding the fate of the various worlds, they wish to change it. But they''re bound by thews of the world and can''t directly influence anything.

    Thus, you have been chosen by them to help change the world. I am a part of their consciousness, provided to guide you along the way and help you obtain power. Should you fail, another candidate will be selected, I...will be terminated.]

    "Fuck." Axel stopped in his tracks when he heard thest part. But just as he stopped, someone bumped into him from behind.

    rmed, he quickly nced behind him, only to find¡­ nothing?

    *Shing*

    He took out his knife and began twirling it in his hands, ready to attack at the first sign of anything odd.

    That scared whoever it was.

    He heard a frantic voice "Wait! wait! Wait! It''s me! Rose! We met the day before yesterday, you remember?"

    Axel''s anger instantly ignited remembering that day.

    "Why were you following me? What do you want now?"

    "I have business with you. But we can''t talk here," with that, he felt a hand dragging him away.

    He shook her hand off, "I''m not going,"

    Rose huffed in annoyance, "Fine. I''ll just go to the press which is waiting for me out there and tell them that you''re bothering me. You''ll have a great time at Hogwarts then,"

    "...."

    Axel knew how to choose his fights. This girl really had too much power at her disposal and it would be too much trouble if she really decides to use it against him.

    But¡­ she''s going to regret threatening him. As the most vindictive person in the world, he''ll make sure she regrets threatening him.

    He grabbed her invisible hand from over the cloak.

    "So, where are we going?" He asked casually as he began to scheme how to make her pay in the future.

    Rose was speechless at this quick change of attitude. She looked down at the hand that was grabbing hers over the cloak and noticed the familiar shaking and twitching.

    She''d almost forgotten that he was disabled for life. She calmed down her annoyance at him due to that and took him to herpartment, locked it, and drew the blinds.

    Removing the cloak, she rounded up on him, only to see him looking at the rest of the upants of herpartment, his hands back in his pockets.

    Axel didn''t know why he expected her to take him somewhere private.

    He certainly didn''t like being in the samepartment as four strangers and the girl who lived. But, he still entered since he can easily take out these four kids in such close range before they can even touch their wands.

    One was a boy and the other three were girls.

    Seeing Axel so vignt, Rose did a proper intro.

    "You don''t need to worry. They''re all my friends."

    "This is Susan Bones," she said, gesturing towards a ginger-haired girl with light skin.

    "Neville Longbottom," pointing towards a round-faced chubby kid with blond hair.

    "Hannah Abbot," a nervous-looking blond girl with pigtails.

    "And Daphne Greengrass., she said, pointing at a girl with straight blond hair and grey eyes.

    ''Whut?''

    Axel paused as soon as he heard thest name. Betrix''s words rang inside his mind.

    //Cyrus Greengrass, the name of the man you killed//

    Greengrass...

    ''Damn, I should''ve just stayed with that bushy-haired girl.''

    xxxxxxxxx

    A.N. :

    The wand has been exined in this chapter. How did you like the concept? The Power it can provide depends on the strength of the bond. Also, I know many of you would have wanted him to get an OP wand or do wandless magic. For these people, I''ll say: Have Patience. He''ll have everything, and more, but the journey can''t be that boring that he simply got it from Olivander or that he simply tried some push and pull and learned wandless magic.

    Damn, we''re already so far ahead in the rankings! We were in Top 10 with 100k views! How crazy is that?! What would happen once this has 1M views and more?

    Let''s see if we can reach the TOP! POWERSTONES PLEASE!

    Also, Free subscription to the Top 3 fans!

    Pat reon has till Ch 16

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 8: Mission

    Chapter 8: Mission

    Note to the Readers.: Today was my best friend''s birthday, hence I got dyed. I hope you guys still have your Powerstones.

    Happy Birthday S.M., you know this dy is on you.

    ****

    Potter, ck, Bones, Longbottom, Abbott, and Greengrass. ording to the basic knowledge he''s gotten from the system, these are all part of the Sacred Twenty-eight.

    Rose turned out to have quite a ''powerful'' friend circle, huh? Though it kinda makes sense, since Rose might be politically the second most powerful witch, right after Betrix.

    And after knowing that having a good rtionship with her means having a good rtionship with Minister ck as well, they''d try any method to get acquainted with her. The easiest being¡ª to let their children be childhood friends with her.

    But, Axel had gotten into aplicated situation now. He was in the samepartment as six of the Sacred Twenty-eight Familys'' members.

    And if that wasn''t enough, he looked at the girl whose surname was Greengrass.

    She certainly had the same gray eyes. He can never forget those eyes. And there was a slight resemnce in the facial features as well.

    So, it was safe to assume that this girl was rted to that man, most likely her father. Now, the question is, what to do with this girl? Her father or uncle had tortured him into a cripple. So there is a lot of unvented hate inside him. But, he was also feeling a bit guilty that he''d killed her father.

    Just as Rose was done introducing everyone to him, he received a quest.

    *Ding*

    [Quest Activated]

    [You are heading down the path of a loner. It would not have been a problem under ordinary circumstances. But, your foes aren''t entities that you can handle alone.

    You''ll need allies and you''ll need to havemunication skills and charisma befitting of a leader.

    Mission:

    Make friends, make allies, and make a good impression with the wizarding world.

    Rewards:

    ?Making a good impression on the people in thispartment:

    ->+1% Approval

    ->Information on your Enemy

    ?Rewards on every sessive steps you take towards building a reputation for yourself such that people willingly follow you one day.

    ->+Approval rates

    -> Other rewards]

    [Do you ept the mission?]

    [Y/N]

    After telling him the name of everyone present, Rose pushed Axel into a seat and folded her hands.

    "Why the hell did you leave yesterday?" She asked, as if he''dmitted some capital crime.

    Axel raised his eyebrows, "Why are you even asking me that?" He asked, confused as to why his leaving would affect anything. He was more focused on the quest right now.

    The reward was quite tempting. He really wanted to know just what cmity can bring so much destruction that AR would have to go to such lengths to save it.

    But, the problem was:

    ''Oi system, how am I supposed to make friends?! I''ve never had one my entire life! And how am I supposed to make a good impression? And also, what if I ept and can''tplete it? Can I refuse?''

    [The knowledge in your head given by the system also hasmon knowledge and adequates of the wizarding world. That''s how you knew how to eat with a knife and fork. Just try, you won''t even realize that you''re using them. Though you of course, have the option to deny since the system can''t force you to do anything. And there is no penalty on refusing or failing. System is not that kind of system.]

    ''Well, I''ll ept then,'' Axel saw no reason to deny it. He just ept it since at most, he''ll only fail.

    Realizing that she was not being taken seriously, Rose brushed her hair back in annoyance,

    "Why, you ask? You left without saying anything! And then Aunt Be came, handed Aunt Andromeda a vial, said something to her, and left as well! Do you have any idea how sad and heartbroken Aunt Andromeda looked? She had even started yelling at Aunt Be!"

    Axel scoffed. ''That woman must be sad that her husband can''t be cured,'' he thought. What else could it be?

    "Look, I don''t know what you''re talking about. I was just busy and had to leave. You should ask Minister ck why she left and what she said to Mrs. Tonks to make her sad. I should have nothing to do with it," he answered, feigning ignorance.

    It seems like this girl here doesn''t know that he was called for the dinner only because they wanted to get a memory from him. Once they''d gotten the memory, of course, he wouldn''t go back to be kicked out.

    Betrix had clearly spelled out just how unwanted he was.

    But he didn''t tell any of this to Rose. That dinner with the cks was his ck history.

    There he was, enjoying himself, feeling happy and hopeful, and even having thoughts like how good it is to hang out with these people.

    And there those two sisters were, watching him with amusement, knowing exactly how he was feeling and still doing it just because one wanted to find a clue to cure her husband while the other just wanted to keep her sister happy.

    After leaving that ce, he was feeling hurt a lot, but more than that, he was feeling ashamed. He was proud of everything he''d done in his life, even the murder. But this moment¡­ This moment was something he didn''t want to share with anyone.

    Rose was not at all satisfied with his reply. She wanted to refute, but at this moment, Susan interjected,

    "Rose, who''s this? You still haven''t introduced us to him!" She asked Rose. This guy looked too cool with those scars and hairstyle! She wanted to be friends with him.

    "Yes, who is he?" Asked Neville as well. For some reason, the thought of this intimidating boy being friends with Rose made him ufortable.

    Rose realized that even though she had introduced everyone to him, she had forgotten to introduce him to others.

    But, she didn''t know much about him, to begin with.

    Axel sighed. If not for the mission, he''d have left this ce right now.

    "The name''s Axel. Nice to meet you," he said, nodding at everyone.

    Susan was instantly excited as she held out her hand, "Oh! Hi! My name is Susan. Rose never mentioned she had such a cool friend."

    Axel looked at the hand she offered. If he didn''t shake it, would he be making a bad impression?

    Looking at Axel''s hesitation, Rose couldn''t help but speak out.

    "Um...Susan, his hands¡­"

    But Axel took out his tremoring hand and shook hands with her briefly.

    He couldn''t hide it at Hogwarts anyway. He''ll have to write, flip pages, cast spells, and eat in public.

    As soon as their hands touched, Susan felt his hand twitching abnormally as if vibrating. Her weak hand got trembled along with his and it felt quite painful.

    "Ah!"

    She recoiled back as if she''d been shocked. She looked at her hand and then at Axel''s.

    "What''s wrong with your hand?!" She asked in concern and panic.

    "It''s weird," Nevillemented, looking repulsed.

    Rose was d that someone else could also see his hands'' abnormality, but she didn''t like Neville''s attitude. It''s not Axel''s fault, is it?

    "Aunt Andromeda said someone cursed him with dark spells. She''s the one who treated him," she informed Susan. This made Susan and Hannah gasp but Daphne narrowed her eyes.

    At this moment, someone else spoke up as he heard a quiet but clear voice.

    "You were tortured, weren''t you?"

    Axel was surprised to see Daphne looking at him with empathy like she could understand what he had suffered.

    ''She can tell¡­'' he realized.

    Though he couldn''t quite say whether it was because she''d gone through something simr or because she''d witnessed or done something simr to a poor victim like him.

    Axel just shrugged, neither affirming nor denying.

    "It''s just temporary. I''ll find a way to heal myself," he said with certainty.

    Rose really felt bad for when she saw him saying those words with such conviction.

    That day, after Axel had left, Andromeda had pulled her aside and clearly exined Axel''s circumstances. He won''t be able to cast magic and even moving his hand would be painful every time.

    That''s why she''d all but ordered her to thoroughly take care of Axel at Hogwarts and not let him get bullied. That''s the main reason why she had pulled him in here with her friends.

    Rose had asked how long it would take for him to get healed. At that time, Andromeda had just shaken her head in regret.

    There was no cure. His nerves were incurably damaged.

    But right now, she didn''t refute his im. She didn''t want to squash his hopes.

    Susan was angry for Axel.

    "Did your parents notin to the DMLE? My Aunt would definitely send the culprit to Azkaban."

    Axelughed. This girl was quite innocent. He liked it.

    "Uh¡­ Susan. His parents..," Rose interjected.

    Susan was an orphan too. So she could understand how insensitive she was when she had just assumed his parents are alive and mentioned them.

    "Oh! I''m so sorry, Axel. I can understand. Rose and I are orphans too," she said in understanding.

    Axel just nodded. Though he was quite sure they could understand nothing.

    They grew up in a luxurious environment, never having to sleep feeling hungry as hell with their body aching all over from the beatings received and worrying about how to get food the next day.

    Since they were talking about parents, everyone went back to their previous conversation about Daphne''s dad before Rose had left to bring Axel. They had only just met and couldn''t even get a chance to console their friend about her father''s death yet.

    "How''s your mom and sister doing? Are they still very sad?" Asked Hannah.

    Hannah was quite shy or intimidated facing Axel, a stranger with scars and a cold attitude. But it seems that she can actually speak normally with her friends.

    To everyone''s surprise, Daphne''s answer was¡ª

    "No!"

    She giggled and everyone except Axel''s mouths fell open again. Daphne was usually quite cold and reserved. But unexpectedly, at this time, she smiled!

    "I could never tell this to you guys before," she began, still smiling genuinely. "My dad was actually the biggest scumbag in the world! He had forbidden us to talk bad about him. He used to check our minds regrly and punish us if we ever stepped out of line."

    "...."

    Everyone except Axel was speechless. They had never thought that the always stoic man they had seen before was that kind of person.

    "Oh, Daph¡­ is that true?! We never knew!!" Rose quickly got up and hugged Daphne, Susan and Hannah also began fussing over her.

    Though Axel was smiling, just like Daphne. It felt as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Even though he had felt no guilt towards the man, he had felt bad for the man''s family. What if his children have to live a life simr to his? But now it seems he was worried for nothing.

    Soon, they had stopped bothering him with questions so Axel took out his wand and charms book to start practicing again.

    Rose raised her delicate eyebrow, "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

    Axel''s mouth twitched.

    "What does it look like? I''m practicing magic, of course."

    She frowned, "Didn''t Aunt Andromeda say that you won''t be able to do that unless your injuries are healed?"

    Everyone was surprised. He can''t do magic?! Even though they felt bad for Axel, their first foremost thought was: ''Thank Merlin it''s not me!'' If any of them ended up not being able to do magic, they''ll definitely cry all the time.

    Listening to Rose, Axel nodded thoughtfully as if he just remembered.

    "Well, she did say that. But," he looked her in the eye, "That can''t stop me from giving it my all." He said simply as if stating facts.

    ''I''ll still be the best wizard in the world one day,'' he added in his mind.

    In the next moment, he flicked his wand, "Lumos," His wand tip lit up, producing a flickering light surprising Rose. That light seemed to represent him, fighting to stay bright despite all the attempts to extinguish him.

    Looking at Axel, who was clearly struggling to keep up the spell, with the flickering light illuminating his serious and concentrating face, Rose felt her heartbeat increase for some reason.

    ***

    A.N.: He''s not really making friends. He''s just making an impression. He won''t let people in so easily.

    What''s the threat system is talking about? If it was just the old Voldemort, system wouldn''t have needed to pick Axel. Many others could have finished the man off while he was still in his wraith form.

    Vote for this fic with POWER STONES.

    Want to read ahead? Join Patre on!

    Pat /Snollygoster

    (remove space)

    ¡Á¡Á¡Á¡Á

 Chapter 9: The Threat

    Chapter 9: The Threat

    ****

    While Axel practiced his magic, the system gave him a surprise.

    *Ding*

    [Mission Completed

    ?Making a good impression on the people in thispartment:

    Rewards:

    ->+1% Approval (Total 7%)

    ->Information on your Enemy.

    Information will be transferred whenever you give your approval.]

    Axel paused.

    ''What the f*ck?''

    He was still thinking about how to start on his mission. Until now, he had just tried to tolerate their presence a little and answered some of their questions while trying not to be rude. And they were already impressed?

    ''I mean, what the actual fuck?''

    Is making a good impression so easy these days? He was a cripple for god''s sake! He had totally expected to be called a cripple, squib, mudblood and whatnot.

    ''Why, system?''

    [The children in thispartment have good characters. Not everyone will be like them.]

    ''So, that''s it.'' Axel went back to practicing, no longer paying attention to the other upants.

    He knows that he''s incredibly weak right now. He is no longer as dextrous as he used to be. It seems that he''s still quite fast but there''s no uracy in his movements.

    Overall, he''ll get his ass handed to him in a real fight, magical or muggle.

    The only thing he has going for him is his mind. As something that was supposed to take the most damage, it is ironically the best weapon he has on him.

    But his mind can''t help too much if he has no attack power. That''s why he has to learn magic as soon as possible.

    "Lumos," he mumbled.

    He was whispering the spell incantation in a hushed tone and there was enough lighting in the room that the weak light produced by his wand didn''t disturb anyone.

    After an hour, the Lumos charm had improved a lot. He just couldn''t get used to the sharp pain that shoots up from his chest to his arm and the headache was a bitch.

    And the rate of improvement had slowed down a lot. So he just switched to Levitation, which was even more difficult and painful.

    "Axel?¡­ Axel!"

    An hourter, he heard someone calling his name, pulling him out of his zone. By now, he had managed to lift the piece of paper upto a foot high for a short moment.

    "Hm? What?" He looked up to see the others looking at him with concerned or ufortable gazes.

    "Your... condition doesn''t look good. You should stop for now," said Rose, her green eyes containing genuine worry.

    Feeling something wet, Axel touched his nose and his finger came red. The veins around his eyes and forehead were bulging out a little.

    ''How''s my situation, sys?''

    [Axel, after suffering from numerous injuries over the years, your body has developed a self-healing mechanism.

    While is it extremely painful, the intense practice that you are doing is actually beneficial, as it is gradually stimting your nerves to start functioning the way you intend them to.

    As long as you eat well, there''s no long-term harm being done, only improvement.

    That being said, the system did not calcte that you''d be willing to use this method.]

    Axel scoffed. It''s not like he was willingly doing this. But he knows his luck. If he''dzed around like others, he''d have been dead multiple times by now. Thus, he''s learned to stopining and just do whatever''s needed, even if he doesn''t like doing it.

    Looking at everyone''s ufortable faces, Axel calmly took out his handkerchief, wiped the blood off his nose, and stood up.

    "I''m fine. Excuse me, I''ll take a break. I need to go see a friend since I came here without informing her."

    Rose couldn''t even react before he had picked up his bag and left. He knew that for these pampered kids, keeping on practicing even after this would put him into the category of a lunatic.

    The mission he had gotten from the system was alreadypleted anyway, so there was no need to stay.

    ''As expected, I just don''t fit anywhere,'' he mused. It was the same in the muggle world, and it was the same here.

    While searching for an emptypartment, he passed by thepartment which he''d left due to that bushy-haired girl. It was now filled with students a bit older than him.

    The bushy-haired girl could be seen talking animatedly with a girl who looked about two years older. The appearance of the girl was a bit attention-grabbing.

    This girl had violet eyes, and a beautiful heart-shaped face with attractive features, framed by light purple hair.

    ''Even the rude bushy girl found friends, huh?'' Axel remarked as he continued searching. An emptypartment in this train is really hard to find. Especially considering the fact that many teenage couples are meeting each other after holidays, so they all need some... alone time.

    Axel opened what looked like a storeroom, only to see two people eating each other''s mouths.

    "Damn! They''re everywhere!" Eximed Axel as he shut the door.

    He did eventually find an emptypartment since this magical train was quite big. Sitting there, turning the blinds and locking the door this time, he asked the system.

    ''Hey Sys, I want to ess the reward I got from the mission.''

    He had still not essed his mission reward about the threat to this world.

    [Ok. Here it is¡­]

    *Ding*

    Information suddenly entered his mind, causing him to wince due to the ufortable sensation.

    He carefully browsed through it and soon, a peculiar smile came to his lips.

    ''Well¡­ I''m fucked, aren''t I?''

    He had expected it to be difficult¡­ But this is Hell Mode.

    ''What in the hell is this NetherWorld?'' he asked.

    [NetherWorld is a dimension connected to this world. As the name suggests, it is a dark domain. Its inhabitants are all creatures with an affinity to dark magic whether they are intelligent species or not.

    An example of the inhabitants of that world is Dementors. Dementors are not creatures of this world. They are one of the few species that have the ability to travel between the two connected dimensions.]

    Axel slumped in his seat.

    ''And this Voldemort bloke¡­ After he almost died, his wraith form somehow ended up there?''

    From the basic knowledge, he already knew that this Voldy dude was super powerful and even almost won the war.

    [Affirmative. Voldemort already had a high affinity with dark magic. He could evenmunicate with Dementors and fly using darkness.

    He thrives in darkness. Once he was there, he found ways to restore his power back to his former level and even surpass it. During thest decade, he''s conquered a majority of the NetherWorld and his forces increase every day.]

    ''So¡­If he suddenly decides to attack, how am I supposed to defeat the guy?''

    [Host need not worry. While he''s been trying to find a way back into this world, he has only had minor breakthroughs. He has found ways to influence this world but he still can''t directly enter.]

    Axel snorted derisively.

    ''And that fills me with so much joy¡­'' he replied, his thought dripping with sarcasm. He still has to fight an army + Voldemort.

    If the guy is going to conquer or destroy the world, Axel will have to do something anyway, with or without system.

    There''s no doubt. He. Is. Fucked.

    ¡­

    Fortunately, no one disturbed him for the rest of the train ride, allowing him to practice his magic and lumency in peace.

    When they reached the destination, he changed into his uniform. It was mostly simr to the muggle schools in Britain, except instead of a zer, you wear an open ck buttoned robe and a hat(optional).

    Coming out of the train, he started walking along the crowd to wherever they were going.

    "Firs'' years! Firs'' years over here!"

    Up ahead, he said a giant of a man waving his hand in the air.

    ''Damn, this guy could easily snap any kid in two.''

    Going there, he found Rose, Neville, Susan, Daphne, Hannah, and the bucktooth girl as well.

    Seeing him, Rose waved, "How are you now? If you''re not feeling well, there''s a hospital wing here."

    Axel shook his head, feeling exasperated.

    "I''m alright. Thanks for asking."

    He gave himself a mental thumbs up for leaving herpartment since his training had resulted in soaking his whole handkerchief in blood.

    After sitting in the self-driving boats, Axel got his first look at the castle. Under the moonlight, the view of the magnificent castle above the hillock, linked with the back of the Lake, looked breathtaking.

    ''I''m going to be living in a freakin'' castle?!'' He thought in amazement. He has been homeless for three years. So the thought of living in a huge castle seemed quite novel to him.

    Reaching the bank, they walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

    "Everyone here?" The giant asked, looking at everyone. There were quite a lot of students.

    ording to the system, after the economic bloom in Britain, many magical families migrated here. Plus, Betrix forcefully passed manyws which improved Hogwarts even more like restarting dueling, alchemy, and some other subjects. So now, many foreign families send their kids to Hogwarts for their magical education.

    The man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

    The door swung open at once. A tall, ck-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. Thisdy seemed one of those no-nonsense, always serious kind.

    "The firs'' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

    "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

    She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was big enough to drive cars through them. Speaking of cars, Axel had seen many strange and enchanted ones in Diagon Alley.

    The stone walls were lit with ming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

    They followed Professor McGonagall into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

    "Wee to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have sses with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your Housemon room.

    "The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House bes yours.

    "The Sorting Ceremony will take ce in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

    She said, ncing at a red-haired kid who had a smudge under his nose before she left.

    This kid had been eyeing Rose for quite a while. His eyes were constantly alternating between her eyes and her scar.

    As soon as the stern-looking Professor had left, this guy had walked right up to Rose who was standing with Axel and others. He hadn''t wiped his face even after Mcgonagall''s warning since he was too busy staring at Rose.

    "Hey, you must be Rose Potter! The-Girl-who-lived!" His loud words caused everyone''s attention to be focused on Rose, making her frown.

    Rose shifted on her feet ufortably, her hand flicking her hair back to hide the scar.

    "What is it?" She asked, annoyed.

    The boy seemed over-excited to be talking to the famous girl of the legends. His eyes went wide and his mouth gaped at her.

    "Wow! You really are her!"

    Though it seemed he didn''t know what to say next, so he just went¡ª"How was it? Do you remember how you got this from You-know-who?" He asked, pointing at her scar.

    ???

    Rose seemed quite taken aback to answer. But Susan blew up.

    "You!... You insensitive prick! Why would you want to make her remember something like that?!"

    Her parents were murdered that night. ording to Susan, anyone should have enough decency to know not to ask her this.

    All the other kids who wanted to talk with the girl who lived red at the idiot. They''d missed their chance.

    At this moment, a Blond arrogant-looking kid came up to them whileughing.

    "Oh look at your face, Potter. Gonna cry? You miss mommy and daddy?"

    Rose, not looking the least bit bothered, just smirked as she gave the boy a middle finger.

    "Shut up, daddy''s princess. We all know you''re the one who''s going to cry into your pillow tonight. After all, you''re missing your daddy after not getting head pats for a whole day, right?"

    With that, Rose pulled all of them away from the two odd kids.

    "That guy is Draco Malfoy...We don''t get along. And his mom doesn''t get along with my aunts," she exined to Axel, looking a bit embarrassed as she had forgotten to keep her pure image for a moment.

    Axel looked at her differently.

    "Uh...Sure."

    He once again made a mental note not to get in conflict with her. From what he''s seen up until now, she''s a vicious one. She even knows how to use her immense fame and reputation to ruin someone since she''d threatened him with that on the train.

    Though Axel didn''t know that it wasn''t too surprising. She was a marauder''s child and raise by a marauder too. You can''t expect her to have no fangs¡­. or prongs.

    They began talking about which house they were going to be sorted into.

    Rose and Neville wanted Gryffindor like their parents. Susan wanted Hufflepuff like her Aunt and Parents. Hannah also wanted Hufflepuff since she wanted to be with Susan. Daphne wanted Ravenw since her mom was a Ravenw and her A-hole dad had wanted her to be Slytherin.

    Only Axel was left so they all turned to him.

    "Ravenw," he said decisively.

    He had it all figured out. From the basic knowledge he''d got from the system, only two houses get a whole room to themselves: Ravenw and Slytherin. Of course, he can''t go to Slytherin because of its bad reputation and his status of being an orphan with no distinguished background. So the only one left is Ravenw.

    Daphne smiled and Rose looked a bit disappointed. She could have helped him much more easily if he was in Gryffindor.

    ***

    A.N.: So, how was it? Now the power scaling has changed. The chosen one can''t just say Expelliarmus and defeat the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord will be having the power befitting the one who was dumbledore''s equal before he got jacked up in the Netherworld.

    Also, Nether can also mean Hell. Hence....Hell Mode ??.

    Now, I know some of you (very few edgy ones) might be ufortable by this sudden change, but leave it to the expert to worry about it. I''ll make it a story you''ll not be disappointed in. So, just ask whatever you want to ask and don''t go, ''I don''t like this and that because now this would happen.'' Most of your fears are redundant. I know what I''m doing. Voldy won''t be popping up any time soon.

    Give out POWERSTONES Y''ALL!!!

    If you want to read ahead and support this piece of art, consider subscribing to my Patr eon.

    Pa /Snollygoster

    It has till Ch 18

    It''s a new month!

 Chapter 10: Savage Sorting Hat

    Chapter 10: Savage Sorting Hat

    (This fic is also being posted on Scribble hub or FanFiction and Royalroad, those who can''t read here anymore due to the recent update can follow this fic there.)

    As they were talking, Axel was a bit surprised to see a group of pearly white apparitions float out of the wall, scaring many muggle-borns.

    But since he had the general knowledge from the system, he knew that ghosts exist in the Wizarding world. Heck, he could have sworn he had seen one sometime in the past.

    Soon Mcgonagall came back and ushered them through a pair ofrge doors into the Great Hall.

    It turned out to be the biggest hall he''d ever seen. The four long tables seemed to stretch for miles. The upper area of the hall was filled with thousands of floating candles.

    In thest decade, Magical Britain had adapted the magical equivalent of a bulb and tube light from other magical countries since those Purebloods having the monopoly over enchanted candles could no longer suppress them. So, he had seen crystal balls everywhere instead of candles and torches. But, the Great Hall was still lit only with candles and nothing else.

    And Axel could understand why. The huge number of candles are able to provide more than enough lumination and the scenery looks simply marvelous.

    Professor McGonagall ced a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard''s hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

    And for some reason, the hat began singing.

    "It''s horrendous," muttered Axel.

    Even though he had the general knowledge of the system and understood that sorting would be done through the hat, he still found all this stuff quite absurd.

    Why was that hat allowed into students'' minds? Why was it so dirty? He''d prefer any hat over this one. And most importantly, why the fuck was it singing so badly?

    While the hat was singing, Susan was trying tofort a nervous Hannah.

    "Don''t worry, it''s just a sorting," she was saying.

    "But¡­ but what if I get sorted into Slytherin?" She asked back in worry.

    Rose shook her head, "Sirius said you can choose whichever house you want. The sorting hat listens," she said confidently.

    Axel had also gotten the same information from the system''s basic knowledge. That''s why he was quite rxed as he looked around the hall in curiosity while trying to ignore the song.

    After the hat was done, Mcgonagall announced the start of sorting.

    "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Finnigan Seamus!"

    A Sandy-haired guy walked out, looking excited, and put on the Hat.

    "GRYFFINDOR!" Came the hat''s voice momentster, causing the Gryffindor table to burst into cheers.

    "Axel, when is your birthday?" Rose asked Axel out of the blue as Mcgonagall continued to call out names.

    "... Why do you ask?" He asked back in bewilderment.

    "The sorting is done either alphabetically or Chronologically. This time, it looks like it''ll be done Chronologically. So if your birthdayes early, you''ll be sorted first."

    "Oh," Axel nodded in understanding. But¡­ he really had no idea when his birthday was and neither did he ever felt the need to know.

    Thankfully, Neville''s name was called at that moment, causing the subject to be dropped.

    Axel watched as the students got sorted one after another. Rose, Neville, Susan, Hannah, and Daphne all got sorted into the Houses they wanted.

    And soon, it was his turn.

    "HUNT, AXEL!"

    Axel paused. He came to know two things today. His birthdayes quitete in the year, and his surname is Hunt.

    ''Axel Hunt. Well, it''s at least better than Longbottom,'' he thought dryly as he made his way to the stool.

    As he sat, Mcgonagall put the hideous hat on top of his head. The system had assured him that the Hat can''t reveal his memories to anyone.

    As for hiding his memories, it could at least hide the murder, torture, and system''s existence. Anything more would be suspicious. But Axel was not worried. The rest was stealing from assholes and defending himself in fights. There shouldn''t be any trouble.

    He heard the Hat''s voice in his head.

    ''Hm¡­ so what do we have here?''

    ''Put me in Ravenw,'' he thought.

    The hat ignored his words as it looked through his recent memories.

    The sorting hat works on a clear-cut algorithm. It usually doesn''t spend much time looking through a student''s head. Especially if the student has no potential and no background.

    Here''s what it saw as it took a cursory look in Axel''s mind.

    ''Hm¡­ you''re already stealing and injuring people at such a young age. No family background. Oh? And you can''t even move properly and do magic? WHAT?! My singing and my song were ''Horrendous''?! I spent a whole year preparing for that! Hmm...I know where you belong¡­''

    ''Wait¡ª''

    But the Hat had already made its decision.

    "SLYTHERIN!" Came his loud voice.

    Axel was stunned. Did he just get sorted into Slytherin?

    ''My background¡ª'' he tried protesting.

    ''Yes, I usually do not put orphans with no family background in Slytherin. But perhaps, staying there would help you learn to appreciate my songs better. I hope you have a pleasant stay at Slytherin. Now move along, little fe. My time is only for polite or talented wizards.'' "Next."

    And Professor Mcgonagall lifted the hat from his head at that moment, revealing his baffled face.

    Axel numbly got down from the stool and started to walk towards the Slytherin table. As he walked, a green snake insignia appeared on his cloak and his tie changed to green color, marking him forever a Slytherin.

    He turned back to look towards the Ravenw table, where he was supposed to get sorted, and saw Daphne. She was sitting with the bushy-haired girl and the purple-haired statuesque girl he had seen on the train.

    Then he looked at the Hufflepuff table, where Susan and Hannah were sitting together.

    Finally, he looked towards Rose, who was sitting with Neville. She was looking at him with a questioning look while Neville was looking at him like he had caught the gue.

    The Sorting Hat had fucked him over.

    He looked towards the hateful hat and saw an imaginary pair of ck Sunsses on its eyes and a cigarette in its mouth. It was certainly living the thug life.

    He went to the table and sat with the rest of the first-year Slytherins.

    ''What the fuck system?! The basic information in my head said I had a choice!''

    [People usually do have a choice, Axel. But it''s not absolute. The basic information didn''t contain the fact that the hat has an ego of its own and has authority over the final decision. Though things would have still worked out how you wanted, but you were just too unlucky that the Sorting Hat saw the worstbination of memories it could have in the basic sweep of your mind.]

    Axel sighed, ''Bad luck, huh? Why am I not surprised?'' he thought bitterly. If the goddess of luck existed, he might be her husband''s bastard child.

    ''What memories did it see?'' he asked the system, though he already had an idea.

    [It saw you not able to cast the basic magic after many tries, the fact that you are a cripple now, and you having no family background. This caused its interest to lessen since you would be a bottom dreg in any house and won''t have any major impact on the world. Therefore, it didn''t dig too deeply and only saw a few glimpses.]

    [In one memory, you were beating up people but it didn''t see that they were the primary offenders and deserved the beatings.]

    [In one memory, you were stealing something though it didn''t see that the person you were stealing from was a rich asshole.]

    [In one memory, it saw you getting annoyed by its song but it doesn''t know that you have a condition called Misophonia, which is a mental disorder triggered by certain annoying sounds. It''s usually caused by trauma.]

    [In one memory¡ª]

    ''Woah, woah, back the fuck up...'' he thought, interrupting the system.

    ''I have something like that? So other people were actually enjoying that thing?!''

    [No, not everyone. But no one was as annoyed as you and many also enjoyed it.] Replied System.

    While he was conversing with the system, someone called out to him from the side.

    "Your name is Axel, right?

    Axel turned to see that it was one of the girls who were sorted into Slytherin.

    The girl smiled at him.

    "Hi! My name is Pansy Parkinson. I''m a pureblood. Nice to meet you."

    "Likewise," he replied shortly.

    He could tell that he was supposed to tell his blood status as well but he didn''t know it either.

    Thankfully, the blond kid from earlier had attracted the attention of the girl, making Axel grateful.

    At this moment, thest of the students had been sorted and an old man at the high table had stood up. Axel guessed he must be the famous Albus Dumbledore.

    He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

    "Wee!" he said. "Wee to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

    "Thank you!"

    To Axel''s delight, the tes and goblets in front of him were now filled with huge amounts of food.

    ''Putting aside magic, I''d havee just for the food,'' he thought as he took his hands out of his robe pockets. Hiding them would be impossible anyways if he''s going to attend sses and eat here daily.

    "Why are your hands shaking and twitching like that?" And sure enough, someone asked him the expected question soon. He found that it was another girl. She was sorted right after him so he remembered her name. Tracy Davis.

    Axel shrugged. "It''s an injury. It''ll be healed soon," He said evasively. But Tracy''s words had attracted others'' attention.

    "What kind of injury was it?" Asked another boy in curiosity. Axel didn''t know his name but he was tall for his age with a thin frame.

    Draco Malfoy, who was sitting on the other side of the Pansy girl and had been hogging most of the limelight, was annoyed by this. Though he did find the idea of gaining attention by pretending to be injured somewhat appealing. He''ll try it in the future.

    He sneered, "Why are you getting fooled, Nott? He''s obviously lying. What kind of injury makes your hands like that?"

    Axel mentally sighed. How can he exin to these kids that when Cruciatus is cast on the body, as the region with most nerves on his body and the area which his magic didn''t seem necessary enough to protect, the nerves of his hands and fingertips were the most badly damaged?

    His shin, knee, and elbow being the other unimportant regions with a high number of nerves, were also constantly hurting. It was a miracle he was behaving normally right now and not crying and moaning like other people in his position would. And then someone has the audacity to say that he''s faking his injuries to get attention?

    Axel gave this blondy a deep look. This guy is going to pay someday. Axel has always had a nasty vindictive streak.

    But for now, he just focused on eating. Anyone with half a brain can tell he''s not pretending. Only an idiot would think he''s pretending. And he does not view these idiots as significant enough to exin himself.

    Pansy Parkinson turned to the blondy, "Draco, why did you have to say that? He can''t be pretending, can he? Look how difficult it is to eat food."

    This made blondy idiot even more annoyed but Axel had already reached his quota of social interactions for today. He ignored everyone for the rest of the meal.

    The Purebloods were still talking.

    "So, are the rumors true? The famous Mafia Princess is studying here?"

    "Yeah, I heard she''s a genius,"

    "Is that her?"

    "Yeah, I think that''s her. No one has the same appearance."

    "The Mafia Prodigy. I heard she could already cast wandlessly when she was 5."

    "Rumor has it that the products the Valentino Family is selling were invented by her."

    "But why would shee to Hogwarts? I don''t think she needs sses."

    Hearing their conversation got even Axel curious. He followed their gazes to see who they were talking about. It was the same purple-haired girl he''d seen talking with Hermione and Daphne.

    From what he gathered from their conversation, her name is Martina Valentino and she''s from the most powerful magical family of Italy and also a genius.

    ''Oi system, why didn''t you choose her?'' Asked Axel curiously.

    [Axel, there''s no information on her in the Records of this world. Further information on her is locked.]

    ''... The heck?''

    ****

    A.N.: Sorting to Slytherin isn''t a big deal. He''s not be making enemies left and right. He''ll deal with everything smartly. There is no one dangerous out to get him. And, he is not as weak as you are thinking. You''ll see. In short, there''s no bullying or suffering, you traumatized people who have read far too many bad novels. Those days are already over for our MC.

    Also, don''t forget that new features unlock when the approval rate reaches a threshold. So our MC is going to start gaining strength very soon. And whoever that girl is, OUR MC WILL BE SUPERIOR!!!

    Though she''ll and MC won''t need to fight since there''re on the same side.

    Need I repeat my previous words? Your fears are redundant.

    Please Vote for this novel with Your POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to Read Ahead and Support me, join me at Patre on!

    P /Snollygoster

    It has up to ch 19 currently

    Edit: On popr demand, it has been decided that the Hat will someday have to face the retribution for trying to mess with the MC. Thank meter ;-)

 Chapter 11: A Toad-like Woman

    Chapter 11: A Toad-like Woman

    Chapter 11: A Toad-like Woman

    Axel couldn''t understand the meaning of the system''s words.

    There were no records of the girl in this world? And further information was locked?

    ''What the hell does that mean?'' he asked.

    [It means that the system can''t give you any information on her at the moment. The system, like Akashic Records, is bound by thews of the world. The entity AR has managed to secure a business rtionship between us. Thus, many things can not be given to you unless you have the required approval rate or unless one of us pays a penalty orpletes a task of equivalent difficulty.]

    Axel nodded slowly,

    ''Is that why you can''t provide the information on ways to cure me?''

    [Affirmative.]

    Axel gave the purple-haired girl another look. Who the hell was she that this world doesn''t even have records on her and the information on her is locked?

    Well, whatever. Not his business. Delicious free food is the priority right now. Hmm¡­ can he take some back to his room?

    After the feast, Dumbledore stood up once again.

    "Now that you have been fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term announcements to make.

    "The staff remains the same except for the Defense Against Dark Arts. It will be taken by Professor Dolores Umbridge, who''s shown remarkable mastery of the subject in her interview. Let us all wee her."

    Axel saw that it was a woman in pink whose looks matched fairly well with a toad''s. The students seemed to have never heard of her, so they just gave her a polite apuse, to which the woman gave a sickly sweet smile that made Axel cringe.

    "And¡ª"

    "Hem-hem..."

    Dumbledore was going to make further announcements, but he stopped since Dolores Umbridge had stood up for some reason after clearing her throat.

    "Pardon me, headmaster. But I''d like to say a few words to the children on this asion," she said in a high-pitched voice that grated on Axel''s nerves.

    "Of course, of course... You''re most wee, Professor Umbridge," said Dumbledore magnanimously.

    "Hello, my children. As the headmaster said, I''m going to be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher from this year. But, that is not my main aim ofing here," she said and paused for the dramatic effect.

    "I''m here, to teach you things that''ll change your life and can change the world. I want to find capable children who are willing to be enlightened. So, let us all get along, heeehe," she said and let out a high-pitched fakeugh in the end before sitting down. There was a lukewarm apuse for her, since most students didn''t seem to share her passion.

    Though among the students, someone was much more reactive than everyone. It was Martina Valentino. She was looking at Umbridge with a frown, as if she was surprised and disgusted by her presence.

    After the apuse, Dumbledore went on,

    "Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for your kind words. Now, I have an important announcement to make, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor is a prohibited area. Students are not allowed to enter, unless they want to die a painful death."

    That got Axel''s attention. He was now feeling somewhat curious about what was inside. The old man shouldn''t have left it like a cliffhanger.

    Dumbledore made a few more announcements before it was time for the feast to end.

    "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" He said enthusiastically and Axel, who was rather tired and sleepy, suddenly jerked his head up.

    ''Wha-did-he-say??'' He thought, hoping it was not another song from the hat.

    But s, it turned out to be something worse.

    "Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

    And the school bellowed:

    "HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS, HOGGY WARTY HOGWARTS,

    TEACH US SOMETHING PLEASE,

    ¡­

    ¡­

    This thing made sorting hat''s loud and annoying sound tame inparison. It seems he''ll have to keep a set of earplugs during his stay here.

    ''Damn it, a warning would have been helpful,'' he thought as he pulled his hands off his ears which he''d covered in annoyance.

    Now that the feast was finally over, the first year Slytherins followed their prefect into the dungeons where the Slytherin dorms were located.

    While the other firsties had no idea where they were going, Axel made sure to memorize all the paths carefully. They all stopped in front of a bare stretch of stone wall in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle.

    "This is the Entrance to the Slytherinmon room," said the Prefect. "You need a password to enter¡ª Preservation."

    When he said the word, the wall parted with a low rumbling to show the Slytherin Common Room.

    Themon room was a dungeon-like room with greenishmps and chairs. This dungeon extended part way under theke, giving the light in the room a green tinge. Themon room had lots of low-backed ck and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas, skulls, and dark wood cupboards.

    The walls were decorated with tapestries that featured wizards wearing Slytherin robes. Even though it had quite a grand atmosphere, Axel felt quite out of ce here.

    Currently, the hugemon room was dimly lit with the many crystal balls levitating in mid-air. And it was filled with students.

    A tall blond-haired boy stepped out of the crowd. He had the head boy badge on his chest, indicating his position.

    Performing a noble courtesy, he addressed everyone,

    "Wee and wee back, everyone. To those who don''t know me, I am ric Malcolm, the head boy of Hogwarts," he said, his voice having a slight Russian ent.

    "Most of you already know, but just for the information, I''m a Pureblood from a pureblood family. The Malcolm family is an influential family of Russia. We branched out to Britain seven years ago."

    He then swept his gazes over the first years.

    "Before everyone goes to their dorms, I need to make some things clear, especially with our new members," he said as he rxed back into an armchair.

    "One," he said, raising his finger, "As everyone must have heard from many sources, anything that happens in Slytherin, stays in Slytherin. We will always present a strong and united front."

    "Second, Slytherin House has been winning the house cup for the past 7 years, and I intend to continue that. So, you all would do well to gain points, and if not then at least try not to lose them. Professor Snape will handle the rest," he said, adding thest part with a slight smirk.

    "Third, and the most important one," he said, sitting up straight. "As everyone is already aware, Britain has observed many changes in the past years," he said, taking out a mirror-like object that Andromeda also had used to emphasize the point.

    "While some changes are wee¡­ some are not. The mudbloods, who now call themselves ''Newbloods,'' have now started thinking themselves equal to us Purebloods. They are demanding equal rights! The audacity!"

    Many sneered at that, agreeing wholeheartedly with ric. "No," he said, shaking his head.

    "The Malcolm family came to Britain thinking of it as and of opportunities and old heritage. But it''s turning into a festering ground of mudbloods.

    "So, everyone should do well to not lose to mudbloods and... remind them of their ce from time to time."

    Many people began voicing their agreement on thest one, some sporting cruel smiles like the bulky-looking crooked teeth dude standing behind Malcolm like a bodyguard.

    Axel on the other hand was worried about his blood status. What the hell is he supposed to do here? It seems like there''s no muggle-born in here.

    Malcolm raised his hand to silence everyone,

    "So, now that we''re done with the basics, let''s get an intro of our new members. The name, Blood Status, and your family background. Just like how I introduced myself in the beginning.

    "Make sure not to lie since whatever you say can be confirmed easily. And, it would be better if you didn''t hide your background since your background will decide your treatment and standing in the House."

    ''Noooo!''

    Hearing the words Axel felt a sinking feeling all of a sudden. He had nned to remain lowkey and not reveal his family background to anyone. Even Andromeda, Rose, and the others didn''t know that he grew up in the muggle world and was most probably a muggle-born.

    When Andromeda had asked him, he had just said that he didn''t want to call anyone he knew and that he didn''t have parents.

    They just thought that his parents were dead. But like Rose and Susan, he had been raised by a wizarding family. How else would he have the knowledge toe to the Saint Mungo''s by himself along with the other basic knowledge if he was raised by muggles?

    But¡­ what was he supposed to do now that everyone has to reveal their blood status and family background?

    He was a guy who didn''t even know his full name until an hour ago. And now he''s supposed to tell his family background and blood status?

    He sighed in exasperation.

    Actually, Axel''s n wasn''t too bad. Usually, the first-year Slytherins don''t have to introduce themselves. But this year, the first year Slytherins have at least 5-6 prominent Pureblood Family Heirs that everyone knows about. And many other influential Pureblood Families from other countries or magicalmunities have also migrated to Britain or just sent their children to Hogwarts.

    Thus, ric Malcolm just wants to build connections with these kids so that they''ll be helpful to him in the future. Axel just happened to be unlucky enough to suffer from the coteral damage.

    "System, can I lie about my family? Will they find out?"

    [It''s not rmended, Axel. The mirror in his hand is a device with which he can ess information about most of the Pureblood families.]

    Axel was surprised.

    ''Really? What the heck is that device? Everyone seems to have it," He asked curiously. Even Rose and the others each had one and they had spent most of the time of their train ride together ying something with it and he''d seen it being sold in many shops.

    [It''s called a Magi-Mirror. It is a device that has beenplexly enchanted to perform a multitude of tasks. The wizards have made their own version of the Inte which they call the Magi-hive. Anyone can search the information you provide through the Magi-hive using that device.]

    Axel shook his head. He shouldn''t get side-tracked. Currently, the main question is¡ªwhat the fuck is he supposed to do right now?

    Upon being asked for an introduction, the arrogant blondy from earlier pompously strutted forward.

    "I am Draco Malfoy. I''m a pureblood with direct rtion with the ck family. And the Malfoy family is a rich and influential Pureblood family," he announced proudly.

    While some were impressed, Axel only felt disdain at how these people were being all proud and arrogant at having something they never had to work for.

    After listening to the very unreasonable words the Malcolm guy said and observing the attitude of these people, a deep sense of disdain and contempt had developed in his mind.

    He doesn''t want to be a part of this house.

    While the others were introducing themselves, he quietly slipped out of the first years and mixed in among the other Slytherins. With the skills he''d picked up, this much was easy to him, even when he was a cripple.

    There were about 50 students that were sorted into Slytherin this year. No one paid attention when he didn''t introduce himself.

    After the introductions were over, and when the first years were being taken to their dorms, Axel joined the others, though he still made sure to keep his presence low.

    Unfortunately, someone did actually see him.

    "Hey, Axel! Where did you vanish during the introductions?" Came a girl''s annoying voice.

    Pausing in his steps, he ground his teeth to suppress the urge to punch whoever had asked that.

    It turned out to be the Pansy girl. And when she had asked that, several people also heard it.

    Unfortunately, that Malfoy boy had also heard it.

    "Yeah, you didn''t introduce yourself," he eximed. "Why did you not do it? Are you a half-blood? A Weasley? Don''t tell me you''re a mudblood?"

    Draco Malfoy didn''t really care whether he was Weasley or a mud-blood. He was just jealous that Axel''s appearance and temperament were much more attention-grabbing than his.

    Axel frowned. He''d not said a word to this guy up to now. But the guy was repeatedly attacking him for no apparent reason at all.

    Axel was not a monk and his patience was not infinite.

    "You should ask that to your mother, blondy," he said ndly.

    *Gasp*

    Many people around them heard his reply and some people like Pansy gasped while some sniggered. Axel didn''t pay attention to any of them as he moved on.

    In Slytherin, everyone had a room for themselves and when they were sorted, their luggage had been transported to their rooms by the House-elves.

    Axel walked along the doors and quickly found a door with his name written on it.

    Malfoy, who was too stunned to speak for a few moments, finally came to his senses.

    "You! You mudblood! I''m sure you don''t have any family background! You think you can get away with this?¡ª"

    But Axel was not in any mood to listen to his threats. He entered his room and shut the door behind him.

    He examined his room. It was a big room, mostly decorated in green and silver. There was a soft bed, a study table, a wardrobe, and some other misceneous furniture. He found his bag lying on the bed.

    It was the first time he was going to have a room of his own. He hadn''t slept on a bed for three years and the one at the orphanage was a bunk bed with springs sticking out of the mattress. Not a soft andfortable one like this one.

    Too bad he was never going to be able to sleep on it.

    Yeah, when he was in themon room, he had already decided that he was not going to stay in this ce. The people here were all bigoted idiots and every second he stays here, he''s going to be in more danger.

    He''s already made one enemy in just a few hours. And he''s not sure how many he''ll make if he stays any longer. Currently, he''s not in the right condition to fight¡­ in any way. Be it physically, magically, or in terms of background.

    It''s just fortunate that he at least has his wits about him. Otherwise, he''d have just decided to stay here and then humiliatingly gotten kicked out one day after being bullied one-sidedly.

    Why not leave on his own terms instead of leaving after suffering the inevitable suffering that was waiting for him here?

    The only regret was¡­

    "I thought I''d at least get to sleep in the bed for one day before I left," hemented while looking at the very inviting bed.

    But with the blondy''s and Pantsy''s help, there''s no guarantee that someone among these arrogant people won''te to disturb him at night. Due to magic, locks are useless.

    If anyonees, he''s not confident he can defend himself without killing or maiming anyone. And that''ll just bring more trouble and enemies.

    He is not going to let anyone bully him.

    Thus, after an hour of wait, giving ast nce at the room, he left the Slytherin dorms for good with his backpack sling over his shoulders.

    ****

    A.N.: As stated, no bullying. Let Axel teach you how to escape bullying without having to submit to anyone. Also, how did Umbridge get here?!

    there''s info on the mysterious girl in the next chapter

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    Edit: Damn, I know it''s temporary, But were on #3. !!! ??

 Chapter 12: The encounter with the Mafia Prodigy

    Chapter 12: The encounter with the Mafia Prodigy

    Martina Valentino, the beautiful girl with purple hair and violet soul-stealing eyes, walked through the halls of Hogwarts under a disillusionment charm.

    In her previous life, she was a genius, but also, a shut-in geek with no social life to speak of. At the time when the worst pandemic struck her world in 2030, it made the previous one look quite tame inparison. Scientists were unable to find any cure.

    Through some luck and a lot of hard work, she was somehow able to make a vine that could save millions of lives.

    But, the capitalists of her country prohibited her from revealing the form to anyone. Money and power were somehow the priority for them. With hundreds of thousands of people dying all over the world, she had argued with them to prioritize the lives of the people first.

    It was toote when she realized she shouldn''t have done that. She found out that she was going to be silenced. She was already under strict monitoring, to begin with. There was no escape. They had made these ns from the moment she had revealed her research to them.

    Thest thing she did was leak the form all over the inte. She couldn''t even confirm whether she seeded or not before she died.

    The next thing she knew, she met a god who said her actions had saved millions and she was given a wish.

    Of course, she chose reincarnation in the Harry Potter world.

    The god had said some warnings like the world would be different and dangerous or to choose another wish etc. But she hadn''t paid any attention to that. She had just wanted to do magic and experience Hogwarts life.

    Only after being reincarnated did she realize what God had meant by "different". This world was different for sure.

    So different that there was no Harry Potter in this world.

    No, seriously: WTF?!

    After oveing her surprise, she realized that her starting conditions were excellent and she even had a few ''cheats'' or ''golden fingers'' characteristic to reincarnators.

    Thus, she decided to live her life to the fullest with magic. She was reborn in a very wealthy and loving family which mattered a lot to someone like her who was an orphan previously.

    After rebirth, she finally got a chance to enjoy her childhood and also got to experiment with magic. She made a few things for her family business too so that they stop focusing so much on their more... violent businesses.

    Her school was, of course, going to be Hogwarts. Where else would she choose? She wanted to meet all the characters.

    Her favorite character was Hermione since she could rte to her a lot. And she was heavily disappointed when the brilliant girl ended up with Ron in the seventh part.

    Today, in her third year at Hogwarts, she finally did meet Hermione, along with many other characters, but as expected, many things are different. Like, what the Hell is that Umbitch doing here?! And Dumbledore said she was actuallypetent?! Did that bitch learn magic in this world or Does she have a Voldemort sticking to her body?

    ''For heaven''s sake, where is Voldemort''s wraith in the first ce?! Quirell is still teaching muggle studies with no turban and a head full of healthy hair!'' She thought in exasperation.

    Currently, she was once again walking through the corridors of Hogwarts after curfew, doing her routine exploring.

    She was in half the mood to go to the third-floor corridor since clearing an obstacle course sounded quite fun. It was built for children anyways. She also wanted to pet Fluffy, if he was still the first obstacle in this world.

    While walking under her invisibility, she almost got a jump scare when someone suddenly walked by her.

    ''What in the¡ª?''

    She quickly turned around to investigate. She could barely make out the silhouette of a boy walking through the shadows. He had a hood on, covering his hair, and his face was covered too.

    He was just walking with a slight limp in each step and without any hiding spell cast on him and yet, she found herself losing sight of him from time to time.

    "???"

    Martina couldn''t understand whether her eyes were ying tricks on her or the boy had some kind of magic cast on himself.

    She turned around and decided to follow him since she had nothing to do anyway. She currently had one invisibility and one Silencing Charm on her so she just casually walked while following him to see what this first year was up to.

    Just as they reached the corner, she saw him suddenly disappear.

    "??!!"

    In the next moment, she heard sounds of footsteps as a Hufflepuff prefect soon emerged from the corner.

    When the prefect had walked far away, she saw something beside the Suit of Armor move and his silhouette once again became visible, Martina also saw his amber-colored eyes which seemed to glow in the dark.

    ''He was using his cloak as a camouge!'' She realized. And it was so well executed that he disappeared right before her eyes!

    ''Hey! Wasn''t that a ninja technique?!'' She murmured to herself.

    Are all eleven years olds like this these days?

    As she followed him, she saw him suddenly pause for a moment, making her wonder if someone wasing again. But then, he broke into a run!

    ''What the hell?!'' She thought as she quickly gave chase.

    It looked like he was struggling quite a lot as there was a limp in each of his steps, but he didn''t stop and took a turn to another corridor, disappearing from her sight.

    Half running, she followed him in a hurry and turned took the turn¡ª

    "Aaah!"

    And tripped when something suddenly got caught in her legs.

    By the time she got up, he was gone.

    ****

    Axel breathed a sigh of relief as he finally got rid of his follower. He wasn''t actually sure if anyone was following him, but since the system said, he had believed it and got rid of them as soon as he got the chance.

    He didn''t do anything more since that''d get him into trouble and he also didn''t know who the other party was. It could''ve been just an innocent student under an invisibility cloak.

    [That was brilliant, Axel. You get 1% approval for that. Total=8%]

    Axel frowned,

    ''Was it someone dangerous?''

    [That is unclear at the moment. Unlike AR, the System''s knowledge is limited to people of this world. It doesn''t have permission to ess that person''s information. That person is under the jurisdiction of another entity.]

    Axel realized who his follower was after connecting the dots. There was only one student who had such a description.

    ''It was that purple-haired girl, right? So, she''s under the jurisdiction of another entity, right? Hm¡­ so that''s why you didn''t choose her.''

    [Affirmative. AR hasn''t taken her presence into consideration in any of the future events. She''s a variable that can either be an ally or another enemy to be eliminated, hence the warning]

    Axel nodded, but then paused since he had another doubt.

    ''Wait, but didn''t you say that the Akashic Records is an entity that has the records of the past, present, and future of the worlds? Then why does it not already know how things will turn out?'' He asked in confusion.

    [That is only the case if there''s no outside interference. The future is now unclear after the arrival of that girl into this world and your acquisition of the system.]

    ''Alright, I got it. AR is just ying a gamble,'' thought Axel as he walked along the winding corridors of Hogwarts.

    ''Now let''s focus on finding me a ce to stay,'' With that, he began to look through the corridors in search of a ce to stay.

    While walking alone along the dark corridors, it suddenly urred to him that nothing seemed to have changed yet. He was still as homeless as he was 3 years ago when he was kicked out of the orphanage.

    ''At least I left by choice this time,'' was his only constion to keep his fragile pride and dignity intact.

    ***

    The next day, Axel woke up in an abandoned ss that was near Slytherin dorms.

    He was tiredst night so he decided to postpone trying to find an ideal location. Thus, he just cleared a ce in this abandoned ssroom, locked the door, set some bells on it, and crashed here after taking out his sleeping bag from his backpack.

    The backpack he had was, of course, enchanted with a space extension charm and a permanent feather-light charm.

    The enthusiastic muggle-born shopkeeper had exined to him that a decade ago, most people used to use heavy metal trunks with an almost negligent feather-light charm on them.

    The enchanted ones were just too expensive and still quite heavy.

    But after the economic evolution, half-bloods and muggleborns were able to buy or rentnd in the Diagon Alley. And trunks with new designs, better enchantments, and cheap costs were allowed to be sold without having their shops stormed or banned under some sillyw.

    And Axel was quite grateful for that. Otherwise, he''d have been lugging a heavy trunk instead of this light and handy backpack with his aching body. He can even take this to his sses.

    It was a bit expensive, but as far as he could see, it was money well spent.

    Walking out of the ssroom, he went to a boys'' bathroom, took a shower, and then went to the great hall for breakfast.

    It was already quitete and all the tables were filled with students. Axel sat at the furthest corner of the Slytherin table, where no one was sitting.

    While he was eating, a prefect came and ced a piece of paper in front of him.He had several sets of papers in his hands.

    "It''s the first-year timetable," he said before leaving.

    Axel picked up the piece of paper and looked through it. Along with his timetable, it also contained a basic description of other subjects taught at Hogwarts.

    "Transfiguration, Charms, Flying, DADA, Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy."

    These were thepulsory subjects. Additionally, there were a lot of other subjects you could take as well. They could be taken as an elective by him, while some had an age restriction due to their advanced level.

    "Dueling, Alchemy, Enchanting, Ancient Runes, MagiZoology, Arithmancy, Music, Politics, MagicalScience, Healing, etc."

    Axel sighed as he looked at the list of optional subjects which seemed to go on forever. Enchanting, Healing, and Alchemy, which all seemed interesting, weren''t avable to him this year. Thankfully, dueling was a subject avable for all years.

    ''Hey system, howe there are so many subjects here?'' He asked in surprise.

    [A decade ago, there used to be fewer subjects. It has undergone a lot of changes after that.]

    ''Really? Can you exin in more detail?'''' Asked Axel curiously.

    [Due to the wars and inbreeding, there weren''t enough students to attend other subjects and the school couldn''t afford more teachers as well. Thus, many subjects were removed.

    However, now that the student poption of Hogwarts has surged exponentially due to many magical families of all blood statuses migrating or sending their children out of their country to study here, and the funding from the ministry has increased. Hogwarts is slowly returning to its former glory and even surpassing it in some areas.]

    ''...Well, I''ll be damned, this has changed as well.'' thought Axel as a certain crazy woman popped into his head. No matter how much he hated her, he had to admit that she was one hell of a minister. She''s changed everything in just one decade.

    That kinda makes it worse. He wouldn''t have been bothered at all if an ipetent and dumb person thought so low of him.

    Axel clenched his crippled fists tightly.

    ''I''ll definitely prove that bitch wrong,'' he vowed. ''One day, I''ll make her look just as weak and pathetic in front of me as I felt in front of her.''

    *****

    A.N.: As you just saw, reincarnators are overrated. They''re awfully inexperienced and don''t take the situations seriously. Wasn''t she almost taken out with just a crippled Axel? A true mc is someone who knows how to use his strengths.

    Please vote with POWERSTONES if you''re looking forward to the future chapters. We were #3 or #4 yesterday but I''m te in updating today, so...let''s see.

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 Chapter 13: She is Faint of Heart

    Chapter 13: She is Faint of Heart

    (This fic is also being posted on Scribble hub or FanFiction, those who can''t read here anymore due to the recent update can follow this fic there.)

    Betrix ck was lying in an empty room in a miserable state. Her usually beautiful and picture perfect face looked pale and haggard. Her clothes were disheveled, which was never before seen in always prim, proper and beautiful Minister of Magic.

    She numbly looked at the report that had been sent to her Magi-Mirror. It was just the names and houses of all the students sorted this year.

    Axel Hunt: Slytherin

    He''s in Slytherin, with no family background, with a crippled body, and unable to do magic.

    If even she was this harsh to him for no reason at all. Understandably, he''ll be suffering a lot during his stay there.

    *CRACK*

    The device fell from her hand, causing its screen to crack, but she didn''t pay it any mind.

    Hunt. Axel Hunt. Tristan Hunt. Could she deny the truth any longer? The pendant, the uncanny resemnce, and now the same surname.

    3 life debts.

    That, plus being able to escape her fate of being a trophy wife of a death eater, and learning so many things that today that she''s able to be the most powerful woman in Britain and probably the most powerful woman in the world. That''s exactly how much she owed him.

    That was all 15 years ago. After helping her through her situation, he had to leave since there were people chasing after him.

    Left alone and not wanting to go to Britain where her parents had sold her to death eaters, Betrix toured the whole world for years after that. With her changed perspective thanks to that man, everything felt different to her. She was able to see the world without prejudice.

    When she finally returned to Britain after years, she found out that everything had changed.

    Andi, who was banished from the family after running away from home and marrying a muggle-born, was having a tough time raising her daughter and paying for her deranged husband''s treatment.

    Meanwhile, Siri was in jail, used of being a mass murderer and a supporter of Voldemort. And every other ck was dead. Except for Cissy who''d not bother to care for anyone. She disappointed her the most.

    Betrix, who had changed by then due to the man who used to say ''familyes first,'' decided to fight for her remaining family. She became Lady ck, reinstated Andromeda as a ck Family member, and invited her to live with her once again.

    After that, she became the Minister of Magic and got Sirius a trial. With her life settled, she got to the reason behind her running for the Minister of magic.

    To find Tristan Hunt and also help him out. The people who were after him were quite the mysterious bunch.

    Tristan used to be a part of them at one point until one day, he realized their true goals and ran away with something.

    After searching for him with all the resources, imagine her surprise when she found out that Tristan was already dead! That had felt like the end of the world for her.

    At that time, she spent a lot of time in bereavement. And at this time, her family supported her a lot. She grieved until one day, she realized that even if he was dead, there were things she could do for him.

    His idealistic views, his wishes, and his brilliance could still be retained in this world through her. And most importantly, she could still take revenge on the people who were after him.

    After that day, almost a decade has passed and she settled her actions during this time ording to a priority list.

    Tristan >>>>>>>>Family > Making the country powerful enough to find out about Tristan''s mysterious enemies and destroy them > Making the world a better ce since Tristan wanted it so.

    If anyone messes with this priority, she''ll not hesitate to destroy that person.

    Now, Axel had something that her family wanted. That''s second on her list. Thus, she dealt with the situation without caring about hurting the feelings of an insignificant nobody.

    That was until she saw the pendant! It looked exactly the same as Tristan! From that point on, until now, she had been in denial. She kept thinking that he must be someone else.

    Cause if he wasn''t, the meaning of her actions was too horrible to think about.

    The words she had said to him kept ringing in her mind. Such horrible words¡­ They shouldn''t be said to another human being, let alone to the son of the person to whom she owed her everything, and more.

    But she can''t deny it anymore. She has to ept that he is indeed the son of Tristan Hunt.

    That Tristan, who used to say familyes first and tell her that she should love hers.

    His son has had to live on the streets, unloved and struggling for food.

    That Tristan, who was an honest and honorable man. Someone who even managed to change the evil her into someone a little better.

    His son has had to learn stealing from people.

    That Tristan, who couldn''t even watch a stranger suffering.

    His son has had multiple injuries growing up, got tortured by the unforgivable Cruciatus curse, and is now crippled for life.

    That Tristan, who helped her so much for her without asking for anything in return. Who always made sure not to be too harsh even while scolding her.

    She said such harsh words to his child that they shouldn''t even be said to enemies.

    While the poor boy had always struggled hard for wealth, she had called him poor. While he had tried to be someone powerful, she had called him an insignificant nobody. While the boy trusted someone for the first time, she had broken that trust in pieces. While the boy had happiness and hope in his life for the first time, she had thoroughly crushed them without mercy.

    She picked up her wand.

    With all the things epted, there was only one thing in her mind right now. And that is:

    A bitch like her deserves to be punished.

    ****

    -AXEL-

    At the breakfast table, Axel folded his timetable and pocketed it. He had Transfiguration the first thing today. While he was eating, the Owl posts had arrived, dropping a few newspapers and a few letters. Most only had parcels.

    After Magi-Mirror technology was introduced into Britain, most people who can afford it would read the news andmunicate with people through it.

    Though, there was no parcel system developed in Britain yet. So people were still dependent on owls for that one. Or rather, the Ministery didn''t allow that technology into Britain yet, or the hundreds of thousands of owls hatched and trained through a lot of resources would suddenly be useless. Some developed magical countries had better alternatives.

    At this moment, a huge pitch-ck owl carrying a parcel swooped into the Great Hall, attracting a lot of attention. Most of the people recognized the owl in an instant.

    This breed of owls was only used by the ck family. And since it was from the ck family, they assumed it was for Rose, who has been adopted by the cks. But to everyone''s surprise, the owlnded in front of Axel.

    Axel looked at the owl in front of him with a frown. Aftering out of the Leaky Cauldron, he had canceled the custom order of his clothes from Madam Malkin''s. So he shouldn''t be getting any parcels right now.

    He checked the details written on it and found that it was indeed addressed to his name. Is there any other Axel hunt here?

    ''The sender¡­ Andromeda Tonk?''

    Axel''s good mood instantly soured. Why can''t this woman just leave him alone?

    Opening it, he found a letter and an expensive-looking wallet inside.

    "Dear Axel,

    I did the rest of the shopping for you. I would have sent it earlier with Rose but your custom clothes weren''t ready at that time. Did you cancel it? They hadter called me to confirm and I denied it.

    Also, congrattions on your sorting to Slytherin! Though I am not really sure about your family background. You never told me. And why was Hogwarts staffing to help you with your shopping? Is there really no one to take care of you?

    Anyways, I saw the memory. I never knew Cyrus Greengrass was such a sick and deranged person! You have the strongest will I have ever seen in my ten years as a mind healer. I am d the man is dead.

    I was so furious when I found out that my sister has got your memories! I don''t know exactly how my sister got them, but I''d like to ask for your forgiveness for whatever she did. Be has never been a polite person, nor a patient one.

    She did say you gave it voluntarily, but then I don''t know why you left. Can you tell me exactly what happened? Be hasn''te home ever since. A lot of problems are cropping up after her sudden and unexined disappearance. She isn''t replying to any of the calls. The Aurors are going to start investigating very soon.

    Anxiously waiting for your reply!

    Andromeda"

    ****

    Axel crumpled the piece of parchment in anger. These people just wouldn''t let him off! If that bitch Minister wasn''t found soon, the Aurors would start investigating! And as thest person who was alone with her, he''d likely be the first person to be suspected.

    Even if they consider the fact he was just a crippled child, they''d at least question him, and probably take his memories as well.

    He doesn''t know how it works in the Magical world, but does know that police do know how to make people talk. And those methods are not pleasant. He''s had first-hand treatment. Those people were merciless even to a child.

    Axel opened the ck leather wallet to realize that it was a lot bigger from the inside. Bigger than the space in his backpack.

    It had all the equipment, books, and other things on the shopping list and more. Axel didn''t even give them a second nce before closing the wallet and putting it in his backpack.

    The way he saw it, these things were just a hoax. The main reason was that she was just worried about her dear sister. As Betrix had said, this much was just chump change to their coffers.

    When he looked up, he was surprised to see most of the students looking at him for some reason. Even some professors.

    ''Well, I''m fucked, aren''t I?'' He realized. Thest thing he wanted was attention. Attention would lead to curiosity and curiosity would lead to people investigating his background and history.

    If this was still not enough attention, the girl who lived herself came to stand behind him along with Neville. She could recognize that owl from a mile away. Its name was Ater.

    "What was it?" She asked Axel as the owl flew over to settle on her shoulder.

    "Why are you here?" Axel asked her instead.

    She showed her timetable.

    "We have Transfiguration together. I was wondering if you''d like toe along."

    He was about to deny it but when he looked at the curious students, he sighed. They had heard her invitation already. He couldn''t deny it. This wasn''t a question since he wasn''t given a choice.

    "Lead the way," he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

    "So¡­" began Rose as they exited the Great Hall. "You still haven''t answered what Ater came to deliver."

    Axel shrugged, "Just some shopping items. Your Aunt Andromeda was asking if I knew where your Aunt Be was."

    "So? Do you know anything?" Asked Rose, almost too quickly.

    Axel sighed inwardly. He already knew that she already knew. She''s not too good at acting.

    Axel looked at her like she was an idiot.

    "I don''t know,"

    Rose looked at him dubiously.

    "Really? Are you sure? She didn''t look fine after she came back."

    Axel stopped walking for a second. He could see a noticeable change in her attitude from yesterday. Until Sorting, her tone was friendly and gentle. But right after he was sorted into Slytherin, she has been looking at him differently. And her tone has also changed noticeably.

    He never expected anything more from her, to begin with. He returned the favor in kind.

    "Miss Potter, let me assure you, I don''t know anything. I have never met your aunt before and I''m just a cripple who can''t even do magic. Is there any way for me to know?" He asked coldly before leaving the two behind.

    Neville snorted,

    "See? He''s already showing his Slytherin colors, isn''t he? I told you yesterday. Most Slytherins are evil. Gran and Dad and Uncle Sirius also say the same thing."

    Rose shook her head with a guilty look,

    "But he did have a point. Why did I even bother asking?" She was just worried for her aunt. The private forces were already moving, trying to locate her.

    After all the previous attacks on the Minister in the past decade, they were also not wrong for worrying.

    ¡­

    Axel didn''t go to the ssroom first. Instead, he asked a student for directions to the owlery.

    There was a problem he needed to fix before doing anything else. Otherwise, he''ll have Aurorsing to Hogwarts for questioning very soon.

    He had thought he''d settle it after sses, but after Rose had confronted him, he realized that it is better to do it as soon as possible.

    He went into an empty broom closet and took out his wand.

    When he touched the wand, It gave a hum of vibration along with a spark.

    "Well, someone looks eager," he muttered. He was also eager to learn magic, but he had to do this first.

    Closing his eyes, and touching the tip to his head, he brought a silvery thread out of his head and stored it in a stic water bottle.

    The method to do this was included in the beginner lumency package and he was able to do it since it did not need magical skills but mind skills.

    "Damn, that actually worked," he muttered in slight disbelief. He was used to failing at magic by now.

    [Host, you are quite talented, actually. Have some patience. You''ll excel eventually.]

    ''Like I don''t know that,'' he thought while getting out. He was just worried that with his luck, he''ll be dead long before that happens.

    The shining silvery thread was the memory of his entire meeting with Betrix. Though it excluded the part of what exactly she saw in his memories. He excluded it since this could now be shown to the authorities in case Betrix really went missing and they wouldn''t know that he had an encounter with Cyrus Greengrass, a man who had been recently murdered.

    And, this memory would most likely also stop Andromeda from continuing her fake act of caring after knowing that her sister had already exposed her.

    He would have liked to add a note as well, but as expected, he can''t write anythingprehensible with his fingers so unsteady. He could only tear a slip containing Andromeda''s signature and stick it to the bottle.

    When he finally stepped into the Owlery while panting due to exertion, he stopped dead in his tracks.

    ?!

    There was a girl standing in front of the open space of the Owlery, looking at the scenery while gently stroking the plumage of an owl that was resting on her shoulder.

    He wouldn''t have bothered if it was any other girl, but it was the same girl who was following himst night.

    Martina didn''t feel like attending the ss right now, so she just skipped it. She had long realized that she can do a lot of things that others won''t be allowed to do. That included skipping sses as well.

    Though some teachers do tend to have her learn something challenging while they teach the other students. Sadly, potions wasn''t one of them.

    So she came to meet Rowlet, her dear owl. She had named her after the cute Pokemon Rowlet since the two looked quite simr.

    At this moment, Rowlet suddenly turned her head 180¡ã to look behind them. Turning around as well, she saw that it was a boy who was looking at her with surprise.

    Just as she was about to ignore him, she saw that his eyes looked familiar. As the boy turned around to find an owl, his figure ovepped with the person who had tripped herst night. Any other person wouldn''t have made the connection but she was a genius with monstrous intellect.

    ''So, it was this little guy here who did that, huh?'' She thought with a frown as she recalled how disgraceful it was when she fell t on the floor while running. Even her skirt had ridden up, showing the forbidden scenery! It was fortunate she was invisible at that moment, or she''d have straight up used her powers then and there.

    "Hey, you!" She called out to him, making him stop.

    Axel cursed under his breath when she called out to him.

    ''System, should I make a run for it?''

    [Calm down, Axel. There''s a 0.02% chance of you being able to run. System would rmend talking things out peacefully. The magical fluctuationsing from her are insanely high.]

    ''Damn. Talk about being unlucky,'' thought Axel as he slowly turned around to face her.

    He didn''t know what he was expecting, but he certainly didn''t expect her to just keep staring at him.

    [Host, she''s currently reading your mind.]

    Axel jumped in surprise.

    ''What?! But I didn''t even keep the eye-contact for more than a second! And howe I didn''t feel a thing.''

    [She''s at a surprisingly high level of Legilimency. She doesn''t need eye contact and you can''t detect it at your level.]

    Axel panicked,

    ''So what do I do now?!''

    [Don''t worry. It seems like she wouldn''tst long.]

    And sure enough, Axel saw her suddenly jerk back with a gasp.

    ''System, What happened? Did you block her?''

    [No, blocking her would have led to more trouble as you are not supposed to be able to block her. System simply concealed all the information about itself along with other sensitive information and threw out some of your bad memories to test her out. She didn''tst long. It seems that she is faint of heart.]

    *Gasp*

    Martina gasped as she retracted her Legilimancy probe. She just couldn''t watch it anymore!

    Like most reincarnators she had no qualms about casually entering people''s minds. She had just wanted to check what kind of person he was and how he knew someone was following him yesterday... and if he had gotten lucky and caught a glimpse by chance, but who would have thought that things will backfire on her again and she''ll be traumatized just by watching an eleven year old''s memories!

    How can someone live properly after experiencing all that?! Scratch that, how can someone be alive after suffering through all those beatings?!

    At this moment, she heard him call her, bringing her out of her state of shock. "Excuse me, did you have any business with me?"

    "No?"

    He didn''t wait for her reply and just went along on to find an owl to put the small transparent bottle in his hand into the owl''s pouch.

    As soon as he was done, Axel made a beeline for the exit before the stunned girl could do anything.

    ***

    A.N.: One of my biggest chapters. Give me POWERSTONES!

    oh... about being weak, look at the title of Chapter 15 on Pat reon.

    Come read ahead and support this novel on Pa tren!

    To the 90* supporters, Thanks for Support! It has motivated me to put in more effort!

    Part /Snollygostsr

 Chapter 14: An Angel?

    Chapter 14: An Angel?

    Chapter 14

    (posting on scribble hub soon)

    (Also on Fanfiction and Royalroad)

    Axel walked into arge ssroom that had at least 100 students at the moment. He had barely made it in time.

    There was a ck tabby cat on the table, staring at all the students with its yellow eyes.

    Axel went straight to thest table to sit and took out his transfiguration textbook along with his wand.

    "Woah!"

    "Blimey!"

    "Professor?!"

    The tabby cat turned out to be Professor Mcgonagall which kinda impressed Axel. He wondered what animal he''ll turn into, his excitement, however quickly died down. He''d been called a street rat too many times. He''s terrified that it''ll turn into reality.

    Mcgonagall ignored the surprised reaction of the students as she began the sses.

    "Wee to your very first ss of Transfiguration."

    "Transfiguration is a very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind, and as such, it is deemed very hard work. Especiallypared to Charms, which affords a muchrger margin for personal creativity. Also when transfiguring, it is important to make firm and decisive wand movements. Do not wiggle or twirl your wand unnecessarily, or the Transfiguration will certainly be unsessful."

    Axel instantly started to dislike the subject just by the description. But then, Mcgonagall, as if knowing what the students were thinking, pointed her wand at the desk which instantly turned into a pig.

    "Though, with experience and practice, you can do things with transfiguration that can help in infinite ways," she said, turning the desk into a few more things before turning it back into a chair.

    The students grew excited upon seeing the magic so she gave out a warning.

    "Transfiguration is some of the mostplex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my ss will leave and note back. You have been warned."

    Mcgonagall had the students write a lot ofplicated notes, none of which Axel could write with his crippled hand.

    There were a number of factors a wizard had to take into ount when carrying out Transfiguration spells. The intended transformation (t) was directly influenced by body weight (a), viciousness (v), wand power (w), concentration (c), and a fifth unknown variable (Z),

    Only after she was done exining did she allow the students to turn their matchsticks into needles.

    Axel frowned.

    [System, was Mcgonagall also considering these theories and thisplicated form during her transfiguration?]

    That was instant magic, with no precise wand waving, chanting, or calction.

    [No, Axel. After arge amount of practice, you can gain enough control over your magic that it simply listens to your will and executes it. Most of these forme and theories will be useless by then.]

    Axel frowned as he tried the spell following everything instructed by Mcgonagall. With his trembling hand, he couldn''t even perform

    the wand movement correctly.

    Not a single change happened to the matchstick.

    When he looked at Rose''s table, he saw that she had already changed hers into a silver pointed needle. Though he saw that most of the students were in a simr situation as him. Only those who had practiced with a wand before were able to do it.

    Axel shook his head.

    ''Nope, this won''t do,'' he thought. Just like in charms, wand movements are a no go for him.

    "Professor?" he called out, raising his hand.

    Mcgonagall, who was praising Rose, turned towards him.

    "Yes, Mr. Hunt?"

    Oh, so she did remember his name. Her lumency must be impressive. There were so many students.

    "Can I get more matchsticks?"

    "Yes, how many do you want?"

    "Ah¡­ about a hundred will do, ma''am,"

    "..?.."

    That got a few raised eyebrows, a few turned heads, and some snickers.

    Mcgonagall frowned, but she did humor the boy.

    "You are only allowed to use one at a time." She said, before sending out a box of matches to his desk.

    She remembers his name because the Master Healer Andromeda ck had personally sent a letter to her, requesting her to take care of Axel since he had recently suffered debilitating injuries which have rendered him unable to use magic and write his homework. Mcgonagall has also passed on the message to other teachers.

    Thus, just now when he made the weird request, she just let the boy have the matches if that''s what he wanted before turning her attention back to the other students.

    Axel, not knowing all this, thanked her before getting to work. This time, he skipped all theplicated stuff and straight up ordered the matchstick to turn into a needle while chanting the spell. He also made sure to shield his face with his other hand.

    *Puff*

    And he was right in doing so. The matchstick broke into pieces due to excessive magic. But he noticed that there were traces of silver in the splinters.

    Wand movements are there for directing and controlling the flow of your magic. Without them and with no practice, the magic is sshing colors on a canvas instead of painting with a brush.

    ''Alright, less output,'' thought Axel as he ignored the intense pain that was caused by using magic.

    This time, the match didn''t break into pieces right away, but the shape got disfigured and it still broke in the end.

    With every attempt, he''ll take observations and make changes to his magic. He was not blindly wasting matchsticks. He was getting better results with each broken stick.

    After about 20 tries, Axel was in a much worse condition. And his head was throbbing. But! He also had a somewhat passable silver needle in his hands. Meanwhile, the others who had never tried it were still struggling to make any changes using Mcgonagall''splicated method.

    [Very good, Axel. Transfiguration is supposed to be very difficultpared to charms. You managed to bring results using a practical approach thatplements your extreme mental talent.

    +1% approval. Total: 9%. A new system feature will be unlocked when you reach 10%]

    Axel didn''t pay much attention to the system. He''d be happy to ept whatever helpes from the system but he doesn''t want to be too dependent on it. The new feature might be good, but isn''t it useless right now?

    He decided to perfect this spell. He could feel his control over the magic getting stronger. He should practice on these matchsticks as much as possible since he''d not have many test subjects while practicing with a live animal or arger item.

    When it was approaching time to end the sses, Mcgonagall nced at the boy on thest bench once again.

    She was surprised to see a bunch of silver Needles lying on his desk, along with a number of splinters. He was clutching a handkerchief to his nose with one hand while practicing the spell with the other.

    She frowned. Something was not right. When she walked closer and observed closely, her shock intensified by several folds.

    The first thing she noticed was, that his condition wasn''t good at all! Bloodshot eyes, with traces of blood on the handkerchief, and veins on his trembling hands and forehead were popping out.

    The second thing that surprised her was, that the boy wasn''t making any wand movements while performing the spell. He was only chanting the incantation. And the matchstick was slowly turning into a silver needle!

    "Mr. Hunt, stop it this instant!" She ordered.

    Axel stopped for a moment to look up.

    "Yes Professor?" He asked in confusion.

    Mcgonagall''s lips formed a hard line as she sternly looked at him.

    "I was under the impression that you are suffering from debilitating injuries and are unable to perform magic until treated?"

    Axel frowned.

    ''What the heck? How did she know?!''

    He shook his head.

    "I don''t remember mentioning this to anyone, Professor. I am injured, yes. But I can still learn magic. It''s just a bit harder for me," he answered, trying to downy it.

    "...A bit harder?" Repeated Mcgonagall, giving him a once over. She pulled off his handkerchief which was covered in blood from the other side.

    "Clearly, it''s more than a ''bit harder'' for you, Mr. Hunt. No more magic for the rest of the ss."

    Axel considered exining to this woman that he was in fact fine. But decided against it. He knew her kind. She''ll ignore him like a girl ignoring her ex.

    Putting on a reluctant expression, he said,

    "Yes Professor, I won''t,"

    ''¡ªlet you catch me,'' he added in his mind in a deadpan. Like hell anyone can stop him from learning magic. With his skills, it''s just a minor inconvenience.

    But he''ll have to get formal proof from the healer here stating that there was no harm.

    Seeing the obedient boy, Mcgonagall''s eyes softened.

    "That being said. You put in a tremendous amount of effort and managed to learn the spell while a certified master Healer said it will be impossible for you to cast magic. 10 point to Slytherin," she said, and Axel could have sworn he saw reluctance in her expression.

    Anyone a few years older would have been shocked silly witnessing this event. Mcgonagall, awarding 10 points straight to a Slytherin?

    Now that''s something you don''t get to see often.

    Axel nodded and thanked her. But in actuality, he couldn''t care less about some silly house points. Especially for Slytherin. He''d rather Slytherinest in the House Cup.

    On the other hand, Draco Malfoy, who was still unsessful in turning his matchstick into a needle gritted his teeth while ring at Axel.

    Axel spent the rest of the ss practicing as well. Of course, Mcgonagall didn''t catch any abnormalities this time.

    Flitwick''s ss turned out to be much better since he could practice freely there after taking a back seat while hiding from the diminutive professor. Susan had invited him to sit with her but he had refused since she was sitting in the front. Plus, Hannah didn''t seem too eager to sit him.

    Defense Against the Dark Arts though¡­

    Axel had arrived early and imed his back seat. What he didn''t expect was someone to actuallye and sit beside him.

    ???

    Axel looked at Daphne in surprise. He had noticed that most of the students from other houses would avoid a Slytherin. Even Rose and Susan''s treatment of him had subtly changed. So, he wasn''t expecting her of all people toe and sit beside him.

    "Don''t look so surprised. I was nning on getting some sleep so I came here. My friends refused to sit in the back seat so they are in the front," she said, pointing at a few Ravenw girls.

    The meaning of her words was clear: I''m not a loner like you, bruh.''

    "I need you to inform me if that womanes here or looks our way."

    Axel raised his eyebrows.

    "You''re not going to try learning?"

    Daphne shook her head.

    "I have already covered the first-year sybus. My ''father'' made sure of that," she said, injecting the word father with a lot of venom.

    The corner of Axel''s mouth tugged upward.

    "Your father must have been a great Asshole," he said with a smirk. After all, he had first-hand experience. It felt good to curse someone''s father right to their face without worrying about the consequences.

    Daphne''s mouth opened in surprise upon hearing the crass word, but she realized that it was indeed an apt description of that man. She nodded.

    "Yes¡­ he indeed¡­ an... a-asshole," she said, saying the word for the first time. It felt¡­ liberating. That man had forbidden her from doing anything udylike.

    Axel smiled for real this time. She sounded so innocent saying the word for the first time. It was like he was corrupting an innocent little child.

    This was turning out to be an interesting conversation.

    Daphne continued, the subject of her father''s death being a really refreshing subject.

    "When I realized that he was dead, I smiled a real smile for the first time in a long time! Same with mum. Really, the person who killed him must be an angel..."

    ''Hm?....Hahahahaha!''

    Axel almostughed out loud.

    "Yeah¡­ I am sure. He must have been chosen by the god," he said, nodding in amusement.

    While it was Daphne''s first time using a bad word, it was Axel''s first time having an enjoyable conversation with someone.

    But, as interesting as their conversation was, it had to be cut short since a toad-like woman in pink had made her way behind the front desk.

    "Well, good afternoon!" she said when finally the whole ss had settled down.

    A few people mumbled "Good afternoon," in reply.

    "Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "That won''t do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply ''Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.'' One more time, please. Good afternoon, ss!"

    "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back at her.

    "There, now," said Professor Umbridge sweetly. "That wasn''t too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

    The first thing the woman did after entering was this?

    The first years weren''t all too sensible and polite. One of the Slytherins asked the question in everyone''s mind.

    "We won''t be using the wand?" Asked Draco Malfoy in dissatisfaction.

    Umbridge gave him her characteristic creepy smile,

    "What is your name, dear?"

    Malfoy puffed out his chest.

    "I''m Draco Malfoy. Pureblood heir to the Malfoy family," he said arrogantly.

    Umbridge smiled in approval.

    "Oh, a Pureblood, very good. You see, Draco, magic should only be taught to people who are worthy. Now, do you think everyone here is worthy?"

    Malfoy''s gaze swept over to some of the mudbloods he knew.

    "No," he said with a sneer. "Only¡ª

    "Very good!" Said Umbridge, cutting him off, "You see Draco, I have a lot of magic I can teach," she said, levitating the book in front of her with just a finger.

    "But, it''ll only be taught to the worthy! Meanwhile, in the ss, we''ll be covering all the basic sybus that you all will need to pass the exams," she said sweetly.

    Axel''s mood sank. He was somehow sure that he would not be among the so-called ''worthy'' people.

    [Host, you should stay wary of this woman. She has dark magical power hidden in her. It was undetectable until she used her magic just now. She can''t conceal it very well while using her magic.]

    Damn¡­ this woman¡­ he knew something was wrong with her from the very beginning. Her eyes give him the same chills he got from Daphne''s Dear Dark Daddy.

    [Nice instincts. They''ll help you live longer.]

    ''No shit, system.''

    Daphne frowned, no longer looking in the mood to sleep.

    "I don''t like this woman," she stated tly.

    Axel nodded, "You see it too?"

    Daphne looked at him in surprise.

    "What?" She asked.

    "Those eyes. She''s bad news. I wouldn''t rmend sleeping," Axel warned. It was none of his business really, but sitting beside her, he didn''t want to be implicated.

    Daphne''s eyes widened in surprise. She wanted to say something but Umbridge tutted everyone into silence as she began teaching everyone from the textbook.

    Axel realized that he wasn''t going to learn anything in that ss. So, he started practicing levitating under his desk.

    After this, it was dinner time but Axel didn''t directly go to the great hall. Instead, he first went to the library.

    He was already feeling lethargic from all the exertion but it''s not the first time he''s feeling like shit.

    He can count on his fingers how many times in thest three years he was feelingpletely fine with no injuries, no hunger, not freezing with cold, not feeling feverish, etc.

    Thus, he''s learned to stopining and just do it. While panting, he soldiered on to climb the stairs and walk the long corridors before finding the library.

    ''Oi, system. Rmend me some books on offensive magic and other useful magic which are good enough that I can actually learn from them,'' he ordered. If this thing can''t even help him this much, he''s straight up rejecting the whole saving the world thing.

    Thankfully, the system didn''t turn out to bepletely useless for once, and rmended to him some books which he had to dig out and pluck out from all kinds of ces in the library.

    He realized that these smartass students had hidden the good ones at ces where no one else would find them and these books had been hidden for god knows how long.

    Anyways, why is he borrowing the books?

    It''s because after attending these sses, he has realized that even with his crippled body, he is already getting ahead of what Mcgonagall and Flitwick are teaching the students.

    Which is nothing to be impressed about, considering the strength of his enemies.

    In fact, it''s quite funny and worrying how he is fretting about school bullies while he has to fight an army of creatures from another dimension along with the most powerful Darklord.

    Thus, he''s going to have to learn magic on his own, ahead of everyone else. He needs to gain strength quickly.

    ***

    A.N.: POWERSTONES! Whatever you are left with. Next Chapter title: Not Weak Anymore

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 Chapter 15: Not Weak Anymore

    Chapter 15: Not Weak Anymore

    Axel brought the books rmended by the system to the librarian for borrowing. Upon seeing the titles, thedy looked at him in pleasant surprise.

    She let him borrow the books and even thanked him for finding them.

    "Some of them have been hidden for centuries! I wouldn''t mind even if you borrow these for a year now!"

    Of course, Axel had to answer how he found them, to which he simply said,

    "You just have to find the best ces to hide them."

    With the books in his bag, Axel made his way back to the great hall for dinner.

    He took a seat alone at the furthest corner of the table, near the Professor''s table.

    He decided to check out the books he''d borrowed. While he was eating peacefully while reading one of the books, someone annoyingly disturbed him.

    "Hey, Hunt! I heard you were a cripple?" Asked Malfoy, purposefully making his voice loud so that others could hear it too.

    Axel mentally let out a sigh. This guy¡­ is starting to get on his nerves. Just a disimer, but those who get on his nerves don''t usually end well.

    Axel nodded, looking at him with a sympathetic look,

    "Yeah blondie, must have sucked right? Even a cripple is better than you at magic," he said, one hand holding a goblet while his face made a lopsided mocking expression.

    //Meme Leonardo De Caprio//

    There were some sniggers and catcalls from those who heard.

    That should have shut him up. Sadly, this guy was denser than Axel gave him credit for.

    "Oh, you think you''re better? Howughable!" He said, pulling his wand out.

    Axel didn''t look the least bit fazed.

    "Yeah, I think I am. At least I read the rules beforeing here and haven''t embarrassed my house in public,'' he said before ncing at the teacher''s table, where some of the teachers had their eyes on them.

    He had expected his Head of House professor Snape to take action, but the bastard just stared at them like he didn''t intend to do anything.

    ''Git,'' thought Axel. He had seen the same guy taking action against several Gryffindors this morning for the smallest of things.

    No matter, someone could match him in his pettiness, apparently.

    "Mr. Malfoy, it is against the rules to point your wand at a fellow student. 5 points from Slytherin," said Mcgonagall from her seat. Axel was sitting in the corner, being the closest to the teachers for a reason after all.

    Malfoy''s face was worth watching at that moment. And upon losing points, even the other Slytherins red at him. Pureblood or not, that WAS entirely his fault. He was like a Gryffindor while the other boy acted like a Slytherin should.

    Malfoy''s face turned purple as he red at Axel angrily.

    "You just meet me in the Dueling ss, Hunt. I''ll show who''s better then," he said before leaving.

    ''Dueling ss, huh?'' Axel had almost forgotten about it. It was tomorrow and it was held together for all the houses of the same year.

    He nced at the Professor who was going to teach them Dueling.

    It was a tall and athletic beautiful woman with blond hair and hazel eyes.

    Her name was Alice Longbottom, an ex-Auror and a famous duelist.

    Neville Longbottom doesn''t act so confident at Hogwarts for no reason. His mum teaches dueling at Hogwarts.

    Axel would have looked forward to the dueling ss, if he had a good background and a healthy body. But in his current state¡­ It''s going to be difficult. But, he still has to go. He knows nothing about magicalbat and the fights from now on are going to heavily involve magic.

    That night, the first thing he did after going to the Slytherin dorms was to change his door te with another door te containing a different name. This one was stuck to a room that was not upied by anyone. After that, he put his own door te in his bag and left the dorms for good.

    Though he could technically stay in another dorm as well, but it''s not worth it staying at this ce longer. The people here are very punchable and his crippled hands have been itching for a while. Malfoy''s already after him and retaliating openly will attract attention and curiosity to his background.

    Now that he has no room to his name in this huge dorm, no one would find out that he never stayed in his room. There are so many rooms and they''d never even find his name. This is in case someone like Malfoy tried to ambush him at night, only to find that he was not in his room. Then they canin that he''s been breaking the curfew.

    Now, he won''t bother showing up here at all. There''s so many students that even he can''t tell whether any of them areing to the dorm every night or not.

    With things sorted out, he had officially left the Slytherin dorms. Somehow, he felt much morefortable now. Maybe he''s used to being homeless now. Now he can stay wherever he wants in this castle.

    Right now, even though he was dead tired, he decided to practice some magic and lumency first. Being tired is no excuse. If you can do it without suffering any consequences, then you''re just beingzy. It also helps that he has a genuine drive to learn magic.

    While navigating between his sses today, he had also been scouting for locations to practice magic and sleep.

    He hade across a huge room with hundreds of training dummies, targets, and other dueling equipment. It was the ce where the dueling sses are usually held.

    But of course, he''s not going there right now. He is not the only one who would want to practice magic at night. Thus, he''s sure there''d definitely be someone else there, or at least the prefects would go there to check if anyone was there.

    During the day, he had casually stolen a few dummies and targets from there after confirming with the system that there was no risk. Now they''lle to his use.

    He went back to the ssroom that was his bedroom yesterday, locked the door, and set up the dummies and targets.

    By now, he''d only learned three spells.

    1)Lumos

    2) Levitation

    3) Transfiguration of a matchstick into a needle.

    "¡­. Quite useless, if I do say so myself," he muttered.

    He took out the books he''d borrowed from the library.

    *Gulp*

    Flipping through the pages of some of the best books of Hogwarts library, he gulped upon seeing so many types of spells. These included the spells in Hogwarts normal curriculum as well along with the other spells. And the difficulty varied from the first year to the seventh year and some even above that.

    "Alright, let''s start slow," he muttered. He was sure he can''t learn any of them with his disabilities. Heck, even his Lumos light is quite weak and fluctuating.

    Thus, he has to do something about this. There has to be a way.

    That''s his primary goal. His other immediate goal is to learn some spells that can be used even in his crippled state.

    For that, he examined his current state.

    His hands, specifically, his fingers had suffered major damage and he had little to no control over them.

    But his legs, even though they hurt all the time, and he can''t make rapid movements, his legs are still fine. That is, he still hasn''t lost the incredible bnce and grace of a master thief.

    ''Hm¡­ it can be used,'' he thought as all sorts of fighting scenarios shed through his mind.

    ''Alright, system, can you tell me which spells I can cast with my current condition and are useful to me?''

    [With 9% approval, affirmative. It is possible if you ask.]

    The system rmended to him a few spells which he could practice.

    ''Ah¡­ system, are you sure I can do all these?'' Asked Chris, checking the difficulty level of some of the spells. There was one even above seventh-year difficulty.

    [Affirmative. As previously mentioned, you have an extreme mental talent, Axel. Not even those above seventh year are able to take a Cruciatus curse without suffering mental damage.]

    [A spell requires both magical and mental contribution toplete. The spells rmended by the system need about 90% mental contribution and only 10% Magical.]

    "Great,"

    He looked at the spells. Some of them are going to take a long time to practice. It''s better to just learn the easiest ones first in order to at least have some modicum of safety. So that he won''t be helpless in case someone attacks him.

    The very first spell:

    A Smoke producing spell.

    Yep, as an experienced thief, he knows the fundamental requirements of bing strong. Step 1: Learn how to distract and run¡­ so that you survive long enough to make the tables turn.

    "Efficio Fumus."

    //Create Smoke//

    It was supposed to produce a continuous stream of smoke that''s quite thick. But when he muttered the incantation without wand movement, his wand produced a few fumes as if coughing them out.

    But Axel actually smiled. This was already much better than most of his attempts to use other spells. And this spell doesn''t need any direction so the wand movements are redundant.

    After reading the theory a few more times, and getting a perfect image for the fumes he wanted, he cast the spell with much more focus and much more force.

    This time, he was able to produce the smoke, and even if the power was somewhat lower, it''d still get the job done. He cast it a few more times, getting better each time.

    "Alright!" He said before flipping the pages.

    Before he tried another spell from the list, he had to test one thing:

    Can he even hit the target?

    To find that out, he tried out the red sparks spell. It''s just a spell that sends out a beam of light at the target. No attack power. Uses very little magic power.

    "Vermilious!" He chanted, aiming at the target.

    "...Damn," he muttered after looking at the results, his voice filled with bitterness. He hadpletely missed the mark. Looking at his trembling hands which once used to be able to even throw knives with uracy, he sighed. For now, he can''t learn any shooting beam type of spells like stupify or expelliarmus with this shitty aim.

    But, not all hope was lost. There were still spells that he could perform.

    The smoothening spell or the polishing spell. It temporarily makes the object very smooth byyering the spell magic on top of the object. The spell effect can be stacked.

    "Lubricous nitorem."

    Once again, no need for direction. This is another spell he can use very well. This is going to be a very useful. He quickly learned this and its countercharm as well.

    Now, for the next and probably thest spell today: Electric Zap.

    He really really really liked this one.

    It was one of the more unique spells in the book. You just chant the spell repeatedly. After every chant, the charge keeps umting on your wand. The amount of charge you can umte depends on your mental strength.

    He thoroughly read the theory. One benefit of these books was that the theory and exnation was quite precise and practical. After building up his intent a for while, he gave it a try.

    "Electrica Impulsa," he muttered, and was rewarded with a small shark travel up his wand.

    He grinned. Putting more power, he tried again. In his second try, the spark a much more power than the previous one.

    "This really is quite interesting..." he muttered.b

    A few minutester.

    *Crackle* *Crackle*

    *CRACKLE*

    "THIS... IS... AMAZING!" he eximed over the loud crackling noise, looking at his wand crackling with an incredible amount of power umted on it. He was in a tremendous amount of pain right now. It was almost simr to Cruciatus.

    And it was because using magic hurts even when he used to use a little bit of magic. Right now, he''d used up all of his magic and was holding it all together with his mental power.

    The number of times an average wizard could stack up the charge with this was 3 times before it blows in their face because they can''t control it.

    ''How¡­ much... have I already loaded...system?'' He asked the system while the whole room was lit with a dazzling blue glow.

    [Axel, you''ve chanted the spell for exactly 34 times by now. It is rmended that you don''t go any further.]

    Axel was already feeling light-headed. Looks like this was the extent of his magic...for now. Point: his ''magic'' power. He still had some mental power to spare.

    ''Hey system! How do I cancel it?!'' He asked.

    [There''s no way you can release it here without blowing things up. You need to release it out of the window.]

    ''What?! This thing can be released as well? I thought this wasn''t a ranged attack and I have to touch my wand to them in order attack?'' He asked.

    [Yes, but the amount of magical power you''ve put in it has made ranged attacks to be possible.]

    ''Alright,'' Axel didn''t dy any longer. ''How do I do this?''

    A momentter, a bright blue bolt of lightning flew up into the clouds, leaving a loud sound of thunderp after it.

    Axel stood there, swaying back and forth, as he struggled to keep standing. This... the system was right. Mental power can be huge boon. He''s isn''t actually as weak as he thought.

    A beautiful but malicious woman''s image came to his mind.

    "Bitch¡­ who said I''m weak?" He muttered before he feel to the floor, already asleep/unconscious.

    ***

    A.N.: Here it is. As you see, the mental talent can be quite an asset. He is started to be strong. I''ve made some new spells for him. And thest one is something only he can use to this extent due to his mental power. It''d be just a taser in anyone else''s hands. NEXT CHAPTER: A CHALLENGE

    I''m updating whenever I can at this point. The future chapters are just so awesome that some of them need a little more time to write. Just keep Giving me the POWERSTONES, and I''ll keep them chaptersing. Do we have a deal?

    #1 On The Rankings!

    There are 10 more chapters at *******.

    P /Snollygoster

    Also, "Tai_master9903", the #3 top fan of this fic has also got the extra chapters and will get one advanced Chapter each day from now on. Congrattions. Others can be the next if they overtake the top 3.

 Chapter 16: A Challenge

    Chapter 16: A Challenge

    *Hoot* *HootHoot*

    Andromeda looked up as an owl and entered through the kitchen window, after it sessfully passed the wards.

    Seeing that it was wearing the Hogwarts insignia, she curiously stood up to see what it had brought. Her correspondence with Mcgonagall was easily done through the Magi-mirror. So she didn''t know what it could have been.

    ''Is Axel''s reply here?'' Thinking this, her actions hastened. Her sister still hadn''te back. Though there WAS indeed a message from her through the Magi-mirror.

    It said: I''m alive. Don''t bother me.

    But, can a single text make her stop worrying? NO! This in fact confirmed that something was indeed wrong.

    Quickly checking the leather pouch tied to the owl, Andromeda frowned. It was a small transparent water bottle with a silvery mist floating inside.

    "A memory?" She saw that there was a slip of paper with her name stuck on it, and the other one had Axel''s name on it. Both were in her handwriting.

    Axel sent her a memory?

    This reminded her of thest memory she''d seen. It was of Axel being tortured by Cyrus Greengrass of all people.

    Andromeda shuddered. She had cried for a whole day after seeing that.

    A boy as young as 11 years old, having to go through THAT? Her husband was left a crying and begging mess after that torture, and an 11-year-old, whose magic isn''t even strong enough to protect him and whose body isn''t even strong enough to withstand it, had to go through it.

    And surprisingly, unlike her husband, that boy is so strong that he was still fighting till thest minute. Even now, she couldn''t tell how.

    After going through all that, when he woke up after two days and after releasing that he''d been crippled for life, all he did was nod his head calmly as if that''s what he''d expected.

    It was so absurd that she suspected whether this was an adult sitting in a child''s body.

    At that time, realizing that the boy must have suffered a lot to have matured this early, she had felt a strong desire to protect this boy and let him have a happy life. It was because she thought that even if she couldn''t cure her husband, at least this child could still be saved.

    Thus, she tried to help him, and tried making him feel happiness by taking him out to Diagon Alley. She had even introduced him to her family, in hopes that he''ll have a good time. And in hopes that he could get along with Rose, someone his age.

    And it did seem to have worked. She had seen the boy start to genuinely enjoy himself and smile more. But, after that, he''d gone to the washroom and Be had gone out saying she had an urgent call on her Magi-mirror.And boy did she regret believing her sister and letting her go.

    When Be returned with the memory, Andromeda had instantly lost her temper at her. But Be didn''t seem to hear her as she just replied that it was consented before she disapparated off to Merlin''s knows where. Axel had also left without saying anything.

    Now, he''s sent another memory. What could it be? Did he know what happened to Be? Andromeda brought out one of their pensieves to check it out.

    It was a small pensieve, imported from a developed magical country. It had a lot of advanced features like enhanced quality and sound amplification.

    She quickly poured the misty liquid-like memory into the pensieve and peered into it.

    Instantly, the world around her changed and she found herself in the Leaky Cauldron, in front of the men''s bathroom.She saw Axel exiting the bathroom and Betrix standing right in front of him, waiting.

    ''This¡­ is this Axel''s memory? How did he extract it?'' She thought but her thoughts were paused when she heard Be say:

    "Cyrus Greengrass... the name of the man you killed. Thought you should know."

    ??!!

    Andromeda got a huge shock hearing those words. Cyrus Greengrass, the man who''d tortured Chris in the memory Be had given her. That man was killed by Axel?

    ''So, he even had to kill someone while so young. Life is so unfair sometimes!'' she thought but her thoughts paused again when she witnessed Be ckmailing Axel for the memory.

    "Andromeda wouldn''t agree to this," she heard Axel say, trying to look calm.

    "Yes, I don''t agree!" Andromeda eximed. She didn''t like where this was going.

    But Betrix actuallyughed, sounding genuinely amused.

    "I see. She did a very good job in manipting you."

    "No, I didn''t! Not this time!" Shouted Andromeda. No one but Be had known that she wasn''t actually as kind-hearted as she pretended to be. But not this time!

    Yes, in the beginning, she had just thought that she''ll peer into his mind to see the memories, but after seeing him and getting to know him and his circumstances, she had decided against it.

    This person had experienced what her husband had experienced and had even survived it. He deserved her respect and recognition for that. And after seeing him experiencing various basic joys of life for the first time, she even rejected the idea of peering through his mind even with his consent.

    Because every time he had asked why she was doing all that for him, it had dug painfully at her conscience. She couldn''t bear to break the trust that had been gained after seeing so much reluctance in those eyes.

    Thus, ultimately, she had genuinely decided not to ask him about the memories.

    Sadly, the scene she was witnessing made her fearse true.

    Hearing Betrix''s words, Axel paused,

    "What... are you talking about?"

    Andromeda could hear the edge in his voice and see thest bit of hope in his eyes.

    "It''s funny really. How she''s created a perfect image of herself in your mind so quickly. Let me enlighten you, you gullible kid: Andromeda is a ck! She''s no kind woman!

    "No," she whispered as she saw thest bit of hope die out from his eyes, his hurt emotions clearly visible on his face at this moment. The first time Andromeda got to see his true emotion turned out to be like this.

    Be was right. She was no kind woman when ites to the well-being of her husband and daughter. But¡­ not this time. Or was it? She herself didn''t know anymore.

    But Betrix wasn''t done yet. Andromeda knew that once Be decides to do something, she''ll finish it without care. She just wants to get the memory. She wouldn''t care about Axel. And though her fears came true, Be turned out to be much more brutal than she had thought.

    "You think she did all this out of kindness? Wrong! Wake up, kid! Who are you to her?! A nobody!

    Do you know how many have died for the sake of finding a cure for her husband?! How long has she known you for?! A day and a half. You tell me, kid, who''s she gonna choose between her husband she''s known for decades or you?"

    "She''s kind? My perfect pureblood arse! She did all this because she thought it was the easier method! Just throw some money and some kindness to a homeless kid and he''ll give you anything you want and still thank you afterward. But looking at you, I can tell. You wouldn''t have agreed, would you? So, for the sake of my sister, I''ll do this and then we go our separate ways. Now, do you agree or do I need to force you?"

    Tears came out of Andromeda''s eyes when she heard her sister''s words. She saw how Axel''s expressions changed with each sentence, as they were cutting deep into him, scarring him forever as his pain turned into apathy.

    He actually agreed to Betrix''s oh-so polite ''request'' and even thanked her.

    "I was getting too hopeful and positive about this world," he said self mockingly. "You reminded me once again that I should never trust anyone and learn to be satisfied with loneliness,"

    It broke her heart to hear him say that. She knew that he had changed...almost irreversibly.She could almost see the walls building up around him once again, shutting out everyone. This time, stronger than ever.

    Then the scene in the memory changed to the time right after Be had exited his mind. No one, not even Axel would notice anything about her, but Andromeda could.

    She looked¡­ shaken¡­ almost as if denying reality.

    ''What happened?'' Thought Andromeda.

    She saw Betrix trying to stop him and then recoiling back when Axel red at her. He refused to stay even a moment more and his final words... got ingrained in Andromeda''s mind.

    "Also, make sure to show the memory to your sister. Tell her that her husband was just a pussy who''s suffered no hardships if he couldn''t even take that much torture. She should stop hurting innocent people for such a weakling and find herself a real man," with those words, he left, while Be stood there as if someone had petrified her.

    The memory had ended, but Andromeda just stood there, too stunned to even speak.

    Why was Be looking so panicked after seeing his memory?

    What did she see?

    Was it the reason for her disappearance?

    Are her efforts really so useless?

    And... was Ted...NO!

    The memory Axel thought would rify everything had instead left Andromeda much more distressed and disconcerted than before, and hisst words had left a lot to think about for her.

    ***

    Early in the morning, Axel went to the Dueling Arena for the Dueling ss.

    He was surprised to see that most of the first years had picked dueling even though it was an extracurricr subject. That was clearly indicating its importance.

    Neville''s mom was standing in the middle, of one of the dueling circuits. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a dueling robe, and a T-shirt underneath saying "Super Mom".

    "Good Morning, sweety bun! How was your first night in the dormitory? Did you sleep well?" She asked Neville right in front of everyone.

    "...Mum!" Embarrassment was understandably written all over Neville''s beet-red face and for once, Axel was grateful he didn''t have parents.

    Professor Alice justughed, finding her son''s reaction cute.

    "Alright ss, gather around," she said, pping her hands together.

    "So," she began. "Dueling. We all know what it is, but let''s just recall it once again. Would anyone venture to exin?"

    There were several people who raised their hands but Professor Alice chose a bushy-haired girl who seem much more eager.

    "Yes, Miss?"

    "Hermione Granger, ma''am," said the girl before she instantly began speaking.

    "Dueling. In Wizarding Britain, it used to be a formal practice in wizarding culture in which two or more wizards or witches engaged inbat under the condition that only magical means could be used.

    But, after Britain reconnected with the International Committee of Dueling in the past decade, the rules have changed since many Magical Communities depend heavily on body movements like the Greek warriors or the Japanese Ninjutsu users.

    Now, thebatants face each other and bow, as a sign of respect, before they ced themselves in an eptedbative position and, at the count of three, attempt to disarm, stun, injure, defeat, or kill each other in order to force submission, through either physical and magical means." She finished.

    In wonder, Professor Alice pped for her.

    "You have a very detailed knowledge, Miss Hermione. Does anyone else have anything to add?"

    "Nothing? Then let''s move on to demonstrations. Any volunteers?"

    Apparently, that was enough wait for someone.

    "Me, Professor!" shouted Draco Malfoy, before stepping up into the dueling circuit.

    Turning around to face everyone, he loudly yelled.

    "I challenge Axel Hunt to a Duel!"

    ***

    A.N: We were #2 Last Week! Let''s aim For #1 this time! Just keep it up and I''ll keep writing the best!

    This chapter had Andromeda''s reaction. And yep, even if the whole world changed, Draco is still the same. There''s a hint about the existence of other magicalmunities as well.

    Now, you might be wondering how Axel would beat him. Just see it in the next chapter. It''s going to be insane.

    If you want to read ahead,

    Join us at Pa treon

    Pat /Snollygoster

 Chapter 17: Insane Skills and a thorough Crushing

    Chapter 17: Insane Skills and a thorough Crushing

    Chapter 17

    Standing at the elevated dueling circuit, Dralfoy yelled,

    "I challenge Axel Hunt to a duel!"

    ''What the¡ª''

    Before Professor Alice or Axel could say anything, the hundreds of first years who were piled around them started making a ruckus, cheering or hooting.

    You have to say, wizards are a drama-loving bunch. These kids didn''t know who the heck Axel Hunt was, but they knew they were in for some drama.

    Axel pondered what to do. It wasn''t like he was particrly angry, just annoyed. Who would bother losing their temper against an annoying bug bugging them?

    But¡­ that''s not to say that they won''t take satisfaction in crushing that bug.

    He looked around at the naive kids cheering for Draco, as if they''d get to see a duel simr to how they''d seen on their Magi-mirrors.

    He mentally shook his head. He wasn''t in a good condition, he can''t deny that. He can''t do magic properly, he can''t deny that. He isn''t fast or dexterous anymore, he can''t deny that.

    But¡­ even without any of this, he''d never be in a bad enough condition that bugs like these start to think they can beat him in a fight.

    ''Alright,'' he was done thinking everything through.

    There weren''t any consequences major enough to stop him from giving this bug a good crushing.

    Cracking his neck from side to side, he stepped forward.

    "I ept," he announced in a voice that wasn''t loud, yet it reached every ear through the noise of the crowd.

    "Woah!"

    "Yeahhh!"

    "Fight!"

    ...

    The peanut gallery was fully enjoying the free show.

    Professor Alice, thinking that it was all fun and games didn''t stop the two.

    "Alright, a dueling challenge on the very first day, what a great way to start! Come up, you two," she said, not knowing that the intentions of the participants were quite dark. First years won''t be able to do much anyway.

    Under everyone''s encouragement, Axel stepped into the ring, facing off against Malfoy.

    He still had his hands in his robe pockets while he stood rxedly in the ring. His presence alone exuded a pressure that''ll make a skilled fighter know that he was not an easy opponent. Professor Alice also couldn''t help giving him one more nce, wondering if she was imagining things.

    "Alright, no lethal spells. And I''ll be stopping the duel before anyone could get seriously hurt," she announced before stepping out of the ring.

    "Now, bow before standing on the two opposite spots,"

    Standing right in front of Axel, Draco did an imperceptible bow,

    "Scared, cripple?" He asked with a smirk.

    Axel nodded, "About one thing," he admitted before he looked at the Professor.

    "Professor, what if I identally seriously injure him?" He asked, making Draco grit his teeth.

    Professor Alice had heard this question too many times. Too many students hesitate to even cast spells at each other these days. Even her Nevi has simr problems.

    "Don''t worry, dear. You are under my supervision, so I''ll stop before anything serious happens. Besides, injuries aremon in dueling. If your spell was non-lethal, then you won''t get into trouble," she answered as if she already had this answer memorized.

    What she didn''t know was that Axel had asked this question on purpose, so that he won''t be medter.

    They both took distance from each other and took the spots that had been marked on each side of the circuit.

    "Wands ready!" Announced Professor Alice. Draco leveled his wand against Axel while Axel was still standing with his hands in his open robe''s pockets.

    The next thing Professor Alice was supposed to do was say- ''Start''. But she paused when Axel didn''t draw out his wand.

    Though apparently, this was enough of an announcement for Draco since he already brandished his wand, yelling out his first spell even before the match officially started.

    "Furnunculus!" (A jinx that causes a serious breakout of acid boils or pimples)

    A sickly green beam was shot at Axel, but everyone was surprised to see that while the spell beam approached him, Axel¡­ didn''t move at all!

    The spell beam whizzed past him, passing over the heads of the observers below before hitting the opposite wall.

    Throughout the event, Axel didn''t even flinch.

    Everyone thought that Axel hadn''t moved at all and Draco had just missed, except Professor Alice and Draco Malfoy himself. If you look at his feet, you''d realize that he wasn''t standing on the original spot that was marked in the ring. He was standing just a bit to the left.

    "Hey, look! He''s not standing on the marked spot!"

    Many among the students also only noticed it now as they began pointing it out to others.

    Malfoy red at Axel,

    "Lucky fluke," he muttered beforeunching another spell.

    "Intus!" (Intes the target.)

    This time, many people saw it. Even before Draco''s spell was cast, they saw himnguidly stepping to the side.

    Once again, the spell flew past him, missing him by a narrow margin.

    ??!!

    "What?!"

    "He moved even before the spell was cast!"

    That was indeed the case. Axel was moving even before the spell was cast. It seems quite easy, right?

    But it was not that simple. Your opponent isn''t blind. He can change his aim at thest second as well if he sees you moving.

    This time, when casting the spell, at thest moment, Draco suddenly slowed down his cast. It was expected that like all the times, Axel would move to the side this time as well. But, contrary to his expectations, Axel just stood there unmoving, as if he didn''t intend to move in the first ce.

    Draco thought that since his movements were so obvious, Axel must have easily noticed it when he slowed down his cast.

    ''So, you''ll only move when you''re certain that I''ll cast, huh?'' he thought as he had another idea.

    This time, he didn''t stop casting the spell. In fact, he cast it very quickly. But this time, he purposefully aimed a bit to the right.

    Now, when he moves, there''ll be a 50% chance of the spell hitting him. But, contrary to his expectations, Axel didn''t move at all!

    He just stood there, letting the spell miss him yet again.

    Meanwhile, the peanut gallery was enjoying the show. Axel noticed that many of them were holding up their Magi mirrors, and the lights were shing out of them. He didn''t have a clue what the fuck they were doing.

    Professor Alice had dropped her yful attitude and was now looking at the duel with some interest.

    Everyone was thinking only one thing: Was it just a coincidence?

    Axel shook his head.

    "You don''t get it, do you?'' He asked Draco as he stepped forward.

    "Flippendo!"

    This time, Axel had once again moved to the side before the spell was cast. His movements weren''t fast or hurried. He seemed to have just randomly stepped to the side while walking.

    "Densaugeo!" (Cases Grotesquely elongated teeth)

    He once again moved and the spell missed.

    "Flipendo!"

    He had just leaned to the side.

    Spell after spell was fired from Malfoy''s wand and Axel was dodging them all even before they were fired. All the while, he was calmly walking toward Draco with his hands still in his pockets.

    "Let me exin it to you, you dumbass," said Axel between his spells.

    "I''m simply predicting the path of all of your spells based on your movements, from the direction your eyes are looking, to the direction your wand is point to the twitch of your every muscle. And moving out of the way at the moment when you can''t change the direction anymore," he exined simply.

    Anyone was wee to try if they had the talent. He might be crippled and might not have much magical capability. But,

    ''I''m still the master thief, you bastard,''

    He was still the guy who''d honed his talent and skills for years. Some of his skills might have been disabled after that incident, but he still had many skills that were far more rare and valuable.

    Some of them were: His sharp eye-sight that could read his target''s every movement, his sharp mind that could predict all the possibilities and movements in a beat, and his insane reaction speed that enables him to act in an instant, as if he was moving out of pure instincts.

    Thus, as someone so much superior than this bug, his patience had finally waned after this bug''s repeated attempts to annoy him.

    *CHEERS*

    The peanut gallery went insane when they saw the unreal scene happening in front of them. It almost looked like Axel could see the future. The shes of their Magi-mirrors intensified.

    Draco couldn''t do anything and Axel was soon standing right in front ofhim.

    "You need a good thrashing, bug," Axel told him even as the boy almost instinctively began backing up.

    Axel''s one hand finally came out and it snatched Draco''s wand right out of his hands.

    He noticed that Draco''s wand seemed to pulse in his hand. It wasn''t as strong as his wand, he could feel the wand eager to draw his magic.

    "Hey, give it back! You filthy little¡ª" Axel ignored him as he focused on the wand.

    [Loyalty by conquest.] Said system helpfully.

    ''Interesting,'' he thought.

    "Electrica inpulsa," he murmured.

    *Crackle* *Crackle*

    Axel grinned. It wasn''t as powerful as his wand, but the spell did work.

    Draco Malfoy was infuriated when his wand was snatched right out of his hand. It was almost simr to having your girlfriend stolen from you.

    "GIVE IT BACK!" He yelled as he tried to seize it back.

    *Zap*

    But instead, he got lightly electrocuted as soon as his hand touched his wands.

    "OUCH!"

    Axel nodded in satisfaction. This guy, he was already on his shit list from their very first interaction. He has always had a problem with this kind of person due to past reasons.

    The reason he was kicked out of the orphanage in the first ce was because he had dared to defend himself against a rich second generation like this guy. Now, if this guy had any sign of human intelligence, he''d have learnt his lesson after knowing his skills and won''t mess with him anymore.

    Well, apparently not.

    "You¡ª!" Jerking his hand back in pain, Draco''s anger reached its peak, "You filthy mudblood! Give my wand back to me! My father¡ª"

    "SHUT UP," ordered Axel in annoyance. Yep, they were the same. Do they think they can do anything just because they were lucky enough to be among the privileged?

    "Electrica Impulsa,"

    *CRACKLE* *Crackle*

    Well, they didn''t know that he was the same guy who didn''t submit even when he was tortured inhumanely for 10 minutes straight.

    But Draco didn''t care. All he could see was his wand in the hands of this guy. Having never been punished his whole life, he simply didn''t fear Axel.

    He tried to clutch Axel''s throat as he yelled at the top of his lungs.

    "You Filthy Mudblood! My father would¡ª" he screeched but stopped was when his own wand was shoved inside his mouth! Notice: It was Charged with two Electrica Impulsa spells.

    "What?!"

    *Gasp*

    "Damn,"

    "Woahh!"

    There was a mixed reaction from the crowd.

    It was so out of the blue that even Professor Alice didn''t expect it. She was just going to announce the end of the match. She wasn''t worried about anyone getting injured since all the spell could do was zap people. How was she to know that Axel would shove it in Draco''s mouth?!

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!"

    A strangled sound of a pig being ughtered came out from Draco as his whole body shuddered as if having a seizure.

    Magic suddenly surrounded both of them and separated them, taking the wand out of Draco''s mouth, courtesy of professor Alice, but the damage had been done.

    Axel dusted his hands off while looking at Malfoy who was lying pathetically on the ground, and there was a wet patch forming between his legs.

    "That should keep your mouth shut for a while," he murmured. His only regret was, that he should have charged it a few times more before plunging it in. Since his magic was too weak, the damage this boy suffered can''t be called an injury.

    But he knew it was the best he could do considering the fact that Professor Alice would have stopped them as soon as it got even remotely dangerous.

    "Um¡­ professor, would I get into trouble for this?"

    Professor Alice, who had diagnosed Draco and found that this drama queen hadn''t actually suffered any serious injury, gave Axel a helpless look.

    "There''s nothing serious. He''s just shocked. So, you won fair and square,"

    At this moment, someone pped. And,

    *p*

    *p* *p* *p*

    *CHEERS*

    Soon, the whole ss was cheering for Axel.

    Axel looked at everyone in puzzlement.

    ''What the heck is with these people? Why are they making so much noise?''

    Though at that moment, he was distracted by a system notification shing in front of his eyes.

    *DING*

    [Quest Progression: Make friends, make allies, and make a good impression with the wizarding world.

    ?Rewards on every sessive step you take towards building a reputation for yourself such that people willingly follow you one day.

    ->You''ve made a very deep impression on the people by showing your capabilities.

    Rewards:

    ->+3% Approval. Total 12%

    ->Advice on how you can increase your magical output and learn other spells.]

    Though apparently, the system wasn''t done yet.

    *DING*

    [Congrattions! You have sessfully reached the first milestone of the approval rate, thus enabling the Akashic Records to provide you with much more substantial help.]

    [New Feature unlocked.]

    [Congrattions! You have unlocked the ss Feature.]

    [You have unlocked your first ss, Arcane Thief.]

    [You will be given techniques, magical spells, and missions to master this ss and ascend to the next.]

    With such a massive input of information in his head, Axel didn''t know what to do. It was so much information that he decided to look through it after he''s dealt with the current situation.

    Even though his actions might seem impulsive, as if he didn''t care about the consequences, but he had done everything after careful calctions.

    ****

    A.N: So? Was the bug crushing satisfying? And... the new system feature finally unlocked! The fun stuff begins now. Though now instant unreasonable power up. Read the uing chaps to know more about the new feature.

    Please keep giving me powerstones. It''s difficult to write such a high quality novel while also attending college.

    Next Chapter title: The Arcane Thief

    To read ahead and support this fice to P¨¤treon!

    Patr /Snollygoster

 Chapter 18: The Arcane Thief

    Chapter 18: The Arcane Thief

    Chapter 18

    After sending Draco to the Hospital wing, Professor Alice gave Axel a deep look.

    "Axel Hunt, right?"

    Axel nodded, wondering whether he was in trouble after all.

    Though, contrary to his expectation, Professor Alice had an impressed look as she actually smiled at him.

    "The way you predicted the spell trajectories while moving in such a calm andposed manner when spells are being thrown at you¡­ it was truly impressive. I don''t think even a professional duelist could have done it better. You have a tremendous talent for this. Take 10 points for Slytherin for an excellent demonstration of skills."

    It was the first time a student had received so much praise from Professor Longbottom. But Axel just sighed upon unwittingly gaining more points for the Slytherin.

    After that, Professor Alice took the safer approach for the rest of the ss as she taught them some basic stuff about dueling.

    While she taught, Axel just blended himself among the students to hide from all kinds of gazes that were being thrown his way and to check out his rewards.

    Even though his actions might seem impulsive, as if he didn''t care about the consequences, he had actually done everything after careful calctions.

    No one except the headmaster really has the power to expel him from here. Apparently, there used to be an option to have a seat in the board of governors by paying money. But now, money is thest thing Hogwarts needs. This he has known from the basic knowledge.

    And from what he''s seen, the Malfoy family isn''t really much of a big shot since it hasn''t even got its own seat in the Wizengamot.

    So, there shouldn''t be any drastic actions. Now, the only other problem is¡­

    ''This attention,'' he thought, looking at many who were trying to find him among the crowd. Especially Rose Potter. She was the one who start the apuse for him.

    ''Now, it''s safe to assume that all this attention might cause some problems. But¡­''

    His eyes went to the system interface in front of him. A massive 3% increase in the approval rate and a suggestion on how he can increase his magic power output.

    Both of these rewards were so huge that he couldn''t understand what exceptional work he did to deserve this. What could the impression of a few first years matter?

    But, whatever it was, he figured that it was totally worth it if he''s got such insane benefits.

    The approval rate of each percent increases after he performs several impressive deeds or missions. After the first time when it got a massive 6% boost, it has only increased by one each time. But this time, he got 3% directly.

    As for the way to increase his magic power output, he realized which path he has to focus on to do that as the system directly gave the information into his brain.

    The main point is¡­ the connection with his wand. Right now, with so much nerve damage in his hands and body, his magic can''t find the right pathways to flow out of his body into his wand. It causes pain when it can''t escape, even if it doesn''t affect the body directly.

    So, now imagine if the wand practically sucks out the magic. Now even if it couldn''t find the way on its own, most of it can still be sucked out through various pathways.

    And that can be done by strengthening the connection with his wand. There''s another benefit to this as well. The Cherub Hair core wand would amplify his magic based on the strength of his connection with it. So, there are two-way benefits in strengthening his bond with it.

    "Though the question is¡­ how to do it?" The system didn''t specify that.

    Something to think aboutter. Now, for the final reward. The new feature. Honestly, Axel had never yed any RPGs so he had no knowledge of how this ss system works.

    ''System, give me more info.''

    [You will have to activate the ss feature for that. Do you ept the ss: Arcane Thief?

    Y/N]

    ''Well, do I have any other ss option?''

    [You do. But the ss is so special that you can only ept them after you have passed the required threshold Approval rate which is too high. You will also get sessive ss options thate after gaining a certain degree of mastery in Arcane Thief or when you pass the requirements to possess a ss.]

    ''I can have multiple sses at once in the future, right?''

    [Affirmative.]

    "Then... yes, I ept the ss," said Axel decisively.

    *Ding*

    [ss epted]

    [You are now an Arcane Thief.]

    [Now you can ess the information you asked for.

    Arcane Thief: A special ss achievable only by those with exceptional skills and talent in thieving and possessing magic.

    There is nothing a Master Arcane Thief can''t steal.

    The fields of Specialisation include:

    -Stealth Magic

    -Wards

    -Traps

    -Enchantment

    -Pickpocketing

    -Knife/Short-Sword Weilding

    Minor Aplishments in some other skills. Chance for major aplishment in other fields through special missions or through special conditions.

    The method to learn these skills of these fields will be unlocked sessively when you master the beginning skills and with missions. You might also get special missions for special skills. The methods will be imprinted directly into your mind.]

    ''... Well, I want tough right now,'' thought Axel as he tried to suppress the wicked grin that was fighting its way into his face.

    This was every Thief''s wet dream! His hands had been itching after hisst try at thieving which hadnded him in a hospital and he had given up on stealing anything until he had enough skills to pull it off which would take years.

    Now, it seems that he won''t have to wait that long after all.

    ¡­.

    It was lunchtime and Axel was making his way towards the Great Hall.

    But, he realized that there was a problem.

    ''Why is everyone looking at me?''

    First years, he can understand, but the rest? No sir. He should totally be a background character for others.

    He saw a group of students huddled together, watching something on their Magi-mirrors.

    "Damn, can this guy see the future or read mind or something?"

    "He''s just a first year, apparently,"

    When one of them saw Axel passing by he pointed at him.

    "Hey look! It''s him! The guy in the RM!"

    The others also looked at him and got surprised. This group was apparently more daring.

    "Hey, can you take a picture with us?" He asked, showing his magi mirror.

    "Why?" Asked Axel. He was genuinely confused.

    That made them somewhat confused.

    "Well, why not? You''re RM has gone viral on the Hogwarts Forum! You''re famous now. We have to be the first ones to share our pictures with you!"

    ''....Whut?''

    Axel bailed out from there after making an excuse.

    ''System, what the fuck is going on?!''

    "Host, the video of your fight, or the Recorded Memory (RM) as they call it, has been posted on the Magi-hive in Hogwarts Forum. It is currently being shared among various tforms, meaning that it is going ''viral''. This has increased your reputation and thus helped you gain the system rewards."

    "...."

    "Fuck."

    "Damn it."

    "Shit.".

    "Hell."

    It made sense now. Only now he understood why he got such an outrageous reward of 3% approval for something so trivial as performing well in front of the first years.

    Right now, Axel hoped that the Wizarding world was just as backward as it was 10 years ago.

    ¡­

    For the rest of the day, Rose was left reying the fight of Axel again and again.

    He did such a great job of teaching that arrogant ponce a lesson!

    But unlike others, she was fully aware of his disabilities. He shouldn''t be able to do magic. And his body was also not in a good state as far as she was aware.

    But still, he had managed to win the duel in such a domineering fashion. She noticed that he never made any rapid movements, because he simply couldn''t. And he could actually do magic! Thest time she had seen, he could barely cast a Lumos while struggling.

    At that time, his determination to improve despite his disabilities had deeply moved her, and today he''s progressed so fast!

    When he had won and Draco finally got what he deserved, she was so impressed that she had started to apud. She would have wanted to praise him in person, but¡­ it seems that she can''t do that anymore. He''s a Slytherin after all.

    Even though her two Aunts were Slytherins, Sirius had still never stopped on passionate hate for Slytherins. Especially the ''greasy git''. ''Those two might be the rare exceptions, or they just got their head right afterward,'' he''d say for her two Aunts.

    Thus, it was understandable that Rose had gotten quite a lot of prejudiced opinions about the Slytherins.

    Thus, when Axel had gotten sorted into Slytherin, she had been quite disappointed that he actually turned out to be a Slytherin. She had begun wondering If Axel was an evil person or not. Plus, Neville and Susan hadn''t heard better things from their home as well.

    And when she heard that her Aunt Be was missing and Axel was thest person she had talked to, it was like her fears hade true.

    Thus, she had questioned him about what had happened.

    Though she had felt bad when Axel''s eyes towards her had turned cold. She wasn''t sure what was right anymore!

    Yesterday night, Aunt Andromeda had called her to ask about Axel, asking whether she was properly taking care of him or not. She had told Rose that Aunt Be''s reply dide and she said not to worry. Rose was quite ashamed and regretful while her Aunt repeatedly stressed to take care of Axel.

    She thought she''ll try talking to him today, but that guy didn''t even acknowledge her presence today even when she tried to catch his eye several times! It was like they were... strangers.

    Rose was feeling quite vexed for some reason. No one had ever ignored her.

    "Ouch! Why did you hit me!" Protested Neville.

    Rose blinked. She realized she had identally hit Neville.

    "Why are you in the way?" She asked rudely before getting up.

    "Where are you going?" He asked.

    "Just to prank some Slytherins," she replied as she flicked her red hair off her face. Axel was strictly out of bounds. She''ll have to prank other Slytherins.

    Neville sighed.

    ''She''s back again,'' he thought in apprehension.

    This was Rose Potter''s real nature. The one she hides behind her perfect well-groomed persona.

    ***

    A.N.:I have thought of several other sses as well and one very special one. Though it''ll take years topletely master the sses.

    Some screen time to the girl-who-lived. To show why Axel is needed to save the world in the first ce. She''s not mature yet as she''s only 11 and she has led a pampered life. Not everyone can be like Axel, but she''ll have character development as the years progress.

    Just keep giving POWERSTONES and the Chapter will be here.

    To read ahead and support this novel, join Patre on! 135* Subs already! Thanks for support! /Snollygoster

    ***

 Chapter 19: Hes a Sigma

    Chapter 19: He''s a Sigma

    "Fucking Magi-mirrors," Axel cursed under his breath as he walked towards the great hall after avoiding yet another group of curious students who were asking for a picture. This was not in his calctions.

    Most of the students seemed to have already seen his fight and now many would inevitably try to research his background and shit. Many would even want to know if he''s a pureblood or not.

    His footsteps paused in front of the Great Hall. What was more important? The food, or the peace?

    *Rumble*

    His stomach gave him the answer.

    "Food it is," he muttered before thinking how to go in. Right now, it would be for the best if he didn''t appear in front of anyone.

    It seems like he''ll have to use his skills. But they haven''t been working well after his injuries. So there''s still a chance that he''ll be noticed.

    Taking deep breaths, he dipped his head low and diminished his presence as he looked around in all directions.

    ''Score!'' he thought as he saw an opportunity.

    He began walking in the opposite direction to the great hall while keeping his head low. This time, very few people even noticed him and even they didn''t give him a second nce.

    He didn''t know how he does this. He''s just practiced a lot and he started getting better after his various experiences.

    In the next few steps, when he passed by a group of students heading towards the Great Hall he suddenly disappeared from sight since he didn''t emerge from the other side of the group he was passing by.

    He had blended into the group.

    After a few minutes, Axel soon emerged out of a group of students heading out of the great hall with a pile of food stacked in his backpack. He had stored a lot for emergencies like this one.

    He sighed. He was noticed several times just now. He wasn''t sure if he''d be able to do it again with his body''s condition being so bad. And also,

    "Damn, I didn''t even perform any rapid movements. But why was my body hurting so much?" He muttered.

    He couldn''t understand why. Usually, it''s not that bad. Only sometimes.

    At this moment, a System notification came, alerting him.

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Stealth Skill: ''Blend'':

    Allows you to Blend in your surroundings using your body movements, essories, and Magic.

    Current proficiency: 10%

    Information on how to gain further mastery will be transferred to your head.]

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Stealth Skill: ''Presence Reduction''

    Allows you to reduce your presence using your body movements and magic.

    Current proficiency: 15%

    Information on how to gain further mastery will be transferred to your head.]

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Thief skill: Daring mind.

    A thief needs to be daring enough to attempt the theft. Allows you to calmly analyze your situation and make quick decisions not based on fear but logic.

    Not a proficiency-based skill.]

    "...." Axel was left disoriented for a few moments when information was poured into his head.

    "System, what the fuck?" He uttered, politely asking for an exnation.

    [The new ss feature provides you the information to train physical, Magical, and mental skills rted to that ss. Your ss is Arcane Thief.

    When you sneaked into the Great Hall, you used these skills just now, meaning that you already possess some mastery in them. So they were unlocked. The reason you were feeling pain was that you were using magic and using magic naturally causes you pain.]

    ''How can that be?'' thought Axel. ''I wasn''t using magic! It was just my usual zone.''

    The zone, as Axel calls it, is a state in which he is able to pull off difficult thefts with ease.

    "Wait a moment¡­fuck," but then he suddenly realized.

    "There''s no way, right?"

    Has he been using Magic all this time? Now that he thought about it, it actually made sense.

    [You have unknowingly incorporated magic in your skills after repeated training, and practice over the years along with your talent. This is one of the reasons why you are as good as you are and were able to get a Special ss like Arcane Thief.

    It is a high-tier ss, even above advanced sses. It can not be randomly gained by anyone. Especially not as their starting ss in their crippled state.]

    Axel slowly nodded in understanding. So that''s why it hurts so much when he sneaks aroundte at night these days. It used to be so easy...

    Axel couldn''t wait for the day his body is healed. When that timees, he''ll stop worrying about low-level people like bigoted Purebloods. That will be the day he''ll start his domination. The real threats would only be strong wizards and Voldemort and his minions.

    Going into an empty ssroom, he ate his food in peace while he essed the information that had been poured into his head.

    There were step-by-step instructions to train the skills he had unlocked, much like how the information on lumency was poured into his head. But when he was getting immersed in it, the bell rang, signaling the end of the Lunch.

    "Sigh,"

    Axel decided to do this after his sses were over. With his food problem solved he only had to deal with his ssmates who were easy enough to deal with.

    Today, they had Herbology, History of Magic, Potion, and Astronomy.

    The Herbology was with the Hufflepuffs. The Greenhouses of Hogwarts were huge. It was Axel''s first time seeing magical Flora. And of so many different varieties!

    He listened attentively when their squat Professor with gray hair and muddy clothes Pamona Sprout told them about the magical properties of some of the nts to catch their attention. But he quickly lost interest when she had them do it practically since he couldn''t do anything with his hands.

    "Need help?" Asked someone from the side.

    Axel nced over to see Susan standing beside him, Hannah right behind her.

    "No," said Axel simply as he focused back on his work.

    Susan pouted,

    "Well, it does seem like you do," she said, looking pointedly at his handy work. The magical nt looked as crippled as his hands.

    "Why do you want to help me?" He asked. He didn''t know why Susan would approach him while leaving herrge group of friends.

    Susan was honest.

    "I¡­ I sort of feel bad that I thought you were a bad person when you were sorted into Slytherin."

    Axel didn''t stop his work, not the least bit affected.

    "And what makes you think I''m not a bad person?" He asked, with all the bad person vibesing out of him.

    Susan shook her head.

    "Uh¡­ I don''t know? Because you were so cool today at the Dueling? Because you shoved that snob''s wand right into his face?"

    Axel nodded in understanding. He had understood that he can''t understand this girl. But, he really liked her honesty.

    "I appreciate your honesty. Would you prefer my honest reply or a dishonest one?"

    Susan smiled,

    "The honest reply!" She chose instantly.

    Axel stopped his work for a second and gave her his full attention as he looked at her.

    "I don''t have any problem with you, but I''d prefer it if you left me alone,"

    Susan''s confident smile slowly disappeared upon listening to his reply.

    "Oh¡­ okay¡­ then see you around," she said, trying to hide the sting that reply gave her.

    She really wanted to ask why he didn''t want to be friends with her or how could he not want to be friends with her, but¡­ she was now somewhat scared of his honest reply.

    Axel simply shook his head. He had nothing inmon with that girl. And she was so superficial. It suddenly didn''t matter if he was a bad person if he could duel well.

    They had nothing inmon and she was a bit too immature. Though it''s not her fault since she''s only acting her age. Very few 11 year olds would be mature enough that Axel would tolerate them.

    ¡­

    The next ss was the History of Magic with Ravenws.

    "So, you''ve already studied this one as well, huh?" Asked Axel as he nced beside him.

    Daphne nodded her head with a sigh.

    "Sadly yes. That asshole made sure that I knew my Pureblood history. About how we fought Goblins and stuff."

    She has decided to use that name for her father. And the fun part is, no one can stop her.

    She had once again chosen to sit in thest seat. Axel didn''t hate her enough to move somewhere else or deny her. She was much more tolerable.

    Daphne shook her head as she looked at him curiously.

    "But forget about that. Tell me, how were you so good at the duel today? Who taught you?"

    ''The Streets,'' thought Axel. But he couldn''t answer her with that, could he? Anyways, he had already started to pick up some of the skills even before he left the orphanage since his life at the Orphanage wasn''t good either.

    Axel just shook his head mysteriously.

    "It''s a secret," he said.

    Daphne frowned. She knew her stuff. The things Axel was doing, even her Dueling tutor couldn''t do that. Daphne has always wanted to be powerful. Thus, she wanted to also learn how to do that.

    But, the thing is, she doesn''t know how to ask him to teach her. In her whole life, Daphne hasn''t asked for anything so she doesn''t know how to.

    But then, she remembered something. Her sister Astoria had always had a way of getting whatever she wanted and she always seeded. Thus, even though it felt quite embarrassing, Daphne decided to try her sister''s method.

    "Hey, Axel,"

    She pouted her lips as she blinked her eyes cutely.

    "Will you teach me?" She asked.

    Axel also smiled at her.

    "Of course. I won''t," he replied in kind, wondering why she would even think he''ll agree.

    "..." Daphne was left speechless for a moment before her face flushed red in embarrassment.

    ''Astoria! You hateful brat!''

    To her relief, the professor came at this moment, preventing her from finding a hole to hide in.

    For History of Magic, the professor was a middle-aged man with Long hair, a beard, and a huge mustache.

    "My name is Jakub Gorski. And I am your History of Magic Professor. I am a traveler and explorer who has decided to take a rest after a serious injury," he introduced himself in a deep and rugged voice.

    "Now, before me, this subject was taught by the ghost of a Professor, who only taught about things that were centuries old and most of them pretty useless. Also, most of it was based only on Britain," he said in a somewhat condescending tone while shaking his Head.

    "No. We won''t be doing that. We''d be studying only the History from which we can actually learn something. And we won''t be sticking to Britain."

    He spread his hands wide.

    "I have traveled the world. I have visited numerous magicalmunities from the most primitive to the most developed. I have even visited many muggle ces which had a connection to wizards. And let me assure you, this world is a wondrous ce! Thus, along with some of Magical Britain''s history, you will be studying the History of other ces as well."

    "Of course, another reason would be that, since there are so many foreign students among you that it doesn''t make sense to force them to learn Britain''s boring history."

    *Che*

    Daphne clicked her tongue from beside him.

    "I shouldn''t have sat in thest seat," she murmured in disappointment, her previous embarrassment forgotten.

    "This is something I haven''t ever been taught,"

    Axel had to admit, this teacher was interesting. Much better than a boring ghost professor who everyone would ghost.

    But it was also a pity that he can''t just do his other pending things instead like he had thought he would, since he has to pay attention.

    First is lumency.

    As much as he''d like it, he can''t just focus only on lumency. He really needs power right now and lumency is going to take time. The first stage, as system put it, isn''t really that simple. For most of the Wizards who have practiced lumency, that is the final stage for them and it takes them at least a decade to reach it for average wizards. That''s why everyone isn''t rushing to learn lumency. Even with his talent, he can''t master it instantly.

    And that can be fatal if he doesn''t improve on other aspects during that time. His luck has always been shitty and life keeps throwing obstacles at him from time to time. If he''s only focuses on lumency, he''ll be weak as hell in this condition to face those obstacles.

    So, now has several things on his te at once. First, he has to learn lumency, then he has to unlock and learn his Arcane Thief Skills, and finally, he also has to increase his magical output by the method he received from the system

    ***

    A.N.: Sigma moves in chapter. It''s not like he''ll always stay a loner, but it''ll take time to form connections.

    Just keep giving me POWERSTONES and I''ll keep writing and posting the best HP fanfic ever.

    To read ahead and Support this novel,e to Pat reon!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    I''m writing the 29th Chapter right now.

 Chapter 20: Mysteries and The Greasy Git

    Chapter 20: Mysteries and The Greasy Git

    "So, let''s start with the important history of Britain, shall we?"

    Said Professor Jakub Gorski, rubbing his hands together.

    "In this lesson, we''ll mainly be focusing on the important events that have happened in Britain along with their consequences. In my ss, there''s no need for learning precise dates since I think those are the single most boring and useless thing that we can learn from History. Also, do remember to take notes."

    At the mention of notes, there was a hustling noise since there were many first years who hadn''t bothered taking out their notebooks.

    Daphne nced at Axel''s hands when Professor Gorski mentioned taking notes.

    "Can you write with that?" She asked as she took out her notebook and fountain pen.

    Axel looked at her as if questioning why she was questioning the obvious.

    "No,"

    Daphne couldn''t understand the situation.

    "Then¡­ how are you supposed to take notes¡­ and do homework...and write exams?" It would have urred to her in thest ss if Umbridge had actually taught them something worth writing.

    Axel actually didn''t know it himself until yesterday. He didn''t know anything about Hogwarts. And he didn''t know why he had assumed that a magical school wouldn''t stress on having you write stuff and just let you learn magic through wands.

    Thankfully, there was a solution.

    "Professor Mcgonagall has allowed me to use Self-writing pens. She said I''ll get them soon." He had a signed slip from Mcgonagall to exin his situation.

    Daphne was surprised to hear that,

    "Weren''t they banned until the third year?"

    These days, self-writing pens were so advanced and convenient that they had be a norm in the Wizarding World. But it was banned at Hogwarts until the third year since the students then wouldn''t properly have practice in spelling and writing. It''s quite easy to detect when something is written by one, so the younger students do struggle a lot writing everything with their own hands.

    Self-writing pens are banned for all years in the library since you need to dictate in order to write and no sound is allowed in the library.

    Otherwise, except for exams, the older year students are free to use them if their dictation isn''t disturbing anyone since it''s fast and convenient and they can spend more of their time practicing magic.

    Daphne sighed.

    "How luc¡ª" she was about to say ''lucky'' but she stopped herself. Having his hands in that condition... he''s probably thest person to be called lucky.

    After everyone was ready, Professor Gorski began.

    "Magical Britain is believed to be the origin of witchcraft and wizardry for many wizardingmunities. Its History can be divided into three parts: Primitive, Early, Middle, and Recent. Let''s begin with a brief description of each, shall we?"

    "The Primitive age, we are directly going to skip. There are barely any factual records of that time and there''s nothing concrete. It doesn''te under studying History, ites under Researching History. Have you ever wondered how wizards came into being? Where do wizards get their powers from? It''s about that. Obviously not for the first years.

    "Now, the real stuff in Britain started with Merlin. No one is really sure about his origins, or how he gained his power despite there being multiple stories. But, it has been widely epted that Merlin was the most powerful Sorcerer and the origin of most of the witchcraft and wizardry we have now.

    He had several apprentices at the time, each of whom he taught different fields of magic and even trusted some of them with his deeper secrets, like how he gained his power.

    These apprentices then branched out to many ces, spreading what they had been taught and researching their own magic as well. This was how a lot of different magicalmunities were formed in different countries with Britain being the most powerful and progressive.

    One of these apprentices, the one with whom Merlin had shared the secret to his powers, actually turned on him. Her name was Morgan Le Fay, more poprly known as Morgana. We''ll study in detail about itter.

    Also, the founders of Hogwarts were also in this age," He took a pause here, seeing that many were struggling to keep up.

    Axel was fascinated. He wondered where Merlin got his powers from.

    [The information is currently locked at your level.]

    ''Damn,'' must be a hell of information to be locked even after 13% approval.

    Professor Gorski continued, "This was the most important stage so even while giving a brief description, I had to say so much. Now, the third stage is the Medieval Stage. Thissted the longest. It was after every one of these powerful people had either disappeared or died.

    This is the stage of degradation. Many families started to hoard their magic, and conflicts continued to grow between them, causing the loss of a lot of valuable Magical Knowledge. A great many Dark Lords emerged as well. During this age, Britain didn''t make any significant improvement in magic and instead went backward.

    Thenes the period that historians called the Recent age. It''s called such because it started just about a decade ago.

    Yes, Britain was in its Medieval age until a decade ago. It''s after the demise of the most recent Dark Lord. This is a period of rapid progression. Britain already had the foundation and funds befitting of the Origin of many countries'' witchcraft and wizardry.

    Under the phenomenal leadership of Minister Betrix ck, it is rapidly gaining back its lost status and reforming to be a powerful and prosperous magical country with at a rate never seen in any other magical country ormunity," finished Gorski.

    "So, this was a brief description of the History of Magical Britain. Now we''ll go into detail starting from the Early age¡­" And so, the History ss went on.

    After History, they had Potions with Gryffindors.

    "Why exactly are you here?" Axel asked Rose who was standing beside him in front of his potion-making counter. It would be a lie to say that he wasn''t annoyed with her presence.

    Though, if anything, Rose seemed even more annoyed at being by his side than he. She looked at her Magi-mirror in grievance. It had several messages from Aunt Andromeda all but ordering her to take good care of Axel and babysit him. She even threatened to send a howler if she didn''t.

    "It''s not like I want to be here. I simply don''t have a choice," she said in a peeved tone.

    She looked at Axel with narrowed eyes.

    "What exactly did you do to Aunt Andromeda? She''s been awfully concerned with your well-being."

    Axel frowned. must be that woman who asked her to sit here.

    He had mixed opinions about this woman. Her actions don''t make sense and they''re contradictory if he takes Betrix''s words into consideration.

    Her letter to Mcgonagall did help him in the end since he now had her signed note stating his injuries and she did get him to have a good time and now she''s asking Rose to take care of him. Axel didn''t know if she wanted something else from him.

    ''But, does it really matter?'' He thought to himself. He realized that he couldn''t really bring himself to care. Whether it was some kind ofpensation due to the memory extraction or whether she wanted something else from him, he didn''t really care anymore. The situation is, he has to partner up with Rose for this ss. It can''t be that bad, can it? Does he really need to struggle so much to reject it?

    Rose was even more annoyed when her question was ignored.

    "So? Did you do anything to her? She''s even threatening to send a howler if I didn''t help you,"

    At that moment, a man strode in, with his cloak billowing behind him in style. The first thing he did was a roll call.

    When Rose''s turn came,

    "Rose Potter,"

    "Present sir,"

    Snape looked up from his sheet at Rose. Even though his face was expressionless, Axel could tell that something was different from his experience in reading people.

    Snape''s eyes then fell on him for a second before going back to the parchment. When his turn came Snape had looked up at him again, and Axel didn''t know why, but he had a bad feeling about this.

    ''Just great,'' he muttered in annoyance.

    After Roll call, the man swept his gaze around at the ss.

    "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word.

    "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don''t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmeringj cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of¡­"

    Axel glossed over the rest. The man seemed to be exaggerating quite a bit. He''ll have to see if this man can really teach them to brew glory and stopper death.

    But suddenly,

    "Hunt! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

    ''...What the fuck?''

    Of course, Axel didn''t know. Potions aren''t going to help him when he''s in a fight. And, with his condition, can he even brew potions? Thus, he hadn''t bothered even touching the book.

    "I don''t know, professor," he said simply. He didn''t think it was a big deal. He could bet even half the students didn''t know anything based on what he''s seen from his previous sses.

    But Snape''s lips curled into a slight sneer.

    "Tut, tut, you should be more qualified before trying to leech off someone''s fame," he said, ncing at the person beside him.

    For a moment, the Slytherins and Gryffindors seemed to unite as many of them had problems with The Girl Who Lived and the adopted daughter of the most powerful pureblood family partnering up with him. Many of them snickered, sneered, or smirked at Snape''sment.

    Though Axel was surprised. He didn''t know so many people minded. He was just minding his own business. It seems he had underestimated her fame. If he knew, he''d have kicked Rose out ages ago.

    He was also surprised why Snape would target a Slytherin. From what he had heard and observed, he was a discriminatory bastard who always favors Slytherins.

    "Let''s try again, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

    Axel had had enough. It was clear that this bastard was targeting him.

    ''Tell me, System.''

    Rose was a bit worried. Sirius had warned her repeatedly about ''the greasy git''. That he might be a pedophile and necrophile, whatever those things meant. And that she should be careful of him all the time.

    When Snape had asked the second question, she was going to help Axel by whispering the answer to him, but¡ª

    "A Bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat. It''s a very potent antidote that can save you from most poisons," said Axel, surprising her.

    Snape sneered,

    "Well, a lucky question. Then tell me, Hunt, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

    Not a second after he had asked the question, Axel''s bored voice came again,

    "They''re the same nts. There''s yet another name for this nt as well. It''s Aconite."

    Snape seemed to not give up.

    "What color of fumes are released when a boil potion is made sessfully?"

    "Pink. The potion in question is an effective remedy against pustules, hives, boils, and many other scrofulous conditions."

    Snape was still not satisfied.

    "What is the Wiggenweld Potion?"

    Rose frowned. This was not even a first-year question! Even she didn''t know the answer.

    But Axel didn''t even bat an eye as he answered.

    "It''s a healing potion with the power to cure injuries. It is also the antidote to the Sleeping Draught and¡­. the Draught of Living Death, which, by the way, is actually the answer to your very first question."

    That managed to shut him up and p those who hadughed.

    Snape looked at him for several seconds before looking at the rest of the ss.

    "Well, why aren''t you all writing that down?!"

    Axel had managed to answer all the questions.

    Rose was impressed and confused at the same time.

    "Why didn''t you answer the first question earlier?"

    Axel shrugged,

    "I was trying to keep a low profile. Not everyone has a powerful background to fall upon like you."

    "...." She was a bit speechless to hear that. Low profile? He was probably the most high-profile first year right now after her. Though looking back, he did try his best. He never sought any fame. But he''d be bullied more if just he let bullies like Snape and Malfoy walk all over him. So, when there was no other choice but to stand out, he stood out in a way no one would dare to mess with him again if they were not idiots.

    When thinking about it, she could understand why. Slytherin is infested with Purebloods like Malfoy. So he understand why he would want to keep a low profile.

    Axel raised his index finger,

    "Also, let me make clear, I am NOT sitting with you in the next ss. No matter what. I was an idiot to even think this could work out fine, am I clear?"

    By now, even Rose knew better than to mess with this guy. She was so overwhelmed by his rythym that she found herself nodding obediently. If anyone who knew her saw this, they''d have their jaws dropped so low that you''ll have to dig them out.

    Snape had them brew a potion for the rest of the ss. Axel and Rose''s potion was progressing just fine since Axel was doing almost nothing.

    But of course, someone had to have a problem.

    "Hunt, why aren''t you doing anything?"

    Axel produced two pieces of paper from his pocket. One was his condition report he had got from Saint Mungo signed by Andromeda which mentioned his current body''s condition and another was Mcgonagall''s signed note on the state that he be given some liberties on things which he can''t do.

    Axel had thought that this should shut him up since everyone was always just too surprised to know just how bad his body actually was. But apparently, not Snape.

    Axel knew that the man WAS indeed surprised to know about his condition. But, he didn''t seem to show the same empathy as the other teachers.

    "Well, I don''t see the problem here," he said after a pause.

    ''Huh?'' This made both Axel and Rose surprised.

    "Pardon?"

    Snape sneered, "I said, I don''t see the problem here. Having injuries doesn''t give you the excuse to not try. If you''re afraid of bringing your partner down, then don''t pair up in the first ce," he said clearly.

    ''Well, wouldn''t be a problem if doesn''t fucking hurt every time I try, you bastard,'' thought Axel. He knew this bastard knew it was painful and yet he was making him do this.

    ''Fine, if this is how you wanna y it,'' thought Axel as he picked up his things and left Rose''s table.

    It was good that this bastard knew how bad and irreparable his condition was. He''ll get a nasty surprise when he one day finds out just how much Axel can do even with this condition and an even nastier one when Axel eventually heals himself and bes more powerful than a wizard and a better potioneer than this guy.

    Axel can hold grudges for years until he finally pays them back.

    ¡­

    The potions ss wasn''t too difficult in the end since he didn''t do anything that''ll be difficult with his condition. Axel will simply get a bad grade. But since when was that a problem?

    Funnily enough, the greasy bat had stopped targeting him after he had left Rose''s table. This made him hate her more. Damn it, if only he had known that she was the problem. He''ll make sure this won''t happen again.

    But with the sses over for the day, he can now focus on better things.

    Like increasing his power output and exploring the new system feature.

    ''Alright, system, exin how I should level up this Arcane Thief ss and unlock better skills,'' he said to the system after he had retreated to his hideout that night.

    First things first. Likest time with the spell practicing, he once again focused on escape first. Arcane Thief might not sound powerful, but¡­ as a thief, Axel can see its huge potential. Alongside ensuring his safety, it can be very powerful inbat. In fact, an unusually skilled thief by profession already, he''d be able to use these skills to their fullest potential.

    Like how he did at that time with Valentino girl.

    Despite all her so-called talent and genius, hadn''t Axel caught her off guard at that time without any power? If she was a certified enemy, she might have been dead right then and there.

    Also, he had almost given up on thieving after hisst attempt. But now, with the skills of the Arcane Thief ss... the Purebloods wouldn''t know what hit them.

    ****

    A.N.: Those who skimmed through some details on the history don''t need to worry too much. The Long-ass History lesson was a one time thing for some world building and to raise some valid mysteries which would be exploredter. Like how wizards came into existence? How did Merlin got his powers? If Merlin was the reason for witch craft and wizardry in most many countries, how did other countries which are not included get their own magical practices?

    In the next chapter, he finally starts to train his skills.

    Please vote this fic with POWERSTONES so that I can be motivated to write even in my Busy Schedule.

    Come read ahead and Support this fic at Pa treon. /Snollygoster

    Edit.: Jeez, he''ll be healed soon enough. Have some patience guys. It''ll be more worthwhile.

 Chapter 21: Grinding Skills and the Confrontion

    Chapter 21: Grinding Skills and the Confrontion

    ''Alright, system, exin how I should level up this Arcane Thief ss and unlock better skills,'' Axel asked the system. All this ss system was quite and confusing to him.

    Thankfully, the system''s response was clear and quite detailed.

    [When you unlock a skill, a certain amount of information on how to enhance it bes essible to you. Further information will be essible as you enhance the skill using the existing methods.

    For example, when you unlocked your skill ''Presence Reduction,'' you have unlocked the basic information to enhance it. Once you progress, further information will be unlocked.

    As for unlocking the skills, there are several ways to do it.

    1) Unlocking the skills that you already have. For this, you just need to use that skill and you will unlock a limited amount of information on how to further enhance it. This is how you unlocked your Presence Reduction and Blending.

    2) Unlocking the skill by learning it from other sources. For example, if you learn invisibility from other sources, you will unlock the Arcane Thief Invisibility.

    3) Skills can also be unlocked by performing specific actions rted to that ss. For example, for your Arcane Thief ss, the main action you will have to do is steal, along with some other actions. The more you steal, the more skills you unlock. The more difficult the task is, the better skills and better information you will unlock.

    The ss will progress the more skills you master. Thus enabling you to unlock a new ss.]

    Axel''s eyes zed over as he processed the words.

    "The more I steal¡­ the more I progress?" He murmured. Was this a dream? It''s like you''re getting sponsored to do what you love to do and get better at it along the way.

    Right now, he had four options:

    1)Train in the skills he had unlocked.

    2)Try unlocking the Skills he already had by using them.

    3)Try stealing some things to unlock

    4)Try unlocking the skills by learning them from other sources.

    After hisst experience, and with his body''s current condition, he doesn''t really want to risk getting caught once again. So, the third option is out. As for unlocking the Skills he already had, he doesn''t know what skills he already possesses. So it will be like blindly shooting a target.

    Learning from outer sources to unlock and then start making progress¡­ it''ll be taking too much time.

    So, it''ll be best to just learn what he has already unlocked for now. He already has a lot on his te as it is.

    Axel sat down and essed the information he had on the skills he had unlocked.

    Since this was the basic information, there were physical and mental exercises that''ll help him along with tips and tricks in both the skills. There were body movements and maneuvers which he hadn''t thought of himself as well. There was even a diet n he had to follow which included magical ingredients he didn''t know about.

    Aside from the practical part, Axel was already feeling like he had progressed just by reading the basic tips, tricks, and techniques.

    "Hot damn..." Axel was overwhelmed. This information was gold. That was just a figure of speech since this is much more precious than any amount of gold. Especially for a thief.

    ''System? This is not even all the information? Then what am I getting after I progress?'' He asked the system. He couldn''t imagine what else could be better.

    [There are potion recipes, rituals, breathing exercises, etc, to be unlocked that''ll help prepare your body to channel much better and more potent magic so that you can be prepared for the advanced aspects of many skills. Then you will unlock the advanced techniques. You have a long way to go.]

    ''Woah¡­''

    Axel didn''t understand everything, but he understood one thing clearly: This is going to be awesome!

    "Let''s get started then,",

    He began with the skill ''Blend'': To blend in the surrounding.

    He first performed some of the basic exercises, the ones he could perform with his physical condition.

    He then began to practice the movements that were described following the images in his mind.

    It was quite painful and he couldn''t focus well.

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Skill: Pain Tolerance.

    A true thief can be silently near all the pain in order to not get caught andplete his theft. Increases the tolerance to pain.

    Current progress: 57%]

    "....?"

    Axel looked at the 57% bar on the interface in wonder. It was so much higher than his other skills. That''s right, pain had been his constantpanion throughout most of his life. Heck, he had even taken on the most torturous spell without losing. Then why is he getting put off with his current pain?

    "Damnziness," he muttered. Axel realized that he was just beingzy and not taking this training seriously. Is it not important enough? Well, of course, it is. It can save his life at a critical moment.

    So this time, he just gritted his teeth and made his body move.

    This time, he could focus much better. Soon, he fell into a trance which he calls the Zone.

    It was a mysterious experience. Closing his eyes and following the movements in the images, his originally crude and practical movements seemed to gain much more grace and finesse in real-time.

    [Progress: 10 -> 15%]

    But he soon had to stop since it looked like his body had had enough.

    He decided to try out a mental exercise that wasmon in both ''Blend'' and ''Presence Reduction'' skills. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

    He closed his eyes and made his breathing even. Words floated in his mind as his mind started to calm and he followed them.

    "Remain motionless, reduce to zero the amount of unnecessary extra effort."

    "Free of everything that hinders or oppresses you. Let go of all of your worries and burden."

    "Completely rx mind and body. Slightly open your armsterally, turning our palms slightly upwards."

    "Direct the head in a straight and natural frontal-upward direction so as not to restrict the flow of breathing."

    "Sense the surroundings. To Blend in, you must be aware of your surroundings first."

    "Make sure to¡­.

    ¡­

    The instructions continued, and Axel followed all the steps. As he progressed, he started to feel a slight pain in his body, meaning that his magic was indeed moving, albeit in small amounts.

    After he was done, the results were quite good.

    [Progress in Blending: 15%->21%]

    [Progress in Presence Reduction: 15%->17%]

    ''This is good,'' thought Axel. This exercise wasmon in both the skills and it was also quite rxing along with being very effective. Stealing food from great hall wouldn''t be a problem anymore.

    By now, he was quite spent and his eyelids felt quite heavy. But, he still had one thing left to try.

    He took out his wand and looked at it for a while.

    ''System, how strong is my current bond with my wand?'' he asked.

    [Currently, it''s quite weak.]

    ''Huh?'' Axel''s droopy eyes opened up upon hearing that.

    ''The bond is very weak? Why?''

    [Good looks can only take you so far, Axel. You have treated your wand poorly until now.]

    "What the heck?" Axel would ept that he hadn''t really gone out of his way to treat it better, but he didn''t think that he had treated it poorly.

    ''Can you exin?''

    [When was thest time you polished it?]

    "...You need to do that?"

    He hadn''t polished it at all.

    [Yes. You need to treat it like a person. Preferably, like a girl. Other wands don''t need such treatment, but Cherub wands are quite sensitive and have a womanly heart. It would be advisable to polish/groom it daily. Aside from this, there are several other reasons.]

    [You have never praised it for its work. The time when you charged the electric zap spell to your limit, you were not the only one who was struggling. These are some of the reasons.]

    "...."

    ''Am I a scumbag?''

    His actions did seem quite scummy.

    "Well, I''ll try to do better," he muttered. Thanking it and treating it like a woman seemed too much for his sanity at the moment, but Axel made sure to polish it before sleeping that night.

    ¡­.

    Late at night, the front door of a house slowly opened and a woman slowly stepped in. The woman''s beautiful face was expressionless and her posture was straight. Nothing would have seemed wrong with her if not for her gaunt face and her pale skin.

    She slowly made her way up the stairs to her room, not making any sound. Just when she had opened the door to her room she heard a voice from behind.

    "So¡­ you finally decided to show up?" Asked the voice. There was something peculiar about this voice. It wasn''t loud and it didn''t contain much emotion. Yet, it had this terrifying quality to it and it that made the pale woman flinch.

    "A-Andi? You''re awake? Why are you up at this time of night?" Asked the pale woman. Her previously expressionless face had changed into a bright and cheerful one. But her voice sounded a bit hoarse.

    Andromeda wasn''t fooled by her sister''s fake smile.

    "I am awake because I have been waiting for my sister who suddenly disappeared out of nowhere. Do you think I can sleep?" She asked, still trying to keep calm and sure enough, her eyes were bloodshot and the dark circles also indicated herck of sleep.

    If she could have felt worse, Be did. Which was an achievement considering how bad she was already feeling.

    "Andi, I¡­ I¡ª" she began, her visage not looking that of a genus minister but of a little girl being scolded.

    "Don''t Andi me this time, Be! There is a limit to how absurd actions your actions can be?! You are running a country and you have a family who was worried sick that you might have been kidnapped or worse! What was so important that you couldn''t even properly inform anyone?! Just tell me, was it something so urgent that you couldn''t inform us, yes or no?" She demanded, her voice containing more disappointment than anger.

    "...."

    Betrix opened her mouth to speak, but no she couldn''t respond.

    She simply hadn''t bothered to care about anything else.

    Andromeda shook her head in disappointment.

    "And don''t even get me started on how you are enjoying... torturing children these days!" She raged.

    This made Betrix flinch. A crack appeared in her mask.

    "Do you have ANY idea how much damage your actions have caused Axel?!"

    The lumency shields Betrix had been using went down and her cheerful persona broke down like a sand castle.

    But Andromeda was just getting started.

    "It was already a miracle that boy had been sane after the things he had been through.

    He had already built walls around himself so high that he didn''t trust anyone! He has never even talked to anyone properly and never had any real joy in his life. Neither did he ever have someone who''d care if he was tortured to death!

    ''Because no one would care enough!'' that''s what he had answered when I had asked why he was emotionless even after being tortured. Did he not have feelings? He did! But he didn''t express them because no one cared!"

    Andromeda paused as she breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. She was never the one to lose herposure. But this time, she had. She was exining all this to exin why she minded it so much if Betrix targeted Axel.

    Calming herself, she continued in a lower voice. She was so disappointed that she couldn''t even bring herself to be angry. She was just¡­ so disappointed¡­ so regretful...

    "And to such a boy, you¡­ said those words! For WHAT?! Your amusement? You could have easily taken the memories without saying those hurtful words, whether they were true or not," she said, her voice lowering further during thest part.

    She herself didn''t know how much of Betrix''s words were false anymore. But by now, she at least knew that she cared. In such a short time, while helping the boy gain happiness, she hade to care about him.

    It was quite surprising, considering the fact that there was no end to the pitiful patients she had treated professionally in her 10 year career. The conditions were unique and the boy had a way of drawing people in. Even without intending for it or even while consciously avoiding it.

    "H-How¡­?" Tried Betrix. She didn''t know how Andromeda knew this.

    "You want to know how I know this? It''s because the boy sent me the memory. He had to! He was thest person you were with and then you disappear without a word! The Aurors were going to take action! He might have been scared!"

    She looked at Betrix who had totally lostposure at this point.

    "Well?" She asked, looking for a response.

    *Sniff*

    *Sniff* *Sniff*

    Though whatever response she was expecting, she certainly wasn''t expecting this reaction. She hadn''t seen Be cry ever since the time she found out about her savior''s death.

    Like a dam that had broken, Betrix broke down in sobs as she hugged Andromeda.

    *Sob* "Andi¡­" *Sob* "I screwed up, Andi. I screwed up so bad¡ª"*sob*

    "?!?!?"

    Andromeda was so surprised that she even forgot her anger and disappointment for a moment. All she could do was slowly hug her back as her weary mind finally eased after having her sister back.

    "We''ll¡­ we''ll figure it out. We''ll make it up to him, Be. I''ll make sure that we do."

    ***

    A.N.: POWERSTONES...?

    The plot starts from the next chapter.

    What''s Voldemort been up to?

    To read ahead and Support this novel, AND to motivate me, join P¨¤treon

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 22: Flying and Undercurrents

    Chapter 22: Flying and Undercurrents

    Chapter 22

    It was Thursday and Axel was beginning to think that the hype of his duel had finally died down.

    [[Progress in ''Blend'': 21%->26%]

    [Progress in ''Presence Reduction'': 17%->22%]

    Along with that, he had made some more progress in his skills yesterday after training the given methods, though no new skill was unlocked yet.

    As for increasing his power output, he did polish his cherub wand regrly. Yesterday, he had muttered a ''good job'' to it after he had finally sessfully pulled off the Levitation charm and was rewarded with a thrum of magic running upon its length. So, it seems that it was going loads better than his previous situation.

    With the help of the information, Axel had learned more about the proper use of his skills. He was soaking in that valuable knowledge like a sponge.

    Which is why, today, he found himself sitting on the Slytherin table along with the rest of the students.

    He sat there, with a serene expression, as minute amounts of his magic slowly flowed through his body, blending him with his surroundings, and reducing his presence.

    ''It''s actually working,'' thought Axel as he ate his food in silence, making his movements blending in with the other students, no making any move that''ll be attention-grabbing.

    It''s not as difficult as it seems. He just has to make others think he is just another student, just eating his breakfast. He had covered his eye-catching hair with the Hogwarts hat which many students wear regrly. Along with a little help of his magic, anyone looking his way would just nce right over him.

    Though, there was a problem. The progress had slowed down as those exercises weren''t giving the same results.

    To get new information, he''ll first have toplete what he already has. And that can''t be done unless he changes his diet.

    The things he was supposed to take, like eating ingredients of some magical nts and even things like hippogriff milk, how was he supposed to get them?

    ''System, any idea?'' He decided to ask the system. With 13% approval, it wasn''t as useless anymore and Axel would get the information he wanted most of the time, like the time when Snape asked him questions.

    But, he doesn''t want to get overly dependent on it, so he usually tries to handle any problem by himself first.

    [You can order ingredients using BigOwl.]

    ''And where the fuck am I supposed to find this big owl?''

    [BigOwl is Magical Britain''s biggest shopping tform. You can order almost anything and get it delivered to you in the shortest time.]

    ''Oh¡­'' Axel got it now. He wasn''t dumb. He had seen other students getting various things delivered as well.

    Though¡­

    ''How do I order it? Do I write a letter?''

    [You can do that, or you can simply order it through your Magi-mirror. It''ll take less time.]

    ''...The fucking Magi-mirror again?'' Axel sighed. He did indeed have a Magi-Mirror. It came with the things Andromeda had given him. Though he had still not used any of them.

    But with the number of events being connected to it, it seems that he has no choice but to use it.

    While he pondered the conversation of some older Slytherins caught his attention.

    "So, you also got an invitation, right? Have you thought about attending?"

    "Do you even need to ask? Of course I am. Did you see the spells she performed?"

    "Yeah, they were so Powerful! Do you think we can also do the same?"

    "Well, that''s what she said, didn''t she? She said she also used to be just a mediocre witch, right?"

    "Yeah, the only problem is all the restrictions and secrecy,"

    "Well, but it does make sense, doesn''t it? Nothinges for free after all."

    Axel was interested because they were talking about joining something that can increase their powers. But, as soon as he heard the word ''restrictions'' his interest lessened a lot. Besides, he wasn''t even invited, what''s even the use of thinking about it?

    Axel simply picked up his bag and left. He had flying lessons today and he was gettingte.

    He honestly still couldn''t even properly get over the fact that wizards can actually fly. He had never thought that he''d be able to fly. And now he actually had a chance.

    If only his body wasn''t in such a bad condition , he''d have been pretty excited about it.

    To find ces to stay and to escape while he was being chased, Axel had picked up traveling through rooftops after much practice. He could have climbed over almost any building. That''s why he was so confident in his escape after entering an Alley.

    When jumping through the roofs and seeing the ground below, used to give him the illusion that he was flying. So of course, he found the prospect of actually flying quite appealing.

    It was just that with his current condition, he isn''t sure how well he''ll do.

    Walking alone, he made his way towards the Quidditch pitch.

    ''Hmm?''

    Just as he stepped into the field, he felt his foot sinking in.

    Frowning, he tried pressing his foot further only to find the ground quite soft and bouncy.

    "The heck is this?" He muttered. Up ahead, he saw that the other students were also moving forward half-bouncing half-walking.

    "The whole ground has been enchanted with Cushioning magic to prevent injuries and death. Can you believe they used to y without this just a decade ago?" said a voice from behind him.

    "No," Axel didn''t even nce behind as he began walking/hobbling forward on the bouncy ground.

    Rose frowned. She didn''t like being ignored. Though she could understand it since she was the reason why he was treated like that in the Potions ss.

    She had even protested at that time when Snape had forced Axel to make Potions, but it had only resulted in point loss for Gryffindor and more trouble for Axel. So, she had given up after the first try after noticing Axel''s warning re and realizing that she was only making it worse.

    ''Though this, it''s different!''

    "Hey!" She yelled, catching up to him.

    "You might not know this, but I''m the best flier at Hogwarts. And you''re rejecting my offer for help," she said in annoyance.

    Rose didn''t know why, but now, Aunt Be had also joined Aunt Andi in pestering her about Axel.

    Has he been taking his food regrly? Are the teachers going easy on him after Andromeda''s notification? Does he have friends? Is there any girl getting too close to himtely?

    Things like that.

    And, her threats were also real. "If you ever tried to bully him, I''m banning Quidditch from Britain."

    This one had really left her terrified.

    Now, Rose was dying to know what had Axel done to achieve this in so little time. Though she was already sure interrogation wouldn''t work on this guy. She had tried and look how good that turned out. He has even stopped acknowledging her presence.

    Axel nced at her with a raised eyebrow,

    "You''re good at Flying?'' He asked.

    Rose''s face lit up.

    ''See? I knew he''d stop ignoring me after hearing that.''

    She nodded with pride.

    "Yep, I''ve been flying on brooms since I was very young. Sirius even gifted me a real broomstick when I was four!"

    Axel nodded, looking rather impressed.

    "Well, good for you," he said in a deadpan before moving on.

    "...?"

    When she heard Axel''s reply, Rose''s face turned red in anger, somewhat matching her hair.

    She was expecting him to be at least a little bit impressed with that.

    ''Does he not believe me?'' She thought in anger.

    There was a limit to how much she could take. Stomping her foot in anger, she left with a huff.

    After she had left, the bored look in Axel''s eyes vanished as he looked in her direction with a calcting look. It seems his guess was right.

    "She''s all bark," he muttered. He had been testing her out for a while now and it seems that his assumptions were right. She will not do anything to him. She hadn''t shown any real intent to take action against him.

    That''s why he''s been rude to her recently. Otherwise, he''d have continued to remain polite until the day he took his revenge.

    He went over to the middle of the pitch where students were gathering up. Unfortunately, it would seem that Malfoy had managed to get out of the Hospital wing by now and was currently ring at Axel.

    "I bet he can''t fly with his crippled body," Axel heard him say clearly enough that many others heard it as well.

    He sighed. Would it kill this guy to use his brain? Why can''t heprehend that antagonizing him will get him nowhere? Just how spoiled is he to not know any fear?

    ''It seems like I''ll need to have a word with his mother.''

    Axel simply ignored the guy and went to stand in front of a broom.

    Soon, their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

    "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

    Axel looked at his broom. It looked to be in a fairly good condition. It also had two attachments to put your feet on. On its tail, the words Nimbus 3000 were written.

    "A Nimbus 3000? It''s been a while since Ist saw one," Axel heard one of the students say.

    "Yeah, brings back nostalgia, doesn''t it?" Another student said.

    "Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say ''Up!''"

    "UP!" everyone shouted.

    "UP!" Axel also tried with all his effort.

    *SNAP*

    ''Fuck!'' Axel winced in pain when his injured hand was pped hard with the handle of the broom.

    The sound was loud enough for even the rest of the students to hear.

    ''Damn it, why?!'' Axel questioned when he noticed that he seemed to be the only one whose broom hit his hand so hard.

    [Axel, themand didn''t need magic to activate. It only needed intent and authority.]

    ''Oh,''

    Axel didn''t know that. He had thought it was yet another spell and had put in the usual effort he puts into hismand.

    ''But still, why was it so fast?'' He asked.

    [If an average person is putting in 50% intent in their spell, you are putting around 500% intent to extract your magic. If onlyparing the intent as in this case, then you have be much superior to others due to your superior talent and practice.]

    ''Oh, got it,''

    "Are you alright kid?" He heard Madam Hooch ask him. She was looking at him peculiarly, as if she also found this urrence strange.

    Axel nodded.

    "Good. Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and thene straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle ¡ª three ¡ª two ¡ª one¡ª *PTWEEEE*

    Axel mounted his broom. He noticed that it had Cushioning charms on it as well so that it''sfortable to sit without busting your balls. On the whistle, he kicked off the ground hard, as hard as his feet could carry him.

    He had read the instructions from the system already since it was so basic information. He slightly raised the handle¡­ or atleast, he tried to. His crippled hands were shaking non-stop,pletely disrupting his flying.

    The broom was radically changing directions as well since his hands weren''t steady at all! Yet, he was somehow able to keep bnce without crashing down like anyone in his position would.

    At this moment, a system notification sounded as well, further distracting him.He was also aware of Malfoy''s jeeringughter.

    "Alright, fuck it,"

    At this moment, Axel simply decided to fuck all instructions and simply let go of his hands.

    Even though the rest of his body isn''t in a good condition, it''s good enough that it doesn''t randomly twitch and shakes. It moves in the direction he wants it to move.And apparently, that was more than enough for him.

    !!!!

    Those who had seen him had thought that he won''t be able to stay on the broom a moment longer. But, as soon as he let go of his hands, his broom suddenly stop moving in mid-air, as if someone had paused the video.

    ''Well¡­''

    With his broom now levitating steadily, Axel looked at the broom in slight surprise. He tried steering it left and right using just his legs and found himself flying wherever he wanted with just a slight shift in his legs.

    ''Ah¡­ was this supposed to be that easy?'' He asked himself as he finally looked around at others.

    It was a mess. Many were lying on the ground, many were flying around here and there with no control, and many weren''t even able to stay in their brooms without falling.

    ''Well, apparently not,''

    Sittingpletely at ease while watching Madame Hooch whistling her lungs off, trying to get the students to listen, Axel finally looked at the notification which hade just now.

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked a new skill: Arcane Acrobatics.

    A thief must have nimble and dextrous movements. Helps you increase your bnce, maneuverability, and nimbleness and adds grace and finesse to your movements.

    Current progress: 5% (Original 20%)]

    ''Well, what is this 5% and 20%, system?

    [You had gained 20% mastery in this skill with your years of training. But, due to your injuries, your performance has decreased. You can''t do rapid physical movements, but your bnce, grace, experience, and practice are still there and you have high maneuverability and bnce while flying a broom without using your hands.]

    ''Hmm¡­ well, it''s better than nothing,'' he decided after some pondering.

    Down on the ground, Rose sighed in relief when she saw Axel stabilizing in the air. She was stuck here helping out Neville who had fallen from his broom.

    She could have saved him, of course, but she was too focused on Axel who looked ready to fall at any moment.

    She had already been worried this would happen since Axel''s hands were too unsteady. But the guy had thoroughly rejected. When his broom became uncontroble, Rose saw what was most likely the end of the world for her: Quidditch being banned from Britain.

    Thankfully and surprisingly, as soon as he took his hands off the handle and controlled the broom with the rest of his body, everything seemed to have changed 180¡ã.

    That guy had managed to fly the broom even with his hands like that, meanwhile¡­

    "H-Hey Rose! Please help me out! I-I think I''m stuck!"

    Meanwhile, Neville had still not gotten over his fear of heights.

    ***

    Dolores Umbridge stepped into her office after passing through several wards. She hadn''t learned them herself. She was just granted the ability.

    Once inside, she opened her cardigan and pull out a locket hanging in front her of the neck.

    She opened the locket which was empty inside.

    "My Lord, I have confirmed. The stone was indeed transferred here," she said to the locket with her eyes closed.

    At first, there was no response. But soon, an obscured face slowly appeared on the surface of the open locket. The only thing that was clearly visible was the frightening red eyes.

    A hint of a smile seem to appear on the face.

    "Good," came a raspy voice, though it had a smoothness to it at the same time to contrast it. It sounded terrifying yet charismatic at the same time.

    "But focus on the other task more. We''ll need as many people as we can get," it said.

    Umbridge bowed her head,

    "Things have been progressing smoothly, my Lord. I am propagating it as much as I can here."

    "Good, perform your tasks sessfully and you shall be rewarded."

    Umbridge knelt down on the ground in glee, "Thankyou My lord! I shall not disappoint you!"

    "Is that all you have to report?"

    Umbridge hesitated,

    "My Lord, about the girl¡­"

    The voice paused for a few seconds.

    "Leave the girl alone for now¡­ I have ns for her."

    Umbridge bowed,

    "Yes my lord."

    ***

    A.N.: Yep. You got that right. It''s the same locket. As I said... there are way in which he can influence the world.

    I need all the POWER STONES you give. Come on, guys! This shit ain''t easy to write.

    To read ahead and Support this fic, join Pat reon! /Snollygoster

    Next chapter title: Time Skip

 Chapter 23: Time-Skip

    Chapter 23: Time-Skip

    That day, after sses and dinner, Axel sat in the empty ssroom which had turned into his makeshift bedroom by now. Except, of course, for the fact that there was no bed here.

    But you won''t find Axelining. This ce was dry, warm, rtively clean, and wasn''t infested with bugs and rodents ¡ªWhich is already quite nice for someone who''s experienced the streetlife of London.

    He looked at the information about the new Skill he had acquired.

    [Arcane Acrobatics.

    A thief must have nimble and dexterous movements. Helps you increase your bnce, maneuverability, and nimbleness and adds grace and finesse to your movements.

    Current progress: 5% (Original 20%)]

    In the information, there were quite a lot of physical exercises along with the basics of freerunning and parkour.

    And even though it was such a pity that he couldn''t do most of them at the moment, but he was still quite excited to give them all a try when he eventually gets healed.

    And of course, there was one more thing again: Diet.

    *Sigh*

    Axel felt his heart bleed at the thought of buying these things. Though he did notice that most of the ingredients weremon in the three skills.

    Looking at the ck leather wallet sent by Andromeda, he sighed.

    ''System, is the diet really that important? Can you exin how those things can help?'' He asked.

    [Affirmative. The special bnced diet, consisting of various magical ingredients and supplements, is a very vital part of the training. They will help you improve your body in various ways.

    Along with providing the necessary nutrition required to perform these taxing exercises, it''ll condition your body to be stronger and flexible enough to perform the higher-level techniques that you''re going to unlock.

    Lastly, it''ll gradually increase the magical conductivity of your body, thus allowing you easier ess to magic so that you can use it in the skills.]

    Axel sighed. It seems that he has no choice but to spend his money.

    He took out the Magi Mirror from the enchanted wallet and gave it a look. He had decided to only use the cks'' things when he had a real need for them.

    It seems like he really has the need to get used to operating it to keep up with the times.

    ''Looks too shy,'' he thought, flipping it in his hands.

    Up to now, he has seen this thing in various sizes and colors. The one in his hands was a ck Slick Mirror with a streamlined design that screamed branded and expensive. It had a logo of a half-eaten strawberry behind it.

    ''System, how do I use it?''

    He asked the system for instructions on how to use it. He hadn''t even used a Muggle telephone upto now, let alone this.

    ording to what the system has said, these things have been inspired from muggle ideas. Anything that the muggles can do, there''s a way to replicate and further improve it using magic.

    ''System, if the Wizards can do so much with magic, why are most of their inventions based on what muggles have already achieved without magic?'' Asked Axel. He thought that wizards should have left muggles in dust by now.

    [Muggles are a magical existence on their own, Axel. Despite theirck of magic, they are gifted with an incredible amount of creativity. Muggles are an important reason why the Magical Civilization is as developed as it is now. A magical world without muggles would be quite backward in many terms.]

    ''Oh¡­my bad.'' Axel nodded in understanding, admitting that he was in the wrong here. After just a few days of living as a wizard, he was already starting to think muggles were inferior. He could see how Purebloods turned the way they are.

    ''Just asking, does the Nether Dimension have muggles?'' He asked.

    [Further information on the Nether dimension is still locked. Quickly increase your approval rate.]

    ''Damn,'' Axel decided not to think too much about it and focus and what was in front of him. He had no business pondering over all that while being weak as fuck.

    He followed the system''s instructions to contact the BigOwl.

    He had to first connect to the Magi-hive. Then he had to search BigOwl''s information and just either call them or send the list. They''ll deliver as soon as possible at the mentioned address.

    Axel began typing the list of ingredients he had to consume but his mouth fell open when he read the price.

    "Damn it, is this robbery?!" He muttered in dismay. It was going to take a good chunk out of what he had stolen from the man.

    [Things in the list like Dragon meat jerky, Dragon liver, Gurdyroot, Root of arnica, Silverweed, Star grass, Gnthus Nivalis, etc. aren''t supposed to be cheap, Axel. But it''ll give your body a solid foundation along with many benefits. It''ll also help in making your injuries less severe.]

    "Sigh...I''m going to be poor again,"

    After contemting for a while, Axel decided to buy the ingredients. He''ll have to find a way to get more money very soon.

    After he was done, he went back to his training while still contemting how to earn money.

    ***

    __Time Skip__

    HALLOWEEN

    Two Months had passed since the start of the new term and Hogwarts had settled into its usual schedule, except for some crazy things from time to time.

    This year, there were a few noteworthy students at Hogwarts.

    First of all, there was the Girl Who Lived who had surprisingly managed to get into the Gryffindor House Quidditch team in her first year.

    And then there was the Mafia Prodigy, who''s attending her third year at Hogwarts. She is usually staying locked up in her room doing some kind of Magical experiment or she''ll sometimes visit the Dueling Arena where there are always students dueling and a healthy amount of audience watching. She had an undefeated record in the Arena.

    Aside from these two, there were several others like ric Malcolm: the head boy, the Weasley Twins, who are very famous for their prank videos, and some other students with high Status from other magicalmunities.

    But interestingly enough, there was one student who had be unintentionally notable for being very¡­ un-notable.

    Yes, Axel hunt had initially be famous after his video of a duel that had gone viral which showed his extreme dodging skills, giving the illusion that he could see the future. But when the curious students had tried to find out more about him, they were surprised to find¡­ nothing!

    They couldn''t find any information on him. And except for his sses, he is rarely seen outside. The only people he''s ever been seen associating with are Rose Potter and her friends.

    Another reason for his fame was that the way he handled the duel was apparently too cool and badass. And many youngdies found his bad-boy attitude attractive.

    And right now, the person in question, being quite unaware and uncaring of all this, was on his way to attending his Defense Against the Dark Arts sses.

    [[Progress in ''Blend'': 26%->39.9%]

    [Progress in ''Presence Reduction'': 22%->35.4%]

    [Progress in ''Arcane Acrobatics: 5%->14%]

    [Progress in Pain Tolerance: 57%->60%]

    In the past two months, Axel had definitely made good progress in his skills considering the fact that the rate of improvement slows down the further you improve. He had even unlocked some new skills as well and unlocked some further information about on the existing ones.

    Though, the progress he was really happy about was with his body and wand.

    At first, he had only ordered the diet supplements in small amounts since he couldn''t bring himself to fully trust in the system.

    Only after getting checked up at the hospital wing before and after consuming the diet and confirming that there were no side effects did he fullymit to spending his money.

    And after two months of various exercises, practicing various techniques, andpletely emptying his pockets, the results were now starting to show.

    His originally skinny body now looked in a much better shape. But, the real improvement was inner improvement. The training of the Arcane Thief ss wasn''t focused on gaining a bulky or muscr physique. It was focused on getting him the fastest, most flexible body with more inner strength than superficial bulk.

    Now, even if his movements weren''t as fast as before he was injured, he was still much better than his previouspletely crippled self and his technique was better than ever before.

    Though, there still wasn''t much noticeable improvement in his hands'' condition.

    As for his other improvement, it was with his wand.

    After two months of caring and coaxing this girlish wand, his bond was now strong enough that his magic was almost as powerful as an average first year. This was already quite an improvement for Axel whose Lumos used to be the weakest in the ss and always fluctuating.

    His lumency was also going swimmingly well, but even if he''s a genius, he can''t be expected to achieve in months what others have spent years, decades, and even their lives mastering.But he was close.

    He walked into the DADA ss, ignoring anyone who was looking at him, and went straight to thest seat.

    Since DADA was with Slytherins, Daphne was, as always, sitting with him in thest seat.

    "So, the phantom boy has once again decided to grace us with his presence, huh?" She muttered as she looked up from the book she was reading.

    Axel rolled his eyes in exasperation as he took his seat beside her.

    "Is that what they''ve been calling me now? I have told you already that I am usually there. It''s just that people are too blind to notice me," said Axel truthfully.

    With his current skills, none of the students can see him as long as he doesn''t want them to. Though he does purposefully show himself in the Slytherin dorms in front of some small groups of students now and then, so that they know that he''s staying in the dorms.

    Daphne rolled her eyes at him as well.

    "Yeah, I totally believe you," it might not look like it, but she was also being serious. She''d sometimes forget he was sitting right beside her until she sees him again.

    In the past two months, Axel and Daphne had gotten used to sitting together in theirmon sses. Though since Daphne had many other friends as well, she''d sometimes sit with them.

    Even after two months, Axel had still refused to acknowledge her as a friend.

    "We''re not friends. We''re just acquaintances who are on friendly terms," he''d say.

    Axel was quite clear that people''s minds were quiteplicated and can change anytime. This girl calls the other girls from Ravenw her friends but she''s always bitching about them to him behind their backs.

    Is this friendship? Then no thanks, he doesn''t need it.

    Sitting there, Daphne went back to read her book while Axel took out his wand to practice.

    *Thrum*

    "Yeah, good morning," he murmured to the wand. By now, he was quite clear on the fact that what he was doing wasn''t crazy at all. This thing was almost alive. Even that creepy old man at the wand shop had said that wands have a mind of their own.

    Daphne gave him a peculiar look from the side. At first, she had thought he had something wrong with his head but she had seen his wand acting like a person in person. So now, all she could think was it might be nice to have a wand like that too.

    ''Treats it better than he treats me,'' she thought with some resentment. She had already given up trying to figure him out by now. She couldn''t understand a thing.

    She just sits with him because she can just observe him if she''s bored. Talking to him is interesting, he''s ALWAYS training, and it''s quite a novel experience seeing him making progress with each day while knowing that a certified master healer had said he''d be unable to do magic.

    "You know, seeing you try so hard every day makes me feel like azy piece of shit," she said casually.

    Yep, this was another effect of hispany. She had be fluent in using badnguage. This was just her small way of showing a middle finger to her dear father who might be observing from hell. To hell with his perfect pureblooddy bullshit.

    Hearing her words, Axel turned to look at her with a bored expression.

    "Ah...okay. But I fail to see how this is any of my concern."

    BURN

    With her cheeks heating up in embarrassment, Daphne silently wrote down this line as well among the many others.

    This polite way of cursing was also something she wished to learn.

    Soon Umbridge had arrived, making her presence known with her annoying "hem* *hem*

    Once again, there was nothing interesting in her ss. She only let the students read the chapters in her ss and ask her if they have any doubts.

    ''Thiszy toad.''

    Axel somewhat hated her, but he still made sure to steer clear of her. His instincts always warned him against her.

    Especially considering how some of the students who had protested had gotten detentions. Axel never saw them dare to even let out a peep from the next ss.

    He practiced covertly with his presence hidden while Daphne read her book.

    "Those who have attended the extra sses. Congrattions on your improvement. And those with invitations who haven''t yet attended, please do reconsider after looking at the improvement of those who have attended."

    Umbridge even called for a demonstration, with a dummy ready.

    "Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly show how much you''ve improved in thest two months?

    Malfoy, who came out looking quite pompous, nodded with a smirk. He cast a look at Axel before looking back at the dummy.

    "Expulso!"

    *BAM*

    The Dummy hit got thrown back with such force that it hit the wall behind.

    The whole ss was astonished after seeing this.

    "I think I''ll reconsider going after this. If even that idiot can improve, then it might be worth the restrictions," said Daphne in shock.

    Daphne was the only one among Rose''s group who had gotten the invitation. Only the dark Pureblood families had gotten one.

    Axel shook her head immediately, his expression quite severe.

    "Don''t go. It''s not worth it," he said, his eyes actually looking at the system notification on the system interface in front of him that was blinking red.

    [Dark Magic detected.]

    ''What is this woman doing?!''

    ****

    A.N.: Check out the title of Chapter 25. It''s an interesting spoiler. It''s Halloween and you know what that means in the Potterverse.

    POWERSTONES!!!! I''ll update regrly if I''m motivated!

    Come read the future chapters and support this Masterpiece at Pat reon /Snollygoster

 Chapter 24: Trouble Comes without Knocking

    Chapter 24: Trouble Comes without Knocking

    Axel looked at the scene with a slight shock in his eyes. This was just too absurd! This mad woman taught students dark magic?! How?! Why did no one stop it?!

    ''System, do they know they''re learning dark magic? Do I tell everyone?!'' Axel asked the system urgently.

    [You can try doing that. However, it is not rmended. The people in this world don''t even know what exactly dark magic is anymore. Your words will not be believed by most people and your enemies will be alerted.]

    Axel could properly understand what the system was saying.

    ''What exactly IS dark magic though?'' he wondered. ''How is it harmful?'' From what he had gotten from the general knowledge, dark magic was banned in Britain by the ministry.

    [Dark magic is the magic from the Nether Dimension. Its destructive power is much more than the ordinary magic that the wizards use. Currently, very few spells known to wizardkind actually make use ofDark Magic, like Fiendfire.

    Most of the spells that have beenbeled dark don''t make use of dark magic at all. They are called Dark just because they are brutal. Hence, wizards don''t actually have any real knowledge of dark magic.

    Dark Magic is harmful because those who don''t have an affinity with it can be negatively affected after using it.]

    *sigh*

    Axel lightly banged his forehead on the desk.

    "What an ordeal¡­" he muttered exasperatedly.

    Daphne, who was sitting beside him thought that the reason behind Axel''s odd behavior might be that his enemy had gained strength too fast.

    "Don''t worry," she said, "I''m sure you can still beat him."

    Axel raised his head to look at her in bewilderment.

    "I''m not worried about that. I''m worried that the methods she''s using to improve them might be harmful, but¡­ never mind," he said while sighing.

    It''s none of his goddamn business if they harm themselves, he decided.

    If you look at it from his point of view, there''s nothing much he can do about it without putting himself in danger.

    If he openly ims that they are using dark magic, he''ll be in trouble with that creepy woman. As for informing the authorities? As if they''re better people! The minister of magic herself is a woman who enjoyed forcefully getting information out of him, searching his mind. He''s never trying his luck with another person in power.

    As for informing someone anonymously, in a magical world, there''s no way to do it anonymously, considering the fact that his murder was somehow discovered by the minister.

    ''It''s better to just let the world burn...rather than foolishly putting myself in danger. I''ll only think about it when I have the power to do something about it,'' he decided.

    ''You''re not going to force me?'' He asked the system.

    [The system doesn''t have any power to do so. Of course, you will get hefty rewards if you do stop them from propagating dark magic.]

    ''No thanks, I''ll pass,'' thought Axel without hesitation. With his bad luck, he already gets into enough trouble already. He doesn''t want to go out of his way to court it.

    ¡­

    Later that day, after sses, Axel was doing his exercise and training in the abandoned ssroom.

    It was evening now and it seems that there was supposed to be a feast or something in the great hall for Halloween but Axel rarely went to the great hall these days. It was simply a waste of time and effort.

    The diet along with the food he frequently brings from the Great Hall is more than enough to fill his stomach. Why waste the extra time and effort of walking to the Great Hall?

    *Huff* *Huff* *Huff* Panting from extreme exertion, he flopped down on themattress.

    This ssroom was no longer that dingy unweing ce it used to be.

    With the castle being so huge, no one reallyes into this part of the castle since there''s nothing important here except for some creepy-looking abandoned sses. Especially after the sun is down since they hadn''t bothered installing lights here. If they aren''t used to the dark like him, they''ll be creeped out just from the vibes of this ce.

    So, now that he was sure that this ce seemed secure enough, he had invested some effort in making it a more convenient ce to stay during his past few months.

    He hadn''t bothered bringing a whole bed, but he did bring a mattress from the Slytherin dorms. Aside from that, there were a few light balls (the magical equivalent of light bulbs) since he couldn''t forever depend on the moonlighting from the window and his wand light. Oh, and he had also personally cleaned everything while also learning the lowest cleaning charm.

    After taking a breather, he started taking various supplements since the best time to eat was after training.

    Even though some of them tasted horrendous, he still ate them withoutint.

    This was bought after spending an obscene amount of money and would give him power. He''ll be damned if heins.

    "Let''s see", he muttered as he checked the skills. These were not all, but are some of the new ones in this list as well.

    [''Blend'': 39.9%]

    [''Presence Reduction'': 35.9%]

    [''Arcane Acrobatics: 15%]

    [Pain Tolerance: 60%]

    [Wand Aim: 5%]

    [Knife throwing: 4%]

    [Knife Wielding: 5%]

    [Silent Steps: 40%]

    [Trap designing: 5%]

    Most of the new skills he had gained were pretty minor ones. They didn''t have muchplicated stuff about them yet.

    Silent Steps was easy enough to get since his legs were working just fine as long as the movements weren''t fast or strenuous and he had a good mastery of the skill already.

    Knife Throwing and Wielding, he already had a crude but practical knowledge and minor mastery, so it had unlocked when he had tried using his knife. But, his proficiency at the moment was 0% due to his disabled handle. He has raised it with a lot of difficulties. ''Wand Aim'' also had a simr case.

    Now, even with his hands always trembling and moving differently than how he intends them to, he is predicting how much his aim would randomly deviate and then making adjustments. Helluva chore, but anything to make it work. Especially since things aren''t looking up now...

    The past two months had been smooth enough, but he had several blocks in his way now. He realized that the skill progress was more difficult to increase the more he raised the percentage.

    And if that wasn''t enough, he took out the man''s pouch to check the money.

    *Jingle*

    "Sigh¡­ it''s too low,"

    The money was almost all spent after spending so much on his diet.

    In the beginning, he had thought that money would not be a problem since he already needed to perform theft for unlocking new skills. But¡­things aren''t as easy as they seem.

    First of all, with his hands as they are, he can''t make use of all that dexterity he had. So, picking anyone''s pockets was simply not an option.

    But¡­ that is not the only way to steal, is it?

    Axel sighed as heid down on the mattress, putting aside all the ingredients.

    Crippled hands weren''t exactly the real problem here and he knew it.

    The real problem was, that he just couldn''t bring himself to actually steal after hisst attempt had gone horribly wrong and he had to suffer such consequences.

    Even if it was supposed to benefit him by unlocking his skills, even if he liked stealing from the rich, and even if he really needed the money... he just couldn''t. For two months, he had tried. He really did, but¡­there was this resistance, this hesitation that he had developed towards stealing anything that he always found himself finding some excuse not to do it.

    He recalled Andromeda''s words.

    //It would be quite weird if you arepletely fine after going through that experience. There has to be some kind of impact it would have brought on you//

    Axel hadn''t thought there was anything wrong with him, but it would seem that the torture might have left behind one small trauma after all.

    It wouldn''t have been a big deal at all to most people. After all, they are better off not stealing at all. It would instead be counted as a plus point. But for him whose future is based on stealing after getting the Arcane Thief ss? It''s quite a big problem.

    Axel shook his head.

    "Might as well focus on training," he muttered as he began doing his mental training. He''ll get over it. He''ll make himself get over it.

    By the time it came to the turn of his lumency, he was already feeling quite spent. In lumency, he focused on organizing his memories.

    Without properly organizing them, your memories are a jumbled mess. You can''t recall the right memory without connecting it with other memories. And some memories are stuck so far back that you can''t even recall them. You have to pull such memories back into your mind, which is easier said than done.

    That''s why lumency takes time. Many lumens don''t bother doing this their whole life since they know the correct way and think this stage is useless. But Axel has no choice but to do so since it is included in the beginner stage lumnecy, thus not giving him the choice to skip it like other people.

    Due to the frustration, Axel had trained so much that he fell asleep while he was still sorting his forgotten memories out of exhaustion.

    Axel had the weirdest dream. He felt quite weak for some reason, and his vision was quite blurry. He seemed to be hanging in the air, held by something.

    "Do we really need to do this?" He heard a woman''s voice. It had a sad and resigned tone to it.

    "I have no choice. They had found two keys in the location. I could only steal one and they can''t be allowed to use the second. So, ''I'' need to do this. But you just won''t let me do it alone," said a man''s deep voice. It sounded quite helpless.

    "Come on, Tristan. You know you can''t do this without me! Besides, we''reing back! We have to," said the woman, and Axel felt himself getting squeezed. He realized that he was in the woman''s embrace.

    It was quite a¡­ peculiar experience. He felt sofortable that he fell asleep.

    *ring*

    When he woke up, he could only make out the blurry silhouettes of two people looking down on him.

    *ring**ring*

    "We''ll be back very soon, Axel. Stay strong until then," he heard them speak.

    *ring* *BOOM*

    Axel jerked awake from his dream. He was in such a deep sleep that he didn''t even wake up after the bells he had set up to alert him started ringing, meaning that someone was here!

    As soon as he opened his eyes he saw red words shing on the system interface. He then heard the system''s voice,

    [It''s a Mountain Troll, Axel. You need to survive. You need to survive.]

    "The FUCK?" Axel questioned, grabbing his wand and knife in each hand. He couldn''t understand the situation. A mountain troll¡­here? Furthermore, he was still a bit disoriented from the dream he''d just had.

    *BOOM*

    *BLAST*

    But his doubts were instantly cleared as the huge doors were sted open from their hinges and a giant creature came rushing in.

    System''s words had been clear enough. It was a mountain troll alright.

    ''RUN!''

    Axel was already in his stealth so he wasn''t much worried. His first thought was to escape quickly.

    Just as he was about to execute this brilliant n, his mind analyzed the situation clearly and gave him the bad news. Why would a mountain troll suddenlye into this part of the castle? And even if it did, why only target this door? It was at this moment that he saw the Trolls mouth dripping with saliva as it stared Hungrily at the supplements he ordered.

    That''s right! The smell of these magical ingredients! That''s why it''s here!

    ''Oh¡­nonononono. NO! You muthefuckah, you don''t even think about touching that!''

    It was the precious ingredients he had ordered after spending all his money. He can''t just let this thing eat it!

    ***

    A.N.: Next Chapter Title: Axel vs Troll. Those who arementing that it''s depressing need to read the next chapter before they decide.

    PLEASE VOTE POWERSTONES! It my source of motivation!

    To read ahead and support me, Join P¨¤treon and be the part of the decision making. Thements and DMs of Patrons shape up the chapters you''re reading. /Snollygoster

    I''m writing chapter 34 now.

 Chapter 25: Axel V/s Troll

    Chapter 25: Axel V/s Troll

    Waking up to the sight of a freakin'' mountain troll barging into your room isn''t an experience Axel would rmend to others.

    It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with t, horny feet.

    And worst of all, the smelling from it was downright revolting.

    It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

    Though Axel was also one mad dude. He ignored all this when he saw the Trolls mouth dripping with saliva as it stared Hungrily at the supplements he ordered.

    ''Oh¡­nonononono. NO! You muthefuckah, don''t you even think about touching that!''

    It was the precious ingredients he had ordered after spending all his money! And, he''ll be damned if he lets a troll eat it.

    Axel quickly grabbed a bunch of strings that were lying beside him and pulled them all in one go.

    Immediately, a shower of white, red, and green powdered substances fell on the creature from above and a bunch of nails also fell on the troll''s path.

    These were just some traps Axel had designed for the intruders. As a paranoid person, he wouldn''t stay here without assurance.

    So, he had tried setting up some traps and did some research on the subject as well. To his surprise, he had even gotten the Arcane Theif Skill: Trap Designing.

    The powdered substances were what he had got from his Herbology ss. Unlike others, he had paid attention in that ss from day one since he had realized its potential.

    Of the substances, one was supposed to cause intense itching, one would make a person disoriented and nauseous, and one was simply a very powerful chilly powder, intended for eyes,

    Unfortunately, due to having somemon sense, he had designed the traps taking human intruders into consideration. The powdered substances were hanging just above the door so that the intruder doesn''t have much time to protect himself. But, Troll''s body was even taller than the huge door frame and it had already entered while Axel was still disoriented from his dream.

    So, the powders fell on its shoulder, and the chilly powder didn''t reach its eyes. As for the powder that was supposed to cause disorientation and nausea, and the itching powder, that did seem to have a little effect on the troll''s thick skin, but not to the degree it should.

    Axel didn''t even have the time to think much before lunging for his food and starting stuffing it all in his backpack. But, by doing this, Axel had exposed himself since his skills didn''t grant him actual invisibility. And sure enough, seeing the very mouth-watering food for which it hade all the way to this part of the castle disappearing right in front of its eyes, being stolen by a small creature, the Troll, who was distracted due to the itching, grew enraged!

    It let out a mighty roar as it charged ferociously at Axel while ignoring all the puny nails that pinched its feet.

    "Fuckfuckfuck!" Seeing the traps he had designed not working, Axel cursed under his breath while trying to make his crippled hands work fast. When he gets out of this situation alive¨C correction¨C ''if'' he gets out of this situation alive, the first thing he''s doing is to learn a spell that can quickly collect his things and put them in his bag!

    *boom* *boom* *boom*

    The troll got closer with each step while Axel collected the ingredients worth hundreds of galleons.

    Damn it! He should have always been in a ready-to-flee state! It seems he had gotten careless after two months of safety. Even the traps were set up in the beginning when he was still careful. But after two months, his paranoid nature had calmed down a lot, and it seems that was a mistake.

    It was only seconds before the troll was onto Axel, and was bringing his club down on Axel who couldn''t make quick movements due to his body.

    While the club was being brought down on him, Axel looked up at it without flinching while raising his wand¨C and pointing it at himself.

    "Flipendo!"

    With almost all the ingredients safely stuffed in the bag that was clutched in his hand, Axel''s body was knocked sideways due to his own spell, out of the way from the iing huge club.

    *BOOM*

    The club descended with great momentum andnded with huge impact, destroying the floor and raising dust everywhere.

    *cough* *cough*

    "Damn..."

    Axel slowly stood up and dusted off his clothes as he coughed due to dust. He looked at the little amount of ingredients left on the ground that he couldn''t pick up as he swung his backpack over his shoulders.

    They were totally ruined.

    For a moment, both Axel and the troll just looked at the ruined ingredients mixed up with a pile of dust and debris on the floor. Then, as if in sync, both turned their gazes on each other.

    "...You¨Cstupid¨Canimal!"

    *ROAR*

    Then, both instantly med each other for it.

    At first, Axel had thought that he''d just run away but now¨C

    "You''ve made this personal, you bastard," he muttered as he took out another wand from his bag, now standing with one wand in each hand. One, his own, and one he got from Cyrus Greengrass

    Right now, while an average person in his ce might be freaking out, Axel was thinking something else,

    ''This guy doesn''t look like much,'' was what he was thinking as he checked out the key information he had from the system.

    From what he can tell after looking through the information and from what he had seen this guy do so far, it seems like it wouldn''t be as difficult as he thought.

    He''s big? So were all the others whom Axel had faced. When ites to a fight, bigger is not always better.

    Fast? Not much.

    Magic resistant? We''ll see.

    With a loud roar, the Troll charged at him once again. And this time, he shot several spells, none of which hit the troll. They allnded on the ground between them.

    *SLICK* *THUD*

    And the troll, who was charging at Axel, fell forward on his face with a resounding thud.

    "Haha! Taste that, you bastard!"

    The spell Axel had used was one of the first spells he had learned. It was ''Lubricous Netorem'', the spell that temporarily makes any surface very smooth and slick by covering it up with magic.

    Axel had fired several of them one after another, so that all the ground in front of them would be slippery in case he missed the spot due to his bad aim.

    Even after the troll had fallen, Axel didn''t stop chanting. Spell after spellnded on the ground all around the troll as he circled it, stacking up the effect and making it even more slippery so that the Troll slipped every time it tried to stand. Axel also emptied his stack of chilly powder, itching power, and the green poisonous powder that causes disorientation.

    "Electrica Impulsa...Electrica Impulsa...Electrica Impulsa¡­"

    Meanwhile, the wand in his other hand was starting to light up slowly with each alternate spell.

    Though at this moment, the Troll let out a loud, desperate cry. It pulled back itsrge club, about to throw it at Axel.

    It was such a move that Axel¡ª

    ¡ªwanted to yawn.

    ''So predictable,''

    BUT...

    *BOOM*

    *SPLAT*

    But...before the poor troll could even throw it and before Axel could apply his countermeasure, a bright purple beam of light came and blew the troll''s head off!

    "What...What the fuck?" Axel turned his head to look at the kill stealer.

    ***

    A While Earlier:

    Martina Valentino sat in the great hall, attending her third Halloween party here.

    In the past two years, nothing had gone wrong on this day, making her quite used to the quiet.

    But, this was the year when the plot officially starts and events start happening every year.

    Or so it was supposed to be...

    But this world is so freaking A.U. that she wants to kick the creator''s balls.

    A Harry Potter World with no Harry in it. And if that wasn''t enough, many other things have also changed, and many new things which were never mentioned in those small seven books are also in this world.

    So, now she doesn''t know what the heck she''s supposed to do today. From what she knew, a Troll was released into the castlest time so that Quirrell could steal the Philosopher''s Stone, and Hermione was almost killed (due to Ron)

    But in this world, Quirrell is still peacefully sitting in his seat and Hermione is sitting right beside her on the Ravenw table and Umbridge is also here. So. now she was left sitting here, doing absolutely nothing with her nerves feeling all jittery.

    "Hmm?"

    Though at this moment, her familiar Rowlet contacted her through their bond! She had asked her to keep an eye out for any signs of abnormal activities today.

    Just as Martina stood up, the door to the great hall was also opened and the Head Boy, ric Malcolm rushed in.

    "THERE''S A TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON!"

    Martina didn''t even listen to ric''s words before she ducked down the table, turned herself invisible, and left the great hall while everyone was still panicking. With such a big and diverse student poption, there were many students who were currently out of Great Hall. Martina would feel guilty if she let innocent students die for no reason.

    She rushed to the Location that her familiar had told her of. This was one of the more remote and deste parts of the Castle.

    Even Martina doesn''t like toe here at night since she finds it a bit scary. She was already scared of ghosts and other things in her previous life, and in this life, they all actually exist so she usually tries to steer clear of such ces.

    Though, there was one benefit.

    ''No one''s at risk here,'' she thought with a sigh of relief.

    She couldn''t imagine any students wandering around here at this time of night.

    *boom*... *roar*

    Though¡­ just at this moment, she heard a distant noise, making her frown. This must be the troll. But¡­ Why would a troll make noise? Unless¡­

    Once again, Martina was rushing forward, right in the direction where the sound came from.

    *Boom* *Boom*

    As she got closer, the noise grew louder, the smell grew worse and,

    "Lubricous Nitrorem!" She heard another voice as well.

    She found a destroyed door, peering through which she came across the scene of a Troll charging at a boy!

    Martina had her wand out in a second, ready to st the troll off, but before she could do that, she saw the Troll falling face-first to the ground.

    After that, it seemed that the boy had everything under control for a while as he kept changing positions, throwing out spells and some powders at the troll from all directions."

    ''What?!'' As the boy moved around the troll, she finally got to see his face, and she recognized it instantly!

    ''Axel Hunt!'' She recalled his name due to his viral video.

    This is the same guy who had made her fall that night and the same guy whose memories she had seen the next day. And what horrible memories! Martina has tears in her eyes every time she remembers them.

    She has wanted to meet this guy again ever since, to talk to him and try to help him out in some way. But, she hasn''t seen him much ever since.

    And, she also hesitates to approach him. She doesn''t even know what she''s supposed to say once she did talk to him.

    ''Hey, I looked into your mind without your permission and now I want to help you out in some way,'' yeah, her awkward otaku shut-in nature doesn''t seem to have improved even after reincarnation.

    *ROAR*

    She was brought out of her thoughts when the troll suddenly let out a deafening cry as it prepared to throw its weapon.

    Panicked, Martina didn''t even think twice before she unleashed one of her full-powered attacks on the Troll, causing its head to be blown up into pieces.

    ''What?!'' Even Martina herself was surprised. She had read the trolls were magic resistant so she had put in some extra power.

    But she quickly turned her attention to the more pressing topic.

    "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She asked Axel urgently while approaching him quickly.

    He was up against a damn troll! He might have been in need of medical attention.

    The boy looked at her with an unreadable expression.

    "I''m fine," he said as his gaze went lower, towards her legs.

    Martina, who was still approaching realized a moment toote why he was ncing at the floor as her foot suddenly slipped due to stepping on an extremely slippery surface and she found herself falling back.

    *Thump*

    The floor she had stepped on was quite slippery and she fell back on her butt with her skirt riding up and her spread open in M shape.

    "..."

    "..."

    All Martina could think at the moment was:

    ''Again?! Are you kidding me?!''

    What Axel was thinking:

    ''Hm...She seems to like purple a lot.''

    ***

    A.N.: Thoughts?

    Gimme POWERSTONES and see what happens next!

    Next chapter title: "A Troll might be easy but..."

    If you want to read ahead and support this masterpiece, join P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 26: A troll might be a easy but...

    Chapter 26: A troll might be a easy but...

    As Axel turned around to look at the kill stealer, he was surprised to find Martina Valentino standing in the doorway with her wand raised. Judging by the power of the spell, he was expecting some professor or something. Certainly not a student who''s barely two years older than him.

    "Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!"

    Before Axel could even think of what action to take, she was already advancing toward him. He was quite intimidated by her graceful and noble bearing as she walked toward him with no sign of fear or hesitation.

    Overtaken by her momentum, Axel considered running away from this powerhouse who had casually blown away a Troll''s head just moments ago. At least this time, his chances of sessfully running away were much better thanst time.

    Just as he was pondering this, he saw her stepping on the area of the ground that was affected by his Lubricous Nitorem spell and... fall to the ground on her posterior.

    "...."

    "...."

    Axel looked at the girl who had fallen in front of him in an embarrassing position.

    All of her mighty image had been effectively shattered into pieces with this.

    Now he was rather worried that she might me him for it. After all, that spell beam was no joke. It blew the magic-resistant troll''s head apart.

    During the past two months, Axel had researched this girl who seemed to be special enough to have her information restricted on the system. And the results seemed to be in his favor.

    Despite her family''s infamous reputation, and having more than a 100 times the money and influence than the Malfoy family, she hasn''t shown any sign of negative behavior at school, nor has she shown hostility towards him. And Axel wanted to keep it that way. He knows how to differentiate between someone like Draco Malfoy and her. So, as he looked at her lying on the floor, he was at a loss whether to just run away, help her up, or just keep standing here and enjoy the view presented to him.

    Though he wasn''t given much time to think as Martina quickly got up and coughed awkwardly. Her cheeks had a red dusting on them, showing her embarrassment.

    "Ahem, pardon my ungainliness... that was rather inelegant of me," she said in a tone that seemed much more mature than her age and Axel could guess she was using lumency.

    "But right now, we need to get out of here. The professors would being here at any time and it would be troublesome to exin how one first year and a third year fought a troll and destroyed its skull. Are you injured somewhere? Can you walk?"

    ''Wait a minute... The professors areing?!'' Axel skipped the rest of her words.

    He only now realized that having a Troll in the school seemed to be a bigger problem than he had thought. Indeed, having that thing enter a ssroom full of students might turn the ssroom into a meat grinder. So, it does make sense for the staff to take action.

    But, if they find his things here, they''ll know that he''d been staying out of the dormitory and breaking curfew for all this while¡­ And in that case, he''s sure to get punished.

    "Uh...I can''t leave right away. I need to collect my things," said Axel as he rushed off and began filling up the rest of his belongings into his bag. If the teachers found his things here, they might think these things belong to the person who head-shotted the Troll.

    ??

    Martina looked at Axel filling up his bag with things in confusion. She couldn''t understand why he''d have so many things in here.

    "What things? Hurry up! We need to leave!" She said as her attention shifted to the things he was packing. Books, uniform, a toothbrush, a mattress, a pillow, clothes, etc. She frowned. Why would he have these things here?

    ''Wait. Don''t tell me¡­'' There was only one conclusion she could reach.

    "You¡­ have you been actually living here?" She asked in disbelief as she looked around at the destroyed room.

    "Yeah,"

    Axel just shrugged. It was so obvious that he couldn''t even deny it. Though he couldn''t understand how the hell here and why the heck she is being so nosy. Wasn''t the Mafia Prodigy supposed to be an aloof and unapproachable existence at Hogwarts?

    Of Course, he didn''t know that behind her imperial persona, Martina was just a recluse with very low social skills to speak of.

    Hearing his answer, Martina was appalled.

    "Seriously? How can someone stay here? How can you even fall asleep in this ce?"

    This is one of the very few corners of the castle that isn''t lit at all at night since no one reallyes here or passes through here. Even she has only ever dared wander in the lighted areas at night. So, she couldn''tprehend how someone could sleep peacefully at night here while there was no living person in the vicinity.

    Axel gave her an annoyed look,

    "I had been sleeping here well enough until a Troll decided to rudely disturb me tonight,"

    "...." Martina looked at the destroyed doors as the picture became clear to her. That¡­ isn''t that even more terrifying? Imagine sleeping alone in a creepy ce and an ugly Troll suddenly breaks your door open and charges at you¡­ Martina was sure that her scream would have woken up the entire castle.

    "But...why would you stay here? Why not just stay in the Slytherin Dorms?" She asked, though she could guess the answer.

    Axel shrugged, "Didn''t like the residents," he said shortly.

    Martina surmised that her assumptions might not be too far off. His case reminded her of the case of another one of her favorite characters, Luna Lovegood, who had been alone for her beginning years. This is why, she wanted to help.

    This boy has been sleeping alone in this gloomy part of the castle. And if that wasn''t enough, even that ce isn''t avable to him anymore. She would have told him about the room of requirements but she''d seen Umbridge going there once so that ce can''t be safe anymore.

    "If you really need a different ce I could talk to¨C"

    "No need," said Axel who had checked the notifications by now. Sometimes, the rewards of the system are based on his needs. And that was the case this time as well.

    [You managed to survive against a troll. Congrattions.

    ->+2% approval.

    ->Information on a secret room]

    ''Good work, system,'' he praised. He''s realized the power of information many times over by now.

    When Axel was done cleaning up all the cases of his presence in this ce, with some magical help from Martina, he looked at the room with aplicated expression. This had been a nice ce for the past two months.

    But, it seems like he wouldn''t even be given the time to reminisce as Martina''s owl hooted and they heard rushed footstepsing from the way they hade.

    !!!! x2

    Both Axel and Martina got startled by that. Both didn''t want to be found here. Axel''s reasons were clear and Martina''s reasons were¡­a littleplicated.

    She didn''t want everyone to know that she had so much power since she had read too many scenarios in her previous life that could go wrong. Heck, she didn''t even know if this was a good Dumbledore or a dark and maniptive Dumbledore world. Thus, she only wanted to be a genius within the bounds of reasoning, not someone who could blow off a troll''s head with one spell.

    Thus, when they heard the footsteps, both of them hurried off in the opposite direction of the footsteps.

    "Search the whole area!" They heard Professor Longbottom''s voice. That was it for Axel. He took out a broom he had ''borrowed'' from the broomshed and started to fly since his legs couldn''t quite run yet. When he eventually stopped, he was surprised to find Martina right behind him.

    "Why did you follow me?" He asked her, trying not to show his annoyance. She had tried to read his mind without permission. So he obviously didn''t have any favorable impression of her.

    He had nned to find the ce which was in the system''s information after ditching this girl. But surprisingly during all those different paths he took during his flight, she had still managed to follow him. Axel wondered how she followed him. She didn''t have any broom in her hands.

    Martina frowned,

    "I just panicked and followed you. Is that a problem?"

    When the professors came, she panicked and started running on foot along with Axel, but then she saw him calmly moving, while ncing back, almost phasing in and out of her view likest time, and then he took out his broom. Suddenly, she remembered that she can also fly, making her curse her muggle-mindedness. After that, she just followed him wherever he went since he seemed so calm andposed, as if he knew what he was doing.

    Axel shook his head,

    "Not a problem. Now, why don''t we go our separate ways?"

    *shiver*

    It was getting quite cold. Axel wanted to quickly find the new ce system rmended and sleep but he couldn''t go in her presence. In the first ce, where the fuck were they right now? Axel had no idea. He had just flown randomly wherever. He took out his wand and lit it up, only making their immediate surroundings visible.

    Martina also shivered. She shook her head,

    "No. I can''t leave you here alone; It''s Halloween, I can''t just let you find another ce to crash. It''s not safe," she said as she looked around to identify where they were.

    Axel stopped walking as he looked at her.

    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but we''re just strangers. I don''t understand why you are going so far to help me out. Is there something you want from me?" He asked clearly. He wasn''t feeling good right now, so he was having difficulty having this girl barely two years older than him being all nosy and bossy on him.

    "I¡­"

    Martina grew dazed as she realized that her actions did really seem abnormal, especially considering the usual persona that she usually uses to avoid people. But, she can''t just tell him that she had seen his memories without his permission, could she?

    *hoot* hoothooot*

    At this moment, Rowlet, who was on perched her shoulder suddenly started hooting urgently, making her confused,

    "What is it?" she asked.

    Martina was exasperated at first; they had just escaped from one danger, and there was another danger approaching already? Though the urgency and fear she felt from their bond told her that the situation was not to be taken lightly.

    Wrapping her arms around herself due to the cold, she turned to Axel.

    "Axel¡­ where e-exactly are we? She asked as she lit up her wand, and was surprised to find that her breath was misty due to the cold. There were no lights here and she was getting very cold and deste vibes from this ce. Unknowingly, she had moved closer to Axel for some warmth.

    Axel shrugged.

    "No idea. We might be somewhere around the second or the third floor," he answered with a frown as he realized something. He was feeling cold because he wasn''t wearing the enchanted clothes. But¡­ Martina should be wearing the enchanted ones, right? Simr to the ones Andromeda had bought him.

    Martina paused.

    "Wait, d-did you say we might be on the t-third floor?"

    !!!

    At this moment, the red system alerts from earlier suddenly popped up again, making him startled.

    [Axel, you need to run. Now.]

    "What the Fuck?"

    [It''s Dementors. The system is not able to protect you from soul attacks.]

    Axel realized that the system was not ying around right now. But, before he could do much, he heard a rattling breath,ing from somewhere above him.

    ?!!!

    An intense chill went down his spine as he quickly moved his wand upward, making more of the area above them visible.

    And what he saw made him catch his breath in his throat.

    Two towering figures, wrapped in dirty and tattered ck, hooded cloaks were swooping down towards him.

    "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" From right beside him, Axel heard a piercing screaming from Martina but he couldn''t pay it any attention since the creatures'' target was not Martina, but him. She didn''t even have to be so scared since she can just run while these creatures are busy with him.

    Axel was suddenly feeling very cold. The cold seemed to pierce his clothes, prate his skin and go right through his very heart.

    Suddenly, images were shing in front of him, images of being tortured, being beaten. It was as if he was reliving his worst. Though the images cleared as he heard the ding from the system, giving him some rity.

    His other wand slipped into his hand from his sleeve.

    "Electrica¡­ Impulsa¡­" What the fuck? Why was he feeling so hopeless? Why does struggling seem so futile? "Electrica Impulsa¡­"

    Why is he even living anyway? What''s the purpose of his life? Who would even care if he died?

    ¡­..

    But then, a voice from inside his mind spoke up

    ''Fuck I''m living for myself, damn it! I don''t give a fuck whether anybody cares or not!''

    Yes! He was living for himself. Is that too insignificant for others? What was his goal? Well, it was to be the Greatest Of All Time and give a giant middle finger to everything that had tried to bring him down.

    So, even if he has to die, he has to at least give a memorable middle finger to his attackers.

    "ELECTRICA IMPULSA!"

    *Crackle* *Crackle*

    Axel''s dazed eyes snapped back into focus as two glowing blue rods were impaled into the two Dementors who were looming over him.

    "E-Expecto Patronum!"

    He dimly heard a voice beside him but his consciousness was already phasing out as he fell to the ground.

    The gloomy feeling was gone and all he was feeling was.... weak. So weak and pathetic....

    ****

    A.N.: Damn, Dementors in the third-floor corridor?

    Just a reminder, Harry couldn''t even put up any struggle or even think anything during his very first encounter before he went unconscious... with a single Dementor.

    Out boi, having experienced worst experiences than Harry, faced two and still managed to put up a fight in the very first attempt.

    Anyways, some people were calling Martina the main character in thest chapter. See the difference, y''all? MC is built different ??

    POWERSTONES!!! Please, every stone matters!

    Next Chapter title: Sleeping with Martina

    If you want to read ahead and support this piece of art, /Snollygoster

 Chapter 27: Sleeping With Martina

    Chapter 27: Sleeping With Martina

    ''This must be a dream¡­ Just a nightmare.''

    That was what she was thinking as shey copsed on her knees right after she first saw the dementors.

    "Electrica¡­Impulsa¡­"

    She had found them scary even when she had seen them in the movies. But, seeing one in real life, and in such a theatrical fashion as she had looked up while already feeling panicked from the atmosphere, and seen those scary rotten creatures swooping down on Axel¡­It was just too much.

    "electrica impulsa¡­"

    She had reincarnated in this world and had been treated like a princess by everyone, always being protected and cared for. She had never suffered any hardship here, making her forget the darker aspects of this world.

    She had forgotten that this world wasn''t just sunshine and daisies but a dark world where terrible dangers were waiting to surface. She was dimly aware that she had to do something, but she was in a state of shock. Just the rebound of the dementors'' attack on Axel had left her frozen in fear.

    "ELECTRICA IMPULSA!!!"

    !!! At that moment, she heard Axel''s loud voice which snapped her back into reality. She saw his amber eyes zing with fire as he stabbed the two dementors with wands that were crackling with blue magic.

    Martina came to her senses with a start as she witnessed this scene. There he was, an 11-year-old boy fighting desperately against the dementors while they were clearly attacking him with all they had. And here she was, frozen in fear and denying reality despite being a reincarnator and a so-called genius. This was the first time Martina Valentino realized the massive difference between the two of them.

    ''I can''t just cower in fear! Not after the countless hours I''ve spent practising magic!'' She thought, raising her wand.

    She recalled all the good memories she had made in this world after living as an orphan in her previous life. Her father and older brother, who were feared by everyone but were very sweet-tempered and overprotective of her. And she recalled her mother who would always try to be strict but would cave into her every demand.

    "Expecto Patronum!"

    With the powerful memories, she chanted incantation for the Patronus charm, and her patronus, a big bright owl burst out from her wand and drove away the already writhing dementors.

    Right after that, she saw Axel lying unconscious on the ground with his two wands fallen by his side.

    "Nonononono. Please be fine, please be fine¡­" she muttered as she tried shaking him but he was out like a light. Martina didn''t know if he was in danger or not, but she did know that if anything happened to him, she was going to me herself forever.

    ''So much for a genius,'' she thought self-mockingly. When it actually came down to it, she couldn''t even deal with two Dementors in time.

    She didn''t even know what would have happened if the Dementors had targeted her first. Would she still have had the rity and concentration left to cast the Patronus? Or would her tasty reincarnated soul be the Dementors'' meal?

    ¡­

    "How is it?" Martina asked anxiously to Madam Pomfrey who was critically diagnosing Axel with all kinds of machines. She had ended up turning both of them invisible and flying them both to the Hospital wing.

    The medi-witch raised her eyebrows in surprise after her examination wasplete.

    "This boy just keeps surprising me. He has managed to change a lot in just two months," she muttered as she checked some past records of Axel she had in a bundle.

    Martina frowned,

    "What does that mean? Is he not okay?"

    Madam Pomfrey looked at Martina like she was talking absurdly,

    "Okay? With his body''s condition, he''s not "okay" by any stretch of the word. But if you''re asking if he''ll gain consciousness soon then yes, he will. There''s no harm done right now. He''s just really exhausted. Poor boy, he''s been pushing himself a lot. But I''m talking about his previous injuries," she muttered as she prepared a syringe and gave him a shot through his arm.

    With Madam Pomfrey''s cryptic answer, Martina was now more curious than relieved. She did already have her doubts about his physique already from various indicators.

    Frowning, Martina couldn''t help but ask her what was wrong with Axel''s body in the past, to which the Healer just shook her head,

    "That''s confidential, dear. You can only ask him if you want to know," She said before she began noting down further details in his file.

    ''But¡­ I really want to know¡­'' she thought with a sigh.

    She had seen him being beaten and injured in the memories she''d seen and even when she''d first seen him when he was sneaking out in the dark, his movements seemed to indicate that he was having difficulty moving. She had also seen his hands shaking a lot as well.

    What was wrong with him? And why was he still not cured? Does he need help?

    Her gaze lingered on the folder in Madam Pomfrey''s hands.

    ''No, that''s wrong,'' she thought as she shook her head. She shouldn''t look into it without his permission. It looks like she would have to wait for him to wake up to find out.

    She looked at Axel''s sleeping face. Right now, it didn''t have the constant frown and the annoyed expression it always has. Without it, his face looked quite handsome.

    Martina wondered how long it''ll take for him to wake up. It was only 10 o''clock right now. She can afford to wait for a few hours.

    Though while waiting for him to wake up as she browsed through her Magi-mirror, Martina, after being tired from the incident, found herself falling asleep.

    ¡­

    Axel woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He didn''t feel like moving at all. His brows furrowed as he recalledst night''s events. First the troll then the Dementors. Man, this school is really hardcore. To think he had heard it being called the safest ce in Britain after Gringotts¡­

    He examined his surroundings. He was in the hospital wing.

    Just as he sat up, his gaze went to his side and he almost jumped out of the bed.

    "What the¡ª?!"

    Right beside his bed, sitting in a chair with her head propped on the side of the bed, a girl was sleeping peacefully. Her long purple hair was spread all over the bed and her sleeping face looked much younger than her usual face, when she looks far older than her age.

    Axel realized that she must be the one who brought him here, but¡­ why is she sleeping here?!

    With the disturbance caused by his reaction, the girl''s eyebrows creased before she slowly opened her eyes.

    Martina opened her eyes to see Axel ring down at her.

    "Aaaahhh¡ª" she almost screamed out aloud before she mped her mouth shut.

    Last night, she had waited for him to wake up while browsing through the Hogwarts forums for the discussion on Troll. She had wanted to ask about his body''s condition and help him out if she could. After all, with her family''s resources, even phoenix tears could be arranged if they tried hard enough. But, she''d identally fallen asleep it seems.

    Axel frowned, does he look that scary? Well, he was hoping he does.

    "Did you bring me herest night?" He asked.

    Martina quickly raised her head from the bed as she tried topose herself, schooling her features and tossing her hair back. Though the drool at the corner of her mouth didn''t help at all.

    "Um¡­ yes. Pardon my crude conduct, I fell asleep while waiting for you to wake up," she said after clearing her throat.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Well, thanks for saving me. I''m awake, so can you tell me what you want now," He said to her. It was clear she wanted something since she decided to wait but he couldn''t imagine having anything that the Mafia Prodigy might want.

    Martina shook her head.

    "No, I don''t want anything. I just¡ª"

    But she paused when both of them heard voices approaching from outside the partition screen.

    "D''you reckon they might still be here?"

    "Well, the photo was quite recent. I think we''re the first ones toe here, so there''s a chance."

    "Well, I''m quite scared, to be honest. You two can go ahead and check. I don''t want anything to do when the Valentino Family is involved."

    "Oh... no..."

    Martina''s eyes slowly widened as sheprehended their words.

    As she had fallen asleep without intending to, she had not even been able to set up wards around the ce. On the off chance that someone peeked through the blinds, they would have been able to see her. And, it seems like that had turned out to be the case.

    ''Damn it!''

    In her panic, she didn''t even bother using her wand and simply put up the wards wandlessly, making it so that no one would be able to find this area so as to block those idiots.

    She quickly took out her Magi-mirror and opened the Hogwarts forums.

    "Shitshitshit!" she muttered as she found that the forums all blowing up with discussion. And the reason was just one damn photo, posted anonymously by someone.

    *Ring* *Ring*

    As if to make the situation worse, her Magi-mirror began ringing as she found her brother calling already and more calls and messages were starting to pop up with every second.

    On the other hand, Axel had also heard those kids. And after two months of adapting, he had some idea what they could be talking about. He found his bag beside his bed. He fished out his Magi-mirror and quickly checked the forums as well.

    !!!!

    When he saw his photo with the beloved princess of the most dangerous Mafia family sleeping right beside him, he saw his life sh before his eyes.

    "F."

    Yep, he was dead. He was truly dead now¡­.

    He wondered if it might have been better if he had been left with the Dementors.

    After checking to make sure all his belongings including his wands were with him, he simply got up as pain enveloped his body, indicating that his skills were activated.

    Martina quickly answered the call of her brother.

    "Fratello¡ª" she began but was cut off as both her father''s and brother''s faces popped into view cramped together.

    "Where are you right now?!"

    "Are you alright?!"

    "Who is he?! I just need the name!"

    "He''s only a friend right?... Right?!"

    Martina didn''t even have the chance to speak at all. Though it seemed that the Magi-mirror was suddenly snatched out of her brother and father''s hands and her mother''s stern face popped into view.

    "Martina, what¡­were you thinking, sleeping unprotected at a ce like that? Have I taught you nothing upto now?" Even though she didn''t show it, Martina could tell that her mother was truly irate right now.

    Martina pouted,

    "Mum, I know it''s my fault but we don''t have time for that. I just need you to quickly get that picture deleted from everywhere,"

    "Your father already has his men doing that. But the matter won''t end here. I need to know¡­ who was this boy and how did you end up in that situation?" Asked her mother, her tone leaving no room for evasion this time.

    "He is¨C" Martina looked up from her mirror, only to find that Axel was nowhere to be seen. When did he leave? She still had not been able to know about his condition.

    "Mum, don''t put any of this on him. He was unconscious at the time. I was just waiting for him to wake up since I had business with him," she said quickly. For goodness sake, his life had been miserable enough from what she had seen in the memories. She didn''t want her family making him go through more difficulties because of her fault.

    "Martina Valentino¡ª" began her mother, ready tounch into a big lecture, but Martina just cut off the call before that.

    She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. Her family had taken it well enough, considering the fact that her father and brother weren''t already on their way to kill Axel. But¡­ how would the rest of the school react to this?

    ¡­

    A.N.: So, a brief intro of Martina''s parents. There''s going to be more about them very soon along with Betrix''s reaction to the picture!

    VOTE WITH as many POWERSTONES as you can! New top 3 Fans will get free P¨¤treon subscription with new month, if you can their spot.

    Come read ahead on P¨¤treon and Let me know you like this novel. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 28: Special Rewards and Reactions

    Chapter 28: Special Rewards and Reactions

    Axel walked through the corridors of Hogwarts while feeling like murdering someone. As he had feared, the picture had spread everywhere already.

    The effort he put in thest two months into putting a low profile had all gone to shit as now even the previous RM (Recorded Memory) of his Duel was once again being shared, to inform everyone who exactly was the ''lucky bastard'' who had the Mafia Prodigy sleeping at his bedside.

    ''First the Troll, then Dementors, and now this... yep, I think I officially hate Halloween now,'' he thought irately.

    It was quite absurd that his biggest problem until yesterday was just money. Money that he could steal but wasn''t stealing for¡­ no real reason at all. After one encounter with the Dementor, he could no longer give a fuck about getting caught or some shitty trauma.

    He realized that after two months of living a better life, he had begun to think that he had a choice. Hell no, he didn''t. He doesn''t even know what would have happened if that girl hadn''t been there. He would have been grateful if she had not gotten him into so much trouble. That''s why he had just left without listening to whatever she had to say.

    After sitting on the Slytherin table for breakfast under his stealth skills, he finally checked the system notifications of yesterday. When the Dementors had attacked, he didn''t have the leisure to see what mission he had been given.

    [Congrattions. You survived an encounter with Dementors.

    ->Special skill: Minor Light attribute

    ->+1% approval rate. Total = 14%]

    Axel looked at the system interface in a stupor. Light attribute? Holy shit that sounds good! And it''s apparently a special skill. He recalled that he could unlock special skills in special cases or by doing special missions. Now, the only question is¡­ what exactly is this?

    He tapped the Minor Light attribute of the system interface to get more information on it.

    [Minor Light attribute: Light attribute Magic is the magic summoned from the #$*#@ #!$+. This skill gives you the ability to imbue a minor amount of Light Magic into your spells.]

    Axel was pleasantly surprised, but also a bit confused.

    ''System, what is the meaning of those symbols? Also, I thought all the magic wizards usually did was light magic. Is that not it?'' He asked.

    [Axel, those symbols mean that the information is locked. And as exined previously, most wizards of these times do not have any urate knowledge of Light and Dark Magic.

    They mostly term the dangerous spells which use the normal magic to be Dark magic and all the other spells as Light Magic, which is, of course, an absolutely wrong conjecture.

    The real Dark magic is spells that use the magic summoned from the Nether World. An example would be Fiendfire. And the real Light magic is spells that use the magic summoned from #$*#@ #!$+. An Example would be the Patronus charm. The Light Magic and Dark Magic are natural counter to each other.]

    ''...Damn¡­ now we''re talking!''

    Afterprehending the meaning of those words, Axel wanted to shout out in joy.

    It''s about the goddamn time he got something like this. There''s apparently a very powerful Darklord trying to take over this world, and that Darklord and his minions are quite adept at Dark magic. So, having something like Light Attribute magic, which can counter creatures like the Dementors is a necessity and is going to be quite handy.

    Axel grinned. It was certainly a ''Special Skill'' alright. His mood felt much ''lighter'' now. He didn''t even particrly mind all the attention and troubles the photo with that girl had brought him anymore.

    Feeling much better, he left for his first ss which was with the Gryffindors.

    A few momentster. . .

    "...."

    Well, maybe he had spoken too soon about not minding the troubles of that photo.

    He certainly did mind it if a crowd of students are gathering up in front of his Potions ss to wait for his arrival.

    *Sigh*

    He can''t just enter the ss in stealth since he needs to show his face to the Professor for attendance. And when he does that, it would be absolutely certain that he can turn himself invisible through magic since these idiots don''t know that there are ways one can avoid being noticed without using Invisibility or magic. There are already rumors that he can cast the disillusionment charm and he doesn''t want them to believe it.

    Thus, with all the exasperation in the world, he turned off all the skills and started to walk toward his ssroom. It''s notfortable and it might be annoying, so he usually avoids trouble, but when ites down to it, he''ll not cower away. So what if there was a photo of him with some girl? Heck, so what if he even slept with that girl? If anyone has a problem they can kiss his ass.

    It wasn''t long before someone spotted him approaching the ss.

    "Hey! He''s here!"

    "Really? Where?"

    "There he is!"

    "Yeah, that''s him alright."

    The crowd of students started approaching him but Axel didn''t stop walking.

    "Hey, what exactly happened?"

    "Yeah, how did you end up in that situation?"

    "Do you actually know her?"

    "Hey, I''m just warning you. Stay away from her or I''ll¡ª"

    All kinds of people were mixed in the crowd. Some were just there to gossip, some were jealous gits while some were there just to enjoy the show, recording everything on their Magi-mirrors.

    Axel didn''t stop walking at all. He got mixed up into the crowd and emerged from the other side while everyone was trying to find him inside the crowd.

    "Hey, where''d he go?!"

    "Do you see him?"

    "Damn it, why are there so many people here?!"

    ''Losers,''

    Quite unimpressed, Axel left those losers behind as he entered the ss with his hands still in his pockets. Even inside, he could feel many gazes fixed on him. Not paying them any attention, he went straight to thest bench which all but belonged to him now in all his sses.

    Once he settled his equipments, of course, he was still not going to be left alone.

    "Hey, Axel,"

    "Hi Axel,"

    Two girls came to his table. It wasn''t the first time they were bothering him in these two months, so he knew their names. Parvati and Lavender. Gryffindor''s gossip girls.

    "We saw your photo! Holy Morgana, you two looked cute together."

    "Yeah, how do you two know each other?"

    "None of your damn business. Now scram."

    "?!" x2

    It wasn''t Axel who said that. It was Rose Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived. Parvati and Lavender both looked fairly terrified as they scurried away quietly.

    Axel was almost impressed. In the past two months, Rose had built up a reputation for herself as the Girl-Who-Must-Not-be-messed-with. Those who had messed with her were all always met with a vicious revenge. Except only for Axel himself. He couldn''t understand just why, but she never did do anything against him despite all of her threats.

    "What do you want?" Asked Axel rudely. Since she doesn''t do anything, he is just going to treat her like anyone else.

    Rose gritted her teeth. Oh how satisfying it would be if she could just prank the living hell out of this guy, but she valued her life more. This guy has Aunt Be obsessed over him for some reason.

    "I''m not here because I want something. I''m just here to let you know that I know your secret," she said imperiously.

    That made him pause.

    "What secret?" he asked, his wand slowly sliding in his hand.

    Rose shook her head, as she looked at her Magi-mirror. Aunt Be seemed to have gone berserk today after seeing his photo. Rose now has several orders she has to follow, demanded urgently by the Minister of Magic.

    "If you want to know, first answer these questions. How did you end up in the Hospital wing and what is your rtionship with Martina Valentino? And also, it would be better if you ''stay away from vixens like her'' since her family''s reputation is quite bad. hmm¡­ that''s it," she said as she finished reading what Aunt Be had written.

    Axel looked at her for several seconds. Then just scoffed,

    "I think I''ll pass. You can go tell my secret to everyone."

    Rose grew angry.

    "Huh? You think I''m bluffing? I know that you know some weird magic that lets you capture any woman. And what''s with that face? You''re probably wondering how I know, right? Well, it''s not too difficult to guess after looking at the series of events," she said triumphantly, feeling smug when Axel''s eyebrows went up his hairline when she exposed his secret.

    First Aunt Andromeda, then Aunt Be, and now Martina Valentino. Heck, even she sometimes finds herself under that spell as well but since she''s the Girl-Who-Lived, she''s most likely immune to it.

    Axel nodded slowly,

    "Yeah¡­ get lost."

    "...What?" The smug expression on her face vanished as she wondered if she had heard him wrong.

    "I said¡­ ''get¡ªlost'' do you get it now? You can go and expose my secret everywhere. Blimey, I can''t even bring myself to be bothered," he said exasperatedly. Seriously, what''s with this girl''s brain? He was an idiot to think she knew one of his real secrets.

    Rose stomped her foot in frustration. Oh Merlin, if only she could do whatever she wanted with him¡­ she would have made him regret every single time he''s insulted her.

    Too bad she can''t do anything with a somewhat psychotic Minister of Magic protecting him like her love child. With a huff, Rose stalked off while wondering how she was supposed to answer Aunt Be now.

    She thought for a while. Well, isn''t it obvious? If Axel isn''t giving her the information, then she just has to invent it herself, right?

    Let''s see, why Axel was in the Hospital wing? Let''s just attribute it to the Troll. He was out wandering and got done in by the Troll, seems legit, huh?

    What''s the rtionship between her and Martina? Let''s see. Both are having a romantic rtionship and Axel is getting help from her. Yeah, that''s good. Axel is seducing women to get benefits.

    There! It''s done! Isn''t she simply a genius? Rose simply sent the made-up answers to her Aunt, not knowing what results it would bring.

    She then quickly began setting up the equipments for the potions ss. Snape is no longer kind to her and instead treats her badly in the sses now. But that has been the case for every Gryffindor, isn''t it? Oh well, she knew enough to get by.

    ¡­

    Axel walked out of Potions ss with another Troll (T) grade to his name. But as he already mentioned, he couldn''t care less about this shit. What would he even do with full grades? Get attention? No thank you, he was already struggling with what attention he had.Otherwise, grades are only useful to those who are going to apply for some job. And Axel wanted to be someone who hires, not someone who gets hired.

    As he walked along the corridors, his footsteps slowed down as he noticed a difference. He was expecting the students to flood him again, but funnily enough, none wereing.

    Shrugging to himself, he went to attend his next ss, going almost unhindered save for a few stragglers.

    It was History ss, and despite it being a much more interesting ss, that couldn''t prevent him from taking thest seat.

    Daphne was sitting there while reading some book. When he came, she didn''t even nce up at him.

    "What''s up with you? What book is it?" Asked Axel as he sat down. She wouldn''t usually ignore him like this, so he thought that the book must be really interesting.

    Daphne didn''t even look at him,

    "Oh¡­ I''m trying not to bother you, so that your ''girlfriend'' doesn''te after me," she said, turning the book, since it was upside down.

    Axel grew puzzled at her absurd words,

    "The fuck are you talking about?" There was no need for anguage filter when talking to her.

    Daphne sighed,

    "I forgot that your Magi-mirror is just a showpiece. For fuck''s sake, do try to use it sometimes. Your girlfriend has made a deration."

    Axel frowned as he took out his Magi-mirror to check the forums.

    "Oh¡­ hell," he muttered as he saw the changes. The photo had been deleted from the forum and now there was another post pinned to the top, posted by Martina Valentino herself.

    "Anyone bothering Axel Hunt will have to answer to me."

    Axel''s mouth twitched. What''s the problem with this girl? It seems that he can forget about having a peaceful life at Hogwarts.

    Daphne finally looked at him to see his reaction.

    "You sure work fast, Mr. Charming. You managed tond the Mafia Princess in just two months."

    Axel looked at her in annoyance.

    "What''s up with you? Why are you being so bitchy?"

    Daphne looked back into her book.

    "You are such a liar. You deny even being friends with me and would even make that bimbo your girlfriend because her family is more powerful. I didn''t know you were so superficial."

    Axel rolled his eyes,

    "Have you ever seen me talking to her?"

    Daphne paused,

    "...No,"

    "Have you ever seen her talking to me?"

    "Uh...No?"

    "Have you ever heard me even mentioning her?"

    "...."

    "Then the fuck are you assuming she''s my girlfriend? Jeez! You''re being so annoying. That''s why I don''t make friends. It''s more trouble than it''s worth."

    Daphne''s brain started to work normally again after she calmed down. She realized that the photo had Axel unconscious or sleeping so it''s not like he was willingly having the Valentino girl sleeping next to her. And as for the post that Martina posted, he didn''t even know about it.

    And now that she thought about it, she couldn''t even imagine Axel making her a girlfriend for superficial things.

    ''It all seems... one-sided?'' She realized. And now she was feeling stupid. She had just gotten wrapped up in her friends'' discussion. Really, why does she even bother listening to those immature girls?!

    In the first ce, she sits here in thest seat instead of the first only because she finds those of her age too immature and annoying. And sitting here is quite peaceful and refreshing as they both usually do their own thing and don''t annoy each other. But she had done it, she had annoyed him over silly nonsense.

    Though another reason for her unreasonable behavior would be the inferiority she felt whenpared to Martina Valentino. The girl is a Legend in the Ravenw house. Everyone all but worships her due to her genius.

    But genius or not, would that matter to Axel? Fuck no. And if he was materialistic, he''d have just gone for Rose, who has the whole ck Family with her. She had just blindly listened to the gossip.

    "Um¡­ I''m sorry, I was being an idiot," she said meekly.

    Axel rolled his eyes,

    "As long as you know," he said simply. He''ll sit somewhere else if she continues her nonsense. Now he has to think of what consequences that new post would bring.

    At this moment, Professor Gorski, their History Professor entered the ss, looking quite worse for wear. His eyes had dark circles, and his posture was quitenguid, contrasting his usual energetic appearance.

    *Yawn*

    "Excuse my unrefined appearance, I have had a tough night due to my injuries ring up. I won''t be teaching you anything today so you can quietly do whatever you want for the period today," he said, making many students disappointed along while also making some happy.

    Axel just shrugged. He had a never-ending list of tasks, so it was alright for him, though Daphne was not happy.

    "I have nothing to do!" Sheined.

    Axel put his notebook in front of her.

    "You can just do my Homework if you''re so free."

    Daphne wouldn''t have done it and she knew that Axel was also just joking, but¡­ this time, she epted the notebook and took out her pen.

    "I''ll do it," she said, making Axel surprised.

    "Just as a payback for saying those things," she said.

    Axel shrugged. She didn''t owe him anything really but, who is he to decline a gift horse in the mouth?

    ****

    ""You have Failed.""came a creepy rasping voice from a Locket.

    Umbridge knelt down.

    "Forgive me, my lord."

    The voice grew colder,

    ""Even after arranging two Dementors and a helper for you, you still have failed in the task, does this deserve forgiveness?""

    Umbridge bowed lower,

    "T-There was an interruption, my lord. I-I think it was Dumbledore. All the other professors except myself and our helper were after the Troll!"

    That made the voice even angrier,

    ""Dumbledore! It''s Dumbledore again¡­. It seems that we have no choice but to execute the task in Dumbledore''s absence¡­ Leave the stone, for now, focus more on the other task. It''s going to be much more important in my ns.""

    Umbridge nodded dutifully,

    "Yes my lord. That task has been going swimmingly. No one seems to suspect a thing."

    "But... my Lord. About the new helper..."

    ""Don''t question his loyalty. I gave him an offer he simply can not refuse,"" the voice said with a hint of amusement.

    ***

    A.N.: So, MC got minor Light Magic attribute. There was rification on Light magic. Also, what the fuck was "#$*#@ #!$+"? Well, you''ll find out soon. Everything has been nned. Another author was also helping mee up with it and we were bothughing hysterically after realising how brilliant the whole setup is.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Next Chapter has Betrix''s reaction.

    Come read ahead on Patr won /Snollygoster

 Chapter 29: The Beginning

    Chapter 29: The Beginning

    Betrix ck sat in her office with her Magi-mirror his hands. Different screens were shing around her likeputers, all disying different reports and data. But, there was somethingmon in all the information showing on these devices right now: They were all somehow rted to Axel.

    Some were ying recorded memories of him while some were pictures of him. And the one on the biggest screen was of him lying in a hospital bed with a certain girl sleeping on his bedside.

    Today was bound to be a hectic day for Betrix. Apparently, a troll had somehow managed to get into Hogwarts. Now, this wouldn''t have been a big deal if the news didn''t get out, but with the existence of the Magi-mirrors, almost all of the Britain and many other parts of the world knew about it.

    It has to be noted that children of various affluent magical families from all over the world have sent their kids to Hogwarts due to its great education and reputation. And now, a troll has been suddenly set loose in the school. So of course, those parents from affluent families would demand an exnation.

    And whose fault it was?

    That fucker Dumbledore! First, he won''t let the ministry help with the security of Hogwarts and now he expects her to take the me? Fuck no! With the help of mass media, she has made sure that everyone knows exactly who is at fault. That old fossil still hasn''t fully grasped the use of modern magic tech yet.

    But, she had been so busy dealing with it all for the whole night and the morning that shepletely missed Axel''s newest photo.

    This is the first time she saw his sleeping face, and the boy looks so cute and innocent without that annoyed and bored look on his face. If only he didn''t have that girl sleeping beside him, the scene would be perfect.

    That girl, is the princess of the most notorious mafia family in Italy and probably the whole world. For centuries, that family has been involved with all kinds of criminal activities, managing to stay in power by doing all kinds of illegal activities. So, it would be quite understandable if she didn''t want Axel to associate himself with the princess of such a dangerous family.

    For the past two months, she''s been trying to search for a way to cure his body and she also informed all the teachers to pay special attention to him and not let him suffer. She had even almost gotten Severus Snape fired.

    She had wanted to do more but Axel wouldn''t appreciate help from someone he hates with a passion.

    So, she''ll help him from the shadows. Without letting him know it was her who helped her.

    Like right now. She picked up her Magi-mirror and made a voice-only call.

    *Ring-Ring* *Ring-Ring* *Rin¡ª*

    "Yes?" The call was answered quickly.

    "Betrix ck, Britain''s Minister of Magic. I have business with your Boss," said Betrix in a cold voice.

    There was a pause as the other side checked her caller Id once again.

    "This is very sudden, but I''ll inform the Godfather. Could you please wait on the line?"

    "Make it quick,"

    After a few moments, someone else''s voice came from the speaker.

    "Well, it''s certainly a surprise, Minister. I believe this is our second time talking to each other."

    The voice belonged to Martina''s father. But this time, it had quite a sleazy and dangerous edge to it that wasn''t present when he was goofily talking to his daughter.

    "Mr. Alessandro, I had some urgent business with you," said Betrix,ing straight to the point.

    "Blunt as always, I see. Well, I''m listening,"

    A Blunt and honest approach worked much better with people like Alessandro. So Betrix didn''t bother beating around the bush.

    "I need you not to take any action against one Axel Hunt. He''s under my protection," she said in a dead serious tone.

    That made the other party go silent for several seconds.

    "That¡­ is a rather exorbitant demand. But¡­ it can be done¡­ on one condition,"

    Betrix was surprised. She hadn''t thought that the man would give up so easily on making a move against Axel after the incident. Though how could she know that he had already promised his daughter not to hurt Axel? So any requests he was making were for free at this point.

    Betrix drummed her fingers against the desk,

    "Speak,"

    "I don''t really need much, just give me all the information on the boy,"

    Betrix instantly denied it,

    "Then let me make myself clear: It wasn''t a request, Alessandro. It was a deration. You harm Axel, you''ll have a war. Am I clear?"

    Alessandro chuckled.

    "Oooh, that''s quite an overkill, for an orphan crippled child. It seems my information was indeed iplete. How curious¡­. Well, as long as he stays away from my daughter," saying so, he cut the call.

    Betrix sighed,

    "If anything happens to Axel, war would be the least of your concern," she muttered.

    *Ding*

    A notification rang on her personal MM (Magi-mirror) and she quickly opened it when she noticed who sent it.

    She had been trying to find out how and why Axel is involved with this girl and why he was in the bloody Hospital wing! And, it would seem that her wait was finally over as she received a reply from Rose.

    "... What?!"

    Axel was injured by the Troll?! And, he seduced Martina for benefits?!

    The things in her office started shaking due to her magic ring up.

    "No!"

    She had been wrong once again! She had thought that she could simply help him from the shadows until she finds the cure and properly apologizes to him.

    Because she couldn''t bring herself to face him, or even dare to contact him after what she had done. She knew from the look in his eyes and that voice filled with cold fury that he wouldn''t forgive her.

    ``We''re nothing but strangers'' Were his words.

    She didn''t think she could handle his rejection again. That''s why, she had been trying to make her apology substantial and sincere enough that something might change.

    But, she didn''t anticipate that Axel wouldn''t settle for a crippled life and would start trying to seduce that girl to get her help in fixing his body.

    And now that her passiveness had caused these events, what should she do? It''s almost two months and she''s nowhere near finding a way to heal him than before. It would seem that she can''t stay passive forever.

    And as for the troll? She hadn''t given the matter much though, but now that Axel had been hurt¡­ Dumbledore is going to get hell.

    ***

    After dinner, Axel had followed the directions he had gotten from the system to im his rewards. The directions for a ce to stay at Hogwarts.

    And the room found was awesome. Well, it was actually several Victorian-style luxurious quarters connected by onemon room, plus a big bathroom. It was made for Noble guests and VIP guests whose location had been long forgotten but everyone at Hogwarts, if the system''s information was to be believed.

    Which is why he was currently in a luxury suite with a fucking king-sized bed.

    On a normal day, Axel would have loved to simply test out that oh-so invitingrge bed, but not after today. In thest 24 hours, he''s almost died two times and if that wasn''t enough, a fucking Mafia family is soon going to have its revenge against him for something that wasn''t his fault.

    "There''s no time for hesitation¡­ there''s no room forziness¡­ and there''s no easy way to choose," he muttered as he looked himself in the mirror. He was currently decked in an all-ck outfit. These were the custom-made clothes that had been ordered by Andromeda.

    During the past two months, he might have started to have a much better life when he was studying magic along with so many others. And that had somehow given him the illusion that he was one of them. That he could also afford to have a happy and carefree life¡­ just like others.

    And Bloody hell, was he wrong! He had forgotten that life would sometimes give him these moments, when everything seems to be going alright, giving him hopes, letting him lower his guard¡­ And then it would suddenly throw a curveball at him, like a sucker punch to the guts, leaving him suffering the aftermaths.

    That''s why, he''s no longer going to hesitate now. What''s the point of hesitation when he could suddenly die the next day? Getting into trouble while trying to do something is more preferable than just being a passive pussy AND still getting into trouble anyway.

    The thought of Dementors almost taking his life came to him once again. And as he thought about it, he could no longer feel that rejection towards his craft that he had developed after the torture.

    If Stealing has brought his downfall, then Stealing is the thing that has brought him so far in the first ce. He''d have starved a long time ago without it.

    Axel closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he loosened up his muscles with some stretching,

    "Alright system, I think I''m ready now. Tell me everything you can about how to progress my Arcane Thief ss," he said decisively.

    [+1% approval rate for oveing your trauma.

    Since you are ready, you can now be able to see the Steal Points. Every skill needs a certain amount of Steal Points to unlock. These Steal points can be gathered by doing several small thefts, or a low amount of major thefts.

    Stealing would also progress your ss and give more guidance and information on how to steal and what precautions to take when stealing in a magical world.]

    "Oh, so that''s how it works¡­" he muttered. So he just has to steal and umte Steal Points or S.P.. Then he''ll get the skills and also get more information on how exactly to steal in the Magical World.

    But, he still couldn''t understand several things.

    "But, can you show me the information on the skills and the amount of SP they''ll require for me to get them? And if the thefts I''vemitted during the past years can be converted into SP or not,"

    [Currently, you can not choose the skills you unlock. It''s set on the systematic progression right now. You''ll need to increase the approval rate to open the Skill Shop where you can spend your SP to buy whatever Skill avable. But for now, the next skill you can unlock has already been set and will be unlocked when you collect the necessary SP for it.]

    "Damn¡­ what skill is it? And how many SPs do I need to unlock it?"

    [Ward Breaking: 1000 SP]

    [Ward Breaking: It is one of the most important skills for being an Arcane Thief. It is considered too difficult and advanced in the Wizarding World, but not if you''re training through the method given by the system.]

    "Hell yeah!"

    Axel almost began to jump in joy. He knew he couldn''t do much without this one, with most Slytherins actually putting up at least the basic protection at their individual doors.

    But this field needs quite advanced prerequisites to even begin to perform the basics. It was a pleasant surprise to know that he could start learning it so quickly using the system''s cheat knowledge.

    With a newfound enthusiasm, Axel walked out of the secret space and moved toward his very first hunting ground.

    : The Hufflepuff Dorms.

    Yep, he couldn''t just waltz into the Slytherin Dorms and steal their stuff, could he? Even though a Slytherin is more likely to be richer and him much more money and SP, but many Slytherins are also likely to have at least some kind of setup to prevent intruders, right?

    And he doesn''t know shit about those precautions with the magicing into the equation.

    The best way would be to slowly level his ss so that the information on how to steal is avable in his mind.

    The priority is not to get quick and easy gains, but to ''learn''. The art of stealing needs patience, practice, and perseverance. With magic being real and his body being in a shitty condition, he''s going to once again start from level one.

    And Hufflepuff dorms would be the best ce for that. Those loyal badgers wouldn''t have much precautions against each other since no such incidents happens there. That''s why he''s starting from there.

    And of course, he''s not going to steal anything noticeable. He just wants to level up his ss, not to make innocents suffer.

    After making up his decision to start from Hufflepuff today, he had taken some time to follow a few Hufflepuffs back to their dorms, so he knew how to get in.

    Before entering, his custom enchanted outfit morphed into a simple set of dark yellow pyjamas with a sleeping hat covering his head. This will help him blend in. His face had a mask on it since some students do get them from the Hospital wing when they have magical flu or something.

    Now, he was just another Hufflepuff breaking curfew even if someone saw through his powerful Stealth Skills.

    "Here goes nothing," he muttered as he proceeded towards the Entrance.

    The entrance to the Hufflepuff Dorms was concealed behind a stack of barrels. In order to reveal the entrance, no password was required. Instead, one had to tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in a rhythm.

    Since he couldn''t tap it in rhythm properly due to his hand, he would have to do it using his leg.

    [Be careful, Axel. If you don''t do it the right way, you''ll be doused in vinegar and barred ess.]

    "Well¡­ that''s kinda dumb, but whatever," what if someone tapped wrong by mistake?

    *Tap* *TapTap* *Tap*...

    He managed to hit the barrel rightly and sighed in relief when the lid swung open, exposing a passageway. Not wasting more time, he went in.

    In the dim lighting, he saw themon room, which turned out to be a huge, round, earthy, low-ceilinged, and warm ce, with kinda weing vibes.

    There were lots of yellow hangings, burnished copper, overstuffed sofas and armchairs upholstered in yellow and ck, and small circr windows that provided a vista of rippling grass and dandelions. There was also arge, honey-colored, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it, located underneath a portrait of a beautiful witch who must be Helga Hufflepuff.

    Since it was the middle of the night, themon room was empty, with everyone sleeping.

    ''System, can you tell me the number of Steal points I''ll get for each item?'' Asked Axel.

    [Affirmative, Here''s the catalog of some things you can steal and their equivalent SPs per piece.

    The Currency conversion:

    Knuts: 5 SP

    Silver: 10 SP

    Gold: 25 SP

    tinum: 50 SP

    The price of items can be different based on different qualities and who they belong to. But here''s the general price.

    Quill: 0.2

    Notebook: 0.4

    Shoes: 3

    Broomstick: Nimbus=20, Cleansweep=10..

    ¡­.

    And the list went on. It was so long that Axel hadn''t even heard of several things.

    "What in the world¡­?"

    And¡­ there were several weird things as well.

    Used Panties: 10 SP

    ''What the fuck system? 10 SP?! Why the hell is it such a useless thing has so much SP?''

    [Axel, those things have a market of their own. If you sell to the correct buyer, you can gain a lot of profit. The points can even go upto 1000 SP or higher depending on the identity of the person you stole it from since it would have arge value to certain people.]

    "...."

    For the life of him, Axel could notprehend what kind of sick bastards would pay for things like that. So what was he supposed to do now? Steal women''s underwear? Axel Hunt, the panties Thief. Yeah, how glorious...

    But from this, he learned another lesson: Different things would have different values to different things. Even useless things could get him SP and the list of things he could steal was sorge that he didn''t even bother reading the whole of it.

    ''Well, it seems I have my work cut out for me,'' he thought as he realized just how much he''ll have to steal to unlock various skills.

    He can''t just steal a lot of galleons from one rich Hufflepuff and be done with it since¡ª

    1)He doesn''t steal from those who weren''t rich assholes.

    2)If he went for a big hand, everyone will be alerted of a thief and will get more precautions, thus making things difficult for him in the long run.

    Thus, he''s only going to use the Daily Life tactic for now. It''s a very effective way of stealing, in which you only go for things whose absence would be gone unnoticed and whose absence wouldn''t be missed much by the owner. In this way, they''ll just think that they either dropped or forgot it somewhere or it is just misced andter, they''ll simply forget about it.

    This way, he won''t be harming anyone since they''ll barely be bothered and he can continue to steal for the uing years without students and authorities taking action while also making progress.

    As he began sneaking into the dorms, he began to feel a familiar feeling of thrill and anxiousness. It''s not like he hadn''t tried stealing in the past two months. Old habits die hard. Heck, he''d even taken a broom from the broom shed.

    But, every time he tried, he just couldn''t focus at all and his hands would start shaking much worse and the pain in his body would intensify. He would find himself just dying it or making excuses.

    But right now, he could no longer feel those things. And instead, a familiar excitement once again began bubbling inside him. He had forgotten just how much he liked this profession. It gives him a thrill that makes him feel more...alive¡­ more special¡­ more powerful.

    A feeling of concentration enveloped him as he found himself entering his most focused state.

    These past months, despite living in such a fantastic and magical environment, he had always felt that something was missing. And he realized what exactly it was.

    "It starts here,"

    Several things had happened, and he had lost his way. But, the real journey of the Arcane Thief¡­ starts now.

    ***

    A.N.: There''s a small time skip again now. Tell me the new skills you want him to learn. He''ll heal soon as well.

    See the title of chapter 32.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Read ahead and Support this piece of art at P¨¤treon. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 30: A Letter

    Chapter 30: A Letter

    After the Troll incident, Hogwarts experienced several changes. For example, a few Aurors of the minister''s choice were instated along with other security measures. And rm systems were installed, so that the others can be informed if such a thing happens again and prevent a troll from going on a Killing spree.

    But it wasn''t actually that big of a deal. Hogwarts is rtively safepared to other magical schools.

    And the student who was in the middle of all of it, Axel Hunt, was having his own share ofplications.

    "What the fuck? Is this woman crazy or something?" He thought as he looked at the Letter from the Minister of Magic herself.

    After the recent events, he had expected many things, but never did he expect this¡­ Like, it doesn''t make sense at all.

    "Dear Axel,

    I know that I''m probably your most hated person in the world, and I know that almost anything I do to remedy that might only make you resent me more, but¡­ I just wanted you to know¡­ that I have really regretted what I did to you that day.

    I know that nothing I can do to remedy that but, there are certain things that can be remedied. I have been trying to search for a way to heal you. There isn''t much I have found yet, but¡­ there is still a good chance that I might find something. Meanwhile, there are other things I have sent so that you don''t have to¡­ associate with someone to get something. I know I can''t take back what I said, but I''m trying to make up for it.

    Please consider joining us for the Christmas holidays. I''d like to tell you some things about your father.

    Waiting for your Response

    Best Wishes

    Betrix ck."

    *Rip*

    The only thing this letter managed to do was rip open the weak band-aid he had managed to put over the wound he could only remember as the ckest day of his life.

    "Bullshit," he muttered as he crumpled the letter and threw it in the corner of his bag along with the small purse she had sent him without even checking its contents.

    He already has felt so much reluctance and repugnance just by using what Andromeda had sent him. And that woman could be considered a saint ifpared to BBWWBB, Biggest Bitch WorldWide Betrix ck. So, he didn''t even consider using it. He was a thief with principles.

    And what was she implying anything when he said he didn''t have to associate himself with¡­? She is only sending this after seeing his picture with a rich girl sleeping next to his bed. What could be the implications? That he''s some gigolo? He is not!

    And what would it make him if he epted any help from the woman who has metaphorically stripped him naked and taken his dignity as a person just for her amusement? epting her help would definitely make him someone much worse than a gigolo.

    And she knows about his father? Well, this is somewhat new.

    Axel recalled the dream he''d seen on Halloween eve.

    Right after seeing that dream, he had been attacked by the Troll right after he woke up and then saw a girl blow it''s head off, right after which the teachers came and he ran and got attacked by Dementors, and woke up to find himself in trouble due to a photo. So, he couldn''t be med if he forgot most of the dream and couldn''t recall it.

    The only thing he could recall.... was a man and a woman, who were definitely his parents, leaving him with the caretaker of the orphanage.

    So... he also couldn''t be med if he didn''t want to know about his parents.

    He just wanted to have nothing to do with this woman until the day he makes her kneel in front of him as he does things to her that are a lot worse than things she''d done to him. Thus, for now, he went out of his way and instead of just a few words, wrote her a ''polite'' and ''detailed'' response that''ll hopefully keep her out of his goddamn life until that time.

    [That... is quite brutal, Axel.]

    Axel shrugged,

    ''I wouldn''t know. But... I do feel better after writing it,'' he thought that to the system. He had ranted everything in the letter.

    ¡­

    After that, almost everything had gone back to normal, except some people still had some problems.

    "What are we going to do about him?" Asked a fourth-year student in a somewhat heated tone. He had blond hair, styled in a fauxhawk, and handsome features.

    "Don''t be an idiot, Damien. He''s under that girl''s protection now," said ric Malcolm, the head boy. He also had blond hair, but his hair wasbed back neatly.

    "But brother! You know¡­ and everyone knows that I''ve liked her for three years! And I didn''t even get to talk to her properly all this time. And now some brates and gets so close to her?! We cannot let this pass!"

    "Get over it, Damien. If we can''t have the connection with that family through you, then at least don''t make them our enemies! Are we clear?" Asked ric seriously.

    Damien''s hands clenched into fists but he still nodded,

    "I''ll be careful."

    "You''d better. You''re not a child anymore, so you should start using your head now," saying that, ric walked away.

    And Damien, who was about to show more frustration suddenly stopped as he...used his head.

    They just couldn''t offend the Valentino Family, right? But what if no one knows who did it?

    Now, the question was¡­ when to do this. He''ll have to wait for the right opportunity.

    ***

    Time Skip: One month.

    "Position, Aim, Fire!"

    """FLIPENDO!""""

    "Position, Aim, Fire!"

    """FLIPENDO!""""

    "Position, Aim, Fire!"

    """FLIPENDO!""""

    It was early morning and Dueling ss for first years was going on in the Arena with numerous Training Dummies Lined up and students practicing on each of them in groups.

    "Position, Aim, Fire!"

    """FLIPPENDO!""""

    On every firingmand of Professor Alice, the students, standing a fair distance away from the dummies would chant the spell and try to hit the Training Dummies in the small circle drawn on the center of their chest.

    This wasn''t the first time this drill was taking ce and very few students were able to properly hit the target from such a distance.

    "Don''t exaggerate the wand movements! It''ll only deviate from your aim. Keep your hand, shoulder, and wrist firm or the kickback will shift the trajectory and in such a long distance, it''ll be enough to miss the target," said Professor Alice as she repeatedly tapped her wand on her palm, looking stern.

    "Hey Hannah, you''re doing it wrong, you''re supposed to keep your hand extended outpletely, elevated up to the eye level for better aim," said Hermione Granger, who was in the same group as Rose''s friends. Well, the loner girl had made new friends in the past few months.

    Hannah, who had been trying her best and was a bit happy with her progress, immediately got deted at that.

    "Hey, it''s not necessarily wrong. And she''s doing just fine, alright?" Spoke Susan, Hannah''s knight in shining armor.

    "Rose, you have to beat the evil Slytherins in the match today, alright?" Said Neville as he fired a spell and missed.

    "Shut up, Neville. Not all Slytherins are evil," said Daphne who was also in the same group.

    During these months, Daphne had be better friends with Hermione rather than the other Ravenws and due to that, Hermione had gotten on friendly terms with the rest of the Golden Quintet.

    Today, they were practicing their aim and Professor Alice had divided the students into groups of seven due to the limited number of training dummies. And since all the houses were here, these six friends had gotten into the same group.

    Daphne looked around the huge arena, searching for other groups and Rose was also secretly doing the same.

    ''Where the fuck is he?'' (curious)

    ''Now where did that guy go?'' (annoyed)

    And at this moment, the guy in question finally showed up at the door with dark circles beneath his eyes and his long hair looking disheveled.

    Due to his nightly activities, which included sneaking into people''s bedrooms, along with his endless training, he had been unable to get much sleep at night and was dead tired due to the exercises. And this goddamn Dueling ss is being held in the early morning, even before the normal ss start.

    "You''rete, Mr. Hunt. We''re training in groups of seven. You can join little Nevi''s¡ª I mean Mr. Longbottom''s group. It has a vacancy,"

    In Neville''s group, Rose gave Neville a questioning look.

    "I thought your mum said all Slytherins were evil?" She asked sarcastically. If she had taught him so, then why would she send a Slytherin to his group? Personally, she still couldn''t decide whether Axel Hunt was a good guy or the evilest of them all.

    Neville looked away,

    "Well, my Gran, dad, and Uncle think to say it all the time. Mum should also think the same, right?" He said in puzzlement.

    When Professor Alice rmended him to join Neville''s group, Axel, who was just searching for a group, paused in his steps as he looked towards Neville''s group.

    ''... Is this hell?'' He thought when he saw the people in the group. Except for Daphne, he was on bad terms with everyone else in that group.

    Professor Alice didn''t seem to have ns of continuing before he joined the group. This woman had treated him fairly until now, so he didn''t want to just openly defy her suggestion in front of hundreds of students.

    And most importantly, he couldn''t even find other groups with vacancies in such a short time.

    Thus, with a sigh, he decided to just join the group he was assigned.

    "You look like a mess,"mented Daphne as soon as Axel came beside her.

    "Yeah, good morning to you too." He muttered with a yawn as he took out his wand.

    *Hum*

    His wand hummed as it shot out small pink sparks to greet him. Axel just squeezed it a little bit in return. As for his greetings to the wand, Daphne wasn''t someone who''d mind, but he didn''t fancy talking to a wand in front of others.

    Taking a deep breath, his eyes focused and his slouching posture straightened.

    Taking a stance, he fired his shot at the Dummy.

    *Dang*

    And the spell hit near the center circle.

    "... Hey, how''d you do that?" Asked Rose as she looked at Axel''s constantly shaking hand which loosely held the wand. There was no way anyone would be able to be urate with that kind of hand. She wondered if it was a lucky shot. They were standing quite the distance away from the dummy.

    "Yeah, you used to suck bad at this,"mented Daphne. This wasn''t the first time this activity had been organized. Thest time she had seen him shoot, he was pathetically bad at this. His spells were so weak that they wouldn''t even form properly sometimes and his aim would always be a mile off.

    Axel shrugged,

    "I practiced," he said dismissively.

    His aim was shit due to his injuries and his power output was so weak that spell-beam-type spells were inessible to him. Even in his duel with Draco, he had only used one spell and that spell was also something he had to charge two times to give some damage.

    But due to his hard work and the information and the knowledge he had gotten from the system, he had improved a lot in the past three months.

    With the diet of magical ingredients and exercises, his body is much more attuned to magic, making it easier for it to be channeled even through his damaged nerves and the bond with his wand was stronger than ever. Due to this, his power output was now strong enough that he could use the beam-type spells.

    As for his aim, his body did heal a little bit during this time and¡ª

    [Wand Aim: 8%]

    He had made progress in this skill. It wasn''t much of aplex skill either. His mastery would be quite high if he wasn''t crippled.

    Axel''s short answer didn''t satisfy anyone, especially as they looked at the trembling hand.

    "Come on Rose, it was just a lucky shot. It''s not possible to be urate in that condition," said Neville.

    Axel just ignored everyone as he shot out a few more spells, almost all of them hitting the Dummy.

    "How are you doing this? You aren''t doing the wand movement and also, the Professor said we can''t hit the target without keeping our hands steady," questioned Hermione who couldn''t take it anymore.

    She was quite jealous that he was under the protection of her idol, Martina Valentino. Hermione had thought that she''d be the only one to receive Martina''s attention but after Halloween, things had changed.

    *Sigh*

    Seeing that they weren''t practicing and only disturbing him, he decided to satisfy their curiosity and be done with it.

    "It''s not a big deal. I''m just holding my wand straight up and have it pointing at the Dummy¡ª" he said, holding out his wand and aiming at the Dummy''s midpoint.

    "Now, if my hand doesn''t shake, the spell will directly hit the bullseye. But, since it''s shaking so much, it''ll definitely deviate in some direction which will totally mess up my aim.

    So, I just need to anticipate which direction it''ll shift and move my hand in the other direction to some degree to cancel it. Now, the only problem is that, my hand doesn''t really respond well to whatever I want it to do, so before even shifting my hand, I also have to calcte how much deviation will be caused due to my hand not responding exactly as I want it to be and move my hand after taking these two factors into consideration.

    Now, if everything is correct, I should be able to hit the bullseye, but as you can see, I still need a lot of practice.

    That clear enough for you?"

    "...." ¡Á6

    The whole group went speechless at that. Some because they didn''t understand everything and some because they understood everything he had said.

    "Just¡­ how would it be if he waspletely healed?" Asked Hannah, looking a bit terrified. Hearing that, everyone had goosebumps looking at Axel firing away at the target.

    Axel just shook his head. He hadn''t even included how he also has to take the kickback/recoil caused by the spell into consideration. With his weak wrist and fingers, it''s already a struggle to keep the wand in hand and not drop it.

    But, he has to say, it''s not that bad. He wouldn''t have been this good at certain things if he''d beenpletely healed. For example, he''d never have worked on his aim and power output since it wouldn''t have been a problem.

    Yes, he''d have been a much much better magician, duelist, and fighter than he is right now, but he wouldn''t have had many things that he had enhanced now.

    And now when he''s healed, he''ll have all the things he''s supposed to have AND the things he''s gained due to this urgency of improvement due to his weaknesses.

    ''Though, I''d still rather avoid being a cripple if given a chance,'' Hemented. After all, three months was such a small time. He may have improved faster than anyone, but all things considered, he''s still quite weak in a fight. That''s why,

    "Flipendo!"

    He began training seriously.

    Though, the same couldn''t be said for the rest. The students of all four Houses were quite distracted today. Because, today noon, it was Gryffindor V/s Slytherin, the start of Quidditch Season. And also, the meeting day.

    Normally, it wouldn''t have been this much of a big deal, but several factors have led to increasing the hype by a lot.

    First of all, the Girl-Who-Lived is going to be participating in this match, getting selected in her very first year.

    Then there was a different reason as well. A bigger reason. Apparently, the conflicts between the Slytherins and other houses have been slowly escting for some reason, making Slytherin quite hated by the other four houses. And now, most of the Hogwarts poption wanted to see Slytherins getting their ass beaten.

    As they practiced Daphne turned to Axel.

    "Would you like toe and see the match with us?" She asked.

    Axel looked at her absurdly,

    "You''re going? Didn''t you find it quite ''meaningless''?" He asked.

    Daphne shrugged,

    "Have to cheer for my girl Rose. At least tell me you''reing so that I won''t have to suffer alone."

    Axel shook his head,

    "Noting," he answered. Sure he was a bit interested in Quidditch, but he didn''t want to waste his time.

    Daphne sighed. She didn''t try to persuade him otherwise since, for Axel, no means no. Unless...

    "I had hoped that it wouldn''te to this, but it seems I have no choice. I''m calling in my favor for doing a majority of your homework for the past month. It''s your choice now,"

    Axel looked at her in annoyance,

    "Seriously? This is how you waste that favor?"

    "Hey! I think it''s worth it,"

    Homework wasn''t that big of a deal since they both had the same homework, only different times of submission. And she didn''t even have to write his homework since he was allowed Self-writing pens.

    "...."

    On the other hand, Rose listened to the banter between the two speechlessly. Axel could actually willingly talk that much? AND... is that a hint of a smile she''s seeing tugging at the corner of his mouth?

    Susan was much more vocal about it,

    "Hey! Howe you''re such good friends with her but not with me? This is unfair!"

    Axel and Daphne rolled their eyes,

    ""We''re not friends.""

    ***

    A.N.: gs. What does meeting day mean? Find out in the next chapter. Axel''s response to Betrix also in the next chapter.

    Next Chapter Title: Reunion

    Just Keep giving POWERSTONES! And keeping back! I need traffic here to keep me motivated!

    Read ahead and support this unique work, join us at P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 31: A Letter and Reunion

    Chapter 31: A Letter and Reunion

    In the past decade, the Wizarding Britain and Hogwarts have experienced changes in various fields. One of these fields also happened to be Quidditch.

    The poprity of the sport is at an all-time high. And with the huge poption at Hogwarts, the Quidditch field needed some changes. The stands are nowhere to be seen as there is a stadium all around the pitch now, to amodate all the audience.

    And today was a special day. Because today was Gryffindor V/s Slytherin and the start of the season. So even the bigger stadium was bound to be packed.

    After breakfast, Rose and her friends made their way to the Quidditch stadium. And of course, since Axel had already given his word, he had to join them for it. Hermione had chosen not toe though.

    (I have so much to study!)

    "Hey Susan, is your Aunt Coming?" Asked Daphne as they walked.

    A question mark popped up on Axel''s head. He didn''t know why Susan''s Aunt would being.

    Susan nodded excitedly.

    "Yep, she is! Though, not for the match of course. She''s justing to see me. I don''t even know if she''ll be able to stay for the whole match. What about you, Rose?" She asked Rose who was walking ahead of all of them.

    ''What the heck?'' Axel didn''t like where this was going. Not one bit.

    Rose, who was decked out in her Quidditch attire, nodded excitedly.

    "I know for a fact that Sirius is definitelying. He''s such a Quidditch fanatic. Little Jamie would also being since he misses his big sister a lot. I don''t know about the rest,"

    "Hey, what are they talking about?" Axel asked Daphne in a low voice.

    Daphne looked at him in puzzlement.

    "What are ''you'' talking about?"

    "I mean, how are their rtivesing to Hogwarts? He whispered.

    Daphne blinked,

    "Wait, you didn''t know? Today is also the Meeting Day. Outsiders are allowed entry into the Quidditch stadium on matches. That''s always half of the reason why everybody''s been waiting for this day," she said, looking surprised that he didn''t know that.

    With such arge stadium, anyone was wee on the match days. Parents, Quidditch fanatics, and even the selectors of league teams looking to sign up promising yers.

    "Really, how can you not know any of this?" she muttered in exasperation. It was even brought up in the announcements by Dumbledore.

    Axel just shrugged.

    "Well, at least that exins why you''re dragging me half an hour early.

    He rarely goes to the Great Hall these days and the only person he ever talks to is Daphne. So it wasn''t a big deal if he didn''t know.

    "My dad is busy. But my gran ising. And of course, I met my mother only this morning,'' offered Neville.

    "What about you, Daph? Are Astoria and Mrs. Greengrassing?" Asked Rose.

    Daphne checked her Magi-mirror once again,

    "Hm? No¡­ no they can''t make it today, they''re out of Britain," she said a bit anxiously.

    "What? What do you mean out of Britain?" AskedSusan.

    Axel didn''t pay attention to the rest of the conversation as he was too distracted in understanding the implications of the information he had received.

    They reached the stadium where there was a long stream of people entering the stadium. The scene around here was quite heartwarming as many parents wereing here from Hogsmeade and reuniting with their children after a long time.

    As they reached the entrance, Axel saw everyone taking out tickets.

    "Wait, did we have to buy tickets?" He asked.

    Daphne waved the two tickets in her hands,

    "Don''t worry. I already bought two for us days ago," she said proudly.

    Axel looked at her in bafflement,

    "But¡­ you only asked me today,"

    Daphne tilted her head,

    "So...?"

    "Hey! Isn''t that Potter?"

    "Yeah, that''s her!"

    Axel couldn''t continue the conversation since they had to quickly go in as Rose''s Gryffindor Quidditch attire was too eye-catching among the crowd.

    "So, where are our seats?" Asked Axel after seeing that they were not separating from the rest. He had thought that in such a huge stadium, they would be able to sit away from the rest since everyone would be going to see their rtives.

    "The VIP box, of course. It''s the best ce to see the match," said Daphne, making Axel pause his footsteps.

    "Hey, why don''t we sit somewhere else? I don''t want to sit there," said Axel. VIP box is going to have all kinds of people.

    "No!" (Rose)

    "Why?" (Daphne)

    Axel and Daphne both looked at Rose who had an unexpected outburst.

    Upon being stared at by the two, Rose looked away,

    "I mean, it''s none of my business," she muttered.

    Daphne then looked at Axel funnily,

    "All seats of this stadium have already been booked. And why do you want to sit somewhere else?" She asked, but she then remembered his habit of avoiding people.

    "Or are you saying you don''t have the balls?" She asked, quoting his words.

    ''... May be I should tone down with profanities. She learns fast,'' he thought. His words were now being used on himself now.

    That pissed Axel off. He wasn''t scared, he just wanted to avoid the ck family. But now that he thought about it after putting away his dislike, going there also has its advantages.

    "You know what? Let''s go," he said as he began walking once again.

    ¡­

    The VIP box turned out to be...quite VIP-ish. The whole ce was air-conditioned, with a big balcony overlooking the stadium and lots of screens inside. The people inside seemed all rich and high ss.

    And the ck family was also among these people.

    "When is big sistering?" Asked a cute chubby boy with ck hair.

    "She''ll be here any minute, Jamie. Just wait patiently," said Marlene in a gentle tone.

    "Still can''t believe it''s already her first match. James will be proud," said Sirius proudly.

    "And what about Lily?" Asked Andromeda in amusement.

    Sirius barked out augh,

    "Oh, Lily would definitely Jinx the shit out of me. I tell you, that women would go to scary lengths to protect Rose," he muttered as he sipped the drink in his hand.

    Andromeda shook her head,

    "Well, you shouldn''t have egged her on so much in the first ce," said Andromeda as she looked at the door yet again.

    She was also waiting to meet Rose but, there was another person who took priority.

    Axel hunt.

    She was filled with regret about the whole series of events that have happened concerning him.

    First of all, the boy was the son of Betrix''s benefactor and lifesaver. But he has had to live an orphan and miserable life until eleven. But, the boy somehow managed to get by despite the hardships.

    And after that, he suffered from the worst torture possible and had to survive by Killing his adversary. Going through this, at the age of eleven, he''d have to be an enigma if he came out sane. But the fact is, he somehow managed to pull it off.

    But he had to pay the price. It made him crippled for life. Still, the boy didn''t show weakness. He didn''t break. He didn''t lose the fight in him.

    But...it doesn''t end here, because a certain thoughtless woman had to get some information out of him about how he managed to pull it off. But, without even trying to, the boy managed to make her realize just how wrong her actions were and change her mind.

    But unfortunately, even that wasn''t enough. Because that thoughtless woman had a mad sister who thought it would be fun to torture this boy further.

    She managed to break him¡­ for a few seconds. But against all odds, the boy managed to build himself up once again, stronger than ever.

    This should be it, right? There should be nothing more, right? Sadly no.

    Andromeda sighed.

    Her idiot sister, in her desperate moment, had sent out a letter to the boy who hates her with passion. What''s worse, the words might have made him more enraged than calm his anger down.

    And she was right. Because the reply he had sent in response to that Letter¡­ had managed to cut through Be like a knife through butter.

    Andromeda shuddered as she recalled the contents of the Letter.

    "Minister ck,

    I will have to respectfully decline your help. And there are several reasons due to which I''vee to this decision.

    First of all, I was, but a gullible kid who was very easy to manipte. But¡­ you have enlightened me, minister.I am not that kid who would take anything for granted.

    Like Andromeda, you are a ck. And thus, you are no kind woman.

    You have pped me awake to the reality of the world, Minister. That is why, I know that you can''t be doing this out of the kindness of your heart.

    How long have I known you for? Enoughto understand that you are as trustworthy as my parents. And my parents left me at the orphanage with a man who kicked me out. Trustworthy indeed. It would certainly exin why you know my dad. And from the bottom of my heart, I want to know nothing more about the man, or you. I am simply unworthy.

    As you said, what am I to you? Just a nobody. A cripple with nothing to his name. But, thanks to you, I am at least no longer naive and gullible. ''Throw some money and some kindness to a homeless kid and he''ll give you anything you want and still thank you afterward'' ¡ª these are the words of a great person which have taught me a lot. Thus, I would simply like you to tell me what it is that you want from me.

    And needless to say, I don''t want any help from you. You see, I may have nothing materialistic to my name, minister, but I have something else I value more: My Principles. I am very happy as I am and I would sooner die than ept help from a person as great as you. So I say from the bottom of my heart, that leaving me alone would be the greatest help you can provide me.

    That will be all.

    Forever grateful to you

    Axel"

    Betrix was broken after reading the letter. Turns out, they were right in only providing him help from the shadows. After reading this, Betrix had simply decided not to bother Axel anymore. Or rather, she couldn''t. She was too ashamed to even face him. And too scared to receive any more hatred from him.

    ''I want to kill myself,'' that''s what she had said to Andromeda. It had taken a lot of persuasion to stop her from doing that. Andromeda was just d she was there when Be had received the letter. Needless to say, Be hasn''te today, and instead sent her to see Axel. She''ll just have to do by watching Andromeda''s memories of today in the highest quality pensieve.

    So, Andromeda had decided to take it upon herself to see that boy. She had asked Rose to bring him and Rose had reassured her that he''ll be there.

    She was still unsure about what exactly she was going to do and frankly, she was also probably too scared to do anything. But she at least had to see him. Because her fears hade true and it was worse than she had expected. Axel Hunt hadn''t forgotten and he hadn''t forgiven. Not one bit.

    "Oh! There she is!" Eximed Sirius, bringing her out of her thoughts as he began rushing in one direction.

    "Big sis!" Eximed Jamie, the miniature version of the man as he too rushed out.

    Andromeda followed their line of sight to Rose and her friendsing over.

    "Sirius! Jamie!" Rose quickly ran up to the two and hugged them.

    Andromeda smiled when she saw Rose. The girl seemed to have grown up a lot in the past three months. She was a bit taller and the baby fat on her face had gone, maybe due to the Quidditch, making her look more beautiful rather than cute.

    Marlene and Andromeda also hugged her.

    "Rose, where is Axel?" Asked Andromeda as she hugged her.

    Rose''s smiling face became annoyed.

    "Why do you want to see him? Well, he''s right there," she said, pointing towards Daphne as she became busy chatting up with Sirius and Jamie.

    "Where?" Muttered Andromeda as she looked in the pointed direction. She could only see Daphne. But then, she saw Daphne tapping someone beside her as she pointed out somewhere while saying something.

    And with a start, Andromeda realized that it was Axel!

    Sweet Merlin! What''s wrong with her! He had been standing right there and she didn''t even see him!

    "!!!"

    Andromeda was quite surprised when she saw him. It was definitely him, she could tell, but he had changed a lot!

    The originally short and skinny boy was nowhere to be seen. He had grown a lot taller than he originally was. Almost too much for just 3 months. His emaciated frame had turned into a fit one, almost too fit for just 3 months. His face was much brighter now and his skin much healthier, as opposed to his originally pale and sickly look.

    And that wasn''t the only thing that had changed. His aura seemed to have changed. Just standing there rxedly, he somehow seemed to give her a simr feeling as those of the special forces hit wizards. But it must be her imagination.

    Now that she was finally seeing him, Andromeda just stood there frozen, unable to move. She was too apprehensive to approach.

    After three months at Hogwarts, he almost seemed¡­ok? He was just standing there, with his hands in his pockets, exchanging words with Daphne and even having a hint of a somewhat amused smile at the corner of his mouth. Although he still had that somewhat annoyed expression on his face but no one could tell that this boy had been tortured and had to kill a man just three months ago. This made her even more hesitant to approach him and remind him of the past.

    She saw as the rest of Rose''s and friends went to their own families and Axel and Daphne went to their own seats.

    He had totally ignored her presence and yet, she could only keep observing his every action.

    As soon as he had sat down, she saw him taking out his wand and... smile while looking at it. A genuine smile. Something she hadn''t seen him doing at all.

    ''What a pity,'' she thought as she saw his trembling hand and recalled his condition. With nerve damage like that, even doing the smallest bit of magic would make a grown man cry and the magic would be incredibly weak.

    She saw him take out a handkerchief and wave his wand over it. And to her surprise, the handkerchief started to change!

    ''Transfiguration? At that level?! How is this possible?!'' He shouldn''t be able to do this!

    He was practicing magic! Andromeda almost rushed over and stopped him. Because, doing magic in his condition was nothing but torture!

    "Andi? Hey Andi!" Just at this moment, she felt Sirius tugging at her, making her snap out of her shock.

    "Yeah? What is it?" She asked, trying not to show her emotions.

    Sirius pointed in the direction of the entrance.

    "Look who''s here," he said with a disgusted expression.

    Andromeda followed his direction, only to have a frown on her face as soon as she saw the person.

    It was a beautiful woman with Blonde hair and features simr to Andromeda and Betrix.

    "Cissy," whispered Andromeda.

    "Traitor," uttered Sirius.

    The joyful atmosphere they''d going around them vanished as they saw her. Narcissa Malfoy ck was the ck history of ck family. It would ruin both Andromeda''s and Betrix''s mood whenever Narcissa is mentioned.

    Not because of the things she did, but because SHE was the one who did those things. Her change had disappointed the sisters a lot.

    "Mother,"

    Upon seeing Narcissa, a boy came forward in a hurry. He tried to hug her but Narcissa stopped in his tracks.

    "Draco," said looking down on him, "I''ve heard of your deeds in these past months,"

    Draco looked puzzled,

    "Uh¡­ I''m sorry, mother. I wouldn''t do those things now," he said uncertainly.

    *p*

    "That is not the problem, boy. If you challenge someone to a duel, make sure you win next time. Don''t embarrass me next time," she said strictly.

    That''s what Andromeda was talking about. The Narcissa of the past would never do that. Their dear sister had changed. She''d be, a bitch.

    ***

    A.N.: As you can see, he hasn''t forgiven nor forgotten.

    Next chapter title: Meeting with the Valentinos. Yep, why wouldn''t theye to see their daughter. Especially after seeing that photo...

    POWERSTONES!!!!!

    And keeping back! The more the readers, the more the motivation!

    Read ahead on P¨¤treon! It helps a ton. /Snollygoster

    Also, people have gone all put in suggesting the skills. He won''t be getting all of them instantly, but I have selected a few.

 Chapter 32: Meeting the Valentinos

    Chapter 32: Meeting the Valentinos

    "Cissy," whispered Andromeda.

    "Traitor," uttered Sirius.

    The joyful atmosphere they''d going around them vanished as they saw her. Narcissa Malfoy ck was the ck history of the ck family. It would ruin both Andromeda''s and Betrix''s moods whenever Narcissa is mentioned.

    Not because of the things she did, but because SHE was the one who did those things. Her change had disappointed the sisters a lot.

    "Mother,"

    Upon seeing Narcissa, a boy came forward in a hurry. He tried to hug her but Narcissa stopped in his tracks.

    "Draco," said Narcissa while looking down on him, "I''ve heard of your deeds in these past months,"

    Draco looked puzzled,

    "Uh¡­ I''m sorry, mother. I wouldn''t do those things now," he said uncertainly.

    *p*

    "That is not the problem, boy. If you challenge someone to a duel, make sure that you win. Don''t embarrass me next time," she said strictly.

    That''s what Andromeda was talking about. The Narcissa of the past would never do that. Their dear sister had changed. She''d be, a bitch. And for the life of them, they couldn''t tell why.

    ***

    As Axel entered the VIP box, he surveyed the surroundings. There were professors, some students of Hogwarts with their parents, and of course, the ck family. But when he saw Andromeda, he had to use lumency to keep calm. He just decided to ignore the presence of cks.

    "So, it''s just us now since my family couldn''t make it," muttered Daphne as she saw others meeting up with their family,

    "What about you?" She asked tentatively though she already knew the answer since he didn''t even know about the whole thing minutes ago. She just wanted to know more about his situation.

    "No one''sing," he said evasively, "Bloody hell, this ce seems like a paradise," he said, changing the topic as he looked around.

    Daphne once again didn''t push it,

    "Isn''t it? There''s popcorn, drinks, and even the best view! And you were telling me to go to the normal seats,"

    That was the thing with Daphne. She wouldn''t annoy him with details. Why? Because they weren''t friends. So he didn''t need to tell her.

    They went to their seats and Axel began practicing magic while chatting with Daphne. He still didn''t want to waste his time.

    "So¡­ what the fuck IS Quidditch?" Asked Axel as he performed the spell for the umpteenth time.

    Daphne raised her eyebrows,

    "You don''t know anything about Quidditch? How?"

    "I just...don''t," He said exasperatedly. He had given up even trying to exin. Now he just lets people make up his story by themselves.

    "Now, are you going to tell me or not?"

    Daphne narrowed her eyes at him,

    "So, you do have an interest, huh?"

    Axel rolled his eyes.

    "I do not. Never did. But don''t know if I ever will," he replied.

    The thing is, he never had time for these things. He always had better things to do. But now that he''s stuck here for the time being, he might as well know what the fuck is going on.

    Daphne shrugged,

    "Well, I don''t particrly like the thing either, but I do know a little bit since I do not live in a cave. So, there are seven yers in each¡ª" she began to exin everything in detail.

    "¡ª gamests for 90 minutes and the team that scores higher wins. Any questions?"

    Axel nodded slowly,

    "Yeah, so these seekers¡­ you said they get 50 points every time they catch the snitch in the 90 minutes. While scoring with a quaffle only gets you 10. Why is that?"

    "Because apparently, the snitch is very small and fast. So, it''s very difficult to spot, let alone catch. But, if you think it''s unfair, then you''ve got another thinging. Because just until a few years ago, catching the snitch would have ended the match and given the seeker''s team a massive 150 points,"

    "Really?" Axel snorted,

    "If the seekers decide the match then why are other yers even ying? That sounds bullshit."

    Daphne nodded avidly,

    "It is, isn''t it? It''s like the game was made by a seeker or someone who wants seeker to be the main character. I like it much better now,"

    Axel fixed her with a scrutinizing gaze,

    "So, you have an interest, don''t you?"

    Daphne paused,

    "I-I don''t! Absolutely not!"

    Axel tilted his head,

    "Okay¡­ if you say so¡­?" He offered, not knowing why she''d insist on it, "Anyways, can''t believe it used to be an international sport even before the rules were changed,"

    Daphne nodded, once again failing to hide her enthusiasm,

    "Yeah, it used to be an international sport, but not that popr. But after these changes were proposed by the new Chairman of IQA, the poprity of the sport exploded even more! Now quidditch has be full of opportunities,"

    Axel didn''t understand properly,

    "What does that mean?"

    "It means that, if you''re a good yer, you can get a Quidditch schrship. And look at those guys," she said, pointing towards a few men and women in suits but wearing scarfs of different colors around their necks.

    "They''re selecters. If you''re a good yer, those guys will recruit you to their team and you can make crazy money and get famous if you y well. Isn''t that exciting?" She enthused.

    Axel looked down at his trembling hands.

    "Yeah, very exciting," he muttered in sarcasm. It was so exciting that his hands couldn''t stop trembling due to the excitement.

    At this moment, they saw Rose jump off from the balcony as she mounted her broomstick and flew down to the Gryffindor locker room.

    Axel and Daphne looked at each other,

    "Gryffindor," they muttered.

    The time for the start of the match was near and Axel was beginning to think that maybe sitting here wasn''t as bad as it seemed. But,

    "Excuse me, this is an announcement¡­ the first-year student Axel Hunt is required in the VVIP box. Thank you,"

    "... The hell is going on?"Muttered Axel.

    Daphne looked at him,

    "Well, you tell me," she muttered as eyes began gathering on him.

    ''Damn it,'' he thought as he realized that he can''t even use his skills now with so many people watching.

    "I think you should go," said Daphne.

    Axel thought about it. Since the other party can make the announcement to the whole stadium and stay in the VVIP room, it''s quite obvious that they''ll find him anyway even if he doesn''t go. And right now he has the advantage everyone is his alibi in case something happens.

    "Hey, I need you to do this," he said as he gave Daphne a few instructions before he went off.

    ''Better get this over with now,'' he thought with a sigh.

    ¡­

    Today was the first Quidditch match, along with the visitation day. Today, outsiders get toe to Hogwarts and families have a chance to reunite. So of course, the Valentino family was alsoing.

    "I still think you guys shouldn''t havee. You guys are busy and I think I handle myself here," said Martina in exasperation.

    "Come on, Tina. You know I can''t live long without my Martini. I had toe," said Alessandro Valentino. The Godfather of the Italian Magical Mafia.

    He was a middle-aged man with a Handsome face with purple hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his forehead. Usually, he''d intimidate the hell out of anyone, but right now, he was just a doting father.

    Martina shrugged,

    "No, I didn''t mean it like that. But someone should have stayed behind, right? To look after the whole business?" Usually, Martina''s mother would stay back while her dad and brother would visit.

    Martina''s mother, Francesca sighed,

    "Well, I had toe this time, dear. Your dad and brother are going to need some babysitting this time, to make sure that they don''t go overboard," she said exasperatedly.

    Francesca was a beautiful woman with auburn hair, violet eyes, and calm and collected temperament. She has always tried to be strict with Martina.

    Martina frowned,

    "Not go overboard¡­? Mom, what exactly are they up to?" She asked apprehensively.

    Martina''s brother, Enzo raised his hands,

    "Oh, dear sister. Why are you looking at us like that? We just need to run some tests, ok? We need to see for ourselves," he said mischievously.

    Enzo had his mother''s auburn hair and his dad''s blue eyes. His ears and eyebrow had piercings. He was handsome, but in a crooked sort of way. He was currently 20, much older than his dear little sister who was only 14.

    The apprehensiveness increased when she saw that look on his face. It meant trouble.

    "Enzo, dad, can you at least tell me first?"

    A miracle happened. Alessandro actually denied his daughter''s request.

    "I''m sorry, Tina. Some things just need to be done. It can''t be helped," he said as he checked his Magi-mirror.

    "Oh, it''s already done," he muttered as he stood up, and Enzo stood up along with him.

    "Good thing we blocked outside sound for now. You ready Enzo?"

    Enzo nodded as he took out his wand and knife,

    "Oh I am. But I''m not for the beatings we''ll receive from our little powerhouseter,"

    "Damn right, son. But we do what we gotta do, right? We''ve to make sure he''s not a pussy who''s only after the benefits,"

    *Knock* *knock*

    At this moment, the door was knocked and both the father and son fixed their sight on the door.

    "I''ll get it, dad. We got need to use a Fiendfire to burn a tiny candle, do we?" He said as he went to get the door.

    He readied his wand and knife and opened the door with the start.

    "You piece of¡ª" he began as his wand began to conjure binding ropes, but¡ª

    *Shing* *Swipe* *thump*

    The sound of knife shing was heard and in the instant, they all saw Enzo on his knees, with a knife on his jugr and a wand pointed at them, held by trembling hands.

    zing amber eyes peered cautiously from behind Enzo''s head, showing irritation due to the sudden attack.

    "The Professors, the headmaster, and the media know I''m here. So I thought you''d be wise enough not to harm me. But if you insist, I''m taking down this guy with me, along with as many of you as I can," he said calmly.

    "Talking to those behind me as well. Just try," he uttered, making the guards behind him also stopped dead in their tracks.

    "Axel?!" Martina was too surprised to react, but then her eyes glowed in fury as she understood what her dear father and brother had been up to.

    """Put your wands down! All of you!""" She said, turning to the guards and her father.

    Everyone dropped their wands except Axel. For a second, silence ensued. But then¡ª

    *Pfft*

    Someone snorted. And then,

    "Hahahahahah hahaha!" Enzo beganughing like he''d seen the most amusing situation in the world.

    Alessandro also join him in theughter, "Damn son, you got your ass kicked real bad,"

    "...."

    Martina and Francesca looked at the two like they were a lost cause.

    Axel red at Martina.

    "You said your family won''t cause trouble?" he asked irately.

    Martina tried to approach him,

    "Axel, trust me, I didn''t know they were going to do any of this!" She said as she red at her family.

    An absurdugh escaped his mouth,

    "Could''ve fooled me. What am I supposed to do now?"

    He had a knife to the throat of the son of the Godfather.

    The situation seemed quite vtile since even a small movement can end up hurting Enzo. At this moment, Francesca, who had been here to babysit, spoke up calmly,

    "My daughter is telling the truth, Mr. Hunt. These two idiots tend to go a bit overboard when ites to Martina," she said as she brought out a pensive and showed him what happened a moment before his arrival.

    "It was a test boy. We wanted to see if you''re worthy of associating with my daughter," said Alessandro excitedly after the memory yed out.

    "Yeah man, it was just a prank," said Enzo as heughed, "Though you yed the reverse card,"

    Axel shook his head absurdly. He was finding the whole situation crazy.

    "And why, pray tell, would you assume I would even want to associate with your daughter?"

    This time, both Alessandro and Enzo had the expression that they found his words absurd,

    "What are you talking about? How can someone not want to be close with Tina?"

    "Yeah, she is perfect. Who would not want her?" agreed Enzo.

    ''Oh God... just kill me...''

    Martina groaned in mortification. They''ve gone and done it. How would she ever face Axel now?

    In response to the two, Axel shrugged,

    "Well, I don''t. She is the one who''s been bothering me. So just tell her to stop if you don''t want her associating with me. Just don''t bother me next time," with that, he was off.

    "...."

    Everyone else stood there as they saw Axel disappear from their view.

    There was a silence and everyone was too stunned to speak.

    "Well, he''s a badass," dered Enzo, breaking the silence.

    "And he has awesome scars," added Alessandro as he caressed the scar on his forehead.

    "I see why you would like him, Martina," said Francesca as she sighed.

    Purple magic exploded out of Martina.

    "I''ve told you...I-IT''S NOT LIKE THAT!"she yelled with a face that had gone beet red.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Well, looks like he passed the test?

    POWERSTONES!!!!!!

    So, new Quidditch and a meeting with Martina''s parents in this chapter.

    The Next Chapter has another surprise along with a meeting with Andromeda.

    If you want to Read ahead and support me in writing this, join P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 33: Daphnes Problem

    Chapter 33: Daphne''s Problem

    When Axel finally returned, the game was going full on and the noise was everywhere.

    "So, what was it about?" Asked Daphne, not looking away from the game.

    Axel scoffed,

    "Just a waste of time really," he said exasperatedly.

    "But¡­" a smirk came to his face as he recalled the red face of the thoroughly embarrassed Martina. "It was also worth it,"

    Martina Valentino. To everyone else at Hogwarts, she was this genius beauty who was perfect in every aspect. She would always give out this elegant and unapproachable feeling, as if she was above everyone else without even trying.

    At least that''s what everyone thinks and that''s what she wants everyone to think. In fact, she even had him fooled! He was terrified of the girl who even the system wanted him to be careful of.

    That was until he easily tripped her and ran away. He thought it might be a fluke, but the next day, she couldn''t even handle his memories and got scared. Though, it was still alright. Her image was still mighty in his impression.

    But, on Halloween, she ended up tripping due to a minor lubrication charm and falling in an embarrassing position with her underwear exposed to him.

    Then when the Dementors came, she screamed so loud that even he got scared due to her reaction. She was no help despite being perfectly capable of handling the Dementors. And today, it turned out that she was just a little girl who is doted on by her family.

    So, it was quite amusing to slowly unmask the girl whom everyone thought of as a high, mighty, and aloof existence.

    "It was a waste of time, but also worth it? How''s that possible?" How is that possible, asked Daphne, offering him popcorn.

    "Go, Rose!" She called as Rose passed by them.

    Axel shook his head,

    "Never mind, what about the game?" He asked as he too looked at the field.

    Daphne frowned in distaste,

    "It''s not looking good. The Slytherins are ying very Slytherin way, those bastards!" She eximed, but then she realized something, "No offense," Axel was also a Slytherin after all.

    Axel wanted tough,

    "None taken. But what exactly is happening? Your friends were saying that Gryffindor has better yers," he asked, recalling the conversation of Rose, Susan, and Neville from earlier.

    Daphne sighed,

    "It''s all because of that guy," she said, pointing at a Slytherin flying by the goal hoops.

    Axel narrowed his eyes,

    "ric Malcolm, the Head Boy. What about him?" He asked, though he already somewhat knew what this was about.

    "That guy has trained the team to y very Slytherin. All the strategies are borderline dirty and he''s leading them quite well too. He might not be as good a Keeper as Woods, but he''s a better strategist," she exined.

    Axel looked at the scoreboard to find Slytherin leading by 30 points.

    "So, it looks like Gryffindor will lose, huh?"

    "Not yet," said Daphne while munching her popcorns, "If Rose catches the snitch we can get the lead,"

    ''We? Did she forget she''s talking to a Slytherin?'' He wondered as he gave her a peculiar look.

    She noticed his nce and misunderstood,

    "Hmm? You want some?" She asked, once again offering him Popcorn.

    Axel looked at the popcorn dripping with butter and sighed,

    "No thanks," he denied once again. He was nowpletely following the system''s diet, not eating anything else.

    "So, if the snitch can get the victory then why isn''t Rose going after it?" He asked.

    Daphneughed,

    "If only it was that easy. The snitch is crazy difficult to find," she said with certainty.

    Axel knitted his eyebrows. It couldn''t have been that difficult, could it?

    "What does it look like?" He asked.

    "Wow, you haven''t seen it? Small, golden ball with silver wings attached to it that p like a dragonfly..." she began describing.

    "It''s quite shiny and it would sometimes hover in the same ce while other times, it would¡ª"

    "Does it look like that? Near the Hoops?" Asked Axel, pointing at a Golden ball with pping wings, hovering near the goal hoops.

    Daphne was unimpressed.

    "Yeah, not falling for that one. At least point somewhere nearer so that it would seem usible," she said in a deadpan. The ce where he pointed out was too far to spot a tiny ball hovering in the sky.

    "I wasn''t joking but, never mind," Axel shrugged. He couldn''t bring himself to give a damn.

    Daphne looked at him for a moment then sighed.

    "... Alright, I''ll bite," she muttered before she put the omni-rs to her eyes.

    "??!!! That''s¡­ the Snitch! I see it! That''s the Snitch! And¡­ oh no¡­ it moved away," she quickly turned to him in astonishment.

    "How''d you find it?! Scratch that, how did you even see it from such a distance?"

    Axel smirk,

    "Because it was golden and shiny," he answered. It was one of the reasons. He was a goddamn thief, of course, his eyes would catch sight of gold like a hawk sighting its prey. After years of experience, his brain was programmed to naturally spot gold first.

    And the other reason was,

    [Arcane Eyes: Progress 10%]

    [An Arcane Thief''s eyes need to be special. To search treasure, to detect traps, to see through the enchantments, to see in the dark, and so on¡­ eyes are as important a tool for a thief as any and more]

    Yep, a new skill. In the beginning, he had attributed it to be just anothermon skill, but it was not. That''s why it took so long to unlock. Axel was looking forward to abusing this skill after his proficiency increases.

    Daphne gave him a deep look,

    "You would have made a fantastic seeker if you were more...dexterous," she muttered before she checked her Magi-mirror yet again. She''d been doing this since the morning.

    ''Dextrous?'' Axel shook his head ruefully at the irony. He probably used to be the most dextrous person you can find in the whole of Britain. And here she is, talking about dexterity.

    "OH! Looks like the Gryffindor Seeker, Rose Potter has found the Snitch! She''s flying full throttle! Is this a feint? Or is she really onto something?! And the Slytherin seeker Terence is on the chase! Rose makes a dive¡ª AND SHE''S GOT IT! I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! 30 MINUTES INTO THE MATCH, AND SHE''S CAPTURED THE SNITCH! THE GRY¡­"

    Thementator and the crowd were going mad and even Axel nodded in acknowledgment at the nice catch. But, with the absence of the expected cheering from beside him, he turned his head to look at Daphne.

    "What''s up?" He asked in confusion. Daphne was looking at her Magi-mirror and a curtain of her blond hair was obscuring her face. But he could see that her hands were gripping the Magi-mirror very tightly with her fingers digging into it.

    *Sniff* "Nothing," Daphne shook her head as she wiped her eyes. Her face was pale and she did not seem happy at all.

    "Hey, you can enjoy the match. I remembered I had something urgent to do," she said as she stood up and started to leave.

    "What the heck?" Murmured Axel. Is she seriously going to ditch him like this after dragging him into this ce?

    Axel also stood up. The deal was to apany her for the day. What the hell is he going to do wasting time here? And, was she actually crying? That seemed quite impossible. She''s the type to make others cry. Thus he decided to follow her.

    But before he could leave, he found someone standing in his way, blocking his path.

    "Axel¡­"

    Axel clenched his weak hands into fists.

    "Mrs. Tonks, excuse me," he said as he began to walk by her.

    "No, please wait! I need to talk to you!" she said with a bit of desperation in her voice, putting up her hands in front of her in a stopping gesture.

    She had only been able to gather her courage to approach him now. And she didn''t want him to brush her off without even hearing her out.

    Axel looked past her to see Daphne disappearing from his view.

    "Look, I really don''t have the time right now. And I don''t think I can do anything else for you. You''ve already taken the memories and my body reports. Just give up or find someone else to experiment on, please," saying so, he quickly went past her, leaving Andromeda too stunned to do anything.

    ...

    He found Daphne sitting under a huge tree just a little bit into the forbidden forest. It wasn''t far from the stadium. As he had expected, something was indeed wrong since she was actually crying. Daphne wasn''t really the type of girl who''d cry.

    Sitting under the tree, with her knees tucked to her chest, she cried silently with streams of tears falling down her cheeks. Her nose was red and the soft sound of sobs would faintly echo in the clearing as she cried freely.

    "...."

    Axel didn''t know what to do. He couldn''t even remember thest time he had cried like that. Probably never. Because he never actually cared so much about anything that he''d cry over it so badly. He always thought of how to make things better instead of hopelessly crying like this.

    He couldn''t help but wonder if he was wrong toe here and witness her in such a private moment.

    But then he thought,

    ''Fuck it,''

    She shouldn''t be crying so pathetically no matter what the case. Whatever her problem is, she should either be able to do something about it, or she can''t do anything about it. Either way, crying seems quite meaningless, right?

    At least that''s what he thought.

    Thus, no longer hiding his presence, he freely walked into the clearing.

    "So, this is the important thing you forgot to do, huh?"

    "???!!!"

    Daphne seemed to almost jump out of her skin when she saw him.

    "What the fuck, Axel?! What are you doing here?!" She asked, quickly wiping her tears.

    Axel stood there with his hands in his pockets,

    "Well, I wasn''t going to just stay in there with the rich assholes. The deal was to apany you, so here I am," he said with a shrug.

    "Now, are you going to tell me why you are crying?" He asked.

    Daphne quickly dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief,

    "Who said I was crying?! It''s just that¡­ something got in my eyes¡­" she said very truthfully.

    Axel nodded in understanding,

    "You do realize that you''re not fooling anyone, right? But I''ll buy it if you insist."

    "Anyways, if you want to talk about it, I still have to apany you for about one and a half hours for the favor. And if you don''t, I''m walking away," he said as he started to leave.

    Daphne looked lost for a moment. But then, she sat back down under the tree.

    "It''s about Astoria," she said quietly.

    Axel turned around and came to sit beside her,

    "What about her? I thought she and your mother were out of country today?"

    Daphne nodded,

    "It''s for Astoria. She¡­" Daphne choked a sob, "She isn''t expected to live a long life. She has a blood malediction," she said as tears once again began to pool in her eyes.

    Axel nodded in understanding,

    "So, I take it your mother took her out for treatment?"

    Daphne nodded,

    "The asshole didn''t want to spend money on her. Now that he''s dead, my mother has been taking my sister to other magically advanced civilizations. Today, she went to to Antis, the most developed magical civilization,"

    Axel recalled what Professor Gorski had said about Antis. The civilization had reached its peak between 1,000,000 and 900,000 years ago but most of it was destroyed due to internal warfare. It decided to relocate underwater around 9000 years ago. So, it''s still much older than Britain''s Magical Civilization which only started with Merlin.

    "But¡­ isn''t it closed to the outside world?"

    Daphne nodded,

    "Yes, that''s the problem. All the othermunities either rejected or couldn''t cure her. And Antis, thest hope, didn''t work out as well. Now my sister can''t be saved," she said hopelessly.

    Axel listened attentively to her problem. Then,

    "hahahaha...," he began to chuckle lightly in response. He couldn''t help it since it was funny.

    "..??..." Daphne looked at him,pletely dibobted.

    "Sorry¡­ hah¡­ sorry, I couldn''t help it¡ªHey wait!" before he could even finish speaking, Daphne had gotten up, about to leave. So he grabbed her hand to stop her.

    But Daphne wasn''t listening. She was feeling very furious, betrayed, and dumb right now, due to his reaction. She shook his weak crippled hand off with ease but his other hand took its ce in stopping her.

    "Wait!"

    "No!"

    "You won''t be able to do magic!" He yelled.

    That stopped her,

    "...What?" She asked in confusion.

    Axel let go of her hand,

    "You won''t be able to do magic ¡ª That''s...

    That''s what they said to me 3 months ago when I woke up in Saint Mungo''s," he said, looking up at her.

    Daphne once again sat down beside him. Axel had always avoided this topic and was only bringing it up today. So, she wasn''t going to miss it now.

    "What happened?"

    Axel shook his head,

    "Can''t tell you exactly how it happened, but most of the nerves in my body were fried off. And the Master healer said I won''t be able to do magic normally again and my hands and body might not ever heal," he said, looking at his trembling hands.

    Daphne didn''t interrupt him as she listened with more attention than she ever paid to anything else.

    "I was unconscious the first two or three days as they healed whatever they could. On the third day, I woke up to find that I had lost most of the control over my hands and every movement of my body was painful,"

    Daphne looked at him differently. Axel had told everyone with certainty that his injuries were minor and temporary and it''ll heal. She never expected that they were permanent.

    "I only moved using the pain-relieving potion for the first two days. And I ran out of it on the fourth day. When I first tried magic, even the Lumos charm didn''t work for hours. But I refused to ept any of the words the Healer said. And when it finally worked, it was so weak that you''d hardly see even in the dark. And it was so painful that I passed out," he said, smiling at the recollection.

    Turning to face her, he said,

    "So, take it from someone who''s already defied what others say, and don''t lose hope. It''s your sister''s life, not theirs. They won''t try their absolute best no matter what you offer them. So, don''t give up until you''ve tried everything. It''s not over until it''s over."

    Daphne''s eyes slowly widened as she heard his words. They hit her like a bludger to the stomach and made her wake up to reality.

    That''s right. Why did she lose hope just because the others said so? She still hasn''t done anything yet. The future had infinite possibilities and she can''t lose hope just because someone else said it.

    Now that she thought back to it, her worries did indeed seemughable whenpared to what Axel has gone through. And he never gave up. She couldn''t even imagine him sitting under a tree and crying helplessly. He''d rather do something about it instead.

    She turned to look at him deeply,

    "You''re right. I''m so sorry for disying such a pathetic side," she said in mortification.

    "But¡­ Why did you help me?" She asked suddenly, realizing that there could only be one answer, right? Because... they were friends!

    Axel nodded his head,

    "Well, I need to submit two homeworks tomorrow which you still haven''t done, and I didn''t want tears on my notebook. So¡ªhey! What the¡ª why are you attacking me?!"

    They began messing around as Daphne tried to assault him while he defended andughed. But, all of a sudden, his eyes widened and he made both of them roll over.

    Not even a secondter, a spell hit right where he was present a moment ago.

    ***

    A.N.: Next Chapter title: Danger and New Feature Unlocked.

    It was a very satisfying chapter... before the end ??! Look forward to what happens next!

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Read ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 34: The Danger and the New Feature

    Chapter 34: The Danger and the New Feature

    Chapter 34

    *BOOM*

    Axel and Daphne rolled over as a spell hit right where he was present just moments ago. The impact was so huge that they got thrown off a bit just by the shockwave.

    [Dark Magic Detected!]

    And that was the cherry on top.

    More spells came at them and Axel took Daphne to hide behind a tree.

    "You bastards, you want a fight? You fucking got it," muttered Axel furiously as he took out both of his wands, one of which was wrapped in leather.

    But Daphne, on the other hand, took out her Magi-mirror and tapped it a few times, and pointed it out where the attacks came from.

    "I''m Broadcasting this live on my channel and Axel is calling Martina! And a professor! COME AT US!!"

    "...."

    Axel stood there dumbly with one of the wands shing blue and while the other hummed in his hand in demand for some action as heprehended what Daphne had just done.

    He didn''t know whether to praise her quick thinking or smack her head.

    On one hand, she had made a brilliant move as disying this live would get the attackers in a whole lot of trouble. Especially if they actually fired spells now. Plus, him calling Martina would sound quite legit and threatening as she had personally warned everyone toy off him.

    But on the other hand, this is giving the chance for the attackers to escape and he doesn''t even know who they are. And also, he doesn''t even have Martina''s contact.But,

    "Hello, Martina! I''m being attacked! Fly to the forbidden forest! I''ll send out a red spark to show our position!"

    But, in the end, he still decided to go with Daphne''s approach. Because right now, he was at aplete disadvantage.

    There were more than one opponent and one of them knew fucking Silent Casting:meaning very skilled, they could use dark Muthafuckin magic: very dangerous. He didn''t even know their numbers, their level of skill, how powerful the dark magic was and how it worked, their identity, etc.

    Plus, he also had Daphne as a baggage if it came down to a fight. He can''t fight in his style since these guys would simply target her as soon as he disappears or evades too much.

    With such massive odds stacked up against him, he decided to go with Daphne''s approach and fired red sparks into the sky. He also fired a sticking charm at Daphne''s hand, sticking her Magi-mirror to her hand, in case the attackers summoned the Magi-mirror out of her hands. He wasn''t sure if it was enchanted with an anti summoning or not.

    With everything done, he waited as he heard hushed voices arguing before they began to fade away.

    Daphne giggled quietly,

    "They ran away!" she whispered, feeling aplished.

    A vein popped on Axel''s forehead,

    "Not until I know who they are," he muttered before he started to fade from view as he activated his skills.

    It''s their wishful thinking if they thought they could attack him with no consequences.

    "Stay here. I''ll be back. Keep recording on in case they''re idiotic enough to stille," he ordered Daphne before leaving.

    "Wait¡ª" But before she could stop him, he was already off.

    Axel quickly caught up to his supposed attackers.

    "We could have still attacked, you know?" Said a boy to his aplices as he took off his mask. He looked at least above the fifth year.

    "Idiot, they''ve already called for help and sent out red sparks. Students are wandering around here with their families. People are bound toe and investigate. If we''re caught, there''ll be hell to pay," said another guy with blonde hair. He was younger than the other two but he seemed the leader here.

    Axel knew this guy. He had seen him at the Slytherin table.

    "But Damien, why are you even trying to attack him after Valentino''s warning? Don''t tell it''s that stupid jealousy?" Asked the third guy who was walking with them.

    Damien pointed his finger at him,

    "It''s none of your business, Faux. I gave you one task: hit silently and run. And you managed to fail spectacrly at it! Don''t expect any payment now,"

    Faux looked outraged,

    "It wasn''t my fault! I tell you mate, that kid is abnormal, he is. I even used the power of the circle!"

    Damien shook his head,

    "Don''t make¡ª" but he paused since the sound of approaching footsteps alerted them.

    "Shhhh¡ª someone ising! Turn around and start walking the way we came!" He ordered in a whisper as they began retracing their steps.

    Axel, who was standing on a tree branch, observed everything.

    People wereing. That''s the reason why these guys didn''t continue their attack on Axel. Though ironically, this was also why Axel didn''t attack them just now.

    Besides, even if he did ambush them and win right now, then what? He can''t kill them at the moment since he''ll get caught and letting him leave after beating them would reveal his cards to them.

    They''d know that:

    1)He knows it was them who attacked.

    2)They''ll know that he was actually skilled enough to beat all three of them together.

    3)He isn''t going to take Martina''s help. So the biggest deterrent preventing them from attacking him won''t exist.

    Thus, attacking them right now is just making things more difficult for himself.

    Soon, Two wizards in Auror robes came into view and they easily spotted Damien andpany who were walking ahead.

    "Hey, you three! We saw red sparks in the sky. Do you guys know anything about it?"

    The three shook their heads, and Malcolm stepped forward,

    "No, we were also going to investigate just that, actually," said Damien smoothly, indicating the way they were going.

    "...What a Slytherin move," he muttered as he witnessed the Aurors ordering Malcolm and his goons to go out of the forest, which was exactly what they wanted.

    This guy wasn''t dumb. He waited for the perfect opportunity to ambush him and has the ability to think on his feet and improvise. Earlier, he made the decision to retreat quickly instead of continuing to attack, avoiding the chance of Martina ever discovering who the attacker was.

    Though, leaving was also his biggest mistake.

    Because now, Axel is the hunter. And they will be his prey.

    "You picked a fight with the wrong person, rich guy," he muttered as he once again faded from view.

    As the most vindictive person here, he wasn''t going to let this go unpunished.

    Just like them, he can also bide his time and strike at the perfect opportunities. And just like them, he wouldn''t let them know who attacked them.

    But unlike them, he won''t fail miserably at both tasks like they did.

    ¡­.

    While making while way back to Daphne, Axel checked the system notifications.

    [You managed to handle the unexpected situation.

    ? +2% Approval

    ? Method to Remove the trace from your wand. ]

    Axel returned to Daphne making her way in his direction, still recording and looking scared.

    "Why the hell did you not stay there?!" He asked her irately as he emerged from behind a tree.

    "Aaahh¡ª!" Daphne jumped and he quickly had to put a hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. But then he got a punch to his stomach.

    "Why the hell did you go after them?! They are so dangerous!"

    Axel red at her,

    "Because, I am more dangerous. Now shut up and follow me. We have to leave,"

    "...." Daphne found herself obediently shutting up and following him.

    When he imed to be more dangerous with those amber eyes deadly serious, she somehow believed him.

    "Was the recording really live?" He asked, wondering if it would be troublesome.

    Daphne shook her head,

    "No, it was just being sent to my mother. I couldn''t do more due to panic and urgency," she said sheepishly.

    "That''s good," Axel sighed in relief,

    "You handled the situation quite well," he said after a pause. It was a genuine praise. She might not be too strong magically. But she was able to use her brain ande up with a way out when the odds seemed to be stacked against them.

    *Step*

    Daphne stopped walking as her eyes widened.

    ''He¡­. actually praised me?''

    An indescribable feeling filled up her chest as she realized what had happened. After three months of knowing each other, this was the first time he had actually praised her.

    That''s exactly what made it so much more rewarding now.

    Axel turned around to re at her,

    "Why did you stop? We have to leave quickly," he said in annoyance.

    "Yes!"

    A dazzling smile of pure joy came to her face which had been crying bitterly just a while earlier as she followed him once again with a spring in her steps and lots of motivation for the future.

    ****

    "Mum! Don''t be sad. Please be happy?" Said a small cute girl with brown hair and big and adorable grey eyes.

    The woman who was her mother wiped the stray tear that had escaped her eyes as she smiled,

    "I''m not sad, Tory. It''s going to be okay. I''ll find another way," she said reassuringly.

    Astoria Greengrass shook her little head,

    "I don''t mind. I just want to see sister. Can you call her?" she asked with a pout.

    The woman, Evelyn Greengrass nodded and was about to call her eldest daughter, but her Magi-mirror rang at this moment, indicating a call from Daphne.

    "Oh, look she called us herself," she said as she epted the call.

    But instead of seeing her daughter''s face, she saw a shaky view of a forest with spells being fired towards them.

    "!!!"

    "Give me a minute, Tory,"

    Evelyn quickly stood up and walked away from Astoria.

    "Daphne?! Daphne! What''s happening?!" She asked urgently, but got no response.

    "You bastards, you want a fight? You fucking got it," came the voice of a boy from the device.

    "I''m Broadcasting this live on my channel and Axel is calling Martina! And a professor! COME AT US!!" Said Daphne.

    "!!!"

    Evelyn quickly understood the situation and could do nothing but watch the scenes unfold. Fortunately, after some time, it looked like the attackers had gone away.

    And then, a handsome boy''s visage came into her view, holding a wand in each hand.

    "They ran away!" Came Daphne''s triumphant voice.

    "No. Not until I know who they are," said the boy before he started to fade from view.

    "Wait!" Called out Daphne as she swore under her breath. But then she seemed to recall something and quickly turned the mirror in her direction.

    "Hi mum, as you can see, I''m a bit busy so I''ve disabled the iing sound. I can''t hear whatever you''re saying. I''ll talk to youter, okay?" She said as she quickly began to chase. Fortunately, both of them were safe in the end and the call got canceled.

    But Evelyn, just stood there with her with her heart pounding very hard. It wasn''t because of her daughter being in danger since she already knew Daphne would be able to handle it. It was because of something else.

    Just now in the call, she had noticed something quite shocking.

    ''It can''t be, right?'' she wondered as she reyed the video. And her suspicions were correct. It was indeed the very same.

    ''How did he get it?!''

    She needed answers... She needed to know everything.

    ***

    Time passed, and soon, Christmas wasing. One morning, Hogwarts woke up to find itself buried in several feet of snow. And on such a snowy day, a boy could be seen runningps around the frozenke.

    This boy was obviously Axel Hunt. His body was now functioning enough that he could actually run. Though making explosive movements would still send jolts of pain throughout his body.

    During this time, his main focus had been lumency, but he already knew that only focusing on lumency with his shitty lucky was pure idiocy and impatient behaviour.

    In his short time here, he had been challenged to a duel, attacked by a troll, followed, by Dementors, followed by some idiots and almost by a dangerous Mafia family. He had to be prepared.

    Thus, there was one secret weapon he had developed during this time. It was his Trump card. Something that uses all of his skills and talents.

    Aside from that, there were also some other major changes during this time.

    After arriving at a secluded spot, he took out a dagger and began practicing his Knife-Wielding skill.

    "¨¢sphx¨¤z¨¹s R?rtzkh?f." He muttered in between his strikes. Most of times, nothing would happen. But if you looked carefully, some of the knife strikes would leave behind thin trails of glowing blue light.

    Frankly, he didn''t know what the fuck he was saying. The words he was chanting was a new feature.

    [Approval rate: 20%]

    [New feature unlocked]

    [Arcane Scribe: You are now able to ess the Arcane Language.]

    Progress: 1.2%]

    When the feature had unlocked a few days ago, the pain he had felt in his head was nothing to scoff at. It was as if head was being split open.

    After reaching a threshold, many of his skills had stopped progressing.

    But after this upgrade, his skills started to show incantations and the progress percentage started to increase once again. It means that he would have never mastered those skills without increasing his approval rate and unlocking this feature.

    He imitated the swiping, shing, and stabbing motions of the dagger as the Images in his head yed. But, he couldn''t do one important thing: Switching the de between his hands.

    He wasn''t actually gripping the dagger since he couldn''t do that properly in the first ce. It was just stuck to his palm with a sticking charm. So he wasn''t able to change hands to increase the variations of attacks.

    After he was done, hey down on the frozen ground in exhaustion. The Christmas holidays are starting today. And he has decided to spend them outside Hogwarts.

    He had unlocked some potion recepies which are going to help him train, but he couldn''t make the potions himself due to obvious reasons and the ingredients aren''t cheap. So he''s going to go out and figure something out.

    Aside from this, he had three letters, inviting him for Christmas. One from the ck Family, one from the Greengrass family, and unbelievably, one from Valentino Family.

    Thetter letter came as a surprise to him, to say the least. After he had threatened them with a knife to their sessor''s throat, an invitation for Christmas was thest thing he was expecting in that Letter.

    Of course, he politely declined the invitations of cks and Valentinos saying that he had prior arrangements. But for Greengrass, it was troublesome.

    Daphne had once again cashed in her homework favor.

    That is why, he had agreed to have the Christmas Dinner with the Greengrass family. But that''s just one day.

    He had other unfinished business to attend to in London. Something he thought he''d need a long time to aplish but was possible after the crazy changes he had gone through this year.

    ''Unfinished business indeed,'' he thought as he traced the scars on his face. He''s no longer as weak as he used to be.

    "Worthless street rat, huh? Let''s see who''s the rat now," He muttered as his eyes began to glow. He had waited enough.It''s time for some retribution.

    ***

    A.N.: A new feature. Plus, Evelyn now knows...may be.

    Next chapter: Gangsta''s Entry

    OP Actioning soon! Especially his Trump card.

    POWERSTONES!!!! Vote for me!!!

    Read Ahead and Support me On P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 35: Gangstas Entry

    Chapter 35: Gangsta''s Entry

    "Worthless street rat, huh?" He muttered as his eyes began to glow. He had waited enough.

    Lying in the snow, Axel recalled what happened in the past¡­.

    "Get out of here, squirt. How''d you even get in?" said a burly guard as he threw an eight-year-old Axel out of a bar.

    Laying down on the ground, little Axel sighed. It had been a few days since he had to leave the orphanage and he had been wandering to all kinds of ces in order to get some kind of employment to get money. He had gotten so desperate that he even tried entering this high-ss bar.

    On his way back, the burly guard bumped into a man as he passed by.

    "Pardon," said the man, tipping his hat to the guard as he came to stand in front of Axel.

    "Kid, how''d you get in?" Asked the man, looking down at Axel.

    "Who are you? What d''you want?" Still lying on the ground, Axel turned his head to look up at the man. The man was wearing a pin-stripped suit, a hat on his bald head, and had a cigar in his mouth. Also, his face was full of scars.

    "I''m Scars. Johnny Scars. I asked, how did you get into the bar? The security of this bar is quite strict," he muttered, looking at Axel with interest.

    "Sneaked passed the guards," Axel muttered with a sigh. He had to wait for a long time to pull it off. But it turned out to be a useless endeavor.

    The man raised an eyebrow,

    "You snuck passed them? How?"

    Axel''s stomach rumbled,

    "By minding my own business," he said as he got up to leave.

    The man smiled as he took out a 20-pound note from his wallet.

    "As a matter of fact, I am. Tell me how you entered," he stated, waving the note.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Wasn''t that difficult. I just had to wait. The ck security guard had gone to the toilet. The blond one was looking at the woman on the counter and the burly one was busy with another person," he exined.

    The man slowly smiled.

    "Knew it wasn''t a fluke. You have talent, kid. Why don''t you work for me?"

    Axel shook his head,

    "I think I''ll pass,"

    The man tilted his head,

    "I don''t understand. Why would a rat like yourself reject me?"

    Axel red at the man for looking down on him.

    "Because, you''re no good. I saw you taking the wallet of that burly guard just now. You also have a bulge in your suit that looks like a gun. So, I think I''ll pass. I''m not that desperate yet." Saying so, Axel dusted off his clothes and walked away. Something about this man didn''t seem right to him.

    Seeing Axel depart, a wicked grin came to the man''s face, stretching the scars on his face.

    "Looks like I''ve found a new toy, huh?"

    ¡­

    Axel gave up finding employment and found himself going back to the orphanage instead. It''s the only ce he''s known for his whole childhood. Axel didn''t even know exactly why he was kicked out.

    He snuck in through the first-floor window that he knew will be open since they''d never think someone can climb that high. It was night so all the kids had gone to bed and Axel felt a sting when he saw that his bed was now upied by someone else.

    Shaking his head, he went to the kitchen to find something to eat. But to his bad luck, the caretaker and the cook were sitting there, drinking alcohol.

    "Damn it," he muttered. It looks like he''ll have to wait for them to leave first.

    But these guys kept talking and talking. Axel was about to fall asleep when their conversation caught his ear.

    "So, you finally kicked that freak out, huh?" Asked the cook. His words were a bit slurred and his face was flushed due to being drunk.

    The caretakerughed, "Damn right I did. He beat up some rich guy''s kid in the school and the rich guy asked for his expulsion. So they canceled his schrship."

    Axel''s eyes widened after listening to their conversation. So, the reason he was kicked out was that rich bully? Axel hadn''t done that much. He had only defended himself.

    The cook smiled, "That''s good. Now the school won''t question us when he''s kicked outta here. But, what if he goes to the authorities?"

    The caretakerughed, "That doesn''t matter. The kid''s parents left him with no paperwork. Legally, he doesn''t even exist. It''ll be no trouble," he said, taking a swig from the bottle.

    The cook tilted his head, "Then, why''d you take him in the first ce? It could have caused trouble."

    The caretaker scoffed, "They were offering good money and I thought they''lle back. So I didn''t really mind. But who''d have thought they were making a fool outta'' me! They were just trying to get rid of ''im. The freak has demonic powers! Beats up other kids! I had to take one to the hospitalst week! I tell ya, Jake, I''ve had enough of ''im. Good riddance!"

    "??!!!"

    The caretaker''s words were like a hammer to the brain. This man had taken care of him since his childhood. And now he''s discovering that the man wanted to kick him out all this while.

    Unable to bear staying there any longer, Axel just ran away from the ce. His parents had left him, and the caretaker, who used to be kind enough, had also gotten rid of him. Is he really so undesirable?

    He wiped his eyes.

    Well then, fuck it. If no one really cares about him, then why should he care about anyone else?

    He had been trying to make an honest living but now he really didn''t want to.

    ¡­

    "Axel? Oi! Are you dead?"

    Axel snapped out of his past memory as he heard a voice disturbing his rest. That day was the beginning of everything. Things would have been very different if only he had found help or at least if someone had given him employment.

    But of course, he''d found three enemies instead. First was, of course, the caretaker. Axel had looted all the money from the caretaker''s personal locker the very next day.

    Then there was the rich bully. He still had a score to settle with that family for getting him kicked out.

    The third was someone whom Axel had already forgotten by the next day. But the man hadn''t forgotten Axel. Johnny Scars. He was a total nutjob and Axel should have known better than to talk to that guy instead of running away right then and there.

    "Oi! I''m talking to you! Are you listening?"

    Axel finally turned his eyes towards the annoying person who was disturbing him. It was Rose standing there with her broom in her hand.

    "Can''t you take the hint? I''m trying to ignore you," said Axel as he got up. It wasn''t a surprise that she found him. This junky can be seen flying around on her broom whenever she has free time.

    Rose stomped her foot,

    "Arrgh! Why the hell were you lying on the ground like that? I thought you were dead!"

    Axel scoffed,

    "No, you didn''t. Tell me why you''re here," he said as he began walking towards the castle.

    "So frustrating! Aunt Andromeda wants to talk to you!" She said with a huff, "She''s been asking about you the whole year and I''m tired of being the middleman!"

    "Just politely ask her to leave me alone," he rejected as he continued walking.

    Rose had had it now, "What the hell is your problem?! She took you shopping, bought you so many things, even invited you to dinner with us! How can you be so ungrateful?!"

    "!!!!!"

    For a moment, Axel paused in his steps and Rose''s knees lost strength as she fell down.

    Axel partially turned his head, showing one eye which seemed to contain zing embers in it.

    "Don''t speak when you don''t know anything," he said in a voice colder than the snow around them.

    "And also, if you''re feeling jealous and insecure about someone else getting more attention, don''t try to take it out on me," he added. Her words had stung. So he must sting back.

    In the beginning, the two of them were just fine. But slowly, over the months, he had noticed how her hostility kept increasing slowly. That''s why he said those words.

    "!!!!"

    And from the way her eyes widened, Axel could tell that he had hit a nerve. Inwardly nodding in at a job well done, he left Rose kneeling on the ground as he already began to forget the incident.

    ¡­

    Axel sat alone in an emptypartment as he sharpened his dagger and knives. He was preparing for war.

    On the seat in front of him, he had above 20 knives, some swords, and a few shields. The knives were kitchenware or stolen from those who kept them. Swords and Shields were taken from Armors.

    There''s a reason why he didn''t take revenge upto now. That guy isn''t just a nobody. He''s a dangerous gangster with a whole fucking gang. And Axel has beef with them all. Thus, he can''t bex with his preparation.

    As he was sharpening each and every piece of equipment, suddenly, the numerous locking spells he had ced on the door vanished and the door slid open!

    "Stupi¡ª" Axel had his wand pointed at the door to stun whoever it was, but he paused mid-chant as he realized who it was.

    He knew better than to attack this person.

    A shield appeared around Martina even as Axel lowered his wand. And he keenly realized that her hands were wandless.

    Yep, he knew better than to attack her.

    After her family''s ambush at the Quidditch match, she hade to apologize for their nuisance and over the past few months, they had be kinda acquainted.

    "What''s the matter?" He asked, trying to y it casual.

    But of course, if you have a bunch of sharp weapons lying on your opposite seat, it''s difficult to not look sus as fuck.

    Seeing her looking wide-eyed at him, Axel sighed,

    "Close the door, will you? I''ll be suspended if anyone sees this," he said, indicating the mess.

    Martina came in and locked the door with aplex charm.

    "Um¡­ what are you doing?" She asked, looking at him weirdly.

    "... Well¡­ first tell me why you''re here," He demanded.

    Martina sat beside him since the other seat waspletely full of weapons. Being from a Mafia family, weapons were a norm to her. Thus, she adapted quickly.

    "I came to give you this," she said, taking out a small box.

    Axel made no motion to ept it,

    "What is it?"

    "It could be called a gift. My parents were going to give it to you personally. But since you aren''ting, they orde¡ªasked me to give it to you," she said as she opened the box and Axel''s eyes widened.

    "...Damn," he muttered. It was a beautiful obsidian ck dagger. From just one look, he could say it was enchanted. Or rather, he had been enchanted by it.

    "A knife is a sign of friendship in a Mafia family. You are now a friend of Valentinos," she said with a smile.

    Axel knew what it was supposed to mean. He just couldn''t understand one thing:

    "Why?" He asked.

    How could him pulling out a knife on their son lead to this?

    Martina shook her head,

    "You managed to somehow impress them. And¡­" she paused.

    "And?"

    She looked away with a roll of her eyes,

    "And they think they know me better than I do," she said exasperatedly.

    Axel didn''t know what that was supposed to mean, but he did ept the knife. Rejecting it usually means enmity and he wants to avoid that.

    "Thanks," he said truthfully as he examined the de. Though he was hesitant to touch it.

    "It''s not cursed," said Martina in exasperation as she picked it up and held it out to him, handle first.

    Axel hesitantly reached out and took it,

    "Wow¡­" was all he could say as he held it. It was well bnced and just fitted right into his hand.

    "It''s good, right? It has a lot of enchantments. It won''t need maintenance, can conduct magic, and, it even can cut right through spells!"

    That surprised him. He looked at the knife,

    "Well, I''d have given an equally good knife in return but as you can see, I don''t have it," he said, gesturing at his collection.

    Martina looked at his collection and picked up a knife. It was the best one, but also the most used and battered one.

    "Well, this one seems nice,"

    Axel shrugged, "It does the job," he muttered.

    ''Well, it has been used to stab through a man''s testicles, eyes, heart, and lungs... a job well done,'' he thought inwardly.

    Martina finally decided to address the elephant in the room,

    "So," she said, gesturing towards the weapons, "I was wondering if you''ll exin this now¡­"

    Axel sighed. He knew it wasing.

    "Well, I''m sharpening them all," he said evasively as he picked up his whetstone and once again got to work. He couldn''t just say he was preparing for a gang war, could he?

    "With a whetstone? Why aren''t you using magic?"

    "¡­" he didn''t know you could do that.

    ¡­

    The train arrived at the station and everyone met with their families. Walking through them, Axel couldn''t help but look at the happy expressions of the people.

    He neither felt envious nor sad to see them. Feeling sad or envious would mean that he''s dissatisfied with his current life. But he''s not. He''s well on his way to bing the strongest in the world. And that''s all he wants for now.

    Though he did feel envious about how most of their bodies arepletely fine while he has been having it tough. But oh well, his lumency is proceeding steadily since that''s the thing he focuses the most on. He''ll get the cure soon enough.

    Getting out of the station, he hired a cab and got in.

    "Where to, sonny?" Asked the driver cheerfully as the radio yed an old song.

    "Peckham," answered Axel.

    The radio got turned off along with the driver''s cheerful mood.

    "Not going, get out,"

    Peckham is a district of southeast London, it had a poption of over 300,000. Drugs, knives, guns, and murders were probably just a few things that Peckham has to offer. Almost every part of it is full of thug dealers or new bloods that are soon-to-be killers.

    Axel sighed,"Take me as close as you can," he muttered as he showed him the money. "The closer the better,"

    As he got out of the taxi, he activated his stealth and his clothes began changing. His outfit changed into a ck hoodie, ck jeans, and ck boots. His face got covered with a ck mask too. The two wands in his hands had leather wrapped around them so that no one recognises them.

    ''System, has the trace been really removed from my wand?'' he asked to confirm.He had gotten that as a system reward when he''d been attacked in the woods.

    ''Affirmative,''

    Well, good enough. It makes things much more convenient. He arrived in front of arge vi that had graffiti painted on most of its walls.

    "A rat, huh?"he muttered as his wand slowly rose up to point at the door. He had made his decision. This time, he''s not going to enter as a rat.

    But as a fucking Gangster.

    "Bombarda,"

    *BOOM*

    Thus, with a wicked glint in his eyes, he blew up the gates of the vi.

    ***

    A.N.: And that, kids, is the gangster''s way.

    Next chapter title: The new magic and Revenge

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Read Ahead and Support this awesome piece of work on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 36: Revenge and New Magic

    Chapter 36: Revenge and New Magic

    As he blew up the gates, all Axel could think was the memories he had been suppressing all this time¡­.

    "Hold him down for me¡­" said a man with lots of scars on his face.

    "What the fuck is wrong with you? Let me go!" Protested a nine-year-old Axel.

    But, instead of freedom, he got a punch to his face that broke his tooth from one of the men holding him down.

    "Stop struggling you little fucker! My balls are still aching from the kick you gave me earlier!"

    "You had iting! What did I ever do to you?!" Replied Axel hotly.

    "You''ve been stealing in our area without paying us protection money! Now take your punishment!"

    "Bullshit!"

    Little Axel wanted to cry from the unfairness. This wasn''t even their turf! They''ve been following him for no reason and now they''re here with THIS guy!

    The guy who was their leader was none other than Johnny Scars, the scary scarred guy who''d creeped him out.

    Scars chuckled as he casually squatted down as he looked at the struggling Axel.

    "It is indeed bullshit, little rat. The real reason is that arrogance of yours that has made you rejecting under me multiple times," he said, taking out his knife.

    Axel looked at the knife in horror. This guy is a lunatic! That''s exactly why he wasn''t joining this guy. Like hell he''d work under anyone, let alone a lunatic like him.

    "Why do you keep bothering me?! There are so many willing people in the world!"

    Johnny shook his head in disappointment,

    "You don''t get it, kid. You don''t get it!" He said, twirling the knife and pointing it at Axel.

    "I saw potential in you, kid. No one else saw it, but I did! And I could have taken you to great heights if you hade under my wing. But now that you''ve rejected me, I have to show you exactly what you are without me," he said, bringing the knife closer to his face.

    "No! At least give me a fair fight, you bastard!"

    Axel''s heart was racing and he was sweating profusely. Yep, this guy is a total lunatic. He struggled with all his might as he saw the knife slowly descend. And not for the first time, he realized how weak he was.

    And Johnny seemed to enjoy seeing him squirm as he slowly ran the t of the de along his cheek.

    "Get this in your little head: The world is unfair, you cheeky fucker. You are nothing but a rat right now and I''m the hunter. I''m the one with the power so I can do whatever I want. You want fairness? Bullshit," he spat, before turning the de in his hand.

    And Axel''s screams began.

    *shback end*

    Axel snapped out of his memory as the gates he had sted with bombarda fell to the ground. And it made him all the more determined in what he was doing.

    With his skills, he could have ended this as easily as breathing using his stealth skills. But that wouldn''t have given him much satisfaction.

    The bastard had tried to ''carved'' into him the fact that he''d always be a fucking rat without following him. And now he''s here to shove those words in the bastard''s face.

    But of course he''s not going to bepletely reckless about it. His height was currently almost 6 feet due to the potion he had drunk. It was only temporary, but it''ll do the job. Adding to his outfit, he can be assured that no one will know it''s him.

    The explosion practically announced his presence to the whole vi and that was exactly what Axel wanted. Sounds of cursing, yelling of men and the screams of a few women started toe from inside the vi and there was even a gunshot, indicating the fact that they were armed. There were at least 20 armed men in there, ready to wee him. But Axel didn''t back down in the slightest.

    Guns might scare other wizards, but not him. He''s not just an ordinary wizard. Even the Arcane Thief can''t simply define who he is.

    Aside from being a wizard and the Arcane Thief, he is also the person with an insane amount of mental talent.

    In the past, he wasn''t able to fully utilize it due to hisck of magical ability, but that was no longer the case now.

    The spells that require extreme mental power, and the spells which can disy incredible might based on your mental prowess. Those were his domain. And after the attack from Damien Malcolm, he had made sure to utilize his talent to its fullest potential.

    "Expulso!"

    "Expulso!"

    "Expulso!"

    As he walked along the driveway, he shot down those who tried to peek through the windows, breaking the sses in the process.

    While doing so, he also took out a bundle of weapons containing shields, swords, and knives which were all wrapped up.

    The door opened and he pushed whoever it was back with another Expulso.

    "Let''s keep it indoors, shall we?" He said to no one in particr as he walked into the Vi and closed the doors behind him.

    As soon as he was in, he dropped the bunch of weapons he had been carrying to the floor.

    "Man, that was heavy," he muttered as he took out his other wand.

    "Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Shouted someone even as more and more of the gang started toe into therge hall of the vi.

    The number of guns pointing at Axel kept increasing. But he didn''t flinch as he kept waiting.

    Axel wasn''t scared of the guns. He was wearing the custom-made enchanted clothes he got from selling his memories. They should be able to take a bullet or two.

    After a proper number of guns were pointed at Axel and all the gang members were present, only then did the boss strut in with a cigar in his mouth and a gun in another.

    "Gentleman, what a rude way to enter someone''s home. I assume you are prepared forpensation?" He asked calmly.

    Axel''s grip on his wands tightened when he saw the bastard. After almost three years, he still looked the same, horrible scars all over the face and an air of superiority.

    His Cherub core wand responded to his anger as it emitted dark red sparks. And Axel chuckled darkly,

    "I''m indeed here forpensation, you bastard," saying so, he pointed his wand at the stack of weapons lying on his feet.

    "Oppugno Totalis!" He muttered after gathering all of his focus.

    At once, all the weapons started to shake. After which they began to rise individually, making all the men present startled.

    Johnny Scars had a bad premonition after seeing that unusual sight and hearing that voice.

    "Put him down!" He ordered.

    At once, gunshots began to be fired at Axel from various directions, making the situation chaotic.

    "Toote," said Axel as the rectangle shields he had stolen from Hogwarts assembled in front of him with a wave of his wand.

    Oppugno is amon spell that is used by many wizards to make animate or inanimate objects move to perform a specific action. It needs a lot of mental power.

    Oppugno Totalis, on the other hand, grants total control over multiple objects. The amount of objects you can control depends on your mental talent and unlike a simple oppugno, different objects can be controlled to perform different actions. But it''s like trying to write different things with different hands. Few can really pull that off perfectly.

    Though Axel was a different case altogether.

    He stood there as the shields assembled themselves in front of him, blocking all the bullets. The veins around his temple became visible due to the strain. But he wasn''t done yet.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Peering through the gaps of shields, his eyes glowed as he controlled the knife and daggers to shoot out in different directions at once, stabbing into different victims with pinpoint precision. Though, his current limit was two at a time if coupled with the shields that were hovering around him.

    This method was great because the projectiles were being controlled by his mind, not by his unsteady hands. So the process was much faster and more precise.

    "Bullets aren''t working! Stop shooting and rush in!" Ordered Scars after seeing more and more men falling very rapidly.

    The hail of bullets stopped and men were now able to close the distance, thinking they could take him out in close range.

    But of course, they couldn''t have been more wrong. The closer they are, the worse their situation. Anyone who approached close enough was taken down either by a knife or a spell from the other wand in his hand.

    Soon, dozens of men were taken down and Axel saw Scars slowly slipping out of the room.

    "Nope, not a chance," he dered as he took down thest few stragglers unhurriedly. He stepped on one of the shields and controlled it to fly after the bastard while the rest of the shields were still assembled around him.

    Seeing no escape, Scars turned around to face Axel.

    "Hey man, why don''t we talk this out? You already destroyed my whole fucking gang. I can give you whatever you want, yeah?"

    Looking at the man, Axel really felt disgusted. These types of people will pretend to be all high and mighty and do whatever they want when they''re in a position of power. But as soon as you take that away from them, they''re nothing!

    Axel shook his head.

    "You don''t get it, Scars. You don''t get it," he said, throwing the words that he still remembered quite well to this day.

    "Expelliarmus," he muttered, making the gun shoot out of his grasp. Does this guy not realize how obvious his intentions are? He was going to shoot just after making Axel think he won and let his guard down.

    He pocketed the wand and let the shields drop.

    "Now we''re talking," he said, taking off his mask.

    Scar''s eyes widened.

    "You?!"

    Axel grinned.

    "Surprise, surprise, motherfucker."

    "How is this possible¡ª" he began, but Axel cut him off.

    "¡ªthat I''m no longer a rat? Don''t tell me you''re surprised," he said, shaking his head.

    "You always knew this day woulde, didn''t you? You saw it on the very first day," he said, making the man speechless.

    Axel had seen it in his eyes. The reason why this man came after him from day one,

    "You were envious, weren''t you?" He asked, making the man flinch.

    Yep, this guy only wanted to make himself feel better by crushing him when he was still growing.

    Scarsughed forcefully,

    "But you''re still a rat, aren''t you? Relying on these parlor tricks? Why won''t you face me straight on, man to man?"

    Axel shook his head,

    "You don''t need to try so hard. There''s a reason why you''re stillpletely unharmed," he said, putting his wands on the floor.

    "Catch it," he said as he lightly threw out a knife to the man.

    Hope returned to Scar''s face as his eyes followed the knife sailing through the air, ready to catch it. This kid is an idiot. There''s no way anyone can beat him, Johnny Scars in a knife fight. He''s going to¡ª

    *Shin*

    Johnny''s thoughts were cut off as he felt an excruciating pain below his abdomen. He looked down to see another knife stabbed into his pelvis, right through his little brother, cleanly severing it from his body.

    The knife he was going to catch bumped uselessly on his head and he fell to the floor in pure agony.

    "Arrrrrrrrrrgghhh!!!"

    "You...! Why¡ª"

    "Why didn''t I give you a chance? Is that what you want to ask? Haha! How naive are you, Johnny? You wanted a fair fight? That''s quite riching from you," Axelughed in pure amusement, as if he hadn''t just severed a man''s penis.

    The reason why Axel had left him unharmed up to now... It was because he wanted to give him hope. And then take it away once again.

    "You gang up on a nine-year-old and torture him for no reason. And now you want a fair fight?!" Axel wasughing so hard that he was having difficulty breathing.

    "You really are one hell of a hypocrite, man. Oh sorry I forgot, you are no longer a man!" He eximed, pointing to the bloody mess that could identify him as a man.

    Scars couldn''t believe this situation and his consciousness was hazy due to the pain.

    "No! This isn''t happening¡­ you can''t do this¡­please... stop!" he was desperately hoping that it was a dream.

    Axel grinned.

    "What? You want me to stop? Why would I stop? I am now the hunter and you are the rat. I''m the one with power so... I can do whatever I want," he said, using the same words that were used on himself as he took out his knife from the man''s pelvis.

    And the screams of Johnny Scars began.

    ***

    After he was done, sitting covered in blood, Axel put his mask back and went down and freed all the men from paralysis and poured some healing potion into their wounds. He was precise enough that none were able to run away and yet none were dead.

    Though one of the men had all of his teeth broken for some reason but no one wasining. (the guy who''d broken Axel''s tooth three years ago.)

    "Listen y''all. Your boss is gone for good. I''m your new boss. Anyone got any problems with that?" He asked as he stood in front of the assembled men.

    "No boss!" They all yelled in fear.

    None of the men even thought of rebelling. Everyone had heard the screams of their old boss. They didn''t know much about this new guy. But they knew one thing: he''s even more of a madman than their boss. And if anyone tried resisting, they were dead.

    Axel nodded,

    "Good. Now get me every valuable thing and all the money Scars had. I''ll let you divide 5% among yourselves if no one tries to hide anything. You know what would happen if you tried to be smart. Go!" He barked and the men ran with utmost loyalty.

    A whileter, Axel stood speechless as he looked at all the things that Scars ''owned''.

    "Let them hoes go away," he said directly indicating the two tied-up half-naked women. The menplied as they cut off their ropes.

    He threw the women a bundle of cash each.

    "Go and try to make an honest living or whatever," he said, shooing them away.

    The women thanked him profusely before scurrying away.

    Axel looked around at the rest of the men,

    "The rest of you. You''re not allowed to keep unwilling women. Stop all illegal activities for now andy low. Try other means of earning which do not include breaking thew. You''re allowed to stay here and wait for my orders. Got it?"

    "Yes, boss!"

    "Good. Hey, you! Yeah, you in the back. You are the temporary leader in my absence," he said, pointing at a guy in the back. This dude had tried reasoning with Scars when he was torturing Axel.

    "Arrange a phone with your number saved on it."

    "Ah¡­. Y-Yes boss!" The guy saluted and got to work while the others looked at him enviously like Christmas hade a day early for the guy. ,(tomorrow was Christmas.)

    With everything done, Axel finally looked at the mountain of cash, drugs, and other valuables gathered up in front of him.

    This is going to be a long day.

    ***

    "What is it?" Asked Axel as he picked the call on his magi mirror.

    Daphne''s face came into view,

    "When are youing? And what''s your address? We''lle and pick you up," she said excitedly.

    Axel sighed. He is homeless, what address is he supposed to tell her?

    "I''ming. You don''t need to pick me up. I''ll use the floowork."

    Daphne nodded,

    "Ok, just remember the custom code of our house. Greengrass Manor."

    "Yeah I know. I''m hanging up," he muttered, about to cut the call.

    "Wait!"

    "What is it?"

    "Um... Do you have nothing to say to me?" She asked a bit nervously.

    Axel didn''t understand what she was saying and he was already half an hourte. So he said,

    "Hey, I''m alreadying there. Why are you wasting time talking through this?" He asked.

    "Yeah right. See you soon!" She said as she hung up.

    Axel shook his head as he pocketed the Magi-mirror. What a waste of time, as if she hadn''t already told him ten times. He was really regretting giving her his contact info.

    "Sigh¡­ the things I have to do to escape homework," he muttered. But what could he do? He was a busy man.

    He looked at the custom-made set of clothes from Madam Malkin''s. They were self-cleaning but he had still washed them since a lot of blood had sshed onto him when dealing with Scars so he had washed them for his own satisfaction.

    He had given up rejecting these clothes now since they were bloody convenient and had decided to just send out the money to Andromeda when he has an abundance of it. The same was the case for the Magi-mirror.

    He fiddled with the small dial on the inside and set it to another setting. Instantly, the clothes changed into jeans, t-shirt, and a denim jacket.

    Looking at his outfit, he just shrugged. ''This should do, right?'' He thought as he snuck out of the room in Scars''s Vi using Stealth. He had been staying here since yesterday. He''d rather not stay homeless in this cold weather like the previous times in favour of staying in this warm room.

    Though he had kept the windows which were covered in thick snow sealed shut andpletely missed the bunch of presents lying on the window stool. And one of them had a name "Daphne Greengrass" written on it.

    After getting out, he took a cab to the Diagon Alley and went to the public floo. It''s like the men''s public toilet. Except there''s a firece instead of the urinals and it''s unisex.

    There was a stream of peopleing and going from the ce. He paid the entry fee and got in. It was Axel''s first time using the flowwork so he observed carefully as a person called out an address code and stepped into the green fire. Soon after his departure, a small amount of gray powder automatically dropped into the fire from the enchanted container above and the green fire started zing again as another person stepped into the fire.

    "Is it that simple?" He muttered as he did the same and stepped out of the Greengrass manor gracefully.

    "Hi! Are you my sister''s boyfriend?" Asked someone as soon as he found his bearings.

    ***

    A.N. How was the new magic?

    Next Chapter: Christmas with Greengrass, She knows!

    POWERSTONES!!!!!

    Read Ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 37: Greengrass Manor, She knows!

    Chapter 37: Greengrass Manor, She knows!

    "Hi! Are you my sister''s boyfriend?" Axel heard someone ask as soon as he got his bearings.

    He turned around to see a cute little girl in a princess dress looking at him curiously. She had brown hair and gray eyes.

    Axel knitted his eyebrows,

    "No. Why would you ask that?"

    "Tory! Don''t start speaking nonsense once again!" Came Daphne''s voice from afar, sounding unnaturally shrill as she hurried down the stairs while holding her dress. She was wearing a green strapless dress that came down to her ankles.

    "I''m sorry if she said anything inappropriate. She likes to create trouble," said Daphne while ring at Astoria who stuck out her tongue.

    "Daphie told us a lot about you," said Astoria as if she was telling a secret.

    "Ah¡­ ok, I''ll bite, what did she say?"

    "She¡ª" began Astoria, but Daphne put a hand on Astoria''s mouth to stop her from saying more.

    "I''m saying it again: don''t believe a word she says," said Daphne in warning.

    Axel shrugged,

    "... Whatever." It''s not like it matters.

    Daphne sighed in relief as she finally smiled,

    "So¡­ wee to my home! You look really great in that outfit! I''ve only ever seen you in uniform or training clothes," she said, giving him a once over.

    Axel just nodded but then he saw Daphne looking at him expectantly, making him confused,

    "Um¡­ you look great too...?" Is that what she wanted to hear? Judging by her smile, that seems to be the case. Though in his honest opinion, her dress was making him feel ufortable in his casual clothes. Axel didn''t know that ''nothing fancy'' meant this fancy. Daphne had said it was just a family dinner.

    "Daphne?"

    At this moment, an elegant woman walked from inside. The woman was beautiful, with brown hair, and soft features, but looking into her blue eyes, Axel could see that she had suffered various vicissitudes in her life.

    The woman seemed to study Axel minutely, and her gaze lingered on his hands. For a moment, Axel saw her lumency mask crack to show some emotions, but it might be his imagination as she smiled politely at him.

    "You must be Axel. I''m Daphne''s mother Evelyn Greengrass. I''ve been dying to meet you,"

    Axel looked at the woman who was that bastard''s ex-wife. Daphne had told him that she had celebrated all night when the man had died. So, instead of resentment, he rather had a good impression of her.

    "Thanks for having me for dinner," he replied politely. Though he actually wanted to say, ''You shouldn''t have invited me.'' But since he''s here, he''d rather be done with this dinner quickly withouting out as an asshole.

    It''s just that he wouldn''t be in this situation in the first ce if he hadn''t been dumping all his work to Daphne for the better part of the semester.

    Mrs. Greengrass smiled,

    "The dinner will be ready soon. Daphne, you can show him around or y in the meantime," she said, leaving them to their devices.

    Axel gave Daphne a look,

    "You said dinner was ready half an hour earlier," he said in irritation.

    Daphne looked away trying not to show how pleased she was with herself,

    "Oh, did I? I don''t remember. Come, I''ll show you around," she said, walking ahead.

    Astoria walk beside him,

    "She lied," she whispered helpfully.

    Axel shrugged as he followed.

    At least it''s a good thing that he came half an hourte.

    As expected from the man who kept that much amount of money as chump change in his pouch, the manor looked quite extravagant and well furnished.

    "That''s the Christmas tree," she said, pointing at the huge tree decorated with various magical gimmicks.

    "This is our first time decorating one by ourselves. Usually, the ass¡ª I mean, that man wouldn''t allow us. He''ll get it done perfectly and then host a Ball or have us attend one," she exined.

    "You were going to say ''that'' word again right?" Asked Astoria while giggling. "You''ve been using a lot of bad words aftering back,"

    Daphne pped her forehead and then red at Axel as if it was his fault...to which Axel only gave her a clueless look.

    She then brought him outside,

    "Now, let me show you the reason why we''re called Greengrass," she said, pointing at the vast expanse outside their gates.

    "We run ntations and greenhouses of Potion ingredients. We supply nt-rted potion materials to various sellers like BigOwl. Aside from that, we also run Potion shops,"

    So, BigOwl, thepany he has been ordering his diet ingredients from, got its nt-rted potion ingredients from the Greengrass.

    "...This is huge," muttered Axel, looking at the vast expanse.

    Daphne nodded,

    "That''s what everyone says," she said proudly as if he was praising her dick.

    "Tory! Don''t go outside! It''s not safe outside the wards!" She said as she followed Astoria, leaving Axel to look at the view.

    Axel had some idea about her family business, but he hadn''t expected it to be this massive. The ntations seemed to stretch for miles and there were multiple greenhouses with workers working.

    But her words reminded him of something else as well. Revenge wasn''t the only reason he had gone out of Hogwarts this Christmas. He had various other things to handle as well.

    And one of them was that, some potion recipes for the training of his Arcane Thief ss had been unlocked for a while now. But he couldn''t make them himself due to his low dexterity. So, this was something he was supposed to figure out during this time.

    At this moment, Daphne''s magi mirror beeped, bringing him out of his thoughts.

    "The Dinner''s ready, shall we go?" She asked.

    They made their way to the dining room where they all sat at the end of one long table.

    Mrs. Greengrass smiled as she looked at her family,

    "Usually, we''re always either Hosting Balls or attending one. But this year, we didn''t do anything," exined Mrs. Greengrass.

    Axel wanted to ask, ''then why invite me?'' but he didn''t as he looked at all the food piled up on the table.

    Turkey, Cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, Stuffing, Gravy, Roast potatoes, Braised red cabbage, Roast carrots, and the list went on and on.

    Looking at the tempting meal, he sighed.

    "Well, this looks delicious. But I must follow my diet," he said, taking out his lunchbox. After almost half a year, he had now totally started to follow the diet.

    "???" X3

    Everyone at the dinner table was surprised and confused.

    Axel looked at everyone,

    "Ah¡­ I''m sorry. I''ve been on a strict diet since I''ve been trying to recover from my¡­ injuries," he said opening up the lunchbox.

    Daphne had warned her family about his injuries, but not about this.

    Evelyn looked at Daphne,

    "Daphne, why didn''t you tell us he''s been following a special diet? I would have arranged it for him," she said in a chiding tone.

    Daphne looked like she had been pped,

    "I¡­ I didn''t know. He...never sits at the Great hall. I haven''t ever seen what he''s eating," she said in realization.

    Everyone looked at what Axel was eating.

    "What is that?" Asked Evelyn as she looked at the bizarre lunch from beside him.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Some moonseeds, boiled dragon meat, boiled amy eggs, boiled wiggentree roots, fluxweed, etcetera, why do you ask?" He asked as he began to eat.

    Evelyn was shocked.

    "Those are some expensive ingredients¡­" shemented.

    Daphne picked some up and tasted,

    "Bleh¡ª" she spat it out on her te.

    "Have you really been eating that the whole time?" She asked in shock.

    "No, it''s different ingredients every day. It''s a weekly schedule," he informed.

    "But¡­" began Evelyn, "that''s not really food, is it? There''s no voring, and it''s not even cooked," she said, looking at the food.

    "Well, it''s boiled..." he defended.

    But Evelyn was unimpressed.

    "As I said, it''s uncooked,"

    Axel couldn''t understand the thinking of these rich people. Is it not good enough that he''s getting food? Furthermore, it''s edible, not harmful but beneficial, and it''s bloody expensive. Why does the taste matter so much?

    Evelyn pped her hands, calling an Elf. She pointed at his te,

    "Tolly, Make a nice dish out of this using healthy cooking methods," she said, pointing at his dinner.

    "Yes mistress," the elf left and his te vanished.

    "...That wasn''t necessary," said Axel helplessly.

    Evelyn shook her head,

    "There''s no way you are eating such nd food on Christmas Eve," she said firmly.

    Daphne gave him a look that he couldn''t quite decipher.

    "Is that why you''ve always rejected every time I''ve offered you snacks? You can''t eat anything else?" She asked, recalling all the times she''d eaten snacks during ss while he rejected them. Even that time at the VIP box, he didn''t eat any popcorn.

    "Well, it''s not like I can''t, but I shouldn''t, if I want the most benefits. Why do you ask?" He asked.

    "... Nothing,"

    She now felt really bad. It''s not that he didn''t want to eat them. He just couldn''t eat them in hopes of a recovery that might nevere. And all that while, she ate those delicious things right in front of him.

    Along with feeling sorry, she once again felt the familiar disappointment. Axel knows everything about her and yet he hasn''t let her know much about him at all. Maybe only she is the one who wants to be friends. He still hasn''t said anything about the gift she had sent him this Christmas after all.

    It made her recall the time when she had prepared a Christmas present for her dad with so much effort and yet, he hadn''t even bothered acknowledging it.

    ''No! Let''s not think about it! Axel and the asshole are world''s apart!'' she said to herself as she looked at him enjoying his food. May be just didn''t like the gift.

    Astoria looked at Axel in a new light. Right now, she wasn''t smiling like she always does and wasn''t as talkative.

    Axel''s dinner came soon and he was surprised to taste it.

    "It''s delicious," he muttered, his eyes closing involuntarily for tasting good food after so long,"

    *Click*

    A clicking sound came from his side, followed by a giggle, making him infuriated,

    "You are going to delete that," he muttered.

    "No!"

    "I''m not kidding, delete that!"

    "Over my dead body!"

    Overall, the dinner went rather well and Axel felt that perhaps it wasn''t such a waste of timeing here. But after dinner just as he was about to leave, something unexpected came up.

    "Axel, I need to talk to you about something, could you please spare me a minute?" Asked Evelyn, making him pause.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Alright,"

    "Daphne, Astoria, could you two please leave the room? I need to talk to Axel about something,"

    "What is it, mom?" Asked Daphne in puzzlement.

    Evelyn shook her head with a serious look,

    "Go,"

    "I...Ok, I''m waiting outside,"

    Since her mom rarely used this look, Daphne didn''t protest anymore as she left while dragging Astoria.

    "What is it?" Asked Axel.

    Evelyn picked up her Magi-mirror and showed him a picture. It was of Axel standing in the woods. Just when he was about to ask why she was showing him this, Evelyn zoomed in to one of his hands, and Axel''s eyes slowly widened a little but he controlled it.

    He still feigned ignorance.

    "...That''s my hand,"

    "What is it holding?"

    "... A wand covered in leather. Why do you ask?" he answered. But at this point, he knew she knew. But the question was¡ªHow? To avoid this situation, he had wrapped up the wand in leather.

    "Could you please tell me where you got it from?" She asked desperately.

    "...."

    Axel paused. He couldn''t just say,

    ''I got it after I won allegiance by killing your husband,'' as the system had informed him.

    Or could he?

    ***

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Next update will be double chapters, whether it''s tomorrow or the day after Tomorrow so just keep giving the Powerstones.

    I''m doing this because I think I won''t be able to take the abuse if I only post one at a time. They are pair chapters. So, I''ll update as soon as I''ve posted two more chapters on P¨¤treon.

    Read ahead and Support me on P¨¤TREON! /Snollygoster

    Let me tell you something... on P¨¤treon, he''s healed.

 Chapter 38: A Naughty Misunderstanding

    Chapter 38: A Naughty Misunderstanding

    "Could you please tell me where you got this from?"

    "...."

    Axel paused. He couldn''t just say,

    ''I got it after I won its allegiance by killing your husband,'' as the system had informed him.

    Or could he?

    ''No, let''s not risk it,'' he thought. epting would be equal to admitting a crime. This woman may not resent him for her husband''s death, but if he epts, she will always have the power to get him a death sentence whenever she wants.

    "I picked it up from the road," he said finally. It was technically true.

    Evelyn shook her head in disappointment,

    "How did she recognize the wand?¡ªthat''s probably what you''re wondering right now, aren''t you?" She asked him with a sad smile.

    Axel didn''t say anything, but his silence was a loud agreement.

    "When you have the same wand pointed at you multiple times, you just know¡­ no matter if most of it is covered in leather," she said in mncholy, and Axel could see that her lumency was slowly going away, showing her real emotions.

    Axel looked away from those eyes,

    "I''m sorry for what happened to you in the past. But I really can''t help you with anything¡­"

    Evelyn shook her head.

    "I''m not asking for any help. I''m just asking you to hear me out. Then I''ll say what I want from you," she said earnestly.

    Axel sighed,

    "Go on," he might as well hear her out.

    Evelyn looked at her wine ss as she slowly swirled it.

    "You know, deep down, I''ve always wished for his death. But there was nothing I could do. I was already bound by contract, and bewitchment charms.¡­ I had given up hope a long time ago," she said, a hollow looking to her face as she remembered the past.

    She then looked back at Axel as light returned to her face.

    "But then one day, he was suddenly gone, finally leaving us for good, and I was finally free, as all the magic binding me failed when the person with whom it was keyed to disappeared. And that was the happiest day of my life! You cannot imagine how much it meant to me and how much gratitude I felt towards the person who had finally rid the world of that scum... I tried finding who it was, but I couldn''t¡­. And then, I saw the wand in your hand," she said as a smile came to her face. She stood up from her seat, surprising Axel.

    She had wondered how he got it and if he knew anything about the one who had killed her husband. And most of all, how was he able to use that wand? She felt extremely curious about the boy, especially since he was someone whom her daughter had befriended.

    "I needed answers. So I tried to find everything about you," she said, walking around the table to stand on Axel''s side.

    Axel listened to everything she was saying and he was still on guard.

    "You checked my background? What did you find?" He asked, feeling ufortable since she was standing too close.

    Evelyn smiled as she recalled her research, her lumency slipping further.

    "Do you want to know what I found?" She asked.

    She already knew that Axel was injured. Finding out more about his injuries led her to know a shocking fact! Someone named Axel had been admitted to Saint Mungo''s on the same date as her husband. Though the rest of the records about him had been mysteriously removed.

    She also came to know from Daphne that Axel often keeps a knife around with him and is quite powerful. What a coincidence that Cyrus had been killed by a knife. And she also found out from Olivander that the only reason her husband''s wand would serve another is when he has been bested by someone.

    Knowing all this, she was smart enough to connect the dots ande to a conclusion.

    Her lumency shields droppedpletely as she finally stopped resisting her emotions altogether.

    "???!!!" Axel was prepared for some questions, but Evelyn did somethingpletely unexpected.

    "I found that: You''re the benefactor I''ve been looking for," she said as she gracefully knelt on the ground.

    Axel stood up in absolute surprise,

    "What the¡ª What the hell are you doing?!" He asked hastily, his voiceing out loud after beingpletely bamboozled.

    Evelyn had a serious look on her face,

    "I''m expressing my gratitude. Bowing is too small a gesture to express the magnitude of my gratitude," she said earnestly.

    Axel shook her head,

    "Whatever it is, get up! Just don''t kneel like that!" He shouted ufortably as he tried to lift her up.

    *Click* *Creak*

    At this moment, the door behind Axel opened and Daphne''s voice came.

    "Mom, what''s all the noise ab¡ª" her words stopped abruptly in her throat as she saw the scene in front of her. What she saw was the back of Axel, who was gripping a kneeling Evelyn with both of his hands, whose face appeared to be quite close to Axel''s legs.

    "!!!"

    As soon as the door opened, Axel turned his head and Evelyn peeked from the side of Axel''s leg to see a wide-eyed Daphne giving them ast nce before running off.

    "D-Daphne?! Sweety, I-It''s not what it looks like! I swear!" Eximed Evelyn as she rushed to exin.

    Meanwhile, Axel looked up at the ceiling nkly.

    ".... What the fuck just happened?" He muttered as he questioned reality.

    He recalled simr scenes when he''d sometimes walk into some Alley to see some woman kneeling in front of a man, moving her head back and forth. Did it really look like ''that''? What a bad timing she had.

    His life always manages to surprise him by taking the strangest of turns.

    He wondered whether everything was his fault. Was it his fault that he tried to rob a mad wizard? Was it his fault that he was rude to a hat? Was it his fault that he had precious ingredients lying around in his room since he never thought a Troll might be wandering in the castle? The list seems to go on and on and he was toozy toplete it.

    Now he only had one thought in his head:

    ''Will she still do my homework?''

    Yep. So much happened, and this was what he was most concerned about.

    "Why was mum kneeling?" Asked a voice, and Axel looked down to see Astoria looking up at him with curiosity.

    "..."

    As he thought about how to exin it to the girl, he realized something else.

    How would Evelyn exin this to Daphne? She''ll say, I was just kneeling in front of him. Why? To express my gratitude. What kind of gratitude? He killed your dad.

    Boom. It''s game over for him once someone picks that off Daphne''s unprotected mind. And he can''t have that. Hogwarts is not a safe ce. He already knows three people who use Legilimency freely. Dumbledore, Martina, and Snape.

    He turned to Astoria.

    "Where did your mom and Daphne go?!"

    Axel rushed to Evelyn to prevent her from speaking anything about him murdering a pureblood Lord.

    And it would seem that he had barely made it in time as he found the mother and daughter standing facing each other.

    "How could you?!" Asked a furious Daphne and Axel saw that Evelyn didn''t seem to be thinking smartly right now.

    ''She''s definitely going to tell her!'' He realized.

    "Sweety, it''s not what you think. I was just¡ª"

    "Your mom was just helping me with something," he said as he rushed to stand between the two.

    "...." For a moment, all of them stood in silence in which he signal Evelyn not to speak about it.

    But then Daphne shook her head.

    "Oh, what was she helping you with?"

    "Well..." Axel paused.

    Axel had managed to rushed here in haste, but he still hadn''t thought of an alternative exnation.

    Daphne shook her head in disappointment.

    "I need to go..."

    "Wait. I swear she wasn''t for doing what you think she was doing¡ª" began Axel. Daphne became even surer that something was up.

    "No you wait! First you didn''t even so much as thanked me for the gift I put so much effort into, and now this?!" She shouted as she left with tears in her eyes. Right now, she wasn''t thinking straight.

    The image of her mother kneeling in front of her father came into her head once again. That was the real reason. Not some weird bullshit like her mother giving a blowjob. She''s not foolish enough to misunderstand it. In some ways, Axel is just like her father. Like how apathetic he is.

    "Wait...What gift?"

    Axel couldn''t even ask her what gift she was talking about before she had left. But... this time, he could at least warn Evelyn.

    "Don''t tell her about the murder thingy," he whispered, fairly nonplussed with the whole ordeal.

    Evelyn looked at him in confusion before her eyes widened as she pped her forehead.

    "Right! Of course, You could be in trouble!" She muttered in realization.

    After that, Evelyn temporarily gave up on Daphne and decided to focus on finding ways to help the benefactor who was looking troubled.

    "Don''t worry, it''s just a misunderstanding. She''lle around," she told Axel to reassuringly to Axel.

    "Let''s first talk about your problems, shall we?"

    "Tory, will you go look after your sister?" She asked Astoria.

    "Okay!"

    Astoria looked at the two of them before nodding and starting to leave. Though before she did, she turned around.

    "Am I getting a new daddy?" She asked innocently.

    "No!"

    Shouted Axel immediately while Evelyn beganughing,

    "There''ll be no more daddies here now, sweetheart,"

    ...

    A whileter, Axel was on his way back to his temporary gangster residence in Lambeth, still thinking about the series of events.

    After that, Evelyn had managed to persuade him to let her help with the ingredients for his Potions and diet after repeated insistence. Though that was it for now. He wasn''t going to give her the potion recipes to make them for him despite the fact that he could have a constant supply of those right from the next day if he does. The recipes are precious, and he can''t risk them being stolen. He needs to think more about this.

    As he walked along the snow covered streets, his ears picked up a conversation.

    "Hey! Looks like that kid is loaded, eh Benji?"

    "Yeah man, looks like it''s a merry Christmas for us,"

    Axel snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the voices from his surroundings. The taxi driver had dropped him off earlier than the destination due to the dangers of this neighborhood. And he realized that he had been walking in this dangerous ce with expensive clothes on his back. This was just asking for trouble.

    The disdain he felt towards these people made him ashamed as he realized that Cyrus must have also felt simr disdain when he saw Axel.

    "Hey, where did he go?!"

    "What the fuck?! He was right there!"

    Axel just walked by the gang without doing anything. He wanted to avoid any simrities between him and Cyrus and he couldn''t be bothered with these pitiful people right now. He wanted to think more about what happened today.

    He went into the room in Johnny Scars'' vi that he had been staying in andid down on the bed. As he recalled the events, Daphne''s words came to mind.

    "First you didn''t even so much as thank me for the gift I put so much effort into, and now this?!"

    "What the fuck was she talking about?"

    Frowning, he looked at the window to see itpletely covered with snow. He got up and opened the window that waspletely covered in snow and vo, he found a pile of things wrapped in different types of wrappings lying on the snow-covered window stool.

    "Are these¡­ Christmas gifts?" He muttered in disbelief. He had never received a Christmas before this year.

    This day was getting more and more bizarre. There were actually people who''d bother sending him gifts.

    So, he did get Daphne''s gift, huh? But what about the other gifts lying here?

    ***

    A.N.: It''s double chapters, so Read the next chapter.

    Don''t worry, the friendship isn''t over with just a misunderstanding. He''s still the angel who killed the man, right?

 Chapter 39: Gifts and Acceptance

    Chapter 39: Gifts and eptance

    Gathering up everything, Axel sat at a table as he looked at the pile of gifts in front of him.

    This was quite a foreign experience, receiving gifts. Since he''d never received one before, of course, it never crossed his mind to buy gifts as well. So right now, he was quite confused as to what he was supposed to do.

    Is it ok to just ept them? Should he have sent them gifts as well? What if he doesn''t want to send them gifts? What was he supposed to give them in return? What would be considered an ideal gift? If he got a great gift or an expensive gift, does his gift also have to be equally expensive or good, even when he is struggling with time and money?

    Seriously, why even exchange presents? It makes life so much moreplicated!

    Sighing, he began opening the gifts at random. The first one happened to be from one Susan Bones. She had given him an expensive-looking box of Choctes. Axel would have tried one if he wasn''t on a strict diet. The most he can do is thank her for her gift.

    The next one he picked turned out to be from,

    "Rose?" He frowned. Rose would be thest person to send him a Christmas present. They had sort of a verbal confrontation just before the Christmas holidays. Axel decided not to open it for now.

    The next few were from unknown senders, meaning he had never heard these people''s names and most of them were girls. He didn''t open them in case his Slytherin attackers might have sent him some kind of dangerous present. Then there were presents from Andromeda and Betrix as well. He didn''t open them as well.

    Axel finally looked at the present he was avoiding.

    ~From Daphne Greengrass

    Yep, this was the one. He unwrapped it and open the box to find a big stack of notebooks inside. Other than that, there were a bunch of potions as well.

    Axel picked up the note that was on the top.

    "Dear Axel,

    Merry Christmas! I couldn''t really find the gift I was looking for. So, I had to think of something else.

    Did you know that the teachers give the same homework every year? These notebooks contain the homework for the rest of the term and some of the second-term homework! And...this is without any favors or strings attached! How''s that?

    It took me a lot of time to do this, but I don''t mind since it''s for the time you helped me out in the woods.

    Now, you might be wondering why I am giving you all the homework in advance if I could have just done it over the rest of the term. That''s because I am going to ask you something:

    Can we be friends?

    Honestly, I''m tired of pretending we''re just acquaintances while in actuality, you might be my best friend at Hogwarts.

    So, I gave you the Homework already so that I know if you say yes, it''s not because of that.

    I had always thought that only I wanted to be friends while you didn''t give a damn. But I''ve begun to think my assumption was wrong. Otherwise, why did you even agree to my annoying demands? (You had the option to reject). Why did you cheer me up when I was crying hopelessly? (Yourme excuse can''t be considered a usible reason). Why did you also protect me from the spells when the danger suddenly came instead of only saving yourself? (I never asked you this one.)

    It''s because we''re friends, Axel and it''s because you care. And I want you to ept that. I''ll wait for your reply.

    Best Wishes

    Daphne

    P.S.: My mom also wanted to gift you something as well so I suggested the Power Nap Potion. It revitalizes you properly even if you sleep a little. I''m tired of seeing you yawning every day with bags under your eyes. You''re not going to start sleeping more no matter how much I tell you, so you might as well take these. No side effects... Tastes like shit though... Not that I''ve ever tasted shit... I''m going to stop speaking now, it''s gotten so lengthy...Self-writing quill has grown on me while doing your Homework.

    ...

    Axel put the letter down andid down on the bed. He was supposed to read all this before going there. He recalled when he had gone to her house, Daphne had been looking expectantly at him and he couldn''t figure out why. Well, guess the real reason was this.

    Until a few minutes ago, he had been feeling bad because he thought that he''ll have to do his own homework due to Daphne being angry with him. But now that he already had the Homework, howe he''s still not feeling better?

    "Whatever," he muttered as he quickly got up. He might as well train. Right now, there are three things he''s been focusing more on.

    Ward Breaking, Arcane Eyes, and lumency.

    Ward Breaking was the skill he had gained after getting the required SP (Stealing Points). And to say it was amazing would be an understatement. He quickly needs to master it.

    It not only has ways to detect a ward, but also ways on how to trespass it without tripping it. That''s what a Thief''s main goal is, and it''s usually a very difficult feat to achieve. He had discovered that the System''s information was usually much more advanced, to-the-point, and practical than what the Wizarding World had to offer.

    He had casually looked through the ward Breaking of the Wizarding World and realized that doing those things using their method of ward breaking included a fair amount of things he knew nothing about. So, there''s no way he could have learned Ward Breaking at this stage without the system''s information.

    To put it in simple words, if you want to solve a math problem, the Wizarding World''s method will include lots ofplicated equations and difficult calctions to solve it, but the system''s method would let you solve it with one simple equation by Training you to formte that unique equation.

    But, he can''t practice ward breaking right now since there are no wards present here.

    Arcane Eyes should be a better alternative to practice. It''s an amazing skill that trains his eyes. Using this skill, his eyes can see things that are impossible to be seen. Its potential is huge, though it''s equally difficult to level.

    But, it has stopped progressing since he needs a potion to make progress in this. He needs to fix that problem soon.

    This once again made him think back to the conversation he had with Evelyn. He had revealed to her that he had been given a diet and some recipes by an expert and he''d been unable to get the potions since he couldn''t divulge the recipes to anyone else.

    Evelyn had volunteered to make the potions herself and even sign a contract to prevent her from using them or divulging their recipes to anyone. But he didn''t feelfortable making her sign a contract for even trying to help him.

    So she had suggested one of the potioneers who worked for the Greengrass Potions store.

    "Having secret recipes isn''t that umon," she had told him. Even the Greengrass family has more than a few secret recipes that they''ve been using the potioneers to them produce by using contracts to keep them secret.

    "System, will you be able to check and modify the uses of the contract?" He asked.

    [Affirmative. That''s doable.]

    Then, it was decided. He''ll contact Evelyn and hire a potioneer. He''ll use someone old who wouldn''t have much ambition and won''t try to find out what the potions he was making might be for.

    So, the potion''s issue will be solved within the week but he can''t practice the Arcane Eyes. The only thing on his priority list is now lumency. Who is he kidding? There are a lot of things he can practice but he''s only going to Focus on lumency because...

    [lumency First stage

    Progress: 85%]

    Every time he sees that thing, he can''t help but put all of his training efforts into lumency. He''s so close! Just a few more days and he''ll unlock the recipe that can heal him!

    Almost all of his memories are now organized and he only needs the shields now. Memory organization is usually the most difficult task in lumency''s first stage and talent can''t help you much here since it''s a time-consuming task. Most of the other lumens either skip this process or do it improperly so they don''t know the benefits.

    But after doing it himself and using the system''s methods at that, Axel definitely knows the benefits. Most of our memories are a jumbled mess that keep moving here and there in our mind, always making our mind a chaotic mess that is already focusing on many things at once.

    But, after he organized his memories, they are no longer ovepping with each other, nor are they moving around. This has made it possible for his mind to put more of its focus on other things. Now he''s able to use more of his mind than in previous times and that is the reason why he was able to go so far with the Oppugno Totalis Spell without much practice aside from his mental talent.

    Though some memories are still unclear and his memories aren''t yet organized into a structure yet, so he can still surpass his current limits of the Oppugno Spell. But that''ll only happen when he trains the Second Stage of lumency so it''s none of his concern for now. What concerns him the most right now is:

    "System, how long do you think the shields will take?"

    [With your talent, they should be done by the end of the Christmas Holidays.]

    "That''s it?!" He asked in surprise.

    He had passed the most difficult phase of lumency and he was now very close to reaching his goal. After he was injured, the urge to focus solely on lumency had been overwhelming, but he resisted.

    Because if he hadn''t, sure he would have been able to achieve the first stage a little sooner, but he wouldn''t have be so proficient in his stealth skills that he was able to evade being seen every day and hence evade all the troubles that came along with it. When no one sees you, they tend to forget about you.

    Aside from this, he wouldn''t have been able to deal with a troll and wouldn''t have been good at magic and his movements would have been still slow and stiff as before. So, when any trouble came, he wouldn''t have been able to fight, nor evade, nor hide.

    But now, after training, he has mastered some things he wouldn''t have with a fit body and he was even going to get the recipe soon!

    Axel''s trembling hands started trembling even more. Though this time, it was due to excitement and anticipation.

    ...

    As the two-week break of Christmas ended, the unwilling students returned to Hogwarts riding the train on the new year.

    For Britain, this year was supposed to be simr to any other year of the past decade: Progressive. And it was. But... there was one cause for concern emerging after so many years of peace.

    The crime rates this year had increased and lots of wizards were reported to have used powerful magic they shouldn''t normally be able to wield. But of course, on a broad scale, it was being ignored or gone unnoticed by the lower levels of Ministery, not even reaching the upper echelons.

    Gradually, a Change wasing. And up to now, only one person had noticed it and tried to make his voice known. And the name of that person was Xenophillius Lovegood, the editor, and director of Quibbler. But of course, his voice had gone unheard, ignored and mocked by those who read his conspiracy theories.

    People were too busy with their own life''s issues to pay attention to such absurd possibilities. It was the same with Axel, who alighted the train at Hogsmeade station with bloodshot eyes as he made his way to the carriages along with the other students.

    He had failed.

    [Progress: 98%]

    He couldn''t do it by the end of the Christmas Holidays like the system had estimated despite putting in more time in it than the system had anticipated he would. He had even foregone his revenges on other people and small Gangs who had given him a hard time during the previous years including the family of the young master boy who''d gotten him kicked out from the muggle school. All in favor of making his shields.

    Then why?

    ''System, why was I not able to do something that I should have been able to do a few days early?'' He asked the system after giving up thinking about it.

    [The reason is that your mental state is not in perfect order.]

    Axel frowned,

    "Why?"

    [You already know the reason.]

    Axel cursed as he kicked a stone on his way. Of course, he knew. He just refused to ept it. It was Daphne.

    As far as he knew, she didn''t befriend him to gain something and had tried her utmost to be his friend. He, on the other hand, had refused to ept it since he thought it was too much of a bother.

    Only after she had stopped being his friend and after not talking to her for a week did he realize that whether he believed it or not, he hade to value the one friendship he had secured in his lifetime. And he didn''t want it to change. So yes, he finally epted the fact that they were friends. Though the key word here is "were".

    It wouldn''t have bothered him at all if she was the one at fault or if he was the one at fault. He''d have embraced the change as a part of life and moved on without thinking much. What bothered him was the fact that no one was at fault here and it was all just a stupid misunderstanding that was difficult to clear.

    Axel kicked yet another stone as he walked and he stopped walking when he saw the stone stop near the hoof of a creature. His gaze climbed up to see a bizarre winged horse-like creature standing there, attached to a carriage.

    "Cute," he muttered.

    ''System, tell me.'' he ordered.

    [That is a Thestral. They are a species that originated from NetherWorld. They can only be seen by those who have seen death.]

    "You''d be the only person who''d call it cute," said a voice from behind him.

    ???

    Axel turned around to see Martina standing there. Axel was still happy about the knife she had given him as a Christmas gift so he tolerated being seen with her in public without showing his annoyance.

    "Why am I not surprised that you can see them?" She muttered, looking at him empathetically. She had seen of his bad memories and witnessing death wouldn''t seem too far-fetched considering his circumstances.

    "I do find them cute. And why am I not surprised that YOU can see them too?" He countered, referring to her family''s reputation.

    Martina winced at the jab. She hadn''t actually witnessed any death here. Her father and brother were extreme in their overprotectiveness. But she had witnessed her own death, along with many of her patient''s death in her previous life so...

    Axel just remembered that he had some business with Martina.

    "Hey, I have¡ª" he began but paused when he saw Daphne pass by them, not even giving him a nce. A vein popped up on Axel''s forehead.

    This was more annoying than he had thought. It was even affecting his training.

    "Alright, you won," he muttered finally as he made up his mind. He had had it now. He was going to clear this misunderstanding. She won. They were officially friends now.

    He shelved his business with Martinater and as he went after Daphne.

    ***

    A.N.: So, the next chapter title is: ''A Friend and A Recipe.''

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Double Chapters, so I''ll need two days worth of stones for that.

    If you want to read ahead and Support me, Come to P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 40: Notification

Chapter 40: Notification

    DOUBLE CHAPTERS TOMORROW.

    GIMME POWERSTONES NOW.

 Chapter 41: Special Quest and System Shop

    Chapter 41: Special Quest and System Shop

    ***

    Special Quest Received:

    [Get the Elixir of Life:

    Elixir of Life, also known as the Elixir of Immortality, is a substance that can extend a person''s life indefinitely as long as they keep consuming it regrly. It can only be created through a Philosopher''s Stone. You need to get the Elixir of Life in order toplete the recipe.

    Rewards:

    ?Elixir of Life

    ?+3% approval

    ?Special Skill

    ?Further Information of Nether Dimension]

    "...."

    But¡­ the system wasn''t even done yet. The notifications hadn''t stopped yet.

    [Total Approval Rate: 25%

    Congrattions. You have gained enough Approval Rate to unlock the Shop feature. The skills you can gain from your SP are no longer random.]

    ''The shop feature?! Yeah!'' Axel cheered. But then he frowned.

    "....Hey! Don''t try to distract me with this shop feature!" Yelled Axel after pushing down his excitement. The shop feature was good, but the information about Elixir of Life had already ruined his mood. It can only be produced by a Philosopher''s Stone and that thing can literally grant you immortality. How is he supposed to get it?

    "System, how can this be so difficult? Phoenix Tears? Elixir of Life? Isn''t this overkill? Are you trying to make things difficult for me?! I think even when used individually, they''d be able to heal me," he protested. He just had a simple injury, damn it. Why does this have to be so difficult?!

    [Negative. The system isn''t trying to make it difficult. The solution ispletely reasonable. Your nerves have been terribly damaged by massive amounts of dark magic from the Cruciatus Curse. There are some other methods that can cure you but this is the most viable option. The procedure of the recipe is notplicated and noplicated magics or rituals need to be performed.]

    [And you are wrong. the ingredients can''t heal you individually. Phoenix Tears aren''t all-powerful, especially against excessive dark magic and if they could really heal everything there''d be no permanently disabled people in the wizarding world. Elixir of Life can extend your life, but it can''t heal you. Granted that there are other ways to heal you, but this is the most convenient one for you in the current circumstances.]

    Axelughed sardonically.

    "Convenient? You call this CONVENIENT?! Look at the ingredients, damn it! How am I supposed to get them?!"

    Phoenix Tears? He''d seen this being sold on Auctions on BigOwl. Ain''t no way he had that kind of money. And let''s not even mention the Philosopher''s Stone. Gold and Immortality. Are you fucking kidding? How is he supposed to get that thing?!

    The system, however, was unfazed by his outburst.

    [It is indeed the most convenient method. You already have most of the ingredients. And Dumbledore currently has the possession of Philosopher''s Stone so you can obtain the Elixir of Life as well.]

    "......"

    Axel had the longest pause before he blinked his eyes.

    "Back up for a moment, Miss Robotic voice. Could you fucking exin?" He asked, still trying to process that.

    He already had most of the ingredients?! What was the system saying? There were only two ingredients that actually matched with the diet he had but currently, he didn''t even have those. So what did the system mean he had most of it? And that jolly old man had currently had the fucking Philosopher''s Stone?!

    And so, the system exined.

    [Check the contents of your bag once again.]

    "What?"

    A few momentster¡­

    Axel sat on the floor with a variety of things spread out all around him. His eyes were empty and his appearance looked quite lifeless.

    He already knew that the most powerful woman in Britain had sent him gifts. On two asions. Once with the apology letter and once for Christmas. Of course, he hadn''t even bothered opening those extended-space pouches. But, he had no idea that they would all turn out to be¡­ like this. And even Andromeda had sent what she could. So...

    Right now, around him were piles of coins, a lot of Potions rted to healing and health, and various ingredients and supplements as well. Somewhere in that pile, there was also a small vial of phoenix Tears.

    Suffice it to say, he was damn near scared to death right now. If they are willing to give him this much, there''s only one thing they could want out of this: His Life. Or more correctly, something that''ll be equivalent to giving up his life.

    Why else would they bother?

    Of course, he isn''t going to use any of this.

    ''This is useless. I ain''t using these,'' he dered.

    [Then you can ask Evelyn. In hopes of curing Astoria, she has collected a wide variety of healing materials. None of which actually worked.]

    "Hmm¡­" Axel thought about it. That was more doable. He can return the favorter. Making a decision, Axel crossed the ingredients from the list. Now, the only problem will be¡­ the Elixir of Life.

    "System, you still haven''t told me about the Elixir of Life. How do I get it?"

    It is a given that something as important as the Philosopher''s Stone has to be kept under maximum security. How is he supposed to get it? And, where should he look? Under Dumbledore''s bed? In his locker? Or does he keep it with himself all the time?

    [It is hidden in the third-floor corridor. You need to figure out the rest by yourself.]

    "Damn¡­"

    Axel''s eyes widened. That was more than enough information for him!

    Why didn''t he think of that?! It all made sense now. Why else all that fanfare? The man had even put the Dementors on guard, as he witnessed and experienced first-hand.

    Now that he had a clear direction in his mind, a feeling of excitement began cursing through him.

    Philosopher''s Stone¡­ Immortality¡­ Infinite Gold¡­Getting healed¡­

    All these things can be possible.

    A fire lit up in the depths of his eyes. There''s no time to waste. He needs to get to work as soon as possible.

    He stood up even as his mind began to think up everything he''ll need to do in order to get the Stone.

    First of all, he''ll have to go past the Dementors. Then it is also expected that there''ll be some wards he''ll have to pass by, so his Ward breaking has to be top ss. Andst but not the least, his stealth skills need to be as high as possible.

    He looked at the stealth Skills.

    [Presence Reduction:

    progress: 50%]

    [Blend:

    progress: 50%]

    These two skills were the skills he already had. At 50%, he''s already the master of stealth now. They had stopped progressing since he''d need Potions to progress further. And now that he had contracted a potioneer through Evelyn, that problem has been solved. He''ll now make that percentage higher just in case.

    Then he looked at the Ward Breaking.

    [Progress: 20%]

    This won''t do. He quickly needs to increase this one.

    Next, he looked at his defense against Dementors.

    [Special Skill:

    Light Infusion

    Progress: 17%]

    He had practiced this one as well, due to his fear of Dementors and not wanting to feel that weak and helpless again, but it would still need some work.

    Andst but probably the most important,

    [Arcane Eyes: 15%]

    He''s going to need this one as well. The most important thing would be to SEE. This skills is a special skill. And it has huge potential. Since he now he the Potion, he can level this one as well.n

    But¡­ this doesn''t seem enough, does it? He''s against someone as good as Dumbledore. Ain''t no way he could seed with just this much, right? He''ll need to use all of his cards.

    ''System, open the Shop feature,'' he ordered. He decided to check out the new feature of the system. Upto now, he has unlocked four features.

    1)ss Feature: Upon choosing a ss, he gets to master all the skills and knowledge entailed under it.

    2)Stealing System Feature: The more he steals, the more SP and knowledge he''d gain. Once the SP has reached a certain amount, he''ll get a skill.

    3)Arcane Speech: He broke free somews of this world and gained the ability to use the Arcane Language.

    4)Shop: Yet to find out.

    Upon giving the order to open the Shop Feature, a list of skills along with their SP price appeared in front of him along with the description of the Shop.

    Shop Feature¡ª

    Buy the avable things like skills, Rituals, Information, etc. in exchange for SP. Currently, only skills can be bought from the shop.

    Skill list:

    Your SP can now be used to buy the skill you want and you can afford. There is no end to the skills avable, so the skills disyed will only be a fraction of those. You can either choose from these, or search a skill of your preference by giving its description.

    Axel looked at the list avable in front of him.

    Knife Strike: 100 SP

    Dash: 2000 SP

    Dodge: 5000 SP

    Camouge: 2000 SP

    ¡­

    The list went on and on but he couldn''t really find the satisfying ones here all seemed mediocre. It looks like he''ll have to describe the skills he wants in order to get them.

    But that wouldn''t be a problem, would it? After all, the second feature had helped him a lot.

    Stealing System Feature: The more he steals, the more SP and knowledge he''d gain.

    He had gotten two things from the second feature. SP and Knowledge. And between those two, the more valuable one isn''t the SP. It''s knowledge.

    There are some things about stealing that he wouldn''t have known without a lot of experience and research that he could just get into his head easily.

    For example, he wouldn''t have known that there are ways he can be tracked through his blood, DNA, or even fingerprints.

    He also didn''t know that he had been leaving behind so many clues and traces that a skilled detective would have caught at least some of them.

    That''s the kind of Knowledge System gives.

    And due to all that knowledge, he knows exactly what he needs.

    And he''ll damn well make sure he has it. Because this time, the one he''s stealing from is Albus Dumbledore. The person who reportedly has the highest amount of Magical Power among the people he has encountered until now. The man who is called the greatest wizard of the century.

    Thus began Axel''s preparations for his biggest Heist until now. And there were a lot of things he needed to do.

    And the thing on his list was: to get more SP.

    After he had unlocked his ward breaking, the next skill he was supposed to get was: [Arcane Runes]. And it was fucking expensive: ( 20,000 SP ). The deal didn''t seem worth it to Axel, considering the fact that he can''t even draw runes. So, he hadn''t worked hard enough to reach that objective.

    Thus, he had around 9k SP on him at the moment, most of which was spent on buying a skill he''d need for his heist.

    [Traceless thief]

    [A true thief never leaves any traces behind. This skill is going to help you in hiding everything that can give away your identity.]

    Yep, he had needed something like this for a long time. And he wasn''t much surprised that a skill like this already existed. After all, it''s the most crucial part of being a magical thief.

    But, after buying the skill, he was in a dire need of SP to buy more skills that were going to be necessary for the heist. And he needed it quickly, since he also has to learn and practice those skills as well after buying them.

    So, to get the SP as quickly as possible, he went for the desperate measures: The Slytherin Dorms... and the Girls'' side of the dorms. Up until now, he hadn''t tried Slytherin or Ravenw dorms and any girls'' dorms yet due to obvious reasons, but now was not the time to be hesitating.

    Slytherin dorms have the most number of rich students so the SP he gains will be higher, even though the risk is high. And most of them are assholes anyways, so he can even take something precious from some of them without remorse.

    The girls'' dorms, well the things stolen from there gave much more SP but he still had put his dignity first in the past and not gone there. But, now is not the time for that. There''s a chance for him to heal, to get rid of all this pain and everyday struggle. and the lengths he''s willing to go to get rid of this miserable status.... will surprise anyone.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: List out the skills you want him to buy.

 Chapter 42: First Attempt

    Chapter 42: First Attempt

    Thus began Axel''s preparations for his biggest Heist until now. And there were a lot of things he needed to do.

    And the thing on his list was: to get more SP.

    After he had unlocked his ward breaking, the next skill he was supposed to get was: [Arcane Runes]. And it was fucking expensive: ( 20,000 SP ). The deal didn''t seem worth it to Axel, considering the fact that he can''t even draw runes. So, he hadn''t worked hard enough to reach that objective.

    Thus, he had around 9k SP on him at the moment, most of which was spent on buying a skill he''d need for his heist.

    [Traceless thief]

    [A true thief never leaves any traces behind. This skill is going to help you in hiding everything that can give away your identity.]

    Yep, he had needed something like this for a long time. And he wasn''t much surprised that a skill like this already existed. After all, it''s the most crucial part of being a magical thief.

    But, after buying the skill, he was in a dire need of SP to buy more skills that were going to be necessary for the heist. And he needed it quickly, since he also has to learn and practice those skills as well after buying them.

    So, to get the SP as quickly as possible, he went for the desperate measures: The Slytherin Dorms... and the Girls'' side of the dorms. Up until now, he hadn''t tried Slytherin or Ravenw dorms and any girls'' dorms yet due to obvious reasons, but now was not the time to be hesitating.

    Slytherin dorms have the most number of rich students so the SP he gains will be higher, even though the risk is high. And most of them are assholes anyways, so he can even take something precious from some of them without remorse.

    The girls'' dorms, well the things stolen from there gave much more SP but he still had put his dignity first in the past and not gone there. But, now is not the time for that. There''s a chance for him to heal, to get rid of all this pain and everyday struggle. and the lengths he''s willing to go to get rid of this miserable status.... will surprise anyone.

    ...

    One month passed by while he trained only and did some side thieving on the nights. And things were going pretty well as he had made various preparations and ns by now.

    He was a bit hopeful that he''d be able to get this thing over soon and heal himself. So, he decided to give it a trial run. To just go ahead and scout out what exactly he was dealing with here. Who knows? Maybe he was already ready and didn''t need to make more preparations...

    With such hopes, he went to the third-floor corridor after borate preparations. But, it soon became very clear to him that things weren''t going to go as he had envisioned.

    After a month of training after getting all the Potions, with his upgraded Skills and newly bought skills, Axel thought he was ready.

    He went to the third-floor corridor expecting Dementors. But to his surprise, there were none.

    Relieved by the unexpected boon, he had continued down the corridor, step by step as he used his skill.

    [Ward Breaking]

    He used his skill to check out if there were any wards. And to his surprise, there really were none!

    But, as he went closer to the door, he started to feel like not going further anymore. What would he even do? Isn''t it dangerous? Let''s not do this...

    ''WAIT!''

    Axel quickly snapped out of it.

    "The fuck...?! Why didn''t my skill detect that?" he muttered. Whatever that was, it would have worked on anyone else, but since Axel was on a whole different level in terms of mental strength, it couldn''t affect him.

    ''System, I already dodged that one, can you at least tell me what it is now?'' He asked.

    The system wasn''t supposed to help him in his Missions. Otherwise, the rewards and approval rate he was supposed to get wouldn''t be allowed by the worldws since he didn''t earn them.

    [You have sessfully resisted it, so the system can inform you about it. It was a cleverly hidden repellent ward. It will try to repel all those who try to approach the door save for a few individuals.]

    Axel frowned. If so, then why couldn''t his skill detect it? Well, considering that he had made around 30% progress in Ward Breaking, it can be assumed that Dumbledore has a much higher mastery over the subject than that.

    "Well, just to be sure..." he muttered as he closed his eyes for a moment.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    "¨¤rt?r?rt¨´s," he muttered. When he raised his head once again, his irises were glowing and so were the veins on his face that were close to the eyes.

    Looking ahead, at first, he saw no other ward other than the Repellent Ward, but...if he looked carefully, there was a very thin line of magic hidden ahead!

    "Fuck," he muttered as he canceled the skill and clutched at his head. This was the new ability he had gotten from his [Arcane Eyes]. It lets him see the magic for a brief moment. From the pain he was experiencing, it was clear that he was NOT ready to use that skill yet. But, it has given him enough info for now.

    "This... is confusing," he muttered as he rested on his knees, gasping for breath.

    The man could haveid the whole ce with different kinds of traps, but instead, there are only two. He already knows what one is for, Repelling. Then what about the other? He can''t even detect it, so how''d he check what it was for? And, bypassing it would be even more difficult.

    Axel sighed. It seems like he currently doesn''t have the skills to deal with this. He was far too overconfident, thinking that since he had reached the 25% of the Ward Breaking, he was a fucking boss.

    But turns out, Albus Dumbledore isn''t only an expert in Transfiguration, alchemy, and dueling, he is also quite an expert in Wards if he can outmatch 25% of the system''s Ward Breaking.

    Thus, there was no way Axel could do this theft without a lot of practice in the Warding Breaking skill. With his current level, it''s gonna take a while for him to be able to deal with the wards considering that this was just the beginning of the corridor. There could be anything in there.

    "Fuck you, Dumbledore," he muttered as he began to leave, but before leaving, he suddenly turned around as he got an idea. He took out a paper from his pouch, made an airne, and let it fly toward the second ward. The paper belonged to someone he didn''t mind using as a scapegoat.

    Then, he turned on his Arcane Eyes once again and observed the process.

    As the airne flew past the second ward, the ward got triggered as the thin line of magic snapped. But still, the airne was unharmed. And as Axel saw the magic moving, he realized what the second ward was for.

    "Fuck..." he muttered as he began to run. He now knew what both wards were for.

    One is a repellent ward. It''s so powerful that very few might be able to resist it if they aren''t on the list of people who are exempted by the caster.

    The other one is a few steps ahead. And Axel can''t detect this one either, or rather, it''s even more cleverly hidden. What was its function? It''s some sort of rm or notification ward!

    As soon as he passes by this one, it means that he has resisted the repellent ward enough to reach that point. And anyone able to do that isn''t just some curious student, but the real deal, and the old man will be informed.

    It was simple but brilliant. What is a best protection for the Philosopher''s Stone than Albus Fucking Dumbledore himself? And the thing is, the second one was hidden even more carefully, so Dumbledore could even amuse himself watching the trespasser''s attempt to go further and stop him whenever he wants.

    He had failed.

    "Calm down...calm down," muttered Axel as he returned back to his hideout after his failure. His fist clenched as he faced the reality: He might not be able to steal it within this year.

    How could he, when the difference in skill was so overwhelming? And what else was he expecting anyway? It''s the Philosopher''s Stone, something that can grant the owner immortality and Infinite gold. There''s no way it could have been protected by obstacles that a person with only one year of magical training could pass, right?

    But, he had the system. If only he can take his time... he can really do it.

    epting the reality, Axely down on the floor, letting the disappointment settle. It''s going to take time, but at least he now knows exactly what he''s up against. And, he has time. Plus, the rewards are going to be huge. So, his situation isn''t that bad, right? It could have been worse.

    ¡­

    It became worse. Fucking g!

    It was just after a few days after his first attempt. He had been in the library, minding his own business when,

    "Psst¡­Psst Psst."

    "What is it?" He asked, turning his head towards Daphne who was trying to attract his attention.

    "Shhh...keep it down," she said in a harsh whisper that probably attracted more attention than his voice did.

    Axel''s eye twitched,

    "The fuck you want?" He asked in a lower voice.

    Daphne came closer as she whispered into his ear.

    "I have a very shocking news!"

    Axel looked unimpressed,

    "What is it?"

    "Promise you won''t tell anyone," she whispered.

    Axel just stared at her at her like she was an idiot.

    "Yeah right, like I usually gossip with a lot of people," he muttered.

    Daphne pouted but still didn''t back down,

    "There''s still Martina..." she said grudgingly. There were indeed very few people Axel would even give the time of day in these busy days.

    Axel shook his head. This was taking too much time.

    "I don''t want to hear it," he said as he went back to his work.

    Daphne slumped,

    "Fine... it was about the third-floor corridor..." she said inmentation. She was looking forward to seeing his reaction to the shocking piece of news, but it was no use now. Because she knew that once Axel has lost interest, there''s no chance he''ll liste¡ª

    "I promise," came Axel''s voice, surprising Daphne as a sudden pressure descended on her, making it a bit difficult to breathe properly.

    Daphne turned her head to see Axel looking at her intensely.

    "??? What???" she asked.

    "I said, I promise to not tell anyone. Now tell me this secret already," he said seriously.

    "Oh-Okay," said Daphne, a bit flustered as she sang like a bird under the pressure.

    "Apparently, the third-floor corridor has the Philosopher''s Stone, guarded by a three-headed dog. And... someone''s trying to steal it," she said, and was rewarded by the sight of Axel''s eyes widening as his mouth fell open.

    It had to be noted that for someone else, it might be a normal expression, but in Axel''s case, it was an equivalent of an ordinary person shrieking in horror and passing out.

    *Snap*

    *giggle*

    Axel didn''t even pay attention to Daphne snapping his picture as he processed that information.

    "Daphne," he said to her, his eyes still unfocused as his mind raced. He needed more information.

    "Yeah?" Asked Daphne, looking at the picture she had taken.

    "Would youe to the broom closet with me?" He asked. There were too many people who could hear their conversation here in this quiet ce. They needed to go somewhere private since the information was too sensitive.

    "!!!!!" Daphne almost had a heart attack hearing those words.

    ¡­

    ¡ªInside a broom closet ¡ª

    "So, only Rose, Neville, Hermione, Susan, Hannah and you know about this? Are you sure?" He asked, standing with his wand lit up with Lumos.

    Daphne nodded, still not quite believing that she was currently in a b-broom closet. She certainly didn''t expect her first time to be like this.

    But Axel was too focused to pay her any heed.

    "How did you guys find out?" He asked.

    "Hm?" It took a moment for Daphne toe to her senses,

    "Oh, Rose, Hermione, and Neville found out about most of it. They just asked me about the Philosopher''s Stone," said Daphne as she then exined how Rose found out about it.

    Apparently, the three of them stumbled into the third-floor corridor and then went into the room at the end which had a three-headed dog on the other side, guarding a trapdoor. It started from there.

    But Axel was frowning the whole time. ''How were they not stopped by the repellent ward?'' He wondered. They shouldn''t have been able to go with their mental power. Maybe the Repellent Ward was only installedter when the rm was being tripped repeatedly by bumbling and curious students.

    So, they most likely also tripped the rm, meaning that there''s a high chance that Dumbledore knows about this. But, more importantly, someone was trying to steal it?

    "How do you know someone''s trying to steal it?" He asked.

    Daphne sighed,

    "It''s someone between that Umbitch and Greasy Git. But there''s a chance that it could be anyone else," she said, showing her disgust at both Umbridge and Snape.

    Both were thoroughly hated individuals.

    She then exined the whole situation about how Rose and friends came to know about it. Apparently, it all started with Halloween, which was actually a diversion.

    By the end of her exination, Axel clenched his fists. Things just couldn''t go as he expected them to go. Time, the only thing he thought he possessed, had been taken away from him as now he had to steal the stone before thispetitor of his stole it first or made the situation even more difficult.

    It''s decided. He''s going to go for it this year. There''s no time to prepare. He''s just going to wait for the right opportunity.

    .

    ...

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    Next Chapter: Confrontation

 Chapter 43: Notification

Chapter 43: Notification

    Double chapters tomorrow. GIMME POWERSTONES!!!

    I had polls on two topics on P¨¤treon so the chapters got dyed.

 Chapter 44: The Most hated Character

    Chapter 44: The Most hated Character

    M: This chapter is hardcore

    Chapter 43

    Days went by as Axel trained, nned, plotted, and brainstormed.

    In one of the rooms in the Noble suite he had been staying in, the walls were covered with sheets of messily drawn diagrams, ns, and charts, all connected by lines. Most were of the third-floor corridor, but many were also different Houses dorms.

    This was his nning room, the ce where he ns all his thefts.

    Why do all this? Well, these are here to help him visualize. Hogwarts is his battlefield. And it''s best to know every nook and cranny of it. Things don''t always go ording to his ns so it''s best to be prepared and have all the escape routes, obstacles, and props memorized.

    In his one hand, he had a Hand gripper which he was continuouslypressing and rxing, training his weak-ass grip strength. While he held a coffee in the other hand as he looked over at the ns.

    These days, he has been just too busy. So busy that he''s been neglecting sleep. Right now, he was feeling so tired that he felt like passing out.

    "I should sleep now," he murmured, putting down everything. He really couldn''t skip it anymore. He can feel it. He really needs to sleep or his body wouldn''t be able to take it.

    But just as hey down on the floor, a clock sounded, signifying that it was time for ss.

    "The fuck? It''s morning already?" He muttered with a frown. The time flew so quickly. It seems like he''ll have to sleep in the sses today instead of training. As Axel stood up, he felt a bit dizzy for a moment. Shaking his head he ate his breakfast and went for sses.

    The first ss turned out to be of DADA which is held with the Ravenws.

    "Wake me up if Umbitches," he told Daphne as he slept with his head resting on his hand. His elbows were propped up on the table and his eyes were obscured by his hair. It truly looked like he was just reading the book on the table and he would have easily gotten away with it as well. But, for some reason, after some time, his hands gave away as his head fell down on the table with an audible "thunk". And, despite being the lightest of sleepers, he didn''t wake up even after that,

    "!!!"

    Axel woke up to someone violently shoving him like crazy.

    "The fuc¡ª" he yelled out in surprise¡­ before he became aware of the situation he was in when he saw a toad staring at him. Correction, it was a toad-like woman staring at him with a creepy smile.

    "Detention, Mr. Hunt. I expect you to be in my office, Friday at 5 pm sharp. No excuses," she said cheerfully, as if she was really anticipating it.

    Meanwhile, all Axel could think was...

    ''Am I having a nightmare?''

    ...

    After ss, Axel cursed repeatedly due to the predicament he found himself in. Usually, he''s a very light sleeper and he should have woken up just by the distinct sound of Umbridge''s heel''s sound approaching, let alone his head falling on the desk like that. But earlier, he didn''t even wake up after Daphne tried shoving him multiple times.

    There was only one conclusion: He had passed out.

    Seriously, of all the times his body had failed him, did it have to happen in that creepy bitch''s ss?! Damn it, he usually would never even sleep in her ss, to begin with. But today he straight up passed out, damn it. And that has earned him detention now, meaning more time waste.

    "What the hell was wrong with you?! I shook the fuck out of you but you didn''t wake up until the bitch was standing right in front of us! I was scared out of my mind!" Eximed Daphne as soon as Umbridge had left.

    Axel grimaced. It''s not like he enjoyed waking up to the face of Umbitch staring down at him. For some reason, a troll seemed to be a much better alternative. And this ising from someone who''s had the misfortune to actually experience both the cases.

    "I might have been¡­a bit tired," he replied evasively.

    Daphne gasped, looking horrified.

    "It must be really bad if you''re actually admitting to it," she muttered to herself then looked at him seriously, "What the hell has been going on with youtely?! Can you please tell me?!" she asked in genuine distress.

    Axel sighed. How could he tell her the truth? If he ever sessfully stole the stone, Daphne and her friends would be the first of the people whose minds Dumbledore would check considering their open involvement in the matter. So, telling her anything rted to that would be asking for trouble.

    He yawned while rubbing his eyes tiredly,

    "Well, I can''t tell you exactly what is going on, but I can tell you that I''m very close to healing myself. So, taking rest is very low on my priority list," he said, revealing as much truth as he could.

    Daphne''s eyes widened,

    "Really?! You''re actually going to be healed?!" She asked overjoyed. It could be seen that she understood just how big of a news this was.

    Axel shrugged,

    "Well, I wouldn''t say I''m sure, but there''s hope," he said dismissively.

    Daphne nodded in understanding,

    "Well, then I can certainly understand why you are trying so hard, even I would do the same. But," she sighed, "I might sound like my mum but you need rest as well. Take sick leave and go rest, please?" she said imploringly.

    "....Fine."

    Axel didn''t say anything more. But instead of going to his next ss, he decided to go and rest.

    ''So¡­ that''s what moms usually say, huh? How naggy,'' he thought as he saw Daphne leave. He would never ept that he was a bit envious.

    "Um... e-excuse me?"

    Just as he was about to leave as well, someone''s voice caused him to stop. Axel turned around to see a short boy looking at him nervously.

    "What is it?" He asked the mousy boy. Axel remembered seeing him in the sses. This guy is just as much unsocial as Axel, though for different reasons.

    The boy shifted ufortably,

    "I just¡­ I just came to warn you about the detention from Professor U-Umbridge. It can be¡­ It can be tough," he said, rubbing the back of his hand.

    Axel tilted his head,

    "Oh? What did she do?" He asked. It wouldn''t hurt to know before how he was going to be wasting time for his idiocy.

    The boy tried to speak, but words seemed to have stuck in his throat. Looking panicked, the jittery boy fled away, leaving Axel with question marks on his head.

    "...What was that about?" Muttered Axel. Shrugging, he went on his way. He wasn''t particrly worried about the detentions.

    ¡­

    Today was Friday and Axel was currently on his way to Umbitch''s office. It was time for Axel to serve his first-ever detention at Hogwarts.

    That is not to say that he was a good student, or that he didn''t do anything wrong yet. It only meant that he was just that good at not getting caught.

    And this time would not have been any different. But he wasn''t in the right condition that day, both physically and mentally, thus getting falling unconscious. It wouldn''t have been an issue had he not passed out instead of going into his alert-sleep mode as he had nned.

    He would admit that it was a mistake to not rest properly despite being in a desperate situation. But the thing was, he really didn''t know it could lead to such consequences since he''d always thought himself above ''normal'' people who sleep on time. He was only 12, so he was allowed some 8th-grade syndrome.

    Besides, no one was there to tell him that not resting could lead to such disastrous consequences. So, he can only learn these lessons on his own and not make the same mistakes again.

    ''Here it is,'' Thought Axel as he looked at the office in front of him.

    ~Doloris Umbridge.

    Professor D.A.D.A.

    *Knock* *knock*

    As he knocked on the door,

    "Come in," came a sugary voice. Axel entered cautiously, looking around. Though looking around only caused him to cringe at the sight.

    The surfaces had all been draped incy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental tes, each decorated with arge Technicolored kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Axel had to make an effort to not look disgusted. And on one end of the room, there were piles of papers stacked up together neatly.

    "Good evening, Mr. Hunt," spoke Umbridge, causing Axel to look back at her.

    "Evening," replied Axel expressionlessly, inwardly thinking if it would be a good idea to ask her to make it quick. Can he just bribe her to let him leave quickly?

    Umbridge smiled,

    "You know, Mr. Hunt, I''ve been rather keen to talk to you," she said, making Axel have a bad feeling about this detention.

    "I don''t understand why, Professor," said Axel, not giving out anything.

    Umbridge rxedly mixed a few spoonfuls of sugar in her tea.

    "You see Mr. Hunt, you''re the only person I don''t know the blood status of. So, I''ve been waiting for you to slip up and give me the chance to give you detention. And now, I want to know whether you are a Half-blood or a Pureblood," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

    Axel frowned,

    "Why is that important, Professor?" He asked, but he could tell just by how she said the word ''muggleborn'' that he was in trouble.

    Umbridge tilted her head, still smiling,

    "How is that important?" She repeated the question to emphasize her bafflement.

    "It is of paramount importance, Mr. Hunt. I only give harsh detentions to muggleborns. Though sometimes Half-bloods with lowly backgrounds also have the fortune of experiencing it. Purebloods'' blood...is much too precious to be spilled for a mere detention,"

    "!...?"

    ''Harsh punishment? Blood?'' Axel had goosebumps hearing that. He was already beginning to n what actions he should take if things went south.

    "Well, I''m actually a pureblood," he said simply.

    "My family is quite secretive, so I''ve kept my background a secret. But they''re very powerful," he lied without batting an eye. Anything to get this creepy woman off his back.

    Umbridge did react for a moment as she put a hand on her chest. Though after that the smile came back on her face with full force, giving off a sinister vibe as she looked at him.

    "You lied? Hehe¡­Tut-tut, that can only mean one thing, right dear?" She asked, looking as though her favorite moment hade.

    "!!!"

    ''How did she know?!'' Axel couldn''t understand.

    "Professor, what I said was the truth! How can you use me of lying?!" He asked heatedly, still not giving up the act.

    But Umbridge seemed to just ignore him,

    "Whatever you say, Mr. Hunt. Your punishment is to write lines. Now sit over there and start writing," she said jubntly as she fished out a few pieces of parchment and a quill from her desk drawer.

    "Uh¡­ professor, I can''t really write. My hands don''t work very well," he said, showing her his trembling hands.

    The toad''s smile widened,

    "Then that''s even better, isn''t it? After all, this IS supposed to be a punishment, right?" She asked with her unusually wide smile.

    Axel sighed. He was now having difficulty keeping up his polite facade any longer. His hands were very sensitive ever since the torture incident, and doing anything with them hurts like a bitch.

    "Punishment for what? Sleeping in a ss where you weren''t even teaching anything? I already know everything about first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said, his politeness slipping away.

    Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with this woman?! He was just minding his own business, sleeping peacefully, and shees and gives him detention. Ok, he didn''t mind and even came to the detention on time as any polite person should. But she gives him such a difficult punishment for just sleeping in the ss?!

    "....Tut-tut. That''s no way to talk to your teacher, Mr. Hunt. Your detention has been extended by two days. Now, do your lines," she said, still maintaining that damned smile.

    "You B¡ª" Axel was about to call her exactly what she was being right now. Increasing the duration while he is struggling to even sleep in his busy schedule?!

    [lumency]

    But, he stopped himself using lumency as he breathed in deeply. Okay¡­ to force him to use lumency, this woman had some real skill in getting under people''s skin.

    ''It''s just lines, right? Let''s just get this over with,'' he thought.

    "What am I supposed to write?" He asked, picking up the parchment and quill and sitting down.

    "Hm¡­ let''s see. How about, "I must know my ce" ?" She asked pleasantly, "It would certainly help you in your future."

    *Grit* *Grit*

    [lumency]

    His lumency worked overtime as he gritted his teeth. This annoying bitch¡­

    "How long do I have to write them for?"

    Umbridge looked at him and smiled.

    "As I long as take to stick,"

    ''lumency... lumency¡­'' he thought as he tried lumency once again. He was incredibly pissed. And if it had not been for lumency, he would have given this woman a piece of his mind by now. How can someone be this annoying?!

    In fact, he actually had no problem writing lines as punishment. If it had been Mcgonagall, Flitwick, or any other professor who had given him this punishment, he wouldn''t have minded so much.

    Because those professors actually teach something in their ss and he was wrong to sleep during it. But this bitch¡­ she doesn''t teach anything in the ss. Just passes time. And he had seen many other students who were Purebloods sleeping peacefully in her ss on multiple asions. So why only him?! Not to mention she''s so infuriating! ''I must know my ce?!'' Seriously? Does he need to remind this bitch of HER ce?

    Alright, it was decided.

    ''Bitch, you are officially on the shit-list now,'' thought Axel as he picked up the pen with much difficulty. This was so humiliating.

    "Don''t forget to write your name on the column first. We don''t want to get the papers mixed up, do we?" She said, pointing at the long piles of paper at the far end of the room.

    And Axel realized what those piles of papers actually were: Other students'' detentions.

    ''Whatever,'' he thought as he made to write his name.

    [Axel, don''t write your name on it.] Came the system''s prompt in red.

    Axel frowned,

    "Why?" He asked.

    [Every paper is a binding contract that says you won''t knowingly or unknowingly reveal any information on what happened in this office along with some other uses.]

    ''The fuck?!'' Axel actually knew how to check whether a paper is a contract or not. You just have to cut a corner and if even a small amount of light is generated, it would be a contract.

    To his horror, he found out that it was true. Cursing himself for not checking, Axel decided not to write his namepletely and only wrote Axe Hut. His handwriting was so messy that no one other than him would be able to tell the difference anyway.

    After this, he began to write the line he had been given as quickly as possible. But¡­.as soon as he was finished with one line¡ª

    "!!!!!" The Quill dropped out of his hand as a huge amount of pain exploded from the back of his hand. As exined, his hands were so sensitive that even doing normal work with them hurt. Whenever he moves them the damaged nerves still corrupted with dark magic still get stimted and reproduce the pain from Cruciatus based on the amount of movement and strain his hand has been put under.

    Now imagine it being stabbed into by a sharp but insufficiently sharp object and then the object is dragged along all those overly damaged nerves filled with the residual dark magic of the Cruciatus.

    ''WHAT THE FUCK?!'' he thought as he tried not to yell out feeling a pain that reminded him of that day.

    ''What is this thing?!''

    [The quill in your hand is called Blood Quill. It is an object of torture that is a type of quill that does not require ink, as it writes with the blood of the person using it. What the user writes will be carved onto the back of his or her hand, and the blood from the words sliced into the hand will be magically siphoned and be used as ink on the parchment.]

    "This Bitch¡­" he muttered as he looked at the piles of papers stacked against the wall. He also recalled how that mousy boy had tried to warn him of something while he was rubbing the back of his hand. He then looked at the smiling appearance of the Bitch and realized.

    ''The bitch has been torturing Children for her entertainment¡­''

    With red-hot rage bubbling inside him, Axel looked down at the words inscribed in the back of his hand¡ª"I must know my ce,"

    They were etched into his skin in a very messy, barely recognizable writing. Looking at them increased his anger further as he felt something rising inside him:

    Killing intent!

    One simrly powerfulpared to the one he felt for the man who had tortured him with Cruciatus.

    This bitch... she is going to die. It has been decided.

    But ironically, those words were also the ones to bring some rationality to his mind.

    "I must know my ce,"

    ...That''s right, he must know his ce.

    He was a student with no background. Everyone knows that he is currently the only other person in her office. Once he kills or even assaults a Professor, he was doomed to be expelled from the school. Which would mean he wouldn''t be able to steal the stone and heal himself.

    Slowly, the desire to kill and take revenge was overpowered by the desire to be healed. To not ruin the ns he had already formed. With everything thought through, Axel finally looked at Umbridge.

    *Shatter*

    Umbridge flinched as her teacup fell out of her hand which had suddenly gone weak just by looking into those glowing pair of amber eyes.

    Axel promised the woman her death with his eyes. Whether it is a yearter or a hundred. If she dies by his hands.... he''ll make sure it is painful.

    Then, he left without saying a word and Umbridge, who had peed herself in fear, couldn''t say or do anything to stop him.

    Though even as he left, he couldn''t help but wonder...

    ''How the hell did she know I was lying earlier?''

    ****

    A.N.: Posted this one even before the promised time. Anothering in a few hours since it''s double chapters. It''s title is: The Final Day

    Just gimme those POWERSTONES!!!

    MC would be healed in around 4 chapters.

    It''s a new month! Read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 45: The Philosophers Stone

    Chapter 45: The Philosopher''s Stone

    "Mr. Hunt. Just out of curiosity, could you tell me your father''s name?" He asked, surprising him. But... What surprised him more was the Legilimency probe he felt right after.

    "!!!!"

    Axel tried not to show how surprised he was. This time, he was really caught off guard since from what he could observe, Gorski didn''t seem to have ill-intensions just a moment earlier. Plus, Legilimancy¡­ is rare. Very rare.

    But, he wasn''t really worried. The system will always prevent any sensitive information from leaking.

    Axel casually broke eye contact, thus breaking the connection, as he answered the question,

    "I never knew my father, Professor. But I believe he was a muggle named Ethan Hunt," replied Axel, making up a random name. It would be an impossible mission for Gorski to get anything out of this.

    "Oh¡­ is that so?" Uttered Gorski as he looked at Axel pensively. "Well, your face looked familiar. And you have the same surname as a man I knew in the past, so I asked,"

    Axel shrugged,

    "Not a problem. May I leave now, Professor?"

    Gorski still seemed to be in deep thought,

    "Yes, of course¡­. Thanks for your help, Mr. Hunt. I hope you enjoy your Holidays."

    "Likewise, Sir," replied Axel as he started to leave, still on guard.

    "Oh, and Mr. Hunt?"

    Axel paused.

    "Do be careful. Your name and appearance might attract the... wrong sort of attention¡­" said Gorski, sounding ominous for some reason.

    ¡­.

    "What the fuck was that about?!" Eximed Axel as soon as he was out.

    "System, what did he want to know?!"

    [Basically, Jakub Gorski wanted to know if you are rted to Tristan Hunt or not. Your appearance and surname would suggest you are.]

    Axel''s brows furrowed,

    "Why would he want to ask that?" He asked.

    [Gorski is a member of a mysterious organization. Your dad stole something very important from them and escaped. Gorski wanted to know if he passed it on to you.]

    Axel shook his head ruefully.

    "How the fuck would I have anything that valuable? They left with me nothi¡ª" he paused as his hand went to his neck.

    ''It can''t be, right?'' He thought as a blurry scene of the cross-shaped pendant being ced around his neck came to surface in his mind. It was the only thing they had left him.

    [Yes, that is precisely the object your dad stole.]

    Axel clenched his fist around the pendant,

    "So¡­ that''s why Gorski told me to be careful," he muttered. They''lle for him as soon as they discover the clues rting him to Tristan.

    Axel took out the pendant and stored it in his pouch.

    "So, what the fuck is this thing? Why is it so important?" He asked finally.

    [Information Restricted.]

    "The fuck? Why?!"

    [That object is the key to fighting Voldemort and the key to obtaining powers. It''s the most important piece that you can use against Voldemort. That is why direct information is restricted. It would be too big an interference to directly tell you its use. If this level of interference was allowed, then the Akashic Records would not have to go through the trouble of slowly helping you be strong on your own.]

    Axel sighed. It is never easy with the system.

    "So what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

    [Special Quest Activated:

    Go after the members of the Mysterious Organization and extract the information on using the key.

    Rewards: ???]

    "...." He was left with hundreds of thoughts.

    Another special mission?! But damn, it does make sense. If the system can''t tell him then the only other people who can will have to be the ones who had it in the first ce.

    So¡­ those were the people who killed his so-called parents, huh? He is supposed to go after them, if he wants to know the powers of this key. And...even if he doesn''t go after them, they are going toe after him anyway as soon as they notice the obvious clues.

    Whatever the case, there''s one thing that''s absolutely clear now. He HAS to get Healed as soon as possible.

    ...

    At night, Axel opened his eyes as soon as he felt the disturbance. He was currently on the third-floor corridor, waiting for the right opportunity.

    He had assessed Dumbledore''s skill level and his final decision was¡­ stealing the stone from Dumbledore would be too difficult and tricky with only one year of learning magic.

    That''s why he has a different n.

    This other person, whoever it is, clearly has much more preparation, experience, and resources than him. So, Axel has decided to hitch a ride, so to speak.

    And right now, it seems that the person is here.

    ''Well, let''s go fishing,'' he thought as got ready. With the SP he had gained from his stealing spree from Slytherin Dorms and girls'' dorms, he had bought some more important skills aside from the Traceless Thief.

    [True Invisibility: Gives the ability to be invisible. You can also make anything with your physical contact Invisible. You can also cast it on others with their consent.]

    [Soundless: Nullifies Sound. You can even chant spells soundlessly. You can also cast it on others with their consent.]

    [Erase Scent: Once mastered, not even the best of predators can detect your scent.]

    These skills could also be performed using the normal spells given in books, but not to the extent he could do with the system''s method. Plus, they weren''t that expensive. And they were faster to learn using the system''s method. So, Axel would say that it was a good bargain.

    As waited, the outline of the person became clearer as they became visible to Axel.

    "So, it IS you!" he muttered, still under [Soundless] and other stealth skills, his grip on his wand tightening as he saw who the thief was.

    It was Umbitch.

    Axel had high suspicions from the start that it was her. That was one of the reasons why he didn''t take revenge on her yet. If he killed her, then who would steal the stone for him?

    Today, Umbitch was wrapped in a heavy Dark Cloak and to his surprise, she was actually Floating!

    He watched in surprise as the flying bitch suddenly sped up as she flew right past the Notification and rm wards that Dumbledore had installed.

    "Fuck!" Eximed Axel in irritation as he realized what she was doing.

    He had expected her to subtly avoid or disarm the Notification ward, but the bitch bulldozed right past it.

    It would seem that even she didn''t have a solution to that ward. She either didn''t detect it or just didn''t care. Umbridge was going to speed-run the entire thing so that she can escape before Dumbledore arrives.

    "Wait for me, you Bitch!" Yelled Axel as he followed on his broom, the Valentino knife in one hand while his wand in the other.

    Umbridge seemed to have gone beast mode Tonight as Axel saw her power through the obstacles and traps.

    The door at the far end was sted open and a Three-Headed Dog was killed with three bursts of green lights as Umbridge yelled out the spell continuously.

    She then proceeded to roughly navigate through all the obstacles, making things very easy for Axel, who only had to follow.

    "Damn, is it going to be so easy?" He muttered as he saw her take down two trolls one after another. He had already gotten past a lot of obstacles without having to do anything. Umbridge was doing great but¡­something didn''t add up.

    "These obstacles¡­" he muttered. Why does it feel like they''ve been designed for kids? They certainly weren''t what he was expecting after looking at the level of wards ced at the entrance. Axel felt like he could get past them on his own easily.

    The next room had a piece of paper and some potions and the room was surrounded by ck mes. He thought that Umbridge would check out the paper and potions. But, to his surprise, she didn''t even nce at those things as her cloak wrapped around herpletely and she plunged directly through the fire.

    "No!" Axel didn''t have the time to think much. His ride is leaving him stranded here.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Having no choice, he activated his Arcane Eyes to look around the room. This fire couldn''t burn endlessly without any source. And sure enough, he found the fuel buried in the ground.

    Axel cut off the source and the fire suddenly vanished.

    "...It really is child''s y," he muttered as he rushed into the next chamber.

    ''Thank god she''s still here,'' he thought as he found Umbridge standing in front of a Mirror. To his surprise, she wasn''t rushing through this one.

    ''Is this it?'' He thought. It would seem that this was the ce where the stone was hidden.

    ""It''s inside¡­"" he heard an eerie voice say. And Axel got goosebumps on his arms. He saw a dark silhouette emerging from Umbridge''s chest.

    Umbridge went down to her knees,

    "My lord, what shall I do?"

    ""Foolish woman! It''s your job to figure it out! If I could be corporeal then the Stone would have long been in my possession!"" Said the voice in anger.

    "Y-Yes my lord!" Umbridge bowed, right after which she began trying out different methods to try and get the stone out of the mirror.

    A few minutes passed as Umbridge tried out everything and Axel was getting impatient.

    ""Dumbledore!!! I knew that old man wouldn''t make it so easy!"" Axel heard the silhouette rage as time started to pass.

    ""We''re taking the mirror with us,"" he said, making Axel move. It seems that this was his cue to take action.

    Axel rxedly raised his wand to point it right at Umbridge. Though, before he could do anything, he heard rushed footsteps from behind.

    "Umbridge! Stop!"

    Axel, the Silhouette, and Umbridge all turned their heads in unison at the unwee intrusion.

    "SON OF A¡ª!" Axel cursed out loud when he saw who the new guests were.

    One of them was Rose Potter.

    But, there wasn''t much of a problem with her presence. He had already warned her earlier. After that, if she still had a death wish, she was free toe. But...

    ''What the fuck are YOU doing here?!'' He almost yelled as he looked at Daphne who was also present beside Rose.

    It would seem that the others really had taken his advice and given up on the stone except for Rose Potter, who had rushed in anyway. But¡­ what is Daphne doing here despite agreeing to not go?!

    It had to be noted that these two were NOTHING, in front of Umbridge. They stood no chance and Umbridge won''t show them any mercy.

    Axel punched the air in frustration. He couldn''t understand why she would do this. Daphne is usually a smart and logical girl who would disdain to do these Gryffindor-ish acts. She wouldn''t do anything so suicidal.

    Unless¡ª

    Axel''s eyes widened as he realized. Yes! That''s it! How could he have been so blind to not see it?! Daphne is usually smart and logical, unless it''s about her sister!

    The Philosopher''s Stone! Its Elixir can grant the drinker Immortality!

    Astoria is dying and all methods to save her have failed¡­ except this one! And when Daphne heard about this news, she must have thought of getting it for her sister! She usually wouldn''t have been so impulsive, but it was probably her only shot!

    Axel recalled how excited she had been when she first told him about the Stone! She seemed much happier that day now that he thought about it. But he had been too busy and self-absorbed to notice that. On the other hand, she was the one worrying about him and now she was in danger because he hadn''t noticed it.

    ""Hahahahahaah¡­"" A dark chuckle was heard as a face became visible in the dark Silhouette.

    ""Rose Potter¡­ daughter of that mudblood¡­ we finally meet,""

    ****

    A.N.: It''s time bois! Next Chapter: The Revtion, Lily Potter

    POWERSTONES!!!! Please do send!

    Come read ahead and support me on *******! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 46: notification

Chapter 46: notification

    chapter iing. keep the stones ready

 Chapter 47: HEALED!!!!

    Chapter 47: HEALED!!!!

    A.N. Yep, it''s here.

    ....

    As soon as Martina entered her room, she fell into her bed, her head still ying the series of events that she''d just witnessed.

    ''It''s a mess,'' she concluded with all her genius. Her head was currently a mess with her thoughts going haywire. Too much had happened, all within a few minutes, and even when she thought she was ready, she realized that she was still terribly unprepared.

    With so many changes, she was a bit hopeful that nothing bad would happen this year. And she had also decided to not get involved. After all, she had already tried ying the hero in her previous life and that had gotten her killed.

    Thus, she had just spent the year not meddling and minding her own business. But... as it turned out, her inner self just couldn''t find peace doing nothing even after knowing that something was going to happen.

    That''s why, she found herself going towards the third-floor corridor anyway. If something was going to happen, it would be tonight. And as she had expected, things did happen. The only thing she didn''t expect was, how different things will be.

    As soon as she opened the door, she found Fluffy''s dead body lying on the floor.

    That was just the beginning though.

    The rest of the traps were destroyed as well and instead of Quirellmort, there was the most hated character in thest chamber, with a Horcrux of Voldemort around her neck and two tied-up girls.

    She couldn''t make sense of what was happening. Especially why there was Voldemort''s Horcrux here instead of his wraith.

    After that, she heard Voldemort say some confusing lines. Why would he say he''d grant Lily Potter an easy death? Is she not already dead?

    Ignoring all that, she was about to help out Rose but at that moment, to her surprise, there was a bright sh of Electricity and Umbridge fell to the floor.

    That sh of light gave Martina a strong feeling of Deja Vu for some reason.

    She realized that there might actually be someone else present in the room as well under Disillusionment.

    "But, why did that light seem so familiar...?"

    In her bedroom, Martina sighed as she sat up on her bed, giving up on trying to sleep. The surprises of the night didn''t end there.

    The biggest and nastiest surprise was when she saw a real Lethifold in person, an XXXXX creature.

    Upto now, very few people have actually managed to escape alive from a Lethifold and they''re so rare that very few people even know about them, let alone seeing one.

    Martina shivered recalling the appearance of the creature.

    Lethifolds are worst than Dementors. They eat their victims and are practically indestructible.

    And upon actually seeing one, she was extremely horrified even as she cast the Patronus. Because... unlike Dementors, a Patronus can''t really do much against a Lethifold.

    And as she''d expected, the Patronus wasn''t enough to deter it from eating its prey.

    But...just as she was about to lose hope, golden lines appeared out of thin air, as if someone was shing at it and the Lethifold actually took damage! The Lethifold let go of Daphne and Martina was already rejoicing. But...as if the invisible person had a Vendetta against the creature, it wasn''t allowed to flee as hundreds of thousands of shes were piled up on every part of its being... to the point that even Martina felt a bit sorry for the creature.

    In her bedroom, Martina dug out a book on dark creatures from her bag to research what exactly was that magic. The inner geek inside her was going crazy.

    After this, she will also have to research what exactly had happened with Rose when Voldemort attacked her. What was that turbulence and the crack in the space? This is going way off canon.

    Jeez! So much has happened, there''s no way anyone would be able to calm down after having so many surprises back to back, right?

    This was going to be a long night for Martina.

    ....

    Meanwhile, unaffected and unconcerned by the night''s events, Axel was currently in his most focused state as he strictly followed the steps of the recipe to make his Potion.

    Everything he''d done after knowing about the recipe was for this moment. And it''ll be worth a suicide if he failed NOW, after he''d ovee so many obstacles. Thus, whatever happened tonight would be thest thing he''d have on his mind right now.

    He continued making the Potion as he guided the tools using his magic, paying attention to every detail.

    Yeah, if he actually wants to, he can be quite good at Potion making. It needed loads of practice and time, but... he just couldn''t trust anyone but himself to make this recipe.

    Looking at it from a different perspective, he could have still gotten an Outstanding in the practical exam of Potions, but he''d have had to reveal his ability of controlling multiple objects at the same time. And, did he care enough to do that just for a better grade? Hell no.

    It took around two days for him to make the Potion. During this time, at times when he had nothing to do but wait, he''d also check out the information in his head that he got from the system.

    The information on the Nether World.

    Contrary to his expectations, turns out that the NetherWorld isn''t just somewlessnd filled with savage animals. In fact, it''s quite simr to Earth in some ways.

    Like Earth had Humans as its ruling intelligent species, the NetherWorld has a Race called the Dark Elves who rule the world.

    Or at least, they used to¡­

    After Voldemort appeared, the man somehow found a way to fix himself, and then, his rise to power began. He recruited creatures from all the races, corrupted dark Elves, and managed to build himself an army that began conquering everything.

    When it looked like the Dark Elves were going to lose, the Queen of Dark Elves, Icitra Giedendros gathered all the remaining Dark Elves who were still loyal to her and went into hiding.

    That''s all he got from the system. But, he can''t understand one thing: Why would the system give him all this information?

    Though he didn''t spend too much time thinking about it since he mostly focused on making the Potion.

    ¡­

    "So¡­ this is it, huh?" Axel murmured as he held a Potion Vial containing a dense Silver liquid.

    He''d done it. After so much hard work and waiting, it was finally time.

    And now that he was on the verge of being healed, he was beginning to have somest-minute thoughts that hadn''t urred to him until now.

    "System¡­ if this is a very powerful healing potion, will it heal my scars as well?" He asked with uncertainty.

    His whole body, unsurprisingly, was filled with a number of scars of all kinds that he''d gotten through various injuries throughout the years.

    [No, the area of the scars are considered healed. There''s nothing to heal there. If you want to remove the scars, then just cut open those areas. This time they''ll heal cleanly.]

    Axel sighed,

    "No thanks, I think I''ll just keep the scars,"

    Contrary to what one might expect, he didn''t actually want to lose them. They are a necessary reminder of what happens to the weak. They remind him of the times when he got them and what led to him getting them. They remind him of his mistakes. And if possible, he wanted to keep it that way.

    Do they look bad? Maybe, maybe not. But does he give a fuck? Hell no.

    Axel clenched and unclenched his fist several times, jumped up and down lightly on his toe, and performed several different light exercises in session.

    "Yup, I hate this," he muttered as he uncorked the bottle. Now that he had the cure ready in his hand, he could freely admit just how unbearable being this weak and crippled had been to him. And frankly, he wasn''t willing to stay like this a moment longer.

    Before taking the Potion, he first took a painkiller potion, then he took out his knife and peeled off the skin of the back of his hand with difficulty, erasing the scar he got from Umbridge. This one, he didn''t want to keep.

    "This had better work now," he muttered as he downed the contents of the bottle in one go.

    "Cough! Guh!...Cough!" He started coughing immediately and saw heating out of his mouth. The potion was so strong that it left a burning sensation as it went down his throat. Soon after, he fell unconscious.

    *Ding*

    When he finally did wake up, Axel felt as if he was in a dream.

    ???!!!

    Why does it feel like he''s in heaven? How can he feel so rxed?

    And the most surprising thing was¡­ there was no pain. And this made him realize that he''d been in pain for a whole year.

    [Pain Tolerance: 87%]

    Pain Tolerance doesn''t lessen his pain. No, not at all. It''s only an indicator of how much pain he can tolerate¡­ endure, without letting it affect his mental state or body functioning.

    And his pain tolerance had gotten so high that he''d gotten used to enduring all that pain without letting it affect his daily life.

    But¡­ Now that there was no pain, he felt quite surreal. He felt so light that he could fly.

    Axel decided to focus on the most important thing now.

    He slowly, ever so slowly, with all the hope and apprehension, looked down at his hands. They were covered in ck ash, but this time¡­ they weren''t trembling.

    They Weren''t Trembling And They Didn''t Hurt! Not At All!

    He finally clenched and unclenched his fist and his eyes in satisfaction as he realized just how effortless doing that felt, unlike before, when he had to struggle to even make it move!

    He didn''t even dare to pinch himself to confirm if this was a dream. If this was a dream, please let him stay a while longer before letting him wake up to the cruel reality.

    "I''m healed¡­" he murmured, wiping away the moisture from his eyes.

    "I''m actually healed!" He eximed jumping up, but¡­ he jumped so high he almost reached the ceiling!

    [Arcane Acrobatics:

    Progress: 19% -> 45%]

    "The hell?" He murmured even as a bunch of new information began to pour into his head.

    Looks like his body really was messed up badly, huh?

    He took out a knife and began twirling it in his hand like he used to. Right after which, he casually threw it as it got buried to the hilt in the Target Dummy''s skull.

    *Ding*

    *Ding*

    *Ding*

    [Knife Throwing:

    Progress¡­]

    Knife-Wielding:

    Progress:...]

    [Special Skill Unlocked.

    Magic Hands

    Progress: 3%]

    Axel ignored all the notifications. Right now, he was having just too much fun weing a precious part of himself that he thought he''d lost forever.

    He took out his wand which greeted him with multicolored sparks in celebration and it hummed excitedly. Even as he did that, notifications kepting to him of various skills increasing their proficiency.

    "Okay, let''s see," he muttered as he pointed his wand at the dummy ced at the far end of the room.

    "Expulso," he chanted, thinking of starting small, but¡ª

    *BAAM* *Booom*

    The spell hit the dummy so hard that it was sted straight into the wall, causing cracks to appear in the wall.

    *Humm*

    His wand hummed excitedly upon amplifying so much magic at once.

    *ding*

    *ding*

    More system notifications came.

    "Hah¡­ hahahah¡­ Hahahahaha¡­. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

    And, for the first time in a long long while, Axelughed freely as he felt himself breaking free from the invisible shackles that were holding him back.

    ****

    Just like this, the year at Hogwarts had passed with lots of events happening.

    Mysteriously enough, a certain Damien Malcolm found out that all of his possession had disappeared without a trace. While he was going mad with rage, the poor boy didn''t know that this was just a teaser of what was actually about toe.

    Also, rumors about how Rose Potter and Daphne Greengrass had had a confrontation with Voldemort and how they had managed to stop his return were spread throughout the school.

    Rose, who had recovered just after a day, managed to get Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup right after, and thus the house cup.

    Meanwhile, Daphne who was more injured of the two, had to stay a while longer in the Hospital wing. But lots of people also visited her as well and gave her gifts and treats since was also a hero who survived an encounter with Voldemort''s Lethifold.

    But, despite all the attention, Daphne didn''t feel happy at all. Because,

    1:She''d absolutely failed in getting the stone.

    2:The stone was now destroyed, as confirmed by Dumbledore, leaving no hope for Astoria and Axel to be healed. Her sister''s lifespan wouldn''t be extended and any chance she thought that it might help Axel with his condition had also got away.

    3:Axel, the person she wanted to see the most hadn''t even bothered visiting her during these days.

    Furthermore, she didn''t even see him on the train. But apparently, enough people had seen him to conclude that he wasn''t actually missing, just not willing to meet her.

    Daphne was sad throughout the summer as owls failed to Deliver letters to him and his Magi-mirror was switched off.

    She''d almost lost hope of their friendship, when mid-summer, out of nowhere, an anonymous package arrived, addressed to her name.

    It read¡ª

    "Here are the first clear words I''m writing with my own hands in a long while. Thanks for being my hands until now."

    Inside was.... a bottle containing a few drops of Silver Liquid with thebel: For Astoria.

    ¡ªEND OF VOL. 1¡ª

    ****

    VOL. 2: The Rise

    Prologue

    A woman with red hair walked through the corridors of a Grand Castle in a hurry.

    The woman could be considered quite beautiful, with emerald green eyes and red hair tied up in a bun. She was wearing a cloak that covered her whole body, only leaving her face exposed.

    As the woman walked by, guards in dark skin and ck Armor would Bow to her with reverence, even though the woman didn''t seem to acknowledge them.

    She took out her wand and opened a heavy pair of doors as she went into the room.

    "Icitra!" She called out as walked in.

    "Icitra! There was a dimensional disturbance! In the North of stropha. We need to check it out!"

    Inside the room, there was a chocte-skinned woman wielding two swords as she fought against multiple creatures. She wore no Armor or protection as her whole body was covered with a dark energy that she''d channel in her sword.

    This woman was tall, around 6''2, and with a well-proportioned body that was visible through her small garment that only covered her essentials.

    She had long pointed ears, and a perfectly symmetrical face with exquisite features but her eyes were fierce and her disposition was such that it''ll make anyone bend their knees in her presence.

    The woman, Icitra, finished off the creature as she sheathed her sword.

    "Lily, what exactly is a Dimensional-what-did-you-call-it? Is it important enough that I have to stop my training over it?" She asked with slight annoyance. Though from her behavior, it could be seen that she treated the other woman as her equal.

    Lily nodded her head urgently,

    "Yes, it is! It means that Voldemort might have seeded in opening a way back to the Mid World. Or maybe someone from the mid-world managed to connect to this world."

    Icitra tilted her head,

    "And that is important because...?"

    Lily sighed,

    "Because¡­ if Voldemort actually seeds in finding a way back into my world, it''ll be destroyed. And I can''t let that happen. Now, do you want to help me or not?"

    Icitra shook her head unwillingly,

    "I''d rather not, since it would only be beneficial to us if Voldemort focuses on another world. But¡ª" she sighed.

    "How can I deny you? When you are the only reason why we managed to survive this long..." she said as she began putting on her Armor.

    *****

    A.N.: Next Chapter: Daphne''s Reaction

    To read ahead and Support me, Come to P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

    (Change ¨¤ to a. Webnovel censors it if I use simple ''a'')

    Gimme P?W€?$T??€$!!! Let everyone know our superiority!

 Chapter 48: Its not the end, but a new beginning

    Chapter 48: It''s not the end, but a new beginning

    "Look, I''m telling you it''s him! I''m SURE it''s him!" Said Daphne impatiently.

    Evelyn sighed in exasperation,

    "And how you know that sweety? It''s unsigned, and you haven''t even seen his writing. Besides, I''ve tried examining it and the only conclusion I can reach is that it''s too powerful and can be harmful," she said rationally.

    With Cyrus''s death, the number of hungry eyes on their family had increased. So, this wouldn''t be the first time anyone tried to pull shady tricks on them. Besides, the Potion they''d received was rather... unique. Evelyn hadn''t ever seen it in her life. They couldn''t just blindly let Astoria try it as it might further aggravate her condition, or worse.

    While the two of them were arguing, they didn''t even see when Astoria hade skipping into the room to ask her sister to y.

    Astoria rolled her eyes when she saw her mother and sister arguing. There''s nothing new in that. She thinks it''s their way of showing their love to each other.

    ''What is that?''

    Her eyes caught sight of a very small vial of potion containing a shimmering silver liquid sitting at the table in the corner.

    ''So pretty!''

    Looking at the potion, she saw her name written on it.

    ''So, it''s this pretty potion today,'' she thought.

    Astoria has forgotten the number of times she''s tried new potions and procedures that were arranged to cure her. So, this wasn''t anything new to her. Quite habitually, she uncorked the bottle and drank it down with one gulp.

    "Coughcough! Cough!" As soon as she drank the potion, Astoria coughed violently as the vial slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor.

    While arguing Daphne and Evelyn were rmed to see Astoria coughing and the empty potion vial.

    "Astoria!"

    "Tory!"

    By the time they reached her, Astoria was already unconscious.

    Daphne began panicking,

    "NononononNO! Tory!"

    Evelyn quickly diagnosed Astoria.

    "Call the Healer! Now!"

    Daphne tried not to panic as she quickly fished out her Magi-mirror and call the Healer.

    At this moment, they heard a screeching sound from Astoria''s chest, rming both thedies further.

    !!!

    In the next moment, dark fumes began to rise out of Astoria, as if being forcefully expelled.

    The screeching slowly died down as the effects of the potion subsided, leaving Astoria covered in ashes.

    "Tory? Tory!" Called out Daphne as she tried shaking the unconscious Astoria.

    ...

    A few minutester Evelyn and Daphne waited anxiously as the healer, Mrs. Catlleberg diagnosed Astoria.

    The old witch with thick sses gasped as soon as she began running her diagnosis.

    "What in the world..." she muttered, looking shocked.

    Her surprise only seemed to intensify as the seconds passed and she ran different tests.

    "How is it?! Is she fine? What happened to her?" Asked Evelyn anxiously while Daphne sobbed uncontrobly.

    Mrs. Catlleberg stood up quicker than her old age should allow her.

    "What in the world did you give her, Evelyn?!"

    Evelyn shook her head,

    "I have no idea. How is her condition?!" she asked urgently.

    But the healer seemed equally anxious.

    "You don''t know?!" She repeated outrageously, "This thing managed to cure the incurable blood Malediction of the Greengrass family! How can you not know?!"

    Daphne''s teary eyes widened and Evelyn gasped.

    "C-Cured?"

    "What... did you say?"

    Both thedies were couldn''t believe what they heard.

    Mrs. Catlleberg realized that her duty ought toe first, no matter how groundbreaking this could be for the medical history.

    She patted the sleeping Astoria.

    "This little Missy here, ispletely healed. Her blood and organs are as good as new and the curse is nowhere to be found!" She revealed.

    "++++++++++"

    Daphne''s brain stopped working for a moment as she tried to make sure she didn''t hear it wrong. Her mom was in a simr state.

    All these years, all those times they''d cried when Astoria would smile through her pain. All that time they''d try to be happy while knowing that she wouldn''t live long...

    All that... can actually go away now?

    Evelyn tightly gripped the hands of the olddy.

    "Is...Is that true?! Mrs. Catlleberg, this matter¡ª" she began, but her old healer cut her off.

    "Merlin''s beard Evelyn, Of course it''s true! I know how important this is so I''m not cruel enough to lie about it. Not only your daughter is cured, but she''s bursting with vitality! Whatever you gave her must have cost you every single penny you have, if you paid a fair price," said the old witch reassuringly.

    But no matter how much they wanted to believe it, the mother and daughter pair were still having a hard timeing to terms with it. Especially since they didn''t even know what exactly they gave her.

    "Hm..."

    Though at this moment, the sleeping Astoria moaned a little as she slowly open her eyes and looked around.

    Astoria blinked repeatedly.

    "Mum... sister..." she said, her cute face scrunching up in confusion.

    "There is... no pain. How? Am I dreaming?"

    Before she could speak more, Astoria was hugged from both sides by Daphne and Evelyn whose happiness knew no bounds.

    "You''re healed, Tory! Healed! There''ll be no pain anymore... It''s gone!" said Daphne softly.

    ''Thanks to him,'' she added in her mind as the silhouette of a person came to her mind.

    She couldn''t wait to see him.

    Meanwhile, Mrs. Catlleberg sighed. This doesn''t seem the right time to ask about the potion.

    *******

    - a Monthter-

    *BOOOM*

    A loud explosion rang out as a number of men wearing skull masks chased a person in a dark hoodie, jeans, and sneakers.

    If this person didn''t have a mask on his face, one would be able to see that his expression was quite rxed despite the odds being stacked against him.

    "Kill Him!"

    "How did he get here?!"

    "Don''t let him get away!"

    "Looks like it''s the wrong address," muttered Axel as he saw multiple spells heading his way.

    -Pause-

    It seems like a bit of context is needed here.

    How did he end up in this situation?

    Good question. The answer will be a bit long.

    After getting healed, there was no limit to the things Axel could achieve in his life. The only thing that was going to be a problem was Voldemort. And the best way to handle Voldemort is supposed to be with the help of the pendant around his neck.

    So, this whole summer, he''d been trying to find the mysterious organization that had killed his parents so that he could get the information on this pendant. But much to his disappointment, he couldn''t find anything. Nothing. He''d tried everything, every source. He even found out that the ministry had also been trying and failing to locate this organization for years.

    So, when he saw several sus looking individuals wearing cloaks and masks entering and exiting this ce, he''d gotten a bit hopeful. After being healed, his confidence was on a different level so he got in gangster style. But, they turned out to be a different secret organization!

    Which is how, he found himself in the current situation where a number of spells were headed his way.

    -Resume-

    Under the onught, Axel remained calm as he smoothly activated his skills.

    [Arcane Footwork]

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Whisps of blue light started to swirl around his legs and his eyes under his mask started to glow.

    Under his glowing eyes, the spells seemed to slow down as he weaved his body through the volley of curses of all kinds at an incredible speed.

    "What the f¡ª"

    "How is he so fast?!"

    "No way!"

    The men were understandably surprised when the person they all attacked together person had miraculously survived the attacks. But they were in for more surprises.

    "My turn," muttered Axel as he pointed his wand at the ground in front of the men.

    [Erase Trace]

    "Bombarda!"

    Magic shot out of his wand with such a rush that the spell was shot like a bullet.

    KABOOOM!!!

    The result was a loud explosion, the shockwaves of which swept him back a few feet. Cold sweat ran down his back as he looked at the damage.

    "....Damn it. I still forget that I''m already healed," he mumbled to himself as he felt the huge drain in his magic.

    During the time he was crippled, he had to exert an insane amount of effort just to cast weak magic. And during that time, he''d also done other things to increase his output.

    If an ordinary person has to exert x effort to cast a spell, then he''d have to exert 100x effort to cast the same spell. And reaching that 100x amount would be considered impossible, if the caster wasn''t a freak like him. That''s why he was told he wouldn''t be able to cast magic when he got those injuries. And now that he''s healed, it''s like the limiters on his magic have been removed.

    And the result is the destruction spread out in front of him.

    Looking at the chaos he''d created, Axel shrugged his shoulders.

    "That''s what you get for trying to kill me," he muttered.

    *Snap*

    Just as he was about to leave the ce, a snap sounded as a person appeared at the far end of the room. Axel paused as he looked at the new figure. This person''s skull mask was golden unlike the silver masks of the other members. And, he also gave off different vibes than the few men who were chasing him just now.

    "A boss, huh?" Muttered Axel as he saw the other members rxing as if their saviour had arrived. Just as Axel was wondering if this guy would know anything about the other organization,

    [Axel, run.]

    Out of nowhere, a red alert came from the system.

    ?!?

    That managed to surprise the hell out of Axel. Thest time the system had given him a warning against a potential enemy, it was against Martina. And say what you will about her dorkiness, but she was one hell of a dangerous witch if she could casually blow off a magic-resistant troll''s head. Axel hadn''t thought that this group would actually turn out to have such a member.

    The person studied the situation as the coward members all hid behind him while reporting the situation. The man nodded as he fixed his gaze on Axel.

    "You... You can die now," he dered calmly his voiceing distorted through the mask as he raised his wand.

    !!!!

    "Fuck."

    Suddenly, goosebumps rose on Axel''s skin and he took the system''s warning seriously.

    [Light Armor]

    He activated his newly learned skill just in time to be surrounded by Darkness which had emerged from the ground.

    ''This cheater!'' Thought Axel in outrage as he saw theyer of flimsy golden light was going to be destroyed. The skill proficiency was too low!

    Activating all his stealth skills, he disappeared from the area, already appearing several meters away. He looked back, only to see that the area he was standing was covered in darkness.

    "Fuck indeed," he muttered as he fled the hell out of there. It''s not worth it to stay.

    ....

    Later that day, Axel sighed as he walked through the streets of London, quite far away from the crazy ce he''d been in.

    "What the fuck was that ce?" he asked as he grabbed a newspaper to check the news.

    [That was one of the ces where the wizard are being taught the ability to Wield and control dark magic.]

    Axel paused,

    "What the hell? Isn''t that bad?"

    [It is and it is not. But you can''t do much about it with your current power.] Informed the system.

    "Darn," Axel couldn''t deny the system''s words. That golden mask guy was fucking scary.

    "Looks like I got a bit ahead of myself," he mumbled, flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

    After getting healed, he''d gotten a bit reckless with the way he handled things. After all, what''s the use of being so powerful if he still has to sneak around? But the encounter with the man told him that he still had a long way to go.

    Anyways, the summer break is almost over and he couldn''t find anything about the organization in the end. And now there are only two options left for him: n B and C, both of which, he''d rather avoid.

    "What a waste,"

    It seems like he has wasted his whole summer on a useless endeavor when he could have spent more time training his magic or Legilimancy.

    ''Well, not aplete waste, at least,'' he relented, looking at an article in the newspaper he had been flipping through.

    It featured a case where a wealthy family of three was robbed clean of all of its possessions in one night, including everything they had in their bank ounts.

    "Spoiling your son to the point of making an orphan boy homeless just to satisfy your kid''s vanity..." he muttered, shaking his head. Axel wouldn''t argue whether they were morally correct or not. But... since the orphan kid they chose to antagonize was him... let''s just say this is not the first time they''re going to be robbed.

    He dumped the newspaper after checking the date on it. The holidays were almost over. It''s time he returned to Hogwarts.

    ....

    Lily Potter waved her wand around in a particr area while chanting different spells.

    "Lily, I don''t see how you can find anything here. Why don''t we just leave?" Asked Icitra, the chocte-skinned dark elf queen.

    Lily didn''t reply to her. Instead, she fell to her knees looking to be in shock.

    Icitra quickly rushed to her side.

    "Hey! What''s wrong?!"

    Lily slowly shook her head in regret.

    "This is bad..." she muttered, her breathing quickening as she lost her calm.

    "What is it?" Asked Icitra.

    "It''s my daughter. He somehow managed to reach her and that re-created the phenomenon that happened 12 years ago," she exined.

    Icitra sighed, once again not understanding the situation clearly.

    "Lily, you need to realize that everything may not be as obvious to others as they are to you,"

    Lily looked far into the distance her grip on her wand tightened.

    "It means that he now knows that he can use my daughter to open the portal to mid-world," she rified, making up her decision. The situation has gotten more urgent. So, she''ll have to take drastic actions.

    Light and Dark. Both types of magics exist on mid-world. If the darknesses from the Netherworld, the lightes from another. Voldemort wants to conquer all the three worlds. So, the other world can''t be allowed to stay out of the conflict forever.

    .....

    A.N.: The other worlds wouldn''te in the pictures untilter. The main focus would still be on exploring the wizarding world with snipets of information on the other two worlds.

    POWERSTONES!!!!

    Next chapter: Axel meets Daph

    Come read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    (remove space)

 Chapter 49: He returned everything?

    Chapter 49: He returned everything?

    With the start of the next term approaching, Axel had to go to the Diagon alley to buy some necessities.

    Last time, after he had left the shopping with Andromeda halfway after meeting Betrix, he was just a weak cripple with no support. Thus, he had simply bought lower quality and second-hand stuff, even skipping some things at the time to save as much as possible.

    That day was definitely his ck history. The two sisters were both quite the bitches.

    Andromeda was trying to use him as a test subject. Axel wasn''t particrly angry at her, but he definitely didn''t want anything to do with her.

    As for Betrix, that psycho bitch first had fun showing him the brutal reality, and then she also forcefully got the memories out of him. He''s going to have that bitch grovel at his feet while begging for forgiveness.

    That''s why, this summer, he had returned all the things he had received from the sisters. epting those things would mean he''s forgiven them.

    Since he was already using the space-extended purse and the clothes, he had sent the money for it instead. They were fucking expensive but since Damien Malcolm had been robbed clean at the end of the year, Axel was able to pay for them.

    Anyways, now that he was loaded, healed, and able to make money through many ways, he was going to get himself some better things.

    The first thing he did was to go to Gringotts.

    Axel looked at the white building in front of him. With the development of the Diagon Alley, the Goblins had to keep up in order to not be left behind. And, maybe because they had aplex about their heights, but Gringotts was still the tallest building in the Diagon Alley.

    A set of white stairs led up to a set of burnished bronze doors which were nked by a goblin in a uniform of scarlet and gold.

    As he entered, a few words caught his eyes.

    "Thief, you have been warned, beware

    Of finding more than treasure there."

    Axel smirked when he read the warning.

    ''Is that a challenge? Well, you''re on,'' he thought with a smirk. He had heard a lot about Gringotts'' treasures and security which had gotten him quite curious. So, for future reference, he activated his [Arcane Eyes].

    ''Damn¡­''

    He thought, looking at the magic around the ce. The goblins sure knew their Warding. Anyways, he was just checking so that it mighte in handy in the future. Deactivating the skill, he walked up to the teller.

    "Yes?" Asked the teller, looking up from his work.

    "I need to do some conversions."

    "Currency conversion can be done there," said the teller, directing him to a different Goblin.

    "What kind of conversion do you need?"

    "Bronze and Silver coins to Gold and tinum ones," informed Axel.

    The Goblin grunted, not even looking up from his work,

    "Put the knuts and sickles in here," he said, indicating a trolley.

    Looking at the trolley Axel shook his head.

    "I think I''ll need more trolleys for that..."

    ...

    In the end, the amount of sickles and knuts he''d collected turned out to be quite shocking. That''s why he got them converted in the first ce. After everything was counted, he found that he had around 6000 Galleon worth of coins which is quite a lot, but not too much of his ingredients expenses are taken into ount.

    "Still better than being broke," he muttered with a shrug. With his skills, he could have gotten a lot more than that. But he only swiped little to negligent amounts from the students so that they don''t even notice that there was a thief.

    To be honest, money is not really the problem now. The Slytherins were a bunch of fat cows waiting to be butchered. He could butcher them when he really needs money. The problem is not having any legitimate and legal and stable source of ie to use as a cover and it''s quite clear to a lot of people that he doesn''t have any family. So there''s no way to exin how he''s getting the money withouting to the conclusion that he''s Martina''s or some other rich girl''s toyboy.

    But oh well, it was not a big deal. He was sure he''ll figure something out.

    Now that he was properly loaded, Axel Axel went to the same hair salon he''d visited the previous time. After a year, he obviously needed a haircut, especially since he now has much better ways of hiding his face.

    "Sorry sir, but you need a reservation to enter this ce,"

    The Hairstylist, Paul was his name, didn''t recognize Axel at first. But then his eyes widened as he rubbed his eyes, looking at Axel in disbelief.

    "Merlin''s Goatee! Axel?! Look at you, young man!" He eximed.

    Axel was surprised the guy actually remembered his name. Following his words, Axel looked at himself.

    Well, all he can say is that he''s d that the clothes he had were self-lengthening. A year ago, he was just a short and skinny kid, who hadn''t gotten proper nutrition and body care for years. But due to the diet, exercises, potions, and whatnot, he was now quite tall for a 12-year-old, with leanpact muscles that were hidden behind his baggy outfit.

    Paul left the client he was attending to his worker as he approached Axel rather aggressively,

    "Just what did you do?! Merlin''s hair, look at those muscles!" he eximed, thumping Axel on his shoulders.

    And then he finally checked Axel''s hair. "Wait....What the fuck?!... How the fuck?!" He eximed, running his hands through Axel''s hair, confusing him.

    "What''s wrong?" Asked Axel, furrowing his brows.

    Paul shook his head, still looking like he couldn''t believe what he was seeing. He took Axel to a seat as he began to cut his hair.

    "Mate, I won''t even mention the body. Just tell me, how the hell did you suddenly get such perfect hair? It''s like¡­ they''ve been nourished with the most expensive material and all the damage has been removed!" He eximed, his eyes not leaving his hair.

    ???

    Did he change so much?

    Axel looked into the mirror as he actually looked at himself objectively. Compared to his previous self from one year ago, he did look like a different person. Aside from all those ingredients, exercises, and potions, there could be another reason as well.

    Axel recalled after taking the Healing Potion, he had changed further.

    ''System? Is there an exnation?''

    [Affirmative. Healing is not the only benefit of the potion. Since you took it in arger quantity than necessary, it also nourished your body and cleansed the impurities. Also, your lifespan has been increased to approximately 400 years. And Astoria got her lost lifespan back with the amount she consumed.]

    ???

    That managed to shock him properly. To make sure that he Healed properly, Axel had taken a generous amount of it, only saving a little for Astoria.

    Now Axel was feeling quite perplexed. He''d just gotten a few centuries'' worth more time in this world. He wasn''t quite sure what to feel about that. Currently, he was really loving his life. But he didn''t know how he''d feel after that long.

    ''Whatever, I''ll figure it out when the timees,'' he decided. Currently, his only problem seems to be the fact that his appearance might attract more attention. But that''s not a big deal, is it?

    ...

    After the haircut, Axel went on a shopping spree as he quickly bought all the things he needed for the next year along with ordering some new clothes.

    In the end, the only thing that was left were books. But...

    ''The fuck is happening here?''

    The bookstore had a freaking huge line in front of it, with hundreds of women jostling around, trying to get in.

    Apparently, Axel wasn''t the only one who found this situation odd since he could he hear other people talking about it as well.

    "Did you hear about the students exchange program this year?"

    "Yeah, I wonder what school it''ll be."

    "What''s all the fuss about in this store?"

    "Seriously mate, do you live in a cave? Gilderoy Lockhart is signing the copies of his new book."

    "Lockhart? That pansy guy who''s famous on Magi-hive?"

    "Yep, that''s him. He''s got a crazy huge fan following on Hooter and Magebook,"

    "Whatever, most of them are witches anyway."

    That''s all Axel could hear before he had moved on due to his seriousck of disinterest.

    [Presence Reduction]

    [True invisibility]

    With his skills activated, he casually cut the line and entered the bookstore.

    Outside seemed quite peacefulpared to the situation inside though. Witches and photographers were jostling each other to get a better view of Lockhart while two men were fighting on the side as Fred and Gorge Weasley cheered from the side.

    Yep, a mess.

    Axel had to shake his head at the situation. It doesn''t seem like he can civilly get his books any time soon.

    So, he decided to simply steal the books he needed. He was just about to leave when anothermotion attracted his attention.

    "Ladies and Gentleman! may I present you, Rose Potter!" said a man with wavy blond hair who must be Gilderoy Lockhart, forcefully dragging a very annoyed Rose Potter to the front of the cameras.

    A smirk appeared on Axel''s face,

    "Well, this could be interesting."

    "When young Rose here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, she only wanted to buy my autobiography¡ª"

    *Crack*

    And just as Axel had expected, in the next moment, a knee was delivered to Lockhart''s balls, viciously, making the man copse to the floor in a moaning heap.

    "OHHHHHHHH!"

    And thus, the ce became even more of a mess. Everyone was clicking pictures and recording while the fangirls rushed to help Lockhart.

    "What a creep," Rose muttered before storming off, making the crowd part way for her.

    Looking at the scene, Axel nodded to himself.

    "...That''s Rose alright," he muttered, getting out of the bookstore as he went to finish the rest of his shopping.

    He could already guess tomorrow''s headlines: The Girl-Who-Lived breaks Lockhart''s snitches. Fangirls expressing concern about the functioning of Lockhart''s Broomstick.

    Though thinking about it, Rose can''t really be faulted for her actions. After all, only a spineless or clueless person would let someone like Lockhart leech on your fame like that.

    ....

    1st Sept 1993

    Axel stood alone at the barrier of tform 9 and ?.

    It was time for the start of his next year at Hogwarts. And this year, is bound to bepletely different from his previous one. Last time, he was here as a weak cripple, filled with bitterness. But this time, he''s here as a powerful wizard, with enough abilities to handle himself. Just whoever they are, how many they are, they cane at him anytime.

    ''But still, let''s avoid trouble this year,'' he decided as he walked through the barrier, entering the tform. Too bad he wasn''t aware of the phenomenon called ''raising a g''.

    ''What the¡ª?!''

    As soon as he had crossed the barrier, he was literally jumped by someone.

    His body instinctively reacted as he sidestepped and tripped the person. By this time, his brain had long realized who it was so he caught the person right before she hit the floor.

    "Daphne, what the hell?!" He questioned as he quickly put away the knife which he had almost stabbed her with. He let go of her, letting her fall to the floor.

    Sitting up, Daphne turned around to look up at him to say something, but her words seemed to have gotten stuck in her throat as she looked at him, her pupils dting.

    At this moment, another girl jumped him, since he already knew who it was, he couldn''t trip or dodge and let her fall.

    Astoria hugged him tightly like a little ko.

    "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou¡ª"

    Axel sighed. What a way to begin a year.

    ¡­

    Bonus scene: ck Sisters

    It was a fine Sunday morning and both the sisters were discussing some new program that was being organized this year.

    "Do you think it''ll work? The schools are too different in their culture and magical arts." Asked Andromeda.

    Betrix shrugged, "Well, it had better work. The support of Hit-wizards of that country can be of great help."

    Andromeda looked at her sister for a moment. "But...why would we need support? Be, what are you not telling me?"

    Betrix looked at her sister innocently but didn''t say anything. After all, going against Antis, the most powerful magical country, isn''t a small matter at all. While she was still debating whether to tell her not, an owl post arrived, addressed to the two sisters.

    Andromeda looked at the package that they''d just received.

    "It''s from Axel!"

    Betrix, who waspletely disinterested moments ago, was suddenly beside Andromeda, already opening up the package.

    "What did he send us?!" Eximed Be, looking quite excited. Andromeda hadn''t seen her this happy in a long while.

    With child-like enthusiasm, Be opened the box, only to find that the box was a space extension charm and it was filled to with all the things they''d ever given to him.

    The smile immediately vanished from her face as she looked back at Andromeda.

    "He... sent everything back?"

    ....

    A.N.: Oh well, I forgot that the proper meeting was supposed to be in the next chapter. Add ck sisters to the mix as well.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Come read ahead on P¨¤treon! Support me in writing this piece of art.

    Patr /Snollygoster

    (remove space)

 Chapter 50: Like Father, like Son

    Chapter 50: Like Father, like Son

    ****

    Not far away from the barrier between the stations, two women stood on tform 9 and 3/4 under disillusionment, awaiting the arrival of a particr individual.

    One of them was Betrix ck, the minister of magic, who currently had a gaunt face as she waited for Axel. Magic power would burst out of her from time to time, almost blowing their cover.

    After knowing that Axel hadn''t used a single one of the precious herbs potions and medicines she''d sent with meticulous instructions of Andromeda on their use, Betrix could no longer stop herself from interfering.

    Upto now, while they couldn''t find a proper cure, she and Andromeda had sent many things that could have at least helped him with his pain and alleviate the trembling enough to a certain extent.

    So, it could be imagined how devastated she had been to find that he''d been suffering from a horrible amount of pain and difficulties every single day for this whole time just because of his hate for her.

    That''s why, Betrix and Andromeda had decided toe here against Axel''s strong wishes in an attempt to apologize once again and convince him to ept their help.

    "Who are the Greengrasses waiting for?" Muttered Andromeda, looking at the three witches who seemed to be waiting in anticipation. Their bright and cheerful moods were a stark contrastpared to the nervous and despondent atmosphere around the sisters.

    Betrix shrugged, "Couldn''t care less," she muttered, her eyes not leaving the barrier. She appreciated her sister''s attempt at distracting her from her self-me and self-loathing but she''d rather stay like this for now.

    Andromeda didn''t give up, "I heard Cissy got a new job..."

    Betrix frowned, "Don''t bring up the bitch."

    Andromeda sighed seemingly giving up as she turned back to wait for Axel, "I''m surprised he managed to achieve so much without using any of the potions and medicines I''d sent him. Did you see his exam reports?"

    Betrix knew that this was yet another attempt by Andromeda to distract her, but she still couldn''t stop a small proud smile to appear on her face.

    "An ''Outstanding'' in everything, even flying and dueling," she muttered, the magic around her calming down a little. "Even with such a massive handicap."

    "Except for Potions," added Andromeda.

    "Snape needs to be fired," said Betrix, her mood souring as she recalled that ''eptable''. The man is making Axel do practicals with his crippled hands. It would seem that she''ll have to cripple the bat''s hands and make him do Potions so that he understands his mistake.

    "I don''t understand why Dumbledore would even keep the man¡ª" Betrix was saying but she paused in her steps as she saw a familiar face appear from the partition. As soon as she saw him, her jaw dropped.

    "Tristan...?" She murmured, squinting her eyes. For a moment, she almost mistook him for Tristan. But of course, she knew it wasn''t him, it was Axel. The more youpare the two, the more different the two faces look.

    ''How did he change so much in just a year?'' She thought. This was her first time seeing him in person after a whole year. And she''d never expected him to have changed this much. Andromeda also had simr thoughts.

    They had been expecting the same skinny and small boy who would hide his trembling hands in his pockets as he tried not to attract attention. They were expecting a lonely boy who was in need of their help. But imagine their surprise when instead of that boy, they found a handsome and confident young man built like a warrior.

    In the next moment, they saw the two Greengrass daughters rushing the boy, surprising the two women.

    Betrix frowned as she heard the conversation, "Why would they thank him?" She murmured, finding this scene much too familiar.

    Andromeda, however, being a Master Healer had different priorities.

    "His hands¡­ Be¡­ look at his hands." She said in a shaky whisper.

    ....

    "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyoo!"

    Looking at the girl hanging onto him like a Ko, Axel sighed as he gently pulled her off and set her down.

    "It was no big deal," he shrugged, "It was just annoying seeing you putting up a facade all the time," he told the little girl honestly.

    Aside from the gratitude to Daphne and Evelyn, another reason for Axel to help out Astoria was because of this. Due to his experiences, he could easily tell that the girl was not as happy go lucky as she pretended to be. Far from it, she was quite mature for her age and arguably the most miserable among the family of three.

    So, after observing this, it was just a bit hard to let a sick, frail and miserable girl pretend like that while you have the power to help her.

    "!"

    Listening to his words, Astoria''s eyes widened as she looked up at him with surprise.

    Evelyn who was standing behind her, patted her head gently.

    "It broke my heart everyday to see her do that. You don''t know what you''ve done." she said, looking at him expressionlessly. It was clear that her lumency was having a hard time reigning in her emotions since she was trembling slightly.

    Axel felt a bit ufortable with that gaze. It felt like something was wrong here.

    "Well, as I said, it''s not a big deal. I just happened to have it so I shared it,'' he said dismissively. He was somewhat d he wasn''t alone with her right now. Who knows what kind of stunt she''d pull this time.

    He looked down to see Daphne still sitting on the ground, looking up at him a daze.

    "And how long are you nning to sit there?" He asked, offering her his hand.

    "Oh..." with a jerk, Daphne seemed to realize that she had forgotten to move while staring at Axel.

    He had definitely changed from thest time she''d seen him. He just looked even more perfect, if that was possible. Another change she noticed instantly was, he looked... happier... more rxed for some reason. The constant frown and annoyed look on his face was gone and his shoulders weren''t tense like before, like he was no longer carrying a huge weight.

    Over the summer, she''d been looking forward to meeting him, thinking about ways to thank him, and things she''d talk to him about, but... now that she was finally in front of him, she found herself unable to do anything but keep looking at him. She had this flip-flopping like feeling in her stomach and she was having a hard time forming a coherent thought.

    Taking his offered hand with slightly flushed cheeks, she got up when she noticed something.

    "Wait..." she said, feeling up his hand properly, her nervousness went away as the realization hit her. She observed that the calloused hand in her hands was very stable! That familiar trembling and twitching was gone.

    "Is... Is it true?... You''re actually fully healed?!" She asked as she held up his hand. She had, of course, considered this possibility after reading that letter but she had still found it a bit unreal.

    Axel smirked,

    "Healed?"

    He snapped his fingers as a knife appeared in his hand. With another movement, it spun around both of their hands before he made it disappear.

    "You can say that. Try to keep it a secret though. I''m still having you do my homework if that''s ok with you," he said, trying to retract his hand, but... in the next moment, Daphne had thrown her arms around him, making him freeze.

    "I''m so happy for you...," she said, her voiceing a bit muffled. Even if he didn''t show it, she was well aware just how much he hated being in that state.

    She had seen how he''d tense up everytime someone would mention the word ''cripple'', she had also seen how he''d sometimes just stare down at his trembling hands, as if willing them to be stable. She''d seen how hard he''d work, always having bag under his eyes and even working during the sses. So, even though it terrified her that he wouldn''t need her now that he was healed, she was indeed very happy for her friend.

    Axel stood there, frozen like a statue. Just like any other orphan, the concept of being hugged like this waspletely foreign for him. And it felt...fortable and ufortable at the same time.

    "Homework? Anything." He heard Daphne whisper. "I''ll do anything for you,"

    ...

    The ck sisters, who had been listening in on the whole conversation, were still in a state of shock even as they saw Axel boarding the train.

    "That''s Tristan''s son alright," said Betrix, shaking her head. She currently had her Magi-mirror out as she snapped Axel''s pictures one after another.

    The father son duo seemed to have some fate with saving Damsels in distress. Only, the son seems to have the potential to surpass the father.

    First he happens to kill the viinous man of the house and then he goes and heals the dying girl. At this point, he practically owns the House Greengrass.

    "He''s managed to heal himself AND Astoria. How?" Murmured Andromeda, finding herself unable to wrap her head around this. Two medical miracles one after another.

    Betrix nodded, "Not to mention he''s changed so much¡­ I don''t care how, but... I''m quite excited to see what he''ll do now that he''s healed," she said, finally feeling quite light after months. She was d that the boy wasn''t as lonely as he used to be and had the support of someone who wouldn''t betray him.

    Looking at Evelyn who was clicking away pictures as Axel and Daphne departed, Betrix felt a sense ofradery.

    ''Yep, no way this woman would betray Axel,'' she thought, being quite familiar with the look in Evelyn''s eyes. That was the look of a woman who had found her Liege.

    Betrix grinned. Turns out, they had something inmon. It looks like a chat with Regent Greengrass was in order. Who knows, they might actually be friends...

    With the knowledge that Axel will no longer be suffering, now she can work on her revenge on the organization in peace. It''s just there was dull ache in her heart knowing just how much he hates her.

    ¡­.

    Lily Potter stood in front of a giant magic circle, with hundreds if not thousands of runic arrays drawn in itsyers.

    "It''s not working... It''s not working!" She eximed in frustration.

    Icitra, who was lying on afortable seat on the side sat up while sighing, "Could you at least exin properly what you''re trying to do? Even though I''m not as much of a genius, but I still have a century of Ruling under my belt," she said as she walk to Lily''s side.

    Lily pressed her lips together into a line. The age difference still somehow manages to baffle her. Especially since this beautiful woman looks even younger than her.

    "Alright, let me break it down for you," she said, drawing a circle on the ground.

    "Finally," muttered Icitra with faux enthusiasm.

    "This is mid-world." said Lily, ignoring the taunt, tapping the circle. "It''s the ce I came from and the ce my daughter currently is. This world doesn''t have a magic of its own."

    She drew another circle on the side. "This is Nether World. The ce we''re currently in. This is where the dark magic originates from."

    After that she drew another circle on the other side of Mid-world such that the three worlds were now in a triangr formation.

    "And this... this is the Aether World, the ce where the light magic and even the normal magic originates from," she said, tapping the third circle.

    "The mid world doesn''t have magic of its own. But," She drew two lines, connecting the mid world with both the other worlds.

    "But it has special individuals who can draw magic from either of the worlds. They''re called witches and wizards."

    Icitra nodded, "So, you''re a witch?"

    Lily nodded, "Yeah, a very badass one," she said seriously.

    "Voldemort is also a wizard, though he''s now far more than that. Anyways," she said, pointing at the three worlds.

    "Usually, it''s impossible to travel between these worlds but as you can see, there are exceptions. The worlds can be connected if you have the right circumstances. Especially the mid world and NetherWorld."

    "But... the Aether World, that ce has mostly been sealed off from the other two worlds. Not much about it is known except for the fact that a wizard named Merlin from the Mid world had managed to get there and when he returned, he was the greatest in the Mid-world."

    Icitra nodded.

    "So, what are you trying to do?"

    Lily nodded. "I''m getting there. You see, Voldemort is a conqueror. He won''t settle untill he has all three worlds under his rule."

    She pointed at the connecting line between the Nether world and Mid world.

    "He is soon going to be able to seed in traveling between these two worlds. Once he does that, he will also be able to seed in traveling from Mid World to Aether World since it''s not that different. So,"

    Lily slowly connected the two circles which signified the NetherWorld and Aether World.

    "I''m trying to directly connect Aether World and Nether World for him, so that he stops paying attention to the mid world. Then we''ll be able to buy a some time in which we can ally ourselves with the Aether World and figure out a way to take down Voldemort. Or if we''re lucky, the Aether World might just crush him for us," she said, and Icitra had a guarded expression as she looked at Lily.

    "How do you know all this? And, are you not able to seed?" She asked.

    Lily shrugged, "Myte husband once had a friend. I don''t really remember his name... Crystal? Tristan? Whatever. Anyways, he was on the run and he thought he was going to die. So he left a lot of stolen research on this subject with us, so that they don''t get it back when he''s caught," Lily sighed.

    "That''s how I got the information. It was centuries of research all just handed over to me, and I was able to save my daughter." She exined. She was truly grateful to the man. He also had a son of Rose''s age whom they were talking about leaving at the Potter cottage since they had the Fidelius. Too bad Voldemort had attacked soon after, killing James and sending Lily here, not leaving the man that option. She still sometimes wonders if the man and his family were still alive.

    "And is there truly no way left for you to seed?" Asked Icitra.

    Lily shook her head, "There actually is. The notes extensively mention the existence of two objects. They''re called the keys. If I even had just one of them, I can pretty much do anything," she said with a shrug.

    "Too bad I don''t have them. So, I''ll have to search for alternatives."

    Icitra looked at Lily as she finally understood the whole n.

    "So...you''d put an entire world in danger... Just to save your daughter?" She asked with interest. The Aether World was just bing a coteral damage in this woman''s ns.

    Lily scoffed, "Hardly. NetherWorld has already been almost conquered. The other races have also surrendered or given up so he already has the Nether World. Also, there''s no way Mid-world can stop him. So, Aether World will have to fight Voldemort, sooner orter. I''m just hastening the process." she said as she sighed. At least that''s how she justified her actions. Maybe it was the dark magic affecting her, or maybe she was always a bit evi, but she knew... That for her daughter, she was willing to do anything.

    ....

    A.N.: Next Chapter: New Term, New Surprises.

    This year is going to be full of surprises. I''ve been nning and plotting, hence the dy.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    For Chads who want to read ahead and support me: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 51: New Term, New Surprises

    Chapter 51: New Term, New Surprises

    After bidding fairwell to a crying Astoria, Axel and Daphne began walking along the tform, looking for a less crowded ce to board the train.

    "Oh, by the way, congrattions for the exams!" said Daphne, her cheeks still flushed for some reason.

    "Oh... thanks," replied Axel, not at all concerned about the results.

    "I must have passed," he muttered. That''s all that matters.

    "Passed?" Daphne shook her head in exasperation. "Mr. Caveman, you did more than just that!" she said in annoyance, showing him the results that seemed to have been posted on Hogwarts Forums.

    "Damn...," muttered Axel, looking at the results. Looks like he overdid it a bit.

    Since he had quit his studies years ago, he had no idea how good he''ll have to do to get average ranking.

    Turns out, he had managed to get the highest scores in Dueling, History of Magic, and Charms.

    Rose was at the top in Transfiguration and flying while Daphne had the highest in Herbology and Potions.

    "Top of the ss in three subjects... you were the dark horse this year!" said Daphne, shaking her head in wonder as she looked at the scores.

    The curious students who had checked the Girl-Who-Lived''s results were surprised to see someone else getting the top marks in three subjects.

    Though it was understandable since even Daphne herself was surprised. She had never seen him ever studying any course material. Heck, even all of his homework was done by her. Thus, the forums had blown up with discussion, with everyone expressing their surprise and curiosity over the news.

    "Bye!" Waving a final goodbye, Daphne boarded the train with Axel.

    As Axel looked at the students mouring around in the Hogwarts Express, he couldn''t help but notice that something seemed different than thest time he was here. For one, it was a lot more noisy than it was thest time.

    "What''s all the hubbub about? Why does the atmosphere seem so different fromst year?" He asked Daphne as they searched for apartment.

    Daphne, who was looking quite excited herself, looked at him in confusion. "Duh, of course they''d be different. This year has so many different things happening. Lockhart aside, I think we''re going to learn a lot this year from the exchange program."

    "Oh¡­" muttered Axel with a nod.

    "Wait¡­." said Daphne, looking at him in resignation. "You have no idea what I''m talking about, do you?"

    "Nope." said Axel, getting into an emptypartment followed by Daphne.

    "Alright, Mr. Caveman. I''ll tell you," she said, shutting the door. "I don''t think you''ll be interested in other things. But the exchange program is something I think you''ll like."

    Axel raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

    Daphne nodded excitedly, "Yep, we''re having an exchange program with another magical school. They''re sending some of their students and teachers here to study and learn about our magical practices while also teaching us about theirs. There''s even going to be a few friendlypetitions as well, so everyone is just too eager to earn fame and prove Hogwarts superiority."

    Axel nodded in understanding, "Well, that would exin all the excitement," he muttered, looking at the students mouring about through theirpartment door.

    Daphne shook her head with a sigh at hisck of awareness, "Not all of it. Seriously, do you have no one to talk to? And why the fuck could I not contact you over the summer?"

    Axel shrugged as he took out his Magi-mirror and turned it on again, "I was busy,"

    He had turned it off two months ago when he was making his life saving potion and he hadn''t turned it on ever since. As for the owls? That was another matter altogether.

    "What about the owls? Why couldn''t they reach you?" She asked.

    "Well, I just blocked them."

    Daphne didn''t seem to understand, "Wait, that''s possible as well?"

    "Of course it is. If it wasn''t then there won''t be any criminal on the run. All you''d have to do is write a letter to the criminal and follow the owl," he said, making Daphne have an enlightened look on her face.

    "Fuck... I''d make a terrible criminal, won''t I?" she asked.

    Axel shrugged, "Well, it''s not exactlymon knowledge either."

    At least for themon people. Criminals need to have this knowledge. So he had also found out about it through the system.

    "Though, I wonder how the owls detect us..." said Daphne thoughtfully.

    Axel also didn''t know the answer.

    ''System? Can you tell me?''

    [Affirmative. The magical owls, though now used throughout the world, are a species which originated from Britain, from an owl which was Merlin''s familiar. All of this owl''s descendants are able to inherit it''s gift of sight, an ability that essentially allows them to find any person just by knowing their name. This is how the species of Magical owls came to be.]

    "Oh, you''re here!"

    While Axel was listening to the system, theirpartment door was slid open as Susan Bones invited herself in, followed by the rest of the golden gang.

    "Look! That''s her!"

    "Yeah! The Girl-Who-yed!"

    "Yeah man. I heard she might get scouted for a league team..."

    "She beat the Slytherins!"

    Students were quick to recognize her with her increasing fame. Rose quickly shut the door as soon as all the gang was in.

    "...."

    Upon having the peaceful atmosphere destroyed, Axel realised a bit toote that he should have drawn the blinds in the beginning. But Daphne seemed all too happy upon meeting her friends.

    After Daphne hugged all of them, they finally noticed Axel who was not too happy with their arrival as he lowered his presence and wodere if he should leave or not let theme in. After all, he didn''t get along well with them. But, since they were Daphne''s friends, he decided to just let it be.

    Hannah, who was the first one to notice him, let out a squeak as she hid behind Rose.

    ?!!

    Rose also jumped in surprise when she saw him, "You?!"

    Rose was having a great time since she was enjoying all the fame she was getting for something she did instead of the usual Girl-Who-Lived bullshit. But seeing Axel just soured her mood. She already hated him for various reasons., but he had given her two more reasons to hate him reason to hate him over the summer.

    First of all, when Daphne was injuredst time, he didn''t evene to visit. The poor girl seemed so sad during that time. And then she got even more annoyed when she saw the results.

    This guy had somehow managed to beat her in three subjects. Rose wouldn''t have minded if it was someone else, but why did it have to be him?

    Axel shrugged,

    "Yeah, me. Is that a problem?" He still hadn''t forgotten that this girl had tried to bully him using her fame in the beginning ofst year. Now that he was healed, he had a score to settle with her.

    "Axel?! Our Topper is here!" Eximed Susan, taking a closer look at him, "Blimey! Have you be more handsome?!" She asked, destroying the hostile atmosphere.

    Rose scoffed, "Cheater," she muttered, before settling down.

    Daphne frowned, "Rose, what is your problem with him?" While she and Rose were great friends, she wouldn''t just sit by if she behaves so unreasonably. This wasn''t even the first time she was witnessing Rose being hostile to Axel for no reason.

    Rose looked at Daphne in surprise,

    "You too? So even you are going to take his side now? Did you forget that you did all of his homeworkst year? And what did he do in return? He didn''t evene to see you while you were attacked by a freaking Lethifold!"

    Seriously, what kind of dark magic does he trap everyone in?!" She questioned. "It''s obvious that he cheated. How many times have you seen him in the library? I never did,"

    "I didn''t either!" Added Neville.

    Rose ignored him as she kept her attention on Daphne.

    "And don''t tell me you didn''t do all of his homework because I know you did." she ranted.

    Axel slowly stood up as he towered over Rose, making her take a step back unconsciously. He looked down at Rose, still looking quite calm, "Even if I cheated, what can you do about it? Just be grateful I left out some things for you," he said dismissively. His favorability of her was dropping to dangerous levels. If she didn''t stop being so annoying, she might have to suffer.

    ''I should have left earlier,'' he thought as he turned to leave. He didn''t want to actively antagonize these kids since they were Daphne''s friends.

    Rose didn''t say anything as she looked to the side, seemingly cowed. But Neville seemed to have grown a backbone.

    "Y-You are saying you left them for Rose to win? L-Like you can do better than Rose at those things with that crippled body?" He asked, looking at Axel''s hands which were still in his pockets out of habit. While Neville was nervous as he said that, he still knew that his father would be proud seeing him standing up for Rose.

    *Gasp*

    Hannah gasped in horror while Susan aimed a kick at Neville''s shin, making him yelp in pain.

    Meanwhile, Daphne looked at Neville coldly. These two Gryffindors would piss their pants if they knew Axel was already healed.

    Axel just gave a smile that was not a smile. If he had still been crippled, he might have taken offense, but as it was, the situation seemed quite amusing to him.

    He cast a disdainful look at Neville.

    "Simp," he muttered in disgust as he left thepartment. At this moment, Neville Longbottom wasn''t worthy enough to get his attention.

    "Ouch!" A stinging hex struck Neville on his fatbottom.

    "What was that for?!" He asked in indignation, his eyes watering from the pain as he looked back at Daphne.

    Daphne looked at him expressionlessly. "You''re lucky that''s all you got. Keep your stupid mouth shut in front of him from next time," she told him coldly before she also left thepartment.

    The four friends looked at the departing girl in shock.

    "She must have been really pissed,"mented Susan and no one disagreed.

    Because¡­the way she just spoke and that expression¡­ that was exactly the old Daphne before her father''s death, The ice princess.

    ¡­

    Axel walked out of thepartment to search for anotherpartment. The train''s horns sounded, causing him infinite irritation due to his misophonia.

    The sound meant the train was ready for departure, which meant that all thepartments should be filled by now.

    Seriously, if they weren''t Daphne''s friends he''d have kicked them out instead of leaving himself but he figured she''d like to hangout with her childhood friends more than him. He couldn''t have lowered his presence further either, or Daphne would know about his ability and his stealth abilities must remain absolutely secret. In the end, leaving by himself was the best option.

    As he walked through the corridor, looking into differentpartments, another pair of footsteps joined him in his search. Axel turned to look at Daphne in puzzlement.

    "Why are you here?"

    Daphne shrugged, "Need you even ask? I''d rather be with you."

    "If that''s ok with you," she added.

    Axel once again began to look forpartments. Though this time, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

    "Doesn''t look like there''s any emptypartment left. And those with space would have annoying people inside," observed Daphne as they walked. She had other friends but Axel wouldn''t like them one bit.

    Axel stopped in front of a particrpartment that everyone was purposefully avoiding.

    "This would have to do for today," he muttered.

    Daphne followed his gaze and froze for a moment as she saw Martina Valentino. Martina wasn''t alone though. There were also Hermione Granger and another cute girl with dirty blonde hair.

    "Wait! But you said you didn''t have any rtion with her?"

    Axel frowned.

    "I didn''t at the time. Though we''re on friendly terms now. Why do you ask?"

    "...." When did that happen? Axel epting they are on friendly terms is equivalent to being bosom buddies for normal people. That can''t be possible, right?

    Without giving her much time to think, Axel opened Martina''spartment door as he entered.

    "Sup?"

    "Axel?"

    Martina stood up in pleasant surprise. "You''ve¡­ changed...so much!" she muttered, observing him.

    "Yeah, that I have," Axel agreed, taking a seat.

    Martina then turned to Daphne as she smiled, "Heiress Greengrass. It''s good to see you again," she said politely.

    Daphne returned the courtesy, "Likewise, Princess Valentino," she said stiffly, still quite surprised at Axel who had casually entered without any knocking and sat down like he owned thepartment.

    Looking at the two girls, Axel frowned. ''What was up with these two? Why are they suddenly pretending to be all prim and proper?'' He wondered.

    Daphne usually curses like a gangster and purposefully ignores most of the rules. While Martina? He''d seen her scream like a little girl in front of a dementor, act like a little girl in front of her parents and fall like a little girl right in front of him. Both have pretty much forgotten formalities in front of him, so he found their act quite annoying.

    "You surprisingly don''t have a single wrackspurt infesting you. This train has lots of people who have loads." Came a dreamy voice, distracting him.

    Axel turned his head to look at the small girl with dirty blonde hair who''d been here.

    "What did you say?"

    Martina coughed, "Axel, meet my new friend, Luna Lovegood. She is a bit entric so you might not understand whatever she says," she told him as she turned to Luna.

    "Luna, this is Axel Hunt and this is Daphne Greengrass."

    Luna nodded. "You''re¡­ Axel Hunt?" She asked, looking at Axel with interest. "I''ve never seen you," she revealed. After that, she turned to Daphne. "Nice to meet you,"

    Axel agreed with Martina''s words.

    ''Yep, this girl was entric alright.''

    ¡­

    The rest of the train ride was peaceful. Martina and Daphne were still formal to each other and Axel had just decided to focus on continuing with his training.

    [Legilimency

    Stage 1

    Progress: 20%]

    Yep, after reaching the first stage of lumency, he''d unlocked Legilimency, the art of entering someone''s mind. He finds this skill really useful hence he''s been investing a lot of time in mastering it.

    They took the carriages to Hogwarts while Luna followed Hagrid to take the boats.

    As he went to sit at the familiar Slytherin table in the Great hall, he saw that the students who''d always turned away from him were now looking at him invitingly. Feeling weirded out, Axel ignored them as he went to sit at his staple corner seat. He looked at Draco, expecting to see the boy toe at him any time, but Axel found him sitting properly like a good little boy, trying to make polite conversation.

    Axel shrugged. He then looked at the professor''s table and frowned as he couldn''t find the professor he was looking for. Axel furrowed his brows in confusion. But since it was time for Sorting, he sealed his ears for the ceremony as he resumed his Legilimency training. By the time the Sorting was over and he unsealed his ears, he had a girl sitting beside him, looking at him curiously with her half asleep dreamy eyes.

    "This ce is infested with wrackspurts but you don''t have any. I was curious," she informed him as she looked around at the other Slytherin students.

    ????

    He looked at the girl whom Martina seemed to like very much and then looked at Martina who was already looking in his direction with a worried gaze.

    Axel sighed as he began taking out his food to eat. It would seem that another deration on the forums from the Mafia Princess was in order. He better not bully this little girl.

    "Why are you eating that?" Asked the girl. Luna seems to be her name.

    Axel began eating his extremely unsavory and expensive meal consistent of precious materials.

    "Because it makes me strong?"

    Luna surveyed him as she pressed his bicep which was as hard as rock. "You are indeed strong,"

    "But did you wash the ingredients properly? Daddy once wrote an article on the sicoscepts on terminite root."

    Axel paused. She had at least recognized one of the ingredients correctly. The girl didn''t stop talking to him the whole dinner until Dumbledore finally stood up, making Axel relieved.

    Dumbledore spread his hands wide in his ssic gesture.

    "Wee my dear Students, to another year at Hogwarts!"

    *Apuse*

    "But this year is going to be especially thrilling, informative and invigorating for us! Because this year, Hogwarts is holding an exchange program!"

    *CHEERS*

    Dumbledore raised his hand, silencing the crowd. "Now, some of you might be wondering, which school ising? And why specifically that school? All of your doubts will be cleared momentarily but I have a few other announcements to make first," he said, making the students disappointed.

    "First of all, Let us wee our new Defense against the dark arts professor, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy n¨¦ ck, who has graciously offered to teach the students in Professor Umbridge''s absence.

    There was a loud cheer for Mrs. Malfoy, and few whistles from the older students as well for the beautiful woman. But Professor Narcissa didn''t seem affected.

    "And for the next announcement, with a heavy heart I have to announce that Professor Jakub Gorski has had to leave due to an emergency¡­"

    "AWWWW"

    There was a collective protest andmentation at that news as no one seemed to be happy with that news. And the most depressed one was, of course, Axel.

    ''Fuck¡­there goes n B.'' he cursed.

    Of course, his n B to find out about the organization was to simply ask Gorski about it. For obvious reasons, it hadn''t been his first choice since he''d have to risk revealing that he knew about the organisation and that Jakub was a member. And he especially didn''t want to forcefully take out the information. But nevertheless, it was an easier alternative than thest n.

    Now, he only has n C left. This n was the easiest of the three ns, but also the most dangerous.

    Since he can''t find the organization, why not let the organization find him? Since even Gorski had already warned him that the Organization woulde after him once they see his name and appearance, he just has to spread his name far and wide enough that the organization would find out about him. And when theye, he''ll be waiting.

    Risky?

    Yes, it was fucking risky. But¡­

    Axel looked at the huge amount of SP that he had gotten after stealing the fake Philosopher''s stone and the system shop interface.

    When theye, he''ll be waiting, prepared.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    There were two polls after this chapter on P¨¤treon. Go check them out, I''ll made them public. One of the votes was on which school you want it to be? Another one is concerning Luna. The title is, ''How would you prefer your Luna?''

    Next chapter: The Exchange Program

    Come read ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

    Vote!!!????????

 Chapter 52: The Exchange Program

    Chapter 52: The Exchange Program

    ¡­.

    While Axel was busy in his thoughts, Dumbledore had arrived at the main topic.

    "And now, on to the main topic you''ve all been waiting for, the exchange program," he said, and the hall quietened down as everyone now paid more attention.

    There were hushed conversations as the students seemed to specte who it was going to be. Axel even heard some of them cing bets.

    "10 Galleons says it''s Livermorny. They have some really cool subjects."

    "You''re on. They have too many mudbloods in ''em. I bet it would be kohtzkorviz. They teach you dark magic as well,"

    "Shut up mate, it would be¡ª!"

    Dumbledore smiled, "I know there has been a great deal excitement of spection and even votes on the forums on who the School might be, since we had to keep it under wraps in case there was a change in ns. But now, it has been confirmed. The school that is going to being for the exchange program is, Mahoutokoro School of Ninshu and Jutsu!"

    Axel closed his ears in annoyance as the crowd loudly cheered while some also expressed their disappointment over the news.

    Dumbledore waited for a few moments for everyone to quieten before he spoke again, "Now, since the school has remained rtively closed off in the past, I suppose a brief overview of the school is in order,"

    "Mahoutokoro is one of the best schools of Magic in Japan. But, in terms of its education, it is quite differentpared to Hogwarts. Hogwarts trains wizards while Mahoutokoro trains Ninjas. While Hogwarts focuses on Spell casting, charms, hexes, transfiguration, enchanting, etcetera, Mahoutokoro is more oriented towards training their students inbat, physical and elemental magic, and other skills. The Ninjas trained from Mahoutokoro are bing increasingly popr as they are hired for various jobs and are really skilled at what they do.

    They have their own unique way of spell casting which is quite interesting but also equally difficult to use. And the education they receive is vastly differs from ours. Overall, both the schools have a lot to learn from each other and I hope we can get along with our foreign friends."

    There was a round of apuse after which Dumbledore spoke once again.

    "While they''re here, the schools are going to have a few friendlypetitions in a fewmon fields so that the students can learn from each other. And let me assure you, our Deputy Headmistress would not be pleased if you showed unsightly behavior," he said, looking at Mcgonagall who gave the students a stern look.

    "And neither will I." Dumbledore added as the air around him turned serious. "This is the first time in many years that a cross-continental cooperation between schools of different cultures is being organized without any prior rtions and precedents. The Magical Schools and governments from all over the world will be paying attention to it. If it ends with positive results, we might be opening up the doors to the cooperation and exchange between all major magical schools in the world. So, I sincerely hope you will conduct yourselves like a student worthy of Hogwarts'' reputation and bring honor to our School," he said, his words unconsciously making everyone straighten up.

    After, he began to go over misceneous stuff like the increased security and stuff but Axel was just too busy thinking about ways to attract the organization''s attention to listen to anything.

    He had almost zero to nil information on them so he didn''t know just how he could attract their attention.

    He can''t just advertise the fact that he has this cross-shaped pendant that the organization is looking for, can he? Nope, that''s just not the right way. Even if he wants them toe after him, he doesn''t want them to know that he actually has the pendant.

    It seems like the only way to attract their attention is to show his face to more people. Just like Gorski, surely someone else from the organization must also recognise his face andpare it to his father, right?

    But the question is... how? No one knows him outside Hogwarts. Until now, Axel has always focused on ways to draw the least attention, not the most attention. It was quite a bummer to him when he had still attracted a lot of attention at Hogwarts despite not wanting to.

    Speaking of which, the thing which got him famous at Hogwarts was... that scandal with Martina. Does he have to repeat something like that again?

    Axel sighed. Just the thought of that is making n D much more appealing.

    n D... yes he had a n D. But it was so bad that he didn''t even consider it untill now. It''s just that, Betrix ck knew his dad... so he thought, would she also know about the organization? But obviously, this was a very bad idea.

    After the students were dismissed, as Axel exited the great hall, someone called his name.

    "Axel!"

    ??

    Axel turned around to see Martina making her way over to him in a hurry, the crowd breaking out into hushed whispers as they looked at the two of them.

    "What is it?"

    Martina had a pleading look on her face as she looked at him, "Um... could I talk to you for a moment?" She asked, gesturing towards a broom closet.

    Axel frowned. This is quite an unreasonable request, but since she was quite amodating to him and Daphne at the train ride, he didn''t want to reject it.

    "Alright, but make it quick," he ordered as he followed her, not realizing that the crowd had gone bonkers behind him seeing the two of them going into a broom closet. Yep, his social skills werecking.

    "What did you want to talk about?" he asked as he entered the broom closet after her and closed the door, making everything go dark. Martina, who wasn''t prepared for the unexpected darkness inside, tripped due to a bucket.

    "Ahhh!"

    ''Damn it!'' Martina quickly got up and pulled her skirt back down. It was so dark, he shouldn''t have been able to see anything, right?

    Only Axel, who could see perfectly, sighed, "Have you got some kind of split personality?" He asked the girl. This was what? The third time she fell in front of him? Maybe fourth. He couldn''tpare this awkward girl with the calm andposed girl who acts like a dignified princess in front of others. And, what''s her deal with the color purple?

    Meanwhile, the students outside were beyond surprised to hear the noise followed by Martina''s moan.

    "Are they¡­ really going at it?"

    "Damn¡­ that guy¡­ with Martina Valentino?"

    ¡­.

    Inside, Martina used lumency to calm down.

    ''He didn''t see anything...he didn''t see anything¡­''

    Under different circumstances, she wouldn''t have been able to recover so quickly, but right now she wanted to talk about serious stuff. Taking out her wand, she quickly lit up the room and put some privacy charms after which she finally turned to face him in the dim lighting.

    "I''m sorry, again, for my ungainliness. But I wanted to talk to you about something important." she said, her face slightly flushed due to yet another embarrassing moment in front of him.

    "Go on."

    Martina looked at him with concern, "I just wanted to ask, has anyone tried to bother or bully you after my warning?"

    Axel tilted his head,

    "No¡­ I was just attacked once because some asshole was too jealous," he said with a shrug.

    Martina looked shocked, "Really? Who was it?" She asked, outraged as the things inside the cupboard started to shake.

    Axel thought about it. His revenge wasn''t done yet, not by a long shot, and he didn''t want to be suspicious when bad things happen to those assholes. So, he just shook his head, "No need, None of the Slytherins can touch me. Is that all you wanted to ask?"

    Martina looked at him, slightly astonished. Was this the same boy whom she saw limping through the corridors while shaking non-stop on the very first day?

    But now that she looked at him again, she was surprised just how much he had changed. He was now as tall as her, and his whole being seemed to radiate power and danger.

    She recalled how he had handled the troll and Dementors and how he had handled her brother. Yeah¡­ if it''s this guy, the Slytherins need to be the one to worry. But...

    Martina sighed.

    "No¡­ there something else," she revealed. She had never expected that Luna would get sorted into Slytherin. Just like Hermione, Luna was a beloved character from canon and she had decided to not let the poor girl be bullied like she was in the canon. But¡­ Now that she was sorted into Slytherin, it''s like throwing a sheep to a den of wolves. That''s why, she was here to ask for Axel''s help, the only good Slytherin she knows.

    "It''s about Luna. She is...slightly different from the normal girls. And I''m afraid she''ll be bullied in the dorms..."

    "So?"

    "So¡­ could you please look out for her? I just need you to inform me if you see her getting bullied," said Martina with a pleading look.

    Axel looked at her in puzzlement, "Are you two rted or something?"

    "Um...no?"

    "Then why are you going out of your way to help her?" In his case, it was understandable since it was her fault he was in trouble. But why is she helping Luna?

    "I¡­" Martina paused as a nostalgic look shed on her face..

    "I just feel like I''ve known her from my previous life," she said half truthfully.

    Axel gave her a weird nce. This seems quite a drag. But then, his hand went to his pocket where he kept the knife she gave. It was the first Christmas gift he''d gotten. He still hadn''t given her anything in return for this thing. After all, what could he give her that she can''t get by herself with just a word?

    Thus, Axel sighed.

    "Whatever, I''ll try."

    Martina was so happy that she hugged Axel. "Thanks!"

    "....It''s not a big deal,"

    Axel had an ufortable look on his face as he slowly pushed her away. Today is turning out to be a peculiar day. This is the third time he''s being thanked like this.

    His guard is lowering itself while his mind is thinking of weird things, like... how easy it would be for these girls to stab him in the back while they''re hugging him....

    ¡­..

    Later, while sitting in office, Dumbledore pondered over various thoughts while looking through the various policies spread out in front of him.

    The time for war is drawing nearer as the forces of the enemy are making their moves in the dark. Thus, he can''t afford to be passive either. The danger this time will not only threaten Britain, but the whole world. It is not only Voldemort they need to be worried about. It''s aplete dimension.

    Yes, the boundaries between the worlds are somehow loosening, so if someone didn''t prevent it, there is fair chance that the creatures from NetherWorld might invade earth. And that, can be apocalyptic.

    NetherWorld''s threat can be imagined just by the fact that the magical creatures on Earth didn''t originate from here, but the other two worlds. And over time, their bloodlines diluted and their powers weakened through the generations while they stayed on earth. The tales and myths of legendary magical dragons didn''t originate from earth, but from the other two worlds.

    So, all Dumbledore can now do is make preparations for the worse scenario by bringing the Magical countries of the world together to fight as one, all the while hoping it doesn''te to this.

    While doing that, he also has to pay attention to Rose''s safety. Which is why, he''s allowed Betrix to ce her aurors at Hogwarts.

    *Sigh*

    With a sigh, he popped a lemon drop in his mouth. Dumbledore was weary, oh so weary. He just hoped someone else could do this in his stead, but s, no one but him can be trusted with such a heavy responsibility.

    ...

    Andromeda looked at her sister who had been quite busy these days, "How did you even get the Organization''s information?"

    Betrix shrugged, "I just caught one of its members."

    Andromeda couldn''t believe it. "What the hell Really?" This was quite the shocking news. "How did you even get the information out of a member? Thest onemitted suicide before you could get anything."

    Betrix shrugged, "I learn from my mistakes. Anyways, I think Axel might be in danger."

    Andromeda was instantly worried. "What do we do?"

    Betrix thought, "Well, I''m already sending Aurors to the school for the exchange program. I can arrange for his protection as well."

    "Aurors?" Just the word reminded Andromeda of her daughter who was still on training. She sighed. Nymphadora, even though she looks cheerful on the outside, she''s changed after Ted''s torture.

    Betrix looked at her sister. At one nce, she could tell her thoughts. She thought about the security for the exchange program. Come to think of it, wasn''t the Auror force shortstaffed right now?

    ''Hm... something can be arranged.''

    A.N.: Next Chapter Title: Savage Axel

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Well, as for P¨¤treon, the month is about to end, so you might as well subscribe in the new month. Though for gigachads who won''t wait: /Snollygoster

    Vote!!! ????????

 Chapter 53: Savage Axel

    Chapter 53: Savage Axel

    A.N.: I made a typing error in the previous chapter. "Gilderoy Lockhart is teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and Narcissa Malfoy is teaching History of Magic". My fellow author friend pointed it out to me when I had him read this chapter. We usually go through each other''s chapters and discuss before posting.

    ***

    After his meeting with Martina, Axel went to the Slytherin dorms just to assess Luna''s situation. Besides, he has to keep showing his face there every now and then anyway, so that people don''t get suspicious.

    He entered just in time to see the yearly introduction begin. But this time, instead of ric Malcolm, a different person was sitting in the leader''s position. It was a beautiful bronze skinned girl who looked to be above 5th year who was sitting elegantly at the throne-like seat with her legs crossed. She had jet ck hair that flowed to her shoulder like a curtain and her electric blue eyes looked at the students present authoritatively.

    "Hello everyone," she said, her voice having an exotic ent to it, "I''m Patricia Afonso, the new Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and a sixth year Slytherin prefect. My father is a the newly appointed Brazilian Minister of Magic," she said, sounding rather bored. "And for those who care, yes I''m a pureblood. For at least this year, I''m assuming control of the Slytherin House, recing ric Malcolm, who did a rather poor job in his final year," she said matter of factly.

    There were voices of protest from various Slytherins who were loyal to ric, especially from Damien Ma and the group around him.

    Patricia raised a single eyebrow at the opposition. "Is there any basis for your objection? He lost us the Quidditch cup AND the house cupst year. Under his leadership, House Slytherin has turned into nothing but a bunch of bullies and viins. Does anyone of you know how many points we lostst year just because of you guys picking fights and breaking rules? We came at thest position, with the least number of points, ''even below Hufflepuff!'' Do you know how disgraceful that is?" She asked, and no one had any objection to that. The girl was spitting facts.

    "I don''t know about any of you, but I personally hate losing and losing so disgracefully. I had strayed far from leadership until now but I can''t let this continue. From today, I''m the captain of Quidditch team and the leader here. Does anyone have any objections?"

    There seemed to be none. Damien seemed quite tempted, but Axel knew he was too much of a snake to do anything openly when he was at such a disadvantage. Though, one student who looked to be in his third year raised his hand.

    Patricia nodded, "Good. Now that we have this out of the way let''s get to the main issue. Currently, all the other three houses see us as viins and losers because, well, we did break rules and we did lose the quidditch and house cup. Let me ask, are you guys...ok with that?"

    "No!"

    There were a few people who answered that instantly after while others also slowly voiced their approval.

    Patricia shook her head. "Lame. Are we all just a bunch of losers and bullies?!"

    "NO!"

    "Once again. ARE YOU LOSERS AND BULLIES?!"

    """NO!""""

    "DO YOU GUYS WANT TO CHANGE IT?!"

    """YES"""

    Patricia nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Then, let''s begin the Slytherin Redemption!" She said as she began to announce the new rules.

    "First of all, leave all the bloodstatus and family status crap out of here. The treatment you receive in this house will be solely based on the points and reputation your earn for the house. If you do well, you''ll be treated well and vice versa.

    Now, with that taken care of, the next thing on the list is Quidditch. Five out of the 7 yers on our team were 7th years and our brilliant captain Malcolm didn''t find it necessary to train any extras since he was going to leave and it was of no concern to him whether we are now left with an iplete team. So, Quidditch trials are going to be held this weekend. If you be a yer, you''ll get special privileges in the house."

    "Next, and the most important one." Patricia paused at this one as her blue eyes looked at everyone seriously. "You have to stop doing what you''ve been taught in the circlest year," she said sombrely.

    ?!

    That got a reaction out of everyone including Axel. There were voices of protest as well as surprise and agreement from the students.

    "I had quit a long time ago and you all need to do the same. Tell me, after learning what was taught to as, have you not noticed the effects? Are you not more¡­ vtile? More temperamental?"

    Several Slytherins had a look of realization while some remained unmoved.

    Looking at the girl still speaking, Axel sighed as he shook his head in pity. What this girl was trying to do was quite virtuous andudable. Too bad though, whether she realizes it or not, she''s going to have a difficult time due to it.

    Most of the students of house Slytherin had signed up for the dark magic course and now even if they know it''s harmful, some bastards are just too much of greedy sons of bitches to stop now. Due to that, they''re only going to get worse, even if the majoritye back to the right track. As for the Quidditch cup, now that she''s left with two yers, there''s a fat chance she''ll be able topete with other teams. To put it in a nutshell, she''ll be bringing positive effects but she''ll have to suffer the bacsh.

    ¡­

    The next day, Axel was going to sses for the first time with his healed body. He was in quite a good mood as he went to the great hall.

    Right now, his only problem is, how much of his ability should he reveal? It was quite aplicated matter. Staying lowkey has its benefits, but it also has its downsides. Like how Neville Longbottom of all people insulted him yesterday and he didn''t do anything. Besides, he hasn''t exactly been able to remain lowkey despite his best attempts due to his bad luck.

    Sitting at the breakfast table, he looked at the new year''s timetable. First he had Charms, then Potions and then Defence Against the Dark Arts.

    "Why do you not eat normal food?"

    Sitting in front of him was Luna, who looked a bit drowsy.

    Axel frowned.

    "Why are you still sitting with me? Did you not make any friends yet?" By now, the rest of the first years were already sitting in groups, so he figured she ought to be in one of those.

    Luna tilted her head, "I did. But they asked me to sit somewhere else," She said dreamily.

    Axel looked speechlessly at the girl. Did she really not realize or is she pretending not to? Whatever the case, Axel realized that it''s not going to be easy keeping this girl out of trouble.

    Axel reached the charms ss early and made to go straight to thest seat which, by now everyone knew, belonged to him. But, he found someone else sitting in his seat instead.

    "What''s up, Hunt?" Asked Draco, sitting on his seat with his friends surrounding him.

    "Malfoy, I''ve been in a good mood today. You better fuck off while itsts," said Axel expressionlessly. He had been in a good mood ever since he''d healed. He cherished every second he could spend with his body not feeling ufortable anywhere for the first time in years. Thus, he was a bit more tolerable to minor annoyances. But, that seat was the best location to sit for him and he ain''t a pushover who''d just give it up if an ant tries to im it.

    Malfoy got angry while his friends had a mixed reaction.

    "Draco, why don''t we sit at our usual ce?" Asked Pansy. She really liked Axel and didn''t want Draco to antagonize him. Though some like Crabbe and Goyle were just cracking their knuckles, trying to intimidate Axel.

    But Draco ignored Pansy as he smirked at Axel. "What''s up Hunt? Not so brazen anymore?" He asked smugly with his wand in his hand, looking overly confident.

    Axel sighed. Of course this guy wouldn''t listen. He knew that Dravo thought he had no reason to back down. He must have made some minor Progress over the summer and he must have also been super confident after having his mother as a Professor, but¡­

    "Look, you idiot," said Axel slowly, as if to make the idiot understand. "I know that you think you are hot stuff now after learning some new spell and mommy''s got your back, but¡­" he paused as he looked down at his hands. "But this is the worst moment to try and pick a fight with me." He said seriously.

    This really was the worst moment for people to be picking on Axel. With his body healed, he was just raring to flex his new power. His whole body was bursting with power and his decisions were quite quite reckless as he was still on the high of this newly gained power.

    The smirk faded from Malfoy''s face as he suddenly felt that this might not be a good idea. But as he remembered all the advantages he had, he once again forced a smirk, "Oh yeah? What will you do, huh? Did you forget about what Patricia saidst night? You''ll have to face the consequences if you try to attack me for just sitting on a seat," he said confidently.

    But suddenly, all the Slytherins felt a chill down their spin as they looked at Axel, who was just looking at Malfoy, his head slightly tilted to one side.

    Axel knew that Malfoy was right and that''s the reason why he hadn''t done anything. But¡­ does he really think Axel would give a fuck? Not at the moment at least.

    Axel had slowly began walking towards Malfoy until he was standing right beside him. Malfoy couldn''t do anything even as Axel lightly put a hand on his shoulder.

    "Malfoy, trust me, you want to fuck off now¡­ before I make you give your own wand another blowjob."

    "....!...." Looking at Axel Malfoy paled as he felt goosebumps rising on his arms. He found himself instinctively backing away as he felt the same fear that he felt during their dueling match, right before Axel had burned his mouth by shoving in his wand.

    He heard sounds of sniggering and found that ze Zabini and Theodore Knott wereughing at the blowjobment.

    "That one right there was a vition, mate," said Theodore between chuckles.

    Even Pansy and Millicent were covering their mouths at Axel''s savage reply to Draco.

    Seeing this made Draco forget his fear due to the rage he felt.

    "You cripple¡ª" He eximed as he pointed his wand straight at Axel, ready to curse the bastard. But instead, he found out that his hand was empty.

    "You''ve done it now," muttered Axel. What''s with these ants calling him a cripple? Yesterday it was that Neville and today its this guy. Do they think that he''s scared of their mommy or something? Do they think he''s a pushover? Why do people like Malcolm even dare to attack him?

    That''s right. Because he has indeed been acting like a pushover. He hasn''t yet shown anyone even a little bit of what he''s capable of right now. Why has he been so passive? Because he wanted to stay out of trouble. But if trouble is stilling his way anyway, and he''s facing annoyances anyway, then¡ª

    "Why not simply do whatever I want?" he wondered as he gripped Malfoy by his hair. "Getting into trouble is much better than being insulted by ants," he decided.

    In the next moment, the wand he''d snatched had been returned to its rightful ce, Draco''s mouth, after which Axel lift Draco off his seat and threw him across the ss under everyone''s shocked gazes.

    Malfoy might have been fine with just that. Too bad two bulky bodies of Crabbe and Goyle followed right after,nding on top of him,pletely ttening him to the ground.

    *Crick* *Crack*

    ****

    A.N.: Ah¡­ that ought to have hurt. The skills, ingredients, potions and exercises are no joke.

    Next Chapter: Savage Axel Strikes Again

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Come read ahead and support me in the new month! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 54: Notification

Chapter 54: Notification

    There''ll be a chapter in a few hours. I''ll need those Powerstones before they''re gone elsewhere. I''ll post as soon as I''vepleted the P¨¤treontest chapter fight scene.

 Chapter 55: Notification

    Chapter 55: Notification

    There''s a chapter tonight. It''ll take a few hours toplete thetest chapter on P¨¤treon, but there''s a chapter today in let''s say like 6 hours, I guess. Just putting it out there so that the POWERSTONES don''t go elsewhere.

    (Also, the sites who are currently pirating this fic, don''t copy these notifications, guys. They''re only meant for Webnovel readers??. I delete them after posting the chapter but you guys don''t.)

 Chapter 56: Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro

    Chapter 56: Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro

    "No. You can''t just do or say whatever you like, Luna. You can''t say things that people can''t understand or find wierd. You should try to be normal, to blend in." Exined Daphne, her expression already a bit troubled and tired.

    Luna slightly tilted her head in confusion, "But, why would I need to do that? I like to do things that I like."

    Daphne shook her head, "But then you wouldn''t be able to make friends," she stated, a bit exasperated. How long had this been going on?

    Luna smiled. "But don''t I already have friends?"

    "You do?"

    Luna gave her a puzzled look, "Aren''t you my friend?"

    "I¡ª" looking into the pure eyes of the girl, Daphne couldn''t bear to deny it. "I meant in House Slytherin," she rified.

    "But I have Axel there."

    "No you don''t!" Daphne snapped.

    "??? I... I don''t?"

    ''Damn it!'' thought Daphne. The words had left her mouth before she could stop herself but she regretted it when she saw the innocent girl looking at her cluelessly.

    Daphne got up. "Alright, we''ll talkter," saying so, she left before the girl could make her more frustrated.

    Daphne sighed. What the hell was she thinking, promising Axel that she''ll help this girl make a lot of friends with so much confidence?

    ''Thinking?!''

    Oh right. She wasn''t thinking at all. At least not anything remotely rational. Daphne sighed again. What was wrong with her these days?!

    Every time when ites to Axel, she finds herself acting like an idiot and taking impulsive actions. Her thoughts aren''t rational and she finds it difficult to look him in the eyes. And then there''s the damn heartbeat. It increases to such levels that it makes her fear he''ll hear it.

    ''Is it really what I think it is?'' She thought helplessly. It''s not like she''s dense or ignorant. She knows what the most likely reason for this is. And it''s not a surprise really. Axel was her Achilles heel. The moment she got curious, it was already game over for her. But¡­

    But, it''s quite an unfortunate thing to happen to her.

    Just being friends with that guy was as difficult as taming a unicorn. She can''t fathom how she can reach past that stage.

    ''It''s impossible¡­'' she thought. Not with him pushing away everyone when they try to get close.

    Nope, she''d rather stay in denial and hope this was just one of those things in life that you want, but can never achieve. Like being reborn, or traveling to a different world. It''ll most likely pass over, right? Or maybe not?

    ¡­.

    As the days passed, Hogwarts was abuzz with activity. Since it''s going to be having guests, preparations had to be made.

    The House elves worked overtime to clean up the castle while students were educated about the basics of the Japanese culture, and a portal was being set up near the Quidditch pitch, at the usual Portkey Location.

    With all the preparations being taken care of, there were only a few matters which needed to be settled before Hogwarts would be prepared to host the neers.

    The day before the arrival of the guests, before dinner, Dumbledore stood at the podium in the Great Hall, with all the students gathered.

    "I hope everyone is here as I have a few announcements to make," said Dumbledore, gathering everyone''s attention.

    "As everyone is aware, tomorrow is the day when the delegation from Mahoutokoro will be arriving, and our preparations are almostplete. In regards to this event, there are a few issues which I''m going to address now. First is, thenguage barrier." he said, and the students got curious. No one here knows Japanese and neither would most of them know English. How would theymunicate?

    Dumbledore smiled, "This is also one of the main reasons why cooperations like this were not usually supported. How would wemunicate? With English being the universalnguage, many people throughout the world are able to speak it, but many non-natives still don''t know thenguage. Would the teachers who areing be able to teach you properly in a non-nativenguage? Would the students who areing to learn from our teachers be able to understand? How are the students between the two schools supposed tomunicate? These are themon questions that have frequently arisen."

    Many students only realized this issue now while some had already thought about it. Some already knew the solution while some were clueless. As Dumbledore paused, a mild discussion started between the students.

    Dumbledore smiled reassuringly as he spread his hands.

    "But now, I am delighted to assure you that, with the development of magical technology, it is no longer an issue." He made a go-on gesture and the prefects of each house began distributing something to every student in their respective houses.

    Being the closest to the corner, Axel was among the first ones to get it. Axel looked at the pendant-like object in his hand with curiosity but he could already hear the students.

    "The Trantion Amulet? nice!"

    "Oh, so that is the trantion Amulet? It''s my first time seeing one in person."

    "How would you have seen it before? You''ve most likely never travelled out of Britain, why would you even need it?

    "So, it''s like this...."

    Smiling, Dumbledore continued, "Yes, for those who do not know, these are the trantion Amulets that would help you understand any Japanese you hear. Quite an ingenious little invention, especially since it can be mass produced without much difficulty. Ever since their invention, they''ve be quite popr in the ICW and other international meetings."

    The students all stared at their Amulets excitedly. Meanwhile, when Martina looked at hers, she could already tell how it was made.

    "Elder Futhark runes to make the information storage and Celtic ones to make converter and an ''Understading''. This is alright, but the runes are machine inscribed, so won''t work for as long, and material is not good, temporary unbreakable charm, can only convert Japanese to English.... a cheap knockoff of the one I designed," she murmured, already analyzing everything. Legally speaking, she could sue thispany since she owned the patent, but they, the Valentino''s were already drowning in money and there was nothing groundbreaking in this invention so she decided to just let it rest and focus on what Dumbledore was saying instead.

    "Students are requested to keep their Amulets secure. In case of it being damaged or lost, getting a recement will be difficult and the one who damages them will have to pay forpensation," said Dumbledore seriously.

    "Moving on, in Quidditch, aside from the usual matches, there will be one more match that will be yed: Hogwarts V/s Mahoutokoro."

    "What?"

    "Really?!"

    "Yeah!!!"

    This made everyone excited. Instead ofpeting between Houses, they''d bepeting with a different school. This time, they can indisputably support one team!

    Dumbledore smiled at the students'' enthusiasm, "So the main question that arises is, how will the members be chosen?" The old man raised a valid question. Who would be the members?

    "Every yer would demand a spot in that team, and there are differing opinions on who is better suited to be on the team. And then, when the members of different houses form a team, would they be able to y in Harmony? In lieu of such conflicts, we have opted to choose a simple solution: the house team that wins the Interhouse Championship, will get the opportunity to represent Hogwarts in the uing match between the schools. May the best team win," said Dumbledore, subtly ncing towards the Gryffindor table at the end of his sentence with slight amusement.

    *CHEEERS*

    There was a loud cheer as three of the four houses cheered, hoping they might be able to win and represent Hogwarts while the Slytherins didn''t look so happy.

    Hearing all the noise, Martina just shook her head. She could already tell that the main aim of Dumbledore was to have Gryffindor, or rather Rose Potter win this thing. With the Slytherin team in shambles and the other Houses inferior to the Gryffindor''s current team, Gryffindor will most likely win this thing. With this he has atleast made sure that none of the yers from the Slytherin team can enter.

    When the noise subsided, Dumbledore continued,

    "Now, the next issue that needs to be addressed. Since the exchange program is such an unprecedented and important event, the security needs to be bolstered. Hence, Aurors would be stationed here at Hogwarts starting from tomorrow to keep an eye on things and make sure nothing untoward happens and causes an international issue. Students are requested to follow their security measures and lessen their burdens. That will be all. Now, you can start filling up your bellies. I shan''t keep you any longer," said Dumbledore with a smile as he left the podium.

    With Dumbledore''s announcements, everyone was now excited. Some were discussing about Quidditch,paring the different house teams and how they could win, while some were ying with their newly obtained Amulets. Axel on the other hand, was just minding his own business, eating his boiled and tasteless food.

    ?..?

    But suddenly, Axel felt goosebumps all over for some reason.

    Patricia looked at Axel with a half crazed/half desperate look. With the stakes risen so high, Axel was the only chance that the Slytherin team had of making it to the finals. She had to recruit him, no matter what.

    ¡­

    12 Grimmauld ce.

    The two ck sisters were in the kitchen, doing what they do best. Andromeda was cooking while Betrix was eating.

    Betrix sighed, "It''s been crazy busy. Truly."

    Andromeda smiled, "I can imagine. But it''s going to be quite beneficial for Britain."

    Betrix shook her head, "That''s not why I''m doing this." Sure it was good for Britain, but that wasn''t her main goal.

    Andromeda furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why? Be, tell me already."

    Betrix just shook her head. "I have to increase our power and influence quickly. Ninjas are good hit wizards, but they don''t ept requests from just anyone. With this, we''ll be able to hire them with much more ease."

    Andromeda stopped in action as she realized something. "You¡­ you actually found some clues, didn''t you?"

    Betrix nodded seriously, "It''s tricky, but yes. Basically, our suspicions were correct. The organization is indeed from ''that'' ce."

    Antis...

    The most powerful and mysterious magical country. A country that''s always been closed off to the outsiders. It neither interferes with the outside world, nor does it let the outside world interfere with it.

    Andromeda sighed regretfully, "No wonder."

    It all makes sense now. No wonder they couldn''t find it for all this while. Turns out, they were hiding in that country! It also exins why they couldn''t find anything about Axel''s parents'' past. Axel... was an Antian.

    But, that''s not what''s important right now. Andromeda''s looked at Betrix seriously.

    "Be, if this is indeed the case, then it is going to be much more difficult than a simple revenge. The organization is dangerous. You can''t take any rash actions,"

    Betrix took a sip of her wine, "I know."

    BAM!

    At this moment, the door was flung open, as if someone had kicked it and the two rmed women heard a familiar voice, "I''m back, bitches!"

    "...." X2

    Betrix and Andromeda remained motionless as the intruder made their way into the kitchen.

    "Blimey! I''ve always wanted to do that," said Nymphadora Tonks as she grinned at the two women.

    "Nymphadora?" Andromeda whispered in a daze.

    Andromeda was still surprised while Betrix was exasperated at the dramatic entry.

    "Did you catch the ck madness while you were away, Nymphadora?" Asked Betrix, not the least bit surprised by her arrival. She just wanted to give her sister a surprise.

    Nymphadora''s grin turned into a pout, "ck madness? That''s riching from you, Aunty Be. And when will you stop calling me by that name?" she said even as she made her way to her mother who had already abandoned the cooking to hug her daughter.

    "Howe you''re back?" Asked Andromeda, hugging Nymphadora tightly. Her daughter has been on Auror Training for more than one and a half years. Itsts for around three years and the trainees aren''t allowed to leave before that. Calls are allowed, but it''s been a long time since the mother and daughter saw each other in person.

    "It''s all thanks to Aunty Betrix. Since Hogwarts needs a lot of security and manpower right now, they''ve also decided to discharge some trainees to let them get some experience. It''s part of the training."

    While hugging Nymphadora, Andromeda looked gratefully at her sister. Betrix just shrugged. "Don''t look at me like that. There was just a shortage in manpower."

    "Aww, Aunty Be is such a big softy," said Nymphadora as she dragged Betrix into the hug as well, turning into a three way hug.

    After the three women had hugged her enough, Betrix coughed, "Listen up now. There''s a personal mission I''m giving you."

    ...

    A.N.: Next chapter title: Arrival

    POWERSTONES!!!

    You can read ahead and support me here: /Snollygoster

    leave a VOTE or COMMENT! ????????

 Chapter 57: Notification

Chapter 57: Notification

    A chapter ising in a few hours. Drop the POWERSTONES before they are finished. ????????????

 Chapter 58: Elemental Affinity

    Chapter 58: Elemental Affinity

    "Hahaha¡ªargh¡­ Damn¡­" Axel identally charred his mouth a bit in the excitement. Thankfully, his intent just now was non-existent and he hadn''t used any incantation either. So, only a little amount of mes were produced which went out unnoticed since everyone was looking at the spectacle in the sky.

    "Man, I got too excited," he muttered, drinking some water. He was so eager to try it out that he forwent the safety precautions.

    [Magic Hands:

    Proficiency: 15% -> 16%]

    [You have unlocked: Fire Affinity.

    Current Affinity: 4%]

    Damn...

    What the heck is this?

    After the mes of the dragon and Phoenix faded, everyone apuded.

    "May we have a happy cooperation," said Dumbledore with a smile as he shook hands with Yamazaki Hiroshi, the foreign principal.

    Everyone went to the great hall with the foreigners still looking around curiously. The Senseis sat at the head table while the Nins were allowed to sit wherever they liked.

    "Here!"

    "Come to Gryffindor!"

    "No! Hufflepuff!"

    "You''re wee at Ravenw!"

    "Slytherin!"

    The students began mouring to invite the foreigners to their tables.

    At this moment, most of the nins split into two groups. One group seemed to follow a tall, handsome boy with spiky ck hair and yful temperament. His forehead protector had a wind symbol on it. The other group followed a girl with auburn hair. She had a cute, serious face but a voluptuous body.

    The girl went to the Gryffindor table to sit beside Rose Potter with the group following her also going to the Gryffindor table. The guy on the other hand, went to the Ravenw table right up to Martina.

    "Can I sit here?"

    Martina turned her head to look at the guy who was asking for her permission to sit. Even though she was slightly ufortable, she just gave a single nod. This wasn''t the first time people were bothering her and it won''t be thest. She just went back to reading the book she had opened in her Magi-mirror.

    "I''m Endo Yuji. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

    Martina nodded. "I''m Martina Valentino." Just like how everyone at Hogwarts was given an English to Japanese Amulet, everyone from Mahoutokoro was given a Japanese to English Amulet, so there was no problem inmunication.

    The guy nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I''ve heard a lot about you! You''re that genius who''s invented a bunch of things right?"

    Oh, another fan. Martina nodded.

    "So, what are you reading right now? Which subject is it? I might not even understand it but I''m still curious," asked Endo with a smile.

    Martina looked back at the guy in bewilderment. "It''s a fantasy novel."

    "...." Right, can''t genius simply read fantasy novels?

    At this moment, someone else spoke up, "Endo Yuji, right? I''ve heard about you. You''ve y Quidditch in Major Leagues, right?

    "....Yeah."

    After that, Endo was forcefully engaged in various conversations with other Ravenws, not giving him a chance to disturb Martina further. The girl was strongly treasure/guarded/worshipped by the Ravens.

    After everyone was seated, Dumbledore went to the podium. "I''d like to begin by offering a very earnest wee to our guests from Mahoutokoro. I wish you have an enlightening, educative, and salubrious stay."

    There was a sound apuse for that after which he continued, "Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro are two of the best magical schools in the world. But, what''s more interesting is that, the teaching methods of both the schools vastly differ from one another. Both the schools produces elites, but they have their weaknesses.

    The students from Hogwarts can''tpete with Mahoutokoro inbat, stealth, physical magic and so on while the students from Mahoutokoro, can''tpete with Hogwarts in the fields like Enchanting, transfiguration, charms, etcetera.

    So, when Principal Yamazaki here and I happened to be in contact with each other after a long time, we thought, why notbine our strength, and produce elites...who have no weaknesses?

    And that my dear students, is how this cooperation came to be. From now on, the curriculum of both the schools will have slight changes, with new subjects being added to the mix. I hope you not waste this opportunity and learn what is being taught with an open mind," he said, finishing his speech under the thunderous apuse.

    Dishes then appeared on the table, this time with various Japanese dishes mixed in. Apart from a certain someone who was eating boiled tasteless meal, everyone else enjoyed the meal.

    While the weing feast began, the students were also given their new time tables which made them gasp and even cause somewhat of a smallmotion.

    "The heck? It''s starts from 7 in the morning?!"

    "Mate, stop messing around, I go to sleep at 5."

    "Physical Training? What do we need this for?"

    "Well, I have no problems with this. I''m quite fit due to Quidditch."

    "But then it''s a stealth ss. Wonder what that''ll entail."

    "The most exciting is the Hand Seal magic ss. Can you imagine? Wandless magic!"

    "But... so many sses? How are we supposed to do this?"

    After the feast was over, Dumbledore made several announcements to sooth the students.

    "Since the number of sses have increased, you are hereby absolved of a majority of the grueling homework that takes up most of your time. I hope you enjoy this year."

    *CHEERS*

    The students burst into cheers, some even raising their hands up in banzai. Sitting in the nondiscript corner away from everyone''s gaze, Axel also smirked, ''So, even they know that the homework they used to give was useless.'' he thought. He certainly hoped that was the case. Anyways, nothing changes for him, but Daphne should be happy, right?

    ''Fuck...''

    Daphne was NOT happy. She had already done most of Axel''s homework of this year, all of which is now useless. Also, it was already quite a small thing doing just doing his homework but now she has no way left to even slightly repay him for what he did for Astoria. Daphne felt very useless.

    ¡­

    The next day, since everyone was already going toe at 7, Axel went to the grounds at 5 o''clock in the morning for his own workout. He usually starts after 6:30 but now he has to adjust his timings. It was said that you could wear training clothes, tracks, or other clothes you werefortable in. So, Axel came in his usual clothes that he wears during his training.

    Aftering to the grounds, he found that there was an obstacle course of sorts built here. It must have been built yesterday night. Shrugging, he started his own training.

    After being healed, he has upped the anti with his training, trying out every grueling and intense exercise. The skills which he couldn''t progress or unlock in the past have started to be unlocked and progress rapidly. He first ranps around the ground at high speed. While running, he also took a few seconds to clear the obstacle course just for a proper warm up. Then, he went to the forbidden forest to start the real training.

    With so many skills to master, he was only half finished by the time it was time for sses. So, after cleaning himself up, he went to see what this basic training was about.

    By the time he arrived, the grounds were filled with students. In the crowd, he found Daphne who was looking around with her magi-mirror in her hands.

    "Why aren''t you picking up my calls?" She asked as soon as she saw him.

    "Well, it''s usually off." He said, checking his magi-mirror. When he looked back up again, he found that she was just looking at him in a daze.

    "You still haven''t woken up?" He asked, waving a hand in front of her.

    Daphne snapped out of her daze as she averted her gaze from him. "No, it''s not that. I''ve rarely seen you in different clothes," she said, her ears turning pink.

    Axel looked at himself. He was simply dressed in track pants, a sleeveless t-shirt and sneakers. Due to the heat from the earlier workout, he had taken off his jacket and simply hung over his shoulder.

    "Oh. Well, I''ve also only seen you in school robes or dresses," said Axel with a shrug, not finding the problem. Daphne was sporting a t-shirt, tights, a jacket and trainers, looking quite spirited. In fact, everyone else was also dressed differently, but she wasn''t looking at them at all.

    ".... It''s different when it''s you." She murmured in a voice low enough that he couldn''t hear it.

    "Everyone!" Just as Axel was about to ask her what she said, the Professor who was supposed to teach them had arrived. He was a muscr guy wearing a bandana over his head. His forehead protector had an Earth symbol on it.

    "You can call me Yamato Sensei and I''m here to give you the basic physical training of being a Ninja," he said in a loud, heavy voice.

    "Ninjas try to make 100% use of their body. A Capable ninja can kill a Capable Wizard without even using Magic," he said with a bit of disdain, and Axel had to agree with the man''s words. Axel himself can take on a few wizards without needing to use magic.

    "So, it would be better if you guys don''t ck off and take this seriously. Those not interested can leave this ss after they defeat me in a duel where you can use everything while I can''t use magic." That got a reaction from various students. Some seemed ready to challenge the guy there and then, but Yamato Sensei continued.

    "The very first thing thates under the physical training curriculum of Mahoutokoro is: Physical Training. Second: Movement, your ability to move around. Third: Stealth and Fourth: Weapon-Welding and Hand-to-hand Combat. I''ll only be teaching you the first two. Is that clear?"

    There was ackluster response. Forming a Hand Seal, Yamato Sensei lifted one foot and mmed it back on the ground.

    *BOOM*

    The ground shook and everyone felt the tremors. "You were supposed to say, "Yes Sensei!". Once again. IS EVERYTHING CLEAR?!

    "YES SENSEI!"

    Thus, the first ss was spent runningps, which Axel had already done, and doing various exercises. In the remaining time, the sensei had a few students who still had a bit of energy left go through the obstacle course. The rest of the students were cheering for their favourites in the beginning, but in 5 minutes, everyone had given up, no one able to reach past the halfpoint.

    Yamato Sensei smirked disdainfully, "You guys have a long way to go. Do you guys know what the top Mahoutokoro''s student''s current best timing is?"

    The students grew curious. Many of the students here were Quidditch yers who had been working out for years. Considering that someone would be able toplete it, the timing shouldn''t be low, right?

    "One minute ten seconds."

    "WHAT?!"

    The students were inevitably shocked to hear this. The gap between them seemed quite huge.

    Yamato Sensei clicked his tongue, "Does that seem impossible to you? Well, it should be. Unlike you guys, who live a pampered and easy going life here, the ninjas at Mahoutokoro are strictly trained from an early age under special conditions. Those whoe from Ninja ns begin training even early. Of course they''d be different. The gap is not something you surpass quickly. My job is make you aware of this difference, so that you know the difference and know that magic is not everything. Physical ability is also as important," he exined, making some students very motivated while some humiliated.

    Meanwhile, Axel who had finished the obstacle course in a few seconds as a warm up this morning: "...."

    ''What a waste of time.''

    Thankfully, the next ss is Hand Seal magic ss. He''s sure to learn a lot there.

    Daphne, who was lying on the ground beside him, looked at him in bewilderment. "The fuck¡ªhah¡ªis wrong with you? You aren''t¡­ even slightly¡­winded." She asked while panting.

    Axel''s brows furrowed looking at Daphne''s condition. This won''t do. Her physical fitness is quite low. Looks like he''ll have to train her a little a well.

    "It''s too easy for me," replied Axel.

    Daphne also felt so. He was doing everything all too easily.

    "Then, why didn''t... you try going... through the obstacle course?" She asked.

    Axel shook his head, "I''d gain nothing by doing that." He was even thinking of ways to quit this ss. Maybe his cripple excuse would still work?

    But then, Yamato Sensei gave one important news to everyone, changing his mind. "Listen up! From now on, you''ll be treated the same as the Ninjas training in Mahoutokoro. In Mahoutokoro, knowledge and techniques aren''t taught indiscriminately. So, the techniques you can ess will be based on your performance."

    Axel''s ears perked up at that.

    "Those whoplete this course quicker will be rewarded with secret techniques you want to learn! The quicker you are, the higher the number of techniques you''ll be taught! Of course, you are forbidden to teach them to anyone."

    "!!!"

    "... Well, that changes things, doesn''t it?" Muttered Axel, a smirk forming on his lips. Looks like he''ll have toe out of his crippled status soon.

    ¡­.

    Icitra, the Queen of Dark Elves, looked at the small Kingdom they had relocated and rebuilt after Voldemort attacked most of their kingdom. This time, it was underwater, covered in ayer of magic that prevented any water from entering.

    "How did youe up with this? Making a kingdom underwater?" She asked Lily who was waving her wand over a few mirrors in front of her.

    Lily shrugged, "It''s not my idea. Back in Mid-world, we have a city called Antis which is also built underwater. I got inspiration from there."

    Icitra got curious, "Oh? How did it look? Was it beautiful?"

    "Well, I''ve heard it''s beautiful but I''ve never actually been able to visit that ce since outsiders are banned from entering. I happened to be friends with the princess of Antis though, when she and her lover were on the run. She was the one who told me about the mechanism."

    "You knew the princess?" Asked Icitra, tilting her head.

    "Yeah. Actually, that''s the couple who were generous enough to leave their research about Netherworld and Aetherworld with me," said Lily nostalgically. The couple also had a baby whom they were going to leave with her at the Potter Cottage under fidelius since they had urgent business. But then Voldemort attacked the Potter Cottage, cutting their contact forever. She still sometimes wonders what happened to that couple and their child.

    Icitra looked at the mirrors which Lily was working on, "Is it done?"

    "It should be done. But are you sure they wouldn''t betray us?"

    Icitra nodded with certainty. "I know their rulers. They wouldn''t betray us. Besides, most Vampires and Lycans wouldn''t have submitted to Voldemort if they had choice. It''s just that they didn''t have a Lily Potter who could sessfully help them escaped. If we contact them, they''ll definitely side with us."

    Lily was still uncertain.

    "Even Vampires? I mean I had a werewolf friend and he was a good person, even though the werewolves of our world are different that your Lycans. But Vampires? They''re just evil undeads on our world," said Lily.

    Icitra scoffed, "The Vampires a Noble race. There are a few simrities but don''tpare them to your world''s Vampires."

    "Well, as you say," said Lily, handing her the two-way mirrors. These things have always been handy so of course she had learnt how to make them. They n on sending the other halfs of these mirrors to the leaders of other Races to establish stable contact. Since even the Dark Elves have also finally lost, they can only ally with other the races now.

    ¡­

    A.N.: I got busy with College stuff, hence the dy.

    Next chapter: Ninjutsu ss and Dueling

    POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to read ahead and support me,e to P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

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 Chapter 59: Jutsu Class, Axels Affinity

    Chapter 59: Jutsu ss, Axel''s Affinity

    Chapter 59

    A.N: I uploaded the wrong chapter just now. This is the right one.

    ....

    Whileining and groaning, the students dragged their bodies back to the castle for bathing and breakfast.

    This physical training had a mixed reaction from the students. Some of them, who were fitness enthusiasts, were all too happy to show off their physical ability and improve themselves. But, a majority of students would agree that they''d rather sleep in their warm andfy beds than toil away on the grounds like that.

    Though, some were simply happy to be able to see their crushes in something other than Hogwarts'' bulky robes.

    For example, a photo of Martina in track suit quickly went viral on the forums with hundreds of students simping over it. A photo of Axel was also uploaded by a girl where he was doing pushups and the muscles he had gained due to his training were showing due to his sleeveless t-shirt.

    The caption said, "Who is this cutie? Can someone give me his Hooter?"

    A discussion had broken out in thement section.

    "Holy Morgana! My heart!"

    "Who is he? Look at those muscles!"

    "Oh Merlin! He looks like a prince!"

    "Isn''t he the one who Martina picked?"

    "Really? Damn it!"

    It was something like that. Most of the ounts on this forum are annonymous so the girls had no shame drooling over a younger guy.

    And nonchnt from all the fuss, Axel had different thoughts in his head as he headed for the next ss, the Hand Seal magic.

    After thest time, he hadn''t bothered trying to do this magic on his own since he felt that it could be dangerous. Hence, he''d been waiting for this ss ever since.

    The ss was held in the huge dueling arena. The second years of all four houses were gathered, looking around curiously. Soon, their sensei arrived. It was a beautiful woman in a kimono whose age could not be determined by her appearance. She had a small beauty mark above her lips which were arched into a small smile.

    "Good morning and nice to meet you, little ones. I''m Sayako Sensei and I''ll be teaching you a new way of doing magic, which is done by forming hand seals." She said with a gentle smile.

    "So pretty¡­"

    "She''s beautiful."

    Sayako Sensei seemed used to the students'' reaction as she began her ss.

    "So, let''s begin with the question, what are hand seals? They are specific actions, which aid in summoning and molding magic ording to your will and performing a Jutsu or a spell. There are quite of lot of handseals in existence, but usually, only 12 handseals are used in most Jutsus: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Earth, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar." She said, her hands forming the 12 handseals in quick session, her each and every moment appearing perfectly smooth and clean.

    ''Her hands¡­'' thought Axel. They were very stable and dextrous. ''Perfect for stealing. Or for forming Hand Seals, I guess,'' he thought wryly.

    "Now, before we get started, there''s one thing I''d like for you to test," said Sayako Sensei. "We have to check your elemental affinity."

    "Elemental Affinity?"

    "What the heck is that?"

    "I''ve heard about it."

    Sayako Sensei smiled at the students, "Yes, elemental affinity. Like all of you have your specialities in various fields, like transfiguration, charms, etc. Simrly, you have aptitudes for specific elements as well. You''ll find yourself learning the techniques of these elements much faster than any other."

    "But of course, you can learn techniques of other elements as well, though you''ll have a much harder time mastering them," saying so, she produced a transparent crystal from her waist pouch and put it on the table in front of her.

    "This crystal will tell you your affinities by lighting up in that colour. The brighter the glow, the stronger the affinity."

    "There are four affinities that aremon in wizards: Fire(Red), Water(Blue), Wind(light Green) and Earth(brown). Aside from this there are other affinities which are much rarer to find. Some lucky people just have them while some are able to awaken themter. These rare affinities have some features that can be quite desirable under certain circumstances. Also, one person can have multiple affinities."

    Hearing this, everyone wondered if they''ll be able to draw a rare affinity or if they''ll have multiple affinities. After all, everyone thought that they were a main character, especially Draco Malfoy.

    Seeing this, Sayako Sensei''s tone turned a bit strict.

    "But, you can awaken new affinities or strengthen your existing affinities through training. And themon affinities are no worse than the rare affinities if you strengthen them properly.

    So, don''t be discouraged or too excited no matter what affinities you draw. Because in the long run, only hard work matters."

    "Now, please form up a line ande one by one to check your elemental affinity."

    The excited students at once begin to scramble to be ahead in the line, even pushing one another. After all, this was like a lucky draw. Who knows if they''d get a rare affinity.

    Axel, on the other hand, had no real enthusiasm over this. He already knew his luck. If he seriously want something, all the stars will allign in order to prevent him from getting it. So, he''s just decided he''ll make do with whatever he gets. After all, the sensei has already mentioned that he can get other affinities and strengthen the existing ones through hard work. And in his view, if it can be done through hard work, it''s easy.

    Besides,

    [Fire Affinity: Unlocked

    Proficiency: 4%]

    4% is quite low. Everyone must have atleast this much proficiency already, so it''s no big deal. But the big deal is, he has also unlocked some knowledge on how to raise this proficiency.

    So theoretically, he should also be able to unlock the other affinities and increase their proficiencies! Just thinking about it makes him excited.

    While Axel was lost in thought, the students quickly realized that their fantasies weren''t necessarily going to be fulfilled. For most students, the crystal just gave out a weak light of one of the fourmon elements. Only a few people had two elements, one of whom was Susan Bones. The other person was a guy who Axel didn''t know but the glow of crystal in his case was quite weak.

    The next was Neville, who had a strong brown glow, signifying Earth. But, Sayako Sensei''s eyes widened a little seeing something.

    "You also have a bit of Nature Affinity. See the dark green specs? Though, it''s a pity that it''s too low," she said, disappointment clearly written all over her face.

    "What is nature affinity?" Asked Neville in confusion.

    "The Nature Affinity was the affinity of the strongest Ninja in history. It''s incredibly rare. Even Mahoutokoro has no one left with this affinity."

    Hearing that, Neville puffed out his chest. He couldn''t wait to tell this to his dad. Even the students were impressed.

    Since Neville and Susan were done, the next one in their group was Rose. Everyone paid attention to what kind of affinity the Girl-who-lived had.

    Frowning, Rose ced her hand on the crystal. At once, a red glow was emitted from the crystal, brightest of all of the students.

    "!!!!"

    Though, that''s not what was surprising. What was surprising was the pitch ck color that dominated around 70% of the crystal.

    "Uh¡­ Congrattions! You have a very strong Fire Affinity," said Sayako Sensei with a stiff smile.

    Though even Rose could tell that something wasn''t right, "Why is it ck?" .

    Sayako Sensei shook her head and regained herposure, "It''s darkness affinity. It can be very¡­powerful." That''s all she said before calling out the next one.

    Aside from Axel, almost everyone else was fully focused on seeing the attributes of other students. Sometimes they even Oh-ed and Ah-ed at the results of some students.

    Though, there was one other person who did not seem interested.

    "Damn it, these bitches! Motherfu****!"

    Axel frowned as he turned to look at Daphne who was cursing while scrolling through her Magi-mirror.

    "What''s up with you this time?"

    Daphne sighed. "It''s¡­ it''s nothing," she muttered as she looked at Axel''s photo which had gone viral with a lot of girls typing naughty and indecentments. She couldn''t care less about checking out other people''s affinities right now. Can''t these hungry bitches find someone else to lust after? Why did they have toe after Axel?

    Soon, it was Axel''s turn and Daphne put away her phone as she thumped his back in encouragement. "Good luck!"

    ''Luck? That bitch has long forsaken me,'' thought Axel cynically as he put his hand on the crystal. Though his luck didn''t seem too shabby this time since as soon as he put his hand on the crystal, he felt a pull from the Crystal and a brilliant blue light began to be emitted from it, making him squint. The light seemed strong enough to rival Rose''s Fire Affinity.

    ''Water, huh?'' Thought Axel, looking at the blue glow.

    He couldn''t quite figure out why he''d have Water Affinity though. He hated water because rain is the bane of homeless people and for thieves. The streets are empty and once you''re soaked, chances are, you don''t have another pair of clothes to change into. He still remembers the time it rained continuously for three days. It was a nightmare.

    Well, he''ll get the other affinities through hard work. At least the other basic ones since it was possible to learn them ording to sensei. It would just be a bit difficult. Shrugging, he was about to remove his hand but a hand pressed onto his own, preventing him from doing so.

    Sayako Sensei''s reaction was quite different from his. "Lightning! Lightning Affinity! You have a Lightning affinity along with Water. See those sparks traveling through the Crystal? That''s a sign of Lightning Affinity."

    It was only then did he notice that. Blue sparks were traveling through the surface of the crystal. Damn, now that would make sense. He liked thunder.

    Though he was d he didn''t raise his other affinities yet, or he''d have drawn too much attention. Satisfied, he removed his hand and began to walk away.

    ???

    But he paused since a cerulean light was suddenly shining behind him, casting a shadow in front of him.

    "Ice Element! Congrattions!" said Sayako Sensei, happily Patting Daphne on the back.

    Daphne nodded calmly, still looking at the crystal, "Though, why is more than half of it empty?" she asked.

    Axel looked at the crystal, and sure enough, more than half of the crystal wasn''t glowing at all. It just stayed transparent.

    Sayako Sensei shook her head helplessly as she knocked the crystal a few times, "That, I also don''t know."

    ...

    ...

    .

    .

    "You really don''t know anything else?" demanded Betrix ck, looking down at the man lying weakly on a chair.

    "Minister ck, I''ve already told you everything. Do you really think I''d have anything left to hide after you''ve overdosed me with so much Veritaserum?"

    They were currently in a dimly lit cell and the man was bound by shackles. Betrix sighed, "Not about the Organization. Tell me more about Tristan Hunt and this Princess."

    "I already told you. Tristan was a part of the Organization. But he found out that the Organization''s actual goals weren''t something that some of us would like to support. He had gotten dragged in because histe father was a member and he had no choice. As for the princess, I don''t know much about her except that she was beautiful and her Royal family bloodline was powerful. How that man managed to woo her, I have no idea."

    Betrix frowned.

    "Once he had escaped, why did he go back? And what exactly happened?"

    "Well he had only managed to steal the research and one key. The organization was going to use the other one so he was going toe. He had this strong sense of justice. Couldn''t see anything bad happening without interfering," said the man as he paused. There was a mockery in his voice but there was also a hint of admiration.

    "That''s just like him," muttered Betrix helplessly, feeling bittersweet . "Continue." She said in a sterner tone.

    "So, he came back along with the princess. The two of them also stole the second key as well, but they were discovered and surrounded. Turns out, the higher ups were waiting for him all along. The two of them were powerful, exceedingly so. But in the end, both were badly hurt. Tristan then cast a shield on the princess and destroyed the key."

    "Then? What happened next?" Asked Betrix anxiously.

    The man shook his head, "The explosion was just too powerful. Both of them, along with a dozen members who were nearby directly disappeared. Those further away either died with a mangled body or got seriously injured. I thanked the two of them for their sacrifice and finally managed to escape that ce."

    There was a silence after that. After which Betrix sighed, "You''re quite different from the other member I caught. That manmitted suicide as soon as I broke through his mental defenses," said Betrix with a sigh. The only thing she could find out from that person was that Tristan was dead. For so many years she had been obsessing over what exactly happened and if he suffered before he died. And now, she can finally get some closure.

    The man chuckled in amusement, "Yes, minister. I''m different. I had joined the organization purely for the research. I''m mentally and morally quite stable, if I do say so myself. But, you are also quite different from what I''d imagined, considering that you still haven''t used the Cruciatus or Legilimency on me yet," said the man, feeling grateful. After all, the minister was infamous for her vicious means.

    Betrix''s delicate eyebrows creased at the mention of that.

    "Cruciatus and Legilimency¡­ you''re just lucky that I no longer enjoy using them." She muttered as she turned to leave.

    ''Not after Axel...'' she thought. She no longer found it amusing to torture someone or break into their minds. It made her remember the pain Axel must have gone through, making her hate herself even more. Though, it would be alright if Axel cast those things on her for what she did in the past.

    Just as she was about to leave, the man called out to her.

    "Minister, will I ever be allowed to leave? I haven''t done anything wrong and I genuinely enjoy my job."

    Betrix looked back as she shrugged casually, "Maybe. Just be obedient and I might let you leave, Professor Jacub Gorski."

    ****

    A.N.: MC with Lightning affinity. Where did the Water Affinitye from? the answer should be easy.

    Next chapter: Dueling between Schools.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to read ahead and support me,e to P¨¤treon Habibi! /Snollygoster

    THANKS FOR SUPPORT!!!

 Chapter 60: "Stay back after the Class"

    Chapter 60: "Stay back after the ss"

    With everyone''s elemental affinities determined, Sayako Sensei moved onto teaching exactly how to cast the Jutsus.

    "Casting a Jutsu is not easy as casting magic. First, you need to memorize the Hand Seal Pattern of that Jutsu. Then, you''ve to perfectly form those hand seals, which is not as easy as it seems if you are transitioning in quick session. A slight deviation can cause the Jutsu to fail and result in serious damage to your body."

    ''Damn...'' thought Axel. It seems that he was right in not trying out more of that magic on his own.

    "Your intent and visualization needs to be urately projected as well. Lastly, do remember that you''re not using a wand. So, even if you do everything perfectly, you will still need a lot of practice before you''re able to summon the magic."

    With everything exined, the sensei started teaching the basic handseals to the students one by one, even exining the meaning of each.

    "The HandSeal patterns of each Jutsu are quite long. If you want to shorten it to a few Hand Seals, you need to understand the functioning of each seal." This was the reason why they couldn''t simply cram the Hand Seal Pattern of any Jutsu.

    After she''d exined everything, she had the students make each of the hand seals.

    "First try forming Ox. Like this."

    "Now try Ram. Like this."

    There was a big Chart pasted on the wall with the illustration and description of each of the seal and Sayako Sensei would just walked by each of the student who were standing in an orderly fashion with some distance between of them.

    At first, the students thought that it was an easy task but after trying it out, they realized that it wasn''t as easy as it looked.

    "Your fingers are misced."

    "It''s too ck."

    "Your hands are not stable."

    Sayako Sensei began to point out ws in each of the students. Every student she passed by, she''d have to correct them.

    "Horse."

    "You''re taking too much time."

    "Ram."

    "Tighten the grip."

    "Bird."

    "Wrong, it''s like this."

    Meanwhile, standing at the back, Axel yawned. While the sensei had first shown the hand signs, he had already memorize and thoroughly practiced each of them. He was just waiting for all these other grunts to catch up so that the sensei can move on to the next stage.

    Though at this moment, since the Sensei had reached his position during her rounds, he began to make the Seals like the other students as well. But, when she was passing by Axel, the Sensei suddenly stopped walking.

    "Hare."

    .

    .

    "Snake."

    ''His hands...'' she noticed as she called out another Seal. They were perfect for killing, and for seals. Though, what was more surprising, was that the boy was perfectly forming the seals she was calling out. She couldn''t find any fault at all!

    Sayako Sensei recalled that this was the kid with Lightning Affinity.

    .

    .

    "Bird."

    .

    "Dog."

    "Snake."

    "Tiger, Dragon, Rat-BirdDragonOxRamTigerBirdDogBoarSnake!" Previously, she was deliberately taking a pause between each seal so that the series of seals doesn''t identally result in magic casting. But, after observing Axel for a few seconds, she suddenly increased the pace, watching him intently.

    "???!!!" A pleasantly surprised expression appeared on her face when Axel perfectly executed the sequence without batting an eye. As a result,

    *Crackle* *Crackle*

    Small arcs of lightning began crackling around Axel''s fingers, startling him.

    "What the¡ª"

    His hands jerked at the unfamiliar sensation. Unlike when he was casting through the wand, the electricity was going through his own body instead.

    *Ding*

    [You have unlocked: Lightning Affinity]

    [Current Affinity: 57%]

    ''Damn...'' thought Axel as he looked up, only to find Sayako Sensei looking at him in pure astonishment.

    "You..." Sayako Sensei was at a loss of words. Just now, she was so surprised at seeing him perform the spells that she inadvertently called out the hand seals of a lightning Jutsu. It''s just one of the things which you just try out while thinking, ''No way, right?'' But not only did the boy perfectly perform the hand seals, but he was also able to get results. This shouldn''t be possible unless he''s already had a lot of practice.

    "What''s your name, boya?"

    "Axel Hunt."

    Sayako Sensei smiled as she took Axel''s hands in hers and dispelled the remainder of the lightning as she examined his hands.

    Calluses, cuts, scars, and hardened Skin. As a veteran, she could tell that these hands have been through a lot. "You have beautiful hands, Axel," she said, letting go. She had her doubts about why a Hogwarts students would have these and how he was able to execute the Jutsu but she decided not to disturb the ss over it.

    "Take 10 points to your House. You performed the hand seals perfectly," she said with a smile before moving on. "Stay behind after the ss, I need to ask you some things."

    The boys of the ss felt envious of Axel. They were also trying very hard to impress the beautiful sensei, but all they got was critisism.

    Meanwhile, some of the students suddenly remembered something as well.

    ''Wait¡ªweren''t his hands...''

    Rose looked at Axel''s hands. It was only at this moment she realized that with his injured hands, he shouldn''t be able to cast do these Seals at all. So howe he''s able to be the best at this as well? She had be so used to him being better than her that she''dpletely forgotten about this. This guy, she clearly remembered Aunty Andromeda telling her to take care of him since he might never be able to recover.

    ''Has he... recovered?'' She wondered, causing her to shudder. Just the thought of it gave her the chills for some reason.

    The rest of the ss was spent with the Sensei correcting others on the hand seals, though she still didn''t teach them any Jutsu, making Axel bored.

    Even though it was boring for Axel, Daphne seemed to be enjoying herself. Unlike the morning ss''s physical training, this was much easier for her.

    After the ss was over, they were tasked to practice Hand Seals to perfection so that they could move on to the next stage.

    "I''m waiting outside. Tell me what it is about, k?"

    After the ss was over, Daphne reluctantly left him since Sayako Sensei had asked him to wait after the ss.

    As thest of the students trickled out, Sayako Sensei turned around to smile at him, "Boya, answer truthfully. Have you received training in this magic before?"

    Axel looked at her in bewilderment. "No, how would I?"

    Sayako Sensei seriously looked at him for a while and seemed to believe him. "Thisplicates things."

    Axel frowned, "What does that mean?"

    "Copy my movements." She said as her hands formed a series of hand seals. Frowning, Axel followed her movements and as a ball of mes was formed in Sayako Sensei''s hands, a me the size of candle light was generated in his hand as well.

    Sayako Sensei looked at Axel deeply, "So, it really wasn''t a coincidence."

    "What does that mean?"

    Sayako Sensei sighed as she exined. "Hand Seal Jutsu is actually very difficult to learn. After all, there is a reason why wand-magic is taught to our students despite having this. As I said earlier, even if a wizard is able to form hand seals perfectly, the magic will not necessarily be summoned if he''s new to Hand Seal magic."

    Axel frowned. That wasn''t the case for him, right?

    "Yes, a normal wizard needs time and practice before their circuits are able to summon magic through Hand Signs. For the next few sses, your fellow ssmates are going to be practicing basic hand seals and a basic Jutsu. I''m just informing you to let you know that you won''t be learning anything in the next few sses since you''ve already done it. I won''t me you if you choose not to attend."

    Hearing this, Axel frowned. It''s not really a surprise that he''s different. After all, his diet, training, and skills have made him quite unordinary. Plus, he''s not even crippled anymore, so he''s going to be the best at nearly everything. But, there was an issue. He looked at Sayako Sensei.

    "Sensei, am I the only person who''s different from others in this aspect?" This was the main issue. If this was the case, then he''s going to try his best to deny his earlier im of not having received prior training. After all, it would be troublesome if others are curious.How? Well there are a excuses he give, like he found a scroll, or he was taught by an old man, etc.

    Thankfully, Sayako Sensei shook her head with a smile, "It''s not unprecedented. In fact, there are a few other students who were able to do this as well. Some are even monsters with multiple affinities. In Mahoutokoro, these students can receive special training, if they desire since attending normal sses is a waste of their talent."

    Special Training? this appealed to Axel. Hand Seal magic suits him quite well due to his talents. It would be good if he can learn as much as he can as fast as possible.

    "Can I receive this special training?" He asked.

    Sayako Sensei shook her head helplessly, "It''s difficult. We have limited teachers here at Hogwarts and you''re not a student of Mahoutokoro. And even if we ignore this fact, Lightning Affinity is quite rare..." She said, making Axel shrug in disappointment.

    "But¡­ there''s one person who can teach you. But, she''ll only do it if she finds it interesting."

    There is someone? "Who is it? Does this person also have the lightning Affinity?"

    Sensei gave him a mysterious smile, "She''s a student. But, her qualifications are enough to be a professor. As for her affinity, let''s not talk about it. I''ll ask her if she''s interested, though don''t have much hope. You can go now, your friend is waiting for you," she said, ncing mischievously towards the faraway entrance of the Arena where Daphne was still peeking, unable to hear the conversation.

    Axel hesitated, "Sensei, If possible, I don''t want anyone to know about this." he said before leaving. This was all he could ask. And It won''t be a big deal even if others knew though.

    After all, he was still holding back a lot while he performed this. Just like how he has to hold back to lower the output of his magic in other sses. He hadn''t even used [Magic Hands].

    As he came out, he found Daphne casually leaning against the wall outside, as if she wasn''t peeking just a few moments ago. "What was it about?"

    Axel shrugged, "Apparently, I''m too advanced, so I can skip a few sses." He said casually as they both headed for the Great Hall for lunch.

    "Oh... that was it?"

    "Yeah. What do we have after this? Any more Mahoutokoro sses?" Asked Axel. He was finding these sses a bit interesting.

    Daphne shook her head. "We only have normal sses left for today. The Mahoutokoro sses will be tomorrow: Stealth & Espionage and Weapon-Welding & Hand-to-hand Combat."

    ''These ones?'' Axel frowned just hearing the subjects. He was still wondering what to do with these sses. For the stealth ss, he could actually teach the Sensei instead. But, he can''t really show any of his skills or talents there, can he? Rumors of a thief are already circting in Hogwarts after he stole everything Damien Malcolm owned. And if he shows off even a quarter of his Stealth abilities, he might be a suspect.

    As for Weapon welding & Hand-to-hand Combat, he doesn''t want to show much of hisbat ability since he wants the Organization to underestimate him. When theye after him, if they underestimate him, they''ll be much more rash in their attempts. After all, who would be cautious against a 12 year old?

    "Though, there is actually something to look forward to tonight as well," said Daphne.

    "What is it?"

    Daphne looked at him weirdly. "You don''t know?"

    "Nope."

    "... Sigh. Why am I not surprised? Anyways, a friendly exchange is going to happen here in this dueling arena tonight, just for the students to assess each other''s dueling ability."

    Axel''s eyes widened at that. For real? It seems like he should pay more attention to the happenings of the castle. If Daphne hadn''t told him, he''d have missed it while doing his usual training.

    Daphne sighed, "So, are you going to participate?" Daphne had never seen the true extent of Axel''s abilities. But ever since he''s healed, she always gets this feeling that he''ll be able to do anything.

    Axel seemed to think about it. "No. It''s troublesome"

    Daphne was relieved, but also puzzled, "Though, isn''t Quidditch also troublesome? Why did you participate in that?"

    "That is a different matter," Axel replied. Quidditch is much better alternative to attract attention. After all, the organization wouldn''t be threatened if he can fly well on a broom and catch snitches. But it would be a different matter altogether if he''s a duelist who can beat the best of both schools.

    Though, Daphne the pitiful girl was drawing different conclusions. ''Of course it''s different. One has a beautiful and influential team Captain who''d give in to your every demand while the other doesn''t...''

    "What is it?" Seeing Daphne deep in thought Axel waved his hand in front of her.

    "Hm?" Daphne shook her head as she managed a smile, "Nothing, I''ll save you a seat tonight."

    ...

    That evening, Axel was so busy with his training that he forgot about the dueling exchange. After changing into a clean set of clothes, he decided that might as well go and take a look to see if it''s still going on. After all, he was quite curious about the magic of these ninjas.

    Even as he ascended the stairs, he could tell that it wasn''t over yet due to the noise of the crowd. When he finally reached the Dueling Arena, he found that the arena had been expanded due to therge audience and it was stillpletely full, with many students having to stand due to theck of seats. A match was currently going on in the main circuit.

    Two boys were standing in the circuit, one of them was Cedric Diggory, the tall dark haired boy with chiseled features, and the other one was Endo Yuji, the spiky hair guy with sharp eyes. Both the boys were quite handsome, hence the crowd''s enthusiasm, especially the female audience.

    With his enhanced eyesight, Axel quickly spotted Daphne and made his way over.

    Pushing through a bunch of fangirls cheering for Cedric, he finally reach Daphne who was distractedly looking at her Magi-mirror. She had a few books piled on the seat beside her.

    When she looked up, she scowled, "Why the fuck do you never pick up a call?"

    ?? Axel took out his Magi-mirror to see a number of calls from her. "I''ve told you. It usually stays in my pouch."

    Daphne sighed. She had been worried for nothing. She removed the books from the seat beside her. "It was a pain in the ass, but I saved you a seat."

    Axel looked around. Sure enough, in this whole arena, there was maybe only one seat empty right now. There were many students currently standing around them as well. "Thanks," he said, taking his seat. It really must have been quite a hassle to save.

    Daphne smiled, "Anything," her murmur was drowned in the cheers of audience. She had toe half an hour earlier than the start to get these seats. Right now, she felt that it was worth it.

    Pushing some bitches out of his way, Axel looked down at the circuit where the match was about to start. Professor Flitwick was the referee.

    "Start!" He squeaked, his wand ready to prevent any idents.

    At once, Cedric fired a stunner at Endo. Endo jumped over spell while his hands quickly formed Seals.

    "Wind des!"

    Green des of wind were fired at Cedric, who hand to use a Shield Charm to protect himself.

    BANG! BANG!

    The crowd cheered as they felt the shockwaves of that sh.

    While Cedric was shielding, Endo had already sent a storm of wind at him, almost causing him to be blown away. But Cedric stuck one of his feet to the floor with the sticking charm as he sent sting spells at the ground in front of Endo. Even while dodging, Endo was thrown off a bit, but his Hands didn''t stop making seals.

    "This is enough. Be d you''ve forced me to use this." He stated with disdain as he suddenly turned into a green blurr.

    rmed, Cedric tried firing spells at him but it was all in vain as he got a hard punch to his face in the next moment, the sound of which was barely audible even through the shouts of the crowd.

    !!!!

    Amidst the cheers of the Mahoutokoro students, Endo looked provocatively at the Hogwarts students, as if asking if this this was all they had.

    "Well, this is bad," said Daphne, a bit worried.

    Axel frowned. "What''s wrong?"

    "These duels are being recorded and live casted by several news agencies." She said, pointing at the reporters at the side. "Since the world is curious, they''re going to get views worldwide. Hogwarts is going to look bad if we lose since this is not even their best duelist."

    Axel furrowed his eyebrows. For some reason, he couldn''t bring himself to give a fuck.

    There was a pause in which several students hesitated to go and some even stood up. It''s not like Hogwarts didn''t have better wizards, it''s just that they were a bit intimidated by that punch earlier and didn''t want to be at the recieving end of it, if possible. Though, at this moment, someone from the crowd shouted: "MARTINA!"

    Martina who was simply sitting in a far corner, peacefully spending her time analysing the Hand Seal Magic: ??? What did I do?

    Before she had a chance to do anything, more voices began shouting her name, and soon, the whole of Hogwarts was cheering for her.

    """MARTINA! MARTINA! MARTINA!..."""

    ...

    A.N.: Damn it word count is already exceeding 3k. More fights in next chapter.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to read ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

    Thanks for support!!!

    don''t forget to vote??????????

 Chapter 61: Duels, A chance encounter

    Chapter 61: Duels, A chance encounter

    A.N.: Some people who thinkst chapter a repeat chapter, check out the earlier chapter. I had Posted chapter 60 in chapter 59, so guy guys have probably missed chapter 59.

    ...

    Martina was just intending to watch all the fun from afar. She wanted to research more about the unique magic-casting of these ninjas.

    Martina is, and has always been, a true nerd. She has always needed a passion, something she can use her brain on to its fullest extent. In her previous life, aside from the usual geeky mangas, animes and novels, it had been science. She was interested in what wonders science could create. And in this life, it was magic.

    Magic was so much better than science. With science, almost everything had been explored to its limits and any breakthroughs would have needed her to reach those limits first. But with magic, there are no limits.

    These days, she''s been researching how this Hand Seal magic works. Previously, she''s already researched extensively about the workings of the wand magic. From what she''s been able to glean, wizards don''t store magic in their body. They channel it by drawing it from an unknown source. And the wand and the incantations make drawing and channeling that magic a lot easier. But somehow, the ninjas are able to draw that same magic through Handseals. She wants to find out the inner mechanics of how this whole system works. That''s the reason why she was here right now, doing her research.

    But suddenly, someone called out her name.

    "MARTINA!"

    "...." She suddenly had a bad premonition.

    """MARTINA! MARTINA! MARTINA!..."""

    Soon, almost all of the Hogwarts students were calling out her name.

    ''Are they for real?'' Martina regretted those days when she had been showing off without thinking of the consequences. She didn''t like violence. Even when she previously dueled, it was because she wanted to test out her magic. Now she regretted doing that because she''s now expected to duel with under so much attention. This is like a nightmare for an introvert like her.

    But, if she didn''t go, she''ll be disappointing the whole school. Not that they would do anything to harm her, but they''d still have ill feelings towards her for letting them down.

    ''What to do?''

    Martina analyzed her situation. Ever since the end ofst term, she''s no longer able to have the same leisurely and carefree attitude towards her life here.

    She had just found out that despite all the changes, Voldemort was still there and with so many changes to the timeline, it was no longer certain if the light side would be able to have the victory again and at what cost. She''d been living with her head buried in sand and the philosopher''s stone incident made her face reality. Thus, among other things, she has also been trying to train herbat abilities ever since in order to be prepared.

    Though hermand over her magic was quite strong, she had very littlebat experience. And dueling in real life is the chance to gain that. Besides, if she experiences their magic up close, she''ll have a better shot at learning more about the HandSeal magic.

    Thus, despite her reluctance, Martina slowly stood up.

    CHEERS

    The crowd went wild when they saw Martina getting up. Up until now, they had lost the majority of the duels and they didn''t like the disdainful looks of the Mahoutokoro. Thus, when they realised that Martina, the Hogwarts'' genius was going to face them, they were thrilled to see her beat them.

    The crowd parted, and under the excited cheers of the students, Martina entered the Dueling circuit.

    Endo Yuji stood at the other side, looking pleased. He wanted to take this opportunity to show his capabilities to Martina in order to impress her.

    "Let''s have a wager, Miss Martina. If I win, you will go on a date with me and if I lose, I will go on a date with you," he said, brushing back his spiky hair.

    BOOOOO

    The students of Hogwarts were enraged. Especially the guys. Martina is Hogwarts'' treasure. Even they have only been able to look from afar and this guy is tantly hitting on her after disrespecting the whole school.

    "No thanks," Martina looked at the boy with some pity. This conversation was currently being broadcasted and recorded with multiple devices. Since he''s done this so openly, there''s no way her family wouldn''t find out about it. And that can only mean that this boy is going to regret his actions.

    Not wanting the boy to get himself into more trouble, she looked at Professor Flitwick. "Can we start?"

    Professor Flitwick nodded. "Duelists, take Positions!" He called out, his wand much more ready this time. There will be consequences if anything were to happen to miss Valentino.

    "START!" Flitwick barked and Endo began his Hand Seals. Martina simply observed his technique closely, doing her research.

    Soon, sts of concentrated air came in Martina''s direction with an incredible speed. It was much faster than average spells of students.

    Martina simply raised her wand and a semicircr shield formed around herself which was quickly bombarded by the sts of concentrated wind.

    BOOMBOOMBOOM

    Though this was much powerful than what he had used against Cedric, Martina''s shield wasn''t even faized and no fluctuations reached her even when shockwaves of wind rippled through the arena.

    Panting a bit, Endo looked at Martina in surprise. He was feeling humiliated for being so publicly rejected by her and he was also quite offended with the crowd''s response. Hence, he''d used a lot of force in the earlier attack. Even the best shields wouldn''t have been able to take that attack but Martina didn''t even seem phased by it.

    In fact, not only Endo, even the professors and Senseis were taken aback. Martina hadn''t used any wand movements or incantations just now and the attack just now was powerful enough to obliterate any average Protego. More importantly, the casting time was almost instantaneous, as if she''d done it quite effortlessly.

    After noticing the shocked reactions around her, Martina clicked her tongue. The spell she had just used was the one she usually used while doing her experiments. It''s not umon for her experiments to result in horrible explosions. Thus, she had gotten used to automatically conjuring this shield in such situations. And now she had exposed it due to her habit.

    ''Damn it!'' Endo was regretting using that technique just now. He wanted to show his overwhelming superiority with that attack but Martina handled it like it was nothing. Now he had wasted all that energy for nothing and still looked like a fool.

    "Very well then," he muttered, deciding to take it to close range.

    As Endo made handseals for his next Jutsu, Martina could already tell what he was trying to do. After all, she had observed his previous fight closely as well. It was the magic with which Endo had closed the distance between him and Cedric so quickly.

    To counter this, Martina recalled a familiar spell.

    "Lucious Nitorem!" She called out just when Endo was done with his HandSeals.

    With a burst of Wind magic, Endo was about to make his way over to Martina at incredible speed, just like in his previous duel with Cedric, but¡­

    SPLAT¡ª

    His foot slipped and he fell forward with in incredible moment¡­. Face first.

    The end result of Endo doesn''t need to be described. Suffice it to say that there were a lot of teeth and blood. Professor Flitwick was paying too much attention on Martina and Endo was too fast, thus, by the time his cushioning spell reached him, it was already a bitte.

    "Oh! I''m so sorry!" Martina just wanted to stop Endo froming into close range and she recalled the spell Axel had used against the troll and which had also made her slip. Thus, she used this spell.

    She didn''t know that the guy would be stupid enough to charge head first even after she clearly used a spell on the ground, resulting in such gruesome scene.

    Looking down at the poor boy, Martina felt genuinely sympathetic. After all, she knows just how embarrassing it is to slip due to such a simple trick. At least unlike her, he didn''t have his underwear exposed.

    Standing to the side, the senseis shook their heads in disappointment. This boy still has a long way to go. Under normal circumstances, Endo wouldn''t have fallen for that trick but he was too unfocused due to Martina and the crowd.

    "Damn it! Told him he should just stick with Quidditch!"

    Many ninjas now wanted to face Martina. Endo wasn''t the best duelist here. His main forte was Quidditch. Forbat, there were many who thought they were better. Some of them had already dueled today with the other elites of Hogwarts while the others hadn''t gotten the chance.

    Another one came, this one had fire and water dual element ability. He bombarded Martina with attacks powerful enough that any Hogwarts student would have lost to him. Too bad Martina''s defensive spells were imprable. She didn''t give her opponent the time to perform any more of his ninja tricks and quickly defeated him.

    CHEERS!!!

    The Hogwarts students were now delirious with pride. Martina''s name was being chanted almost with worship.

    "She''s really good..." epted Daphne with a sigh. Hogwarts had lost the majority of the matches today and like any other proud Hogwarts student, it had left her feeling bad. Thankfully, they had Martina, who was so good at dueling.

    "She''s just an amateur," said Axel, not much impressed as he watched everything with using a low level Arcane Eyes. Martina was not good at fighting. He wouldn''t im he was better, not with her clearly holding back a lot right now, but if she keeps this up, an experienced fighter who has observed her fight would be able to take her down easily if she doesn''t use more of her powers.

    "Martina... amateur?"

    Daphne looked at Axel weirdly, but then shrugged. Even though his ims are a bit absurd, but it''s at least better than him simping over Martina like all the other boys, right?

    "Well Mr. Professional, can you do better?" She asked yfully.

    Axel shrugged but didn''t answer and Daphne didn''t try to expose him. She didn''t really care if Axel was good at dueling or not. She was already crushing on him back when he was crippled.

    "You''re still in your second year. There''s plenty of time," she told Axel as she bumped shoulders with him. With his talent and hard work, wouldn''t Axel be better than Martina one day?

    "...."

    Looking at the clueless girl beside him, Axel shook his head but still didn''t say anything. His capabilities, only he needed to know.

    ...

    ''Sigh¡­ that was a close one.''

    After winning this second duel, Martina was thinking of going back. She realized that these duels were dangerous. She was unfamiliar with the ninjas'' way of fighting, too inexperienced, and she also didn''t want to show off too much. If forced into a desperate situation, she might identally do some magic that is far too absurd for someone her physical age. Thus, she decided it would be better to retreat now. She had done her part and it''s not like Hogwarts doesn''t have its own elites to duel these people.

    Just as she was going to alight the circuit and the Mahoutokoro students were deciding among themselves who will be going, someone appeared in the circuit, facing Martina.

    "What?!"

    "It''s her!"

    "Matsushima¡­ Akiko?"

    "Akiko''s actually fighting?"

    "So, Martina managed to pique her interest, huh?"

    While most of the Hogwarts students were clueless, the Mahoutokoro students reacted quite intensely by the new arrival. It was an auburn haired girl with a serious face and a voluptuous body that was outlined due to her tight clothing. She had a short sword strapped to her back.

    The girl regarded Martina with curiosity. "Let''s duel," she proposed.

    Not knowing the girl''s identity, Martina thought she might as well have another match. This girl''s face looked quite cute and harmless and she didn''t want to make things awkward by retreating now. "Alright¡­"

    This time, the cheering from Mahoutokoro was equally intense.

    "A-KI-KO! A-KI-KO! A-KI-KO!"

    "MAR-TINA! MAR-TINA! MAR-TINA!"

    ??? Looking at the crowd''s reaction, Martina realized that Matsushima Akiko might actually turn out to be someone even more dangerous than her other opponents. But, it was already toote to back down now since Flitwick had already asked them to take positions.

    "START!"

    As the match started, both girls didn''t do anything at first, both seemingly waiting for the other person to make a move. But then, Martina decided to make her move. She decided to finish this as soon as possible. Thus, she went on the offensive and fired a few spells at the girl.

    "It''s over for Martina," murmured Axel.

    ??? Confused, Daphne wanted to ask him what he was smoking but¡­ she suddenly went quiet when she saw the girl appear behind Martina with a kunai at her throat.

    !!!!

    Everyone who hadn''t seen Akiko in action before was shocked. Looking back at the ce she was standing before, they saw her image dissipating.

    Though the one who was the most shocked was, of course, Martina herself. Because her mind was alreadying up with different hypotheses on how she did it, each of which required something absurd.

    Flitwick quickly announced Martina''s defeat while asking the girl to put away her weapon, lest Martina gets a scratch and Mahoutokoro burst into cheers amidst the deadly silence of Hogwarts.

    "You hold back too much." These were the words Martina heard from Akiko and then she was gone, just as swiftly and silently as she hade.

    With that, the first exchange between the schools was closed with Hogwarts students going back feeling unreconciled.

    "That was clearly cheating!"

    "Yeah, how cowardly are these ninjas, sneakily attacking from behind like that."

    "Well, of course they''ll resort to this. Couldn''t do anything against Martina upfront."

    That''s how they consoled themselves. Though there was one person who hadpletely different thoughts.

    "Those techniques¡­. This girl is something," muttered Axel, his eyes still throbbing due to excessive use of Arcane Eyes. Yes, while others might be puzzled, he had seen exactly what transpired inside the circuit just now. He was quite regretful the fight ended so quickly. He wanted to see those techniques a few more times and learn those techniques, especially since... one of them was Lightning rted. Too bad, it doesn''t seem like it would be possible any time soon now.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Axel went to train early in morning again . First, he sprinted someps around the ground. Then, with his warm up done, he entered the forbidden forest to do his main training, just like yesterday.

    Though, this time, something was different. In the clearing where he usually trains, someone else was already there, training so early in the morning.

    Yep, his training spot had been stolen by someone. And the person who stole it¡­ it was none other than the girl who beat Martina yesterday, Matsushima Akiko.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Final duel: Axel vs Akiko in the next chapter.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to read ahead and Support me in writing this amazing novel, /Snollygoster

    THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT ??

 Chapter 62: Axel vs Akiko

    Chapter 62: Axel vs Akiko

    Chapter 62

    A girl with auburn hair was currently training alone so early in the morning. At one nce, Axel was able to recognize who she was. She was Matsushima Akiko, the girl who beat Martina yesterday.

    Seeing his training spot being taken, Axel was at a momentary loss as he contemted how to handle this situation. This clearing was quite deep into the forest and quite spacious and private. In short, it was the best ce so far to train his skills and he didn''t want to lose it. So, he was wondering if he should ask this girl to take her training somewhere else or if he shouldpromise.

    He was going to go forward, but, looking at her training made him pause.

    As he watched, the girl performed Handsigns in quick session, "Yin Release: Touch of Death."

    Dark energy surrounded her, causing ripples in the atmosphere. With that energy, she lightly touched a tree stump in front of her. Instantly, the stump withered and crumpled into powder, causing Axel to let out a low murmur of appreciation.

    "!!!!"

    Who knew that, after detecting the sound, the girl would jump in surprise like a dear in headlights and quickly look in his direction?

    ''Fuck''

    As soon as their eyes met, Axel had a feeling that he might have seen something he shouldn''t have.

    *Shing*

    In the next moment, sharp projectiles were thrown in his direction, trying to nail him into ce. Axel was at least d that none of them seemed to be aimed to kill.

    "Wait a minute¡ª" He tried, quickly dodging the projectiles and even catching one on impulse but the girl didn''t seem to be listening at all as she quickly formed a few hand signs. Axel cursed. He couldn''t just disappear or run away since the girl had clearly seen his face.

    The technique seemed familiar, as in the next moment, the girl appeared right beside him with sparks bursting around her. "Will you stop for a moment?!" He asked in annoyance even as his knife appeared in his hand.

    CLANG

    It shed with her sword which she had drawn in a sh. The girl''s brows furrowed. She swung her sword again, trying to disarm him.

    [Knife Wielding]

    But Axel wasn''t about to be taken down that easily, after all, with the fighting skills he had umted on the streets andbining them with the training and knowledge of the system, he wasn''t about to be bested in close quarters at this level.

    In two seconds, multiple sounds of weapons shing resounded, and Axel somehow found himself at a disadvantage. ''Damn she''s good,'' he epted, but at the same time, a thrill arose inside him at finally being able to put his skills to some use. He could feel it. This girl has been trained professionally, with lots of experience in fighting while he had little to no practical experience fighting like this.

    Thus, he brought things up a notch.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    [Arcane Footwork]

    His eyes glowed faintly and the strikes were no longer as difficult to follow as before. With his feet moving quite fast, he was able to avoid most of the attacks, lessening the strain on his Knife-Wielding skills.

    The girl looked at Axel like she couldn''t believe he was actually able to hold up, causing him to smirk even as their weapons seemed to blur, with only the sounds of weapons shing and sparks erupting due to them. He was no longer backing down from the fight.

    ? At this moment, Axel saw the girl making a few handseals while still holding the sword.

    A sound akin to the birds'' chirping was emitted from the de as the de was covered in lightning.

    CLANG

    The next sh between their weapons caused Axel to be sted back due to the impact with his hands feeling numb due to the lightning. Though, the girl only seemed more surprised by Axel.

    "You have Lightning Affinity¡­?" She murmured and Axel grinned. He was no longer trying to resolve the situation peacefully. It was rare enough that he tried, but since the other party didn''t listen, then he will just beat her first.

    Besides, he was having too much fun right now.

    [Knife Wielding]

    The next time their weapons met, the lightning was totally ineffective. Because, a dull glow was covering his sword. Yep, he had been holding back.

    [Knife Wielding] allows him to infuse magic in his de as well. He wasn''t using it before because he didn''t want to look too abnormal.

    "Surprise." He uttered, before the knife slipped out of his hand, appearing in the other one.

    Stab!

    Taking advantage of her momentary surprise due to him negating the lightning damage, he almost managed to stab her. It was only because he didn''t want the fight to end did he slow down imperceptibly, causing her to back away in time.

    "!!!"

    Akiko looked between the small 1-inch wound in her stomach and his knife with absolute shock. Though, in the next moment, anger seemed to cover her features, at being bested by at closebat against a boy much younger than her who''s not even a Ninja.

    "Yin Release," she murmured, forming a new set of hand seals. Instantly, three Akikos appeared in front of him with no way to distinguish who was real.

    The Akikos continued to make handseals from afar.

    "Lightning Release: LIGHTNING DRAGON!" Three huge lightning dragons appeared, one from each girl, creating an incredibly intimidating scenery, making Axel freeze in ce.

    The smell of ozone filled the air and goosebumps rose on Axel''s skin.

    "...Well, this is fucked up," he proimed, looking surprised. There were currently three giant dragons made out of lightninging after him. In face of such a situation, he still didn''t draw his wand.

    He didn''t feel like he needed to. He can confidently say that even after witnessing the power of the fire dragon Jutsu which looked quite simr to this one. Only, this time, there were three. Anyone would have lost their shit, but not Axel.

    "I see..." His hand curled into a fist. And in the next moment, he swung it.

    "!!!!"

    The fist connected with a muffled thud as another Akiko became visible, just a few feet away from him, this one rubbing her cheek as the dragons and other Akikos suddenly dissipated.

    "Are we done yet?" He asked. But even as he looked confident on the outside, he still thanked his lucky stars that he had [Arcane Eyes]. Those Akikos and those Dragons were fake, like illusions, though very real ones. Thankfully, he was able to see through it and see the real Akikoing for him under invisibility.

    Really, this girl was quite a monster. With these abilities, she''s already better than most wizards he''s seen. He felt like she was a genius on the same level as Martina. And that was a hugepliment considering Martina was quite younger than her. Only, while Martina is more oriented towards the academic field, this girl is purebat.

    While Axel was thinking how satisfying that punch was, the girl looked at Axel with her mouth agape, her hand still caressing her cheek which was throbbing with pain. She didn''t seem to be able to believe what had just happened. Shame and humiliation shed across her face before it settled into an impassive expression. But, seeing that look somehow rang warning bells in Axel''s head.

    Akiko''s face was set into one of immense concentration as she formed the hand seals. Axel wanted to stop her, but it was already toote. By the time his knife reached her, there was a burst of lightning, and Axel was thrown back, his jaw hurting badly.

    ''What the hell... was that speed?'' He wondered, spitting out some spittle mixed with blood. Fortunately, her physical strength wasn''t much. Most of the damage was due to that insane speed with which she threw it.

    He looked at the girl shaking her hand as if it hurt.

    Axel rubbed his cheek. It was the first time after getting the system that he actually suffered a blow, which is quite an achievement. Usually, he''d get new injuries every few days but ever since getting the system, he had begun to feel this sense of invincibility that he''d be able to get past just anything.

    This punch was the punch that woke him up and knocked some more sense into his head. That despite everything he had going for him, he wasn''t invisible yet. Just now, he was too careless. If he was cautious enough, he could have been able to avoid that punch. But he had still underestimated her.

    ''This is enough for now,'' he thought as he disappeared from his ce.

    [Presence Reduction]

    [Blend]

    [True Invisibility]

    [Soundless]

    [Traceless]

    He silently walked behind the girl who still looking around, trying to locate him.

    "Petrifucus Totalus." he chanted under soundless, using his wand for the first time.

    The girl went down like a sack.

    "Thanks for that. I had fun," he told her, though, he also learned a lot.

    "Now, what to do with you?" He wondered. He couldn''t just kill her since even she wasn''t trying to kill him, only incapacitate him. Besides, with her Lightning and Darkness Affinity, she was quite talented, too talented. If something happens to her, it''ll cause a ruckus. Wait a moment, her talent....The gears of his mind began churning.

    He then unpetrified only her face so that she could speak.

    "So, why the sudden attack?" He asked, looking down at her.

    The girl looked away, seemingly at a loss for words.

    "That Jutsu... the death touch," he said, sounding her out.

    There was a reaction. Her mouth closed, almost too quickly.

    Axel nodded his head in understanding. "Let me guess...it was some kind of illegal Jutsu, right? Judging by your reaction, you''d get into deep shit if it was revealed."

    The girl''s eyes widened just a fraction as she looked at him with some surprise. Then, there was a sh of helplessness, and finally, she looked at him fiercely, as if ready to put everything on the line.

    Axel chuckled. "You don''t need to worry. I won''t tell anyone."

    "....???" The girl looked at him dubiously. "You won''t?" Speaking for the first time. Her voice was quite soft and childish, quite a contrast to her body and abilities.

    Axel frowned. She didn''t seem to be questioning his credibility, but his ability.

    "Don''t give me that look. My will and mental defenses are quite strong, if I do say so myself. No one can get any information out of me. But, I want something in return," he said, looking up and down her body for signs of injuries. There was nothing serious. It seems that they don''t have any reasons for grudges against each other yet.

    Akiko''s expression turned sour as she looked down at her body. "What is it?" She asked through gritted teeth, looking as if she wouldn''t agree no matter what.

    Axel raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling that she was making the wrong assumptions here. "I want you to teach me all the jutsus you can. Sword-wielding would also be nice."

    Akiko''s expression nked out for a second, "...That... that''s what you want?"

    Axel nodded, "Yeah. Sayako Sensei said I won''t be able to learn much in her sses for a while and people with Lightning elemental affinity are rare. She said she''d ask another student with the Lightning element to teach me, but I shouldn''t have much hope."

    Realization dawned on her, "So, you were the one she was talking about."

    "Yep. You must have rejected quite tly, right?" He guess as he bent down, so that they were eye to eye, and Akiko looked a bit embarrassed since his guess was correct.

    "So," said Axel, a dark smile ying on his lips, "won''t you reconsider, Akiko Sensei?" He asked, pointing his wand at her throat.

    Akiko swallowed, turning her face away from him. What choice did she have? "Alright, but you must sign a contract first and I''ll need sensei''s permission."

    Axel grinned.

    Today began with an unexpected gain.

    A.N.: Happy New year, Everyone. May you all write the 2023 wonderfully.

    Next chapter: The Organization

    POWERSTONES!!!

    It''s a new month, new year! Come read ahead and Support me in writing the best ongoing webnovel fanfic: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 63: The Organization

    Chapter 63: The Organization

    Akiko Matsushima found today''s events quite unbelievable.

    The day had started well enough, with her waking up early in the morning and finding an appropriate training spot deep in the forbidden forest. She hadn''t thought anyone would be there so early in the morning, so she had started training a few forbidden Jutsus.

    But, as her luck would have it, someone actually happened to arrive at that time, somehow without making any noise, as if gliding. By the time she heard his exmation, he had already witnessed her practicing the Yin Affinity forbidden Jutsu.

    Yin, also called the Darkness Affinity, is the best for creating Illusions and Genjutsu. Many of the ninjas train their yin affinity to learn Genjutsu, and most people at Mahoutokoro thought that she had done the same. But, in actuality, she already had the Yin Affinity. And it was very high. It was at a level where she could use actual darkness Jutsus rather than just Genjutsus. But, that fact has to remain concealed.

    Because, excess of Yin affinity is quite frowned upon in Mahoutokoro since most of the Criminal Nins are known to use the forbidden Jutsus of this affinity. Of course, none of them actually had the Yin affinity. This affinity is so rare that only she has had it in a century. Those Criminals only used Yin Affinity Jutsus by forcefully increasing their Yin Affinity to a level higher than the rmended standards. Thus, Akiko has always kept her use of Yin affinity in public to simple Genjutsus.

    And, this boy has seen her use the Yin Affinity Forbidden Jutsu! Akiko wanted to quickly perform the memory Jutsu on the boy. So, she tried to stop him from escaping.

    But this is when the truly unbelievable part starts.

    She had thrown a few Senbons his way to lock him in ce, but... somehow, the boy actually dodged them all! He even caught one in his hands as if it was no big deal.

    Akiko was shocked. Even the students of Mahoutokoro his age can''t do that, let alone a wizard with no formal training. She hadn''t even expected him to move, let alone dodge everything.

    Thus, she didn''t waste time and simply used her lightning Jutsu which lets her travel very fast in a straight line to quickly reach his position to deal with him at close quarters.

    Though, somehow, the boy blocked her sword quite easily... and with a knife at that! Blocking a sword blow with a knife is quite difficult aspared to blocking with the sword, but somehow, the boy did it.

    Not seeing any other way, she used Matsushima Kenjutsu.

    (Kenjutsu = Sword Techniques)

    Unbelievably, the boy was able to match her, with just a knife!

    It has to be noted that the Matsushima Sword Style is one of the best in the world, and she is a certified genius who has been training in it since she was 5. So, her kenjutsu was at a level where she could even beat most of the senseis. Plus, she was using a sword while the other party only had a knife, which is quite a big disadvantage. And yet, somehow, the boy was able to stand his ground!

    He was skilled, and his techniques were exquisite, but... there was a discrepancy that gave her the chills:

    He had very littlebat experience!

    Swordy is mostly about muscle memory and instincts. When an experienced ninja is using different high-speed sword techniques to attack you, you need a lot ofbat experience and muscle to instinctively react to it. But, it was in to see that the boy was doing it without any of that.

    This only meant one thing: The reaction speed of this boy is insanely high.

    Not only that, but he''s somehow able to move his body to match that reaction speed. This means, his physical abilities are also insanely high. He''s much faster than her, a lightning user, and the strikes which she delivered with all her strength and momentum didn''t even cause his arms to shake. Oh yeah, and he was still doing all this with a knife.

    Even as they fought, he was getting better. He no longer wasted his movements, his technique seemed to refine itself and, the grin forming on his face told her that he was actually enjoying this!

    What is this? Akiko has never been in such a situation. And she thought she was the cheat existence here. She now knew how others felt when looking at her.

    Having no choice, she infused Lightning in her sword to stun him. This will be a bit painful, but it was the best option against this monster.

    Though, her next big surprise, he had lightning affinity! He was able to endure the shock of that attack without having to infuse any magic in his de. Even if not as rare as the Darkness Affinity, the Lightning Affinity is also quite rare. This is the reason why all the students at Mahoutokoro were in awe of her. They don''t know about her Darkness Affinity since it has been a closely guarded secret even before she became a student at Mahoutokoro. Thus, it was quite a surprise that he had it as well.

    But then, it turns out that he can also actually infuse magic in his de. He was just not using it.

    ''Has he been¡­ holding back all this time?''

    The realization made her stunned. To think he didn''t even consider her a big enough threat to use all of his cards...

    It was at this moment that she saw him counterattack for the first time. Suddenly, the knife in his right hand appeared in his left hand! Before she knew what was happening and backed away, it was already stabbed into her abdomen.

    Akiko nked out for a moment as she took her distance from him. She had been injured. She had actually been injured! It has been such a long time since this has happened.

    She looked at the boy in a new light. This is no ordinary opponent. She had no choice but to take this opponent seriously. Maintaining the distance, she decided to use her second affinity.

    She used a Powerful Genjutsu to distract him, turned herself invisible, and used a sneak attack on him. But, he actually saw through her technique!

    Just as she was about to attack him, his eyes shifted away from the fake Lightning Dragon as they focused on her. There was a hint of ridicule in those faintly glowing amber eyes. Before she could react, a punchnded on her, smack dab in the middle of her cheek.

    !!!

    The impact was so strong that her Genjutsu dissipated into a puff of smoke as she was left standing stunned on the ground, barely able to keep her bnce. It was such a powerful punch that she had to give him a second look to confirm that it was indeed thrown by him. The boy just stood there casually with a slight smirk ying on his lips. He wasn''t even slightly winded, as if this was just a game to him. Seeing that smirk and feeling the disrespect, anger surged within her. No one had ever treated her like this!

    ''Lightning Release: Lightning God Mode.''

    Without even thinking of the consequences, she used her strongest lightning technique, her Trump card which she hadn''t shown anyone. Since she still hasn''t mastered it yet, using this causes her body to be sore for days. But, it amplifies her speed and reaction speed by a huge factor.

    The boy seemed to realize that he was in trouble since he tried to stop her. But, it was toote. In an instant, she felt pain all over her body, but, the world slowed down for her. She avoided his attempt to stop her.

    ''Not so fast now, are you?'' She thought as she punched him with all her might. But in the next moment, her eyes widened when she saw his head already moving backward in thest moment, decreasing the impact of the blow.

    Seriously, this guy was creeping her out now. She was so d to see the fist connect. But, her triumph was short-lived as she felt her hand throbbing with pain. When she looked back at him, he had already disappeared and while she tried to search for him, she suddenly found her body unable to move as she fell to the ground.

    As shey there, the foremost thought that dominated her mind was: So, he was still.... holding back.

    ¡­

    Axel''s day was starting out great as he discussed the terms with Akiko and finally, they both came to an agreement. For a year, she would try her best to teach Axel whatever he asked if she knew it and if she wasn''t breaking any rules by teaching him. This was the first term. Akiko didn''t think Axel would be able to learn much in a year.

    The second term was: they won''t reveal each other''s secrets. Both of them were pretty tight-lipped and their mental defenses were strong, so they didn''t worry about the second term.

    "The heck is this?" Asked Axel, looking down at a piece of paper filled with densely packed kanji letters. He half expected it to explode.

    "It''s a Fuinjutsu Contract with the terms. You have to sign here with your blood," exined Akiko, biting her thumb and signing her name.

    Axel gave her a scrutinizing look. She didn''t seem to be deceiving him. ''System, tell me what''s written. Is it the same?''

    Only after confirming everything with the system did Axel sign the contract. It was pretty much what they''d agreed on. Since this method seemed quite useful, Axel had Akiko make a few more nk secrecy contracts in case some other unkible people found out his secrets.

    As Axel was signing the contract, Akiko looked at his name.

    "Axel Hunt."

    Axel nodded as he realized that he was yet to introduce himself. "That''s me, and I already know your name," he was saying, but he saw Akiko begin to sway on her feet. "What''s up with you?"

    Akiko shook her head, trying to clear her head. She rubbed her cheek which was already bruising up due to Axel''s punch.

    ''It''s because of that?'' It seems that the punch he had delivered earlier was still too strong.

    "Hey, are you alright? I tried controlling my strength," said Axel. After healing, he can''t properly control his strengths. So, idents happen.

    "That strength... was after holding back?" murmured Akiko, looking angrier than soothed for some reason.

    Axel shrugged, " Yeah. Anyways, I''m going to the Hospital wing right now to get rid of this bruising. Are youing?" he asked, inviting her along. Both of them had a bruised cheek and Akiko also had a small wound from the knife. They wouldn''t be able to attend their sses without raising hundreds of questions.

    Akiko shook her head, "I know a bit of healing Jutsu," she said as she began to perform hand seals. But as she did the hand seals, her legs gave out as she copsed on the ground.

    Seeing this, Axel frowned. This is not something that could happen just because of his attacks. But then it came to him, "Thatst Jutsu. It was too much for you, wasn''t it?" He deduced.

    "...."

    Yep, he was right. It made sense now. That Jutsu was too much of a cheat! He was quite eager to have her teach him.

    In the end, both of them ended up going to the Hospital wing. Halfway through, Axel had to carry her using her wand since the girl was struggling to walk on her shaky legs. On a side note, he also made a mental note to also learn some Healing magic.

    "Anyways, why were you practicing that Forbidden Jutsu? You''re already powerful enough as it is, ``asked Axel as he carried her. It would be understandable in his case since his opponent Voldemort is so OP that his current level is far from enough. But, why would she need to take such desperate measures? Does she also know that the world is going to be taken over by that madman? Or does she have some other enemy?

    Akiko''s eyes shed withplicated emotions as her fists clenched. "That...is private," she said in the end.

    "K." Axel didn''t pursue the matter further. Though it would seem that she did have a strong driving force behind her strength. No one bes that strong for no good reason, not even with extreme talent.

    Take Martina for example. Her hunger for power isn''t strong enough. So, despite her talent, which is actually better than Akiko, Akiko destroyed her quite easily in the duel yesterday.

    They reached the Hospital wing in silence. With so many students, of course, Madam Pomfrey wasn''t the only healer. There were others and there were also apprentices pursuing Healing as a carrier.

    The healerdy doing the night shift wasn''t pleased to be disturbed in her sleep, but she did patch up their wounds in minutes. After that, she diagnosed Akiko.

    "Merlin''s dder, how did this happen?!" Asked the healer as soon as she was done with the diagnosis. Axel was disappointed to know that Akiko was strictly rmended a few days of rest along with the treatment. It would seem like they can''t start the training today since the healer refused to let Akiko off.

    Disappointed, Axelpleted his exercise and attended the physical training ss.

    "What happened to your cheek?" Asked Daphne as soon as she saw him.

    The bruise was almost gone, but notpletely. "It''s nothing. Just got punched from someone." Axel didn''t know why, but he told her the truth.

    Daphne began examining his body in worry, "Merlin! Are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere else?!"

    "I..."

    Axel looked at her fussing over him with some perplexity. This situation is still a bit surreal to him. Not long ago, no one would have given a shit whether he died or not. At that time, he had never expected that he''ll ever find someone who''d care so much for his well-being.

    ''This feeling... is not bad,'' he affirmed once again. Though this time, he didn''t take it too seriously. Thest time he had this feeling, it was quite short-lived (Andromeda). Thus, he decided that he''ll enjoy it while he still has it.

    "Sigh, I''m fine. You''re overreacting." he told the worried girl.

    Daphne looked at him doubtfully, "Are you?"

    "What do you think?"

    Daphne seemed to give it some serious thought, "You don''t pick fights you can''t win. I think the other person is much worse off."

    Axel smirked. "Smart."

    "Though, who was the other person?"

    "Can''t say," he replied, making her pout.

    Their banter ended when the Sensei came. This time, there wereparatively fewer students but still, there were plenty including the ones who were there just to watch. This time, Axel performed better than thest time, but still didn''t try out the obstacle course.

    After the ss was over, as Axel sat at the breakfast table, some students came to stand in front of him, somewhat surrounding him. It was Damien Malcolm and his cronies. Axel looked around, sure enough, Martina and Patricia weren''t here right now.

    ****

    "What do you mean he had a bruise on his cheek? How did he get it?! And where were you while he got hurt?!" Demanded a furious Betrix.

    Tonks sighed, "Rx aunty, it''s just a small bruise. And no, I can''t follow him all the time, so I don''t know how he got it. It was there when he got to the morning ss at 7."

    Betrix banged the table in front of her, "Then find out and report it to me! And don''t let him escape your eyes now. Follow him everywhere! Or you''re better off just going back to your training."

    "Alright, alright, I''ll do it, aunty, please don''t talk about sending me back to that boring ce! And you have to give me some more details if you want me to understand the severity!" Yelled Tonks, but the phone went dead with an, "I''ll think about it." Tonks sighed, "Looks like I need to take this seriously." She had been treating this trip to Hogwarts like a vacation, but it seems that she can no longer ck off. Whatever, she was quite curious about this boy anyways. Why are both the sisters so concerned about him?

    On the other hand, Betrix had cut off the call because an important guest had arrived at her office. Right now, she sat face to face with an old man with a bald head and white beard wearing a Yukata. This was none other than Yamazaki Hiroshi, the Principal of Mahoutokoro.

    "What is it that you wanted to talk about, minister?" Asked Hiroshi, his face expressionless and his eyes close. He wasn''t smiling like he was in front of Dumbledore.

    Betrix decided toe straight to the point, "I had a proposal."

    "Well, let''s see if it''s worth my time."

    Betrix frowned. This old foggy was looking down on her due to her young age. "The Kraken," She said, and at once, the old man''s eyes opened. "I''ll help you destroy it."

    "I¡­ don''t know what you are talking about, minister."

    Betrix scoffed, "Come on, you know exactly what I''m talking about, or at least, you hope I don''t. I know all about the cooperation between Antis and Japan. I even know about the Kraken," she said, revealing her cards. This was the main reason why she chose Mahoutokoro. Because the ninjas have a rtionship with Antis. The Antis hires the ninjas from time to time for various purposes.

    But, there is one main mission that contracts the most number of Ninjas: Kraken. And no, we''re not talking about the creature here.

    Kraken is the name of an Organization. It is the name of THE organization.

    Hiroshi frowned, his eyes turning sharp. He no longer pretended to be ignorant. "How do you know all this?"

    ''Not looking down on me now, are you? You old foggy,'' thought Betrix as she put on a mysterious smile, "I have my sources everywhere."

    (Poor and oblivious Gorski in the seller: "....")

    The old man still wanted to check her knowledge, "Why would we be interested in destroying the Kraken?"

    Betrixughed, "Why? Where do I even begin? You want to test out how much I know? Fine.

    "Let''s just ignore the number of Ninjas you''ve already lost against them. It''s a thing of the past. But, correct me if I''m wrong, but they''re going to need your help once again due to the matter of session. At that time, if you refuse, you''ll be losing your very important client. And if you didn''t, you''ll be losing a lot of ninjas," saying so, Betrix leaned closer.

    "If that''s not reason enough, then maybe because you might be interested in avenging your daughter and your son-inw, who died in a mission concerning the Kraken. After all, your genius granddaughter seems to want the revenge very badly. You wouldn''t want her to go on that futile mission, would you?"

    ''Akiko...'' At that, the old man''s shoulders sagged, and Betrix knew she had him.

    ''Hook, line, and sinker.''

    ¡­.

    A.N.: 3200 words already.

    NEXT CHAPTER: Combat and Stealth, Did I end up showing off?

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Come read ahead and support me! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 64: Combat and Stealth

    Chapter 64: Combat and Stealth

    Seeing Malcolming, Axel couldn''t help but sigh. What the fuck does this bastard want now?

    This is the first time he is approaching Axel so openly. Until now, Axel is rarely seen at themon house and at any other ce. Only the Great Hall is the ce which he frequents everyday. And this guy would never usually do anything to antagonise him in public since he had Martina''s protection.

    ''So, what does he want?'' Wondered Axel.

    "Hunt, you should stop," said Damien solemnly. He had an air of righteousness around him.

    Axel looked at him as if looking at a clown. "Who are you?"

    "...." That broke his momentum. It''s just like the arrogant fool to assume that everyone should know him. "I''m Damien ''Malcolm''. I''m here to stop you from continuing your disgraceful conduct."

    Axel tilted his head. He was curious what this guy was upto. ''Alright, I''ll bite.''

    "What are you talking about?" He asked.

    Damien smirked, "Oh, don''t pretend to be innocent now. First, you seduced Martina to get her protection. Then you set your sights on the second most powerful girl, Patricia, and you get into the Slytherin Quidditch team without trial. It was bad enough that all the old members of the team had graduated, but you are making it worse by ying a role as important as a seeker with no skills and experience. You are a disgrace to House Slytherin."

    Looking at the guy, Axel inwardly shook his head.

    ''This guy is digging his own grave,'' he thought. In his previous observations, he has already found that unlike his older brother, Damien Malcolm is quite impulsive, despite his moderately clever mind. He doesn''t think his actions through before acting. Right now, he must have seen that both Martina and Patricia weren''t here and thought it was a perfect chance to make the whole house against Axel. And, his n was going quite well so far, since his words had the desired effect. Negative nces were being thrown at Axel right now.

    It was the truth that Axel''s admission into the Slytherin Quidditch was quite abrupt. And unlike the case with Rose Potter, his admission wasn''t taken too positively by the house. Damien was taking advantage of that to make things difficult for Axel since he can''t openly bully him due to Martina''s warning.

    But, he was too impulsive. When ites to a fight, whether it''s a physical fight or a fight of words, Axel''s response is equally sharp. On streets, you can solve most things with violence, but not everything. Thus, Axel usually tries to solve everything with violence, but when violence is not an option, he is capable enough in the battle of wits.

    Looking at the guy, Axel nodded in understanding, "Alright, let''s not mention that you don''t know whether I''m a qualified seeker or not, but you are iming that I seduced the Princesses of two noble and powerful families¡­ without any proof or confirmation from any of the parties involved¡­" said Axel, and Damien''s face paled as he realized, he fucked up. He wouldn''t have thought that Axel would use his brain enough to respond logically instead of getting flustered and losing his cool.

    Axel folded his hands on the table as he looked up at Damien, who was already regretting his word choice. "So, tell me, Damien, are you ready to bear the consequences of tarnishing the reputation of these two influential families? Blimey, I shudder to think what they would do to you, especially the Valentino Family."

    ''This is it. Yep, this is it,'' thought Axel as he inwardly grinned in satisfaction. Now he can take his revenge from the shadows and everyone would think it''s one of the two families.

    Axel looked behind Damien as he raised his hand, "Oh, hey Martina! Look at this guy¡ª"

    Before he could finish, Damien already beat a hasty retreat, his crownies following right behind him.

    May be his luck was too bad, but the real Martina actually came through the double doors at this moment and poor Damien fell back on his butt with just a look, causing the students who were following the whole conversation to burst intoughter.

    Meanwhile, Martina who had done nothing: Am I that scary now?

    Shaking his head, Axel went back to eating his breakfast. He had won the confrontation, but Malcolm''s words made him aware that his admission into the team wasn''t taken very well by some people. ''Guess I''ll have to start soon,'' he thought.

    ¡­

    "That was¡­ great," said Daphne, looking at Axel with shining eyes as they went to attend their sses.

    Axel was bewildered, "Why are you so excited?" It''s not the first time he has had a fight in front of her. Usually she''s not so thrilled.

    Daphne shook her head, "It''s just a Ravenw thing. I didn''t know you could be that witty. I was already ready to move away in case you threw the guy across the table."

    Axel scoffed, "What do you take me for? A savage?"

    Daphne smiled but didn''t respond. At this moment, Daphne''s friends from Ravenw joined them for some reason, making her re at them.

    "What are you guys talking about?" Asked Padma Patil.

    Daphne gave the girls a warning look, "Something you guys have no business butting in."

    "Come on, Daph. We are just trying to catch up. You never hang out with us anymore," said Sue Li.

    Daphne gritted her teeth, "I believe we hung out just yesterday, or am I having memory problems now?" She already knew why they were disturbing her and she did NOT like it.

    Axel''s stats have been increasing too much. He already had the looks. But then he worked hard and slowly improved his academic abilities until he climbed to the first positionst year. His looks have improved and he''s tall and muscr instead of his earlier short and skinny body. Now he''s also a seeker in Quidditch. So, of course the bitches are now flocking around, smelling meat, and Daphne absolutely hates it! Especially because they didn''t see the good in him when he was still injured and malnourished. Compared to these girls'', even Martina is much better.

    Despite Daphne''s unweing attitude, the girls shamelessly tagged along while giggling. "We have Stealth & Subterfuge and Combat Training today. I wonder what will happen..." said Mandy Brocklehurst.

    Axel frowned. He doesn''t like to be surrounded in a group, especially since he doesn''t know everyone in the group. The girls would ask him questions from time to time but Axel would either ignore them or respond perfunctorily. Since they were Daphne''s friends, he just let her handle them.

    When they reached the ss, everyone was surprised. Since the size of Hogwarts'' ssrooms can be adjusted, the space of the ss had been extended by a lot for some reason. There were different targets and training dummies stationed at different distances. The tables and benches had been shifted to the side and weapons of all kinds wereid across them, creating quite the intimidating scene.

    Looking at those sharp and Pointy weapons, Axel''s first thought was, what would happen if he were to use ''Oppugno Totalis'' here. The spell that lets him control multiple objects at the same time. With so many sharp and dangerous weapons, the ssroom would turn into a meat grinder, wouldn''t it?

    ''Damn my intrusive thoughts!'' He thought, mentally giving himself a p.

    Clearing his head of the messy thoughts, he looked at the man waiting for them where the front who must be their professor. He was a man who looked to be in his 50s. He had greying hair but a fit and muscr body and the side of his chin had a cross-shaped scar. He had a few students of Mahoutokoro standing on his side as well.

    "Wee, everyone. I''m Sensei Morge and I''ll be incharge of yourbat training," he said in a deep and solemn voice.

    "Combat is an essential part of being a Ninja. Most of our missions put us in a situation where we have to fight, whether it is to attack our enemies or to defend our clients. In this ss, I''ll be teaching you how you can use your body and weapons for doing that," he said, pointing at one particrly long table.

    "We''ll start with Kunai. They are on that table. Kunai are multifunctional weapons. They can be used as throwing weapons for long range attacks, they can be used in short range for hand to handbat, they''re also useful if you need to cut any objects like ropes or gouge holes, there''s a hole in it''s back where you can tie a rope, further branching out its uses. That''s why, a kunai is a basic weapon that every ninja carries and learns to wield.

    "Pick out your kunais from the table. We''ll start with long range training."

    "Blimey, a simple object has so many uses,"mented Mandy Brocklehurst, examining the kunai in her hand.

    "What are we supposed to do with this?" Asked Padma, picking up her own.

    Axel picked one up as well as he weighed it in hands and examined it. As expected, the edges were blunted with magic so that the students don''t hurt each other or themselves.

    Sensei Morge pointed at the target circles stationed in front of them. "You''re supposed to hit them. Improve your aim first."

    "Really?"

    "Just like that?"

    "It''s on!"

    Students found the prospect of throwing Kunais enjoyable so everyone got right to it. But, they quickly realized it wasn''t going to be as easy as they thought. Out of all the Kunais thrown in the beginning, very few were able to actually reach the target, let alone hit it.

    "Lame! Let them show you how it''s done," said Sensei Morge, gesturing to the students of Mahoutokoro.

    The ninjas first demonstrated the technique and then made the throws. All of them were able to hit the bullseye. After that, they began to supervise the students so they don''t identally hurt each other.

    While the others were busy throwing with all their might, Axel just stood and watch. He had to agree with Sensei Morge, everyone wasme. Even the students of Mahoutokoro. He could hit the bullseye at this range even in crippled state. This throwing training was useless to him.

    None of the girls around Axel were able to reach the target, let alone the bullseye. But they were quite eager to see Axel try.

    "I can''t reach it! But, I think Axel can make it," said Mandy Brocklehurst, feeling up the muscles on Axel''s arm which were hidden under the cloak.

    "Woah¡­.what have you been hiding here!"

    ".... You shouldn''t do that when I have a weapon in my hand," said Axel as she shook off her hand, barely resisting the urge to bash her face in.

    Even though the threat was real, only Daphne out of the girls realized that he wasn''t kidding. Following Mandy, the other girls also touched Axel''s arms.

    "Wow! This is so hard!"

    "It''s like rock!"

    But not even a secondter, they were all shoved away, not by Axel but by Daphne, even before Axel extracted himself.

    "You all¡­Stay away from him!" She said in a scathing tone, trying to keep her voice quiet, but a student from Mahoutokoro still warned them to not cause amotion.

    The girls were a bit scared for a moment since they could feel the dangering from Daphne this time. But then they thought it must be their imagination as they began whispering among themselves about Axel''s looks. Only Axel, who knew her better could tell that something was wrong with her.

    "even though I always wanted to do that¡­ these bitches¡­ there are so many sharp weapons here¡­" she kept murmuring some strange things in a low voice and her eyes couldn''t be seen due to her hair.

    "Hey," said Axel, shaking her little. "Are you alright?"

    With a jerk, Daphne seemed toe to her senses as she looked at Axel. "Yeah¡­ I''m fine. It''s just that these girls are too infuriating," she said, not trying to prevent her voice to be heard by her friends. Though even now, the girls didn''t take her seriously.

    "Alright, we won''t bother you if you can hit the target next time," said Mandy Brocklehurst.

    "Yeah, we can do that!" The other girls agreed as well. But of course, they knew that there was no chance her kunai would even reach the target, let alone hit it.

    Daphne coldly red at the girls. "Fine." She said, picking up a kunai with a grim determination rarely seen in her.

    Axel looked at her in surprise. Her previous attempts weren''t bad but there was no power in her throws. He was sure she wouldn''t be able to reach it.

    But Daphne seemed determined, and pissed as she clutched the kunai tightly. After aiming for a while, she swung her hand with all her might.

    *Shin*

    The kunai actually made a sound as it cut through the air, surprising Axel. This was a very strong throw. Strong enough that it would easily reach the target, proving everyone wrong. Though, Axel could also tell that her aim this time was off the mark. It wouldn''t hit the target. The kunai in Axel''s hand disappeared.

    *Shin*

    *DING*

    The spinning kunai travelled in a curved path as it hit Daphne''s kunai.

    *Thump Thump*

    ''They were too annoying after all,'' thought Axel, looking at the two kunai buried in the bullseye as he ignored the shocked reactions of everyone else. He was fine with just Daphne''spany for the time being.

    ***

    For the Stealth ss, their teacher was a woman with braided ck hair, wearing ck lipstick and ck outfit. Even her nails were painted ck.

    "I''m Kurai. Wee to your Stealth and Concealment Training."

    Even her name, "Kurai" trantes into "Dark".

    "You all might have heard that Ninjas are also called Shinobis and the underlying connotation of the word "Shinobi" is "to hide" and¡ªby extension¡ª"to forbear", hence its association with stealth and invisibility," she exined smoothly.

    "So, Stealth and Subterfuge are an absolute must for any Shinobi. It''s the main reason why Ninjas are hired. It''s useful for Spying and Reconnaissance, assassination, concealment, Disguise, and so on."

    ''Damn, this woman doesn''t censor her words.'' thought Axel, looking at some of the students who seemed a bit terrified due to the mention of things like assassination. It has to be mentioned that Ninjas don''t ept just any assassination request and not every ninja is given the authority to ept assassination missions. Officially, only the Hunter-nin corps are given such missions and few people have the authority to move them.

    Unbothered, Kurai Sensei continued, "Let''s start with stealth. Stealth doesn''t simply mean invisibility. It involves everything you can do to make sure that no one notices what you''re doing," saying so, Kurai sensei snapped her fingers.

    In the next second, a kunai was buried above the head of a Student, Neville Longbottom, who promptly dropped to his knees with a terrified expression. "Did anyone see me throw that? This is stealth."

    ''She''s good,'' thought Axel. Too bad there was little she could teach him that he didn''t already know. And the things he might not know are so advance that they won''t be taught in the first ss.

    For the rest of the ss, Axel simply kept a low profile. Since he was the best at Stealth, it was that much more important to keep it hidden from the students. It''s a skill that loses its usefulness the more you advertise it.

    The ss passed peacefully. But, at the end of the ss, "Hey, you!"

    Kurai Sensei called out, making Axel stop. He looked back to see who was being called, only to see Kurai Sensei''s gaze fixed on him.

    ''The fuck?''

    "Yes you, the cute one. You wait for a while. We need to have a talk."

    ''Damn it, this time I didn''t do anything!'' Axel swore inwardly. What the heck? He had gone out of his way not to attract attention in this ss, and this Sensei is just destroying all of his efforts.

    ¡­

    Next: New Skills, Mysterious Martina

    Next Next: The Chamber of Secrets

    POWERSTONES!!!

    If you want to read ahead and support me: /Snollygoster

    thanks for your support!

 Chapter 65: Notification

    Chapter 65: Notification

    Chapter in 6 hours, as soon as Iplete the P¨¤treon one. keep the POWERSTONES ready!

    (You might have been a bit inconvenienced by the notification but there''d be no point of me posting the chapter if everyone has already spent their daily stone. I''ll then upload it an entire dayter, so I think getting it today is better.)

 Chapter 66: The Chamber Secrets

    Chapter 66: The Chamber Secrets

    Chapter 66

    Martina had been in quite an internal conflict these days. So far, her life in this world has been very peaceful and fulfilling. She has quite a loving and caring family, and magic has been such an entertaining factor that she can keep researching it all her life.

    But, it can''t be forgotten that this world isn''t exactly as safe a ce as it appears. It''s the Potterverse, where, even though there''s no Harry Potter, there is still Voldemort. She confirmed it herselfst year. And even though the canon plot is not the same, some factors still have not changed. For example,st year, even with so many things changing, Voldemort still came after the stone and ended up endangering the lives of the students.

    So, this year, however unlikely it may seem, there is a chance that the chamber of Secrets might be opened, and a Basilisk might start to roam free in Hogwarts. Heck, it might have already been opened for all she knew. Thus, as someone who knows the plot, she has been agonizing over what to do.

    In the original story, it was only through sheer luck that know one died in the second year. Somehow, every time someone saw the Basilisk, it was through some sort of reflection, and no direct eye contact was made, thus only resulting in the victims petrification and the Basilisk didn''t attack directly as well, or it could have simply eaten a few students. But now, after everything has changed, would such lucky coincidences still ur? She can''t take such a chance. After all, a lot is at stake here.

    A Basilisk is actually a big deal. It''s one of the most dangerous XXXXX creatures. If someone is actually killed by a it, the influential families from all over the world, whose precious children are studying here would be beyond outraged. Specially since there has already been a troll incident before.

    They would politically tear down the School, and her parents would be leading the charge. Not to mention that the cooperation with Mahoutokoro might end, leaving her research of her magic iplete.

    Thus, the Basilisk needs to be taken care of, as soon as possible. Martina had already made preparations for this years ago, but now that she was actually going to do this, she was having second thoughts. It was a Basilisk! And this wasn''t some fantasy! It''s easy to think about it but it''s much more difficult to actually do it in real life! One wrong move could cost her life.

    But Martina had already made up her mind.

    ''If a twelve year old boy with little to no magical training can do it, then why can''t I, a reincarnator with so many cheats, do it?! I even have the [Linguist] Skill, so Parseltongue won''t be a problem,'' she thought positively.

    As a reincarnator with high karma, she had been able to get a few cheats with her reincarnation, one of which was [Linguist]. It basically makes her adept in allnguages of this world. That includes magical and runguages.

    So, she can ess the chamber without needing a Parselmouth''s help and actuallymunicate with the Basilisk since it''s not under the control of the diary Voldemort yet. Maybe, just maybe things could be settled peacefully, and if not, then she has made so many preparations as well.

    For Basilisk venom, she had some Phoenix tears. In fact, her parents have always had her carry some with her for use in case she even gets a scratch.

    For its Deathly gaze, she has prepared special goggles that''ll protect her eyes. For her body, she was wearing an enchanted cloak which has many enchantments, and her staff, it''s something that has a much better magical conductivity than wands.

    Andstly, she has even brought with her a flock of roosters, who''s cry are the only weakness of Basilisks.

    ''Yes, with this much, I can do it!'' She thought, trying to push down her nervousness. Besides, she also wants to explore the Chamber of Secrets. She should explore it before the plot starts.

    ....

    Looking at Martina going into the Bathroom, Axel frowned. As far as he knew, this Bathroom was out of order. And on her way here, she had already passed by another girl''s bathroom which was perfectly in order. Coupled with other circumstances like her unusual attire, demeanor, and time, she''s likely not using the bathroom for its intended use.

    Then, what''s going on? All sorts of reasons came into his head. Though at this moment, something happened.

    *Ding*

    [Special Quest Triggered]

    [Snake Hunting: Get rid of the Basilisk.

    Reward: ???]

    Axel was pleasantly surprised to see the notification. After all, special quests have always given him good rewards. He got the [Light Magic Infusion] and [Light Armor] skills from special quests, both of which have proven to be quite useful.

    He readily epted the quest.

    ''So, what''s this Basilisk and where is it?'' He asked the system. As a person who just got acquainted with the wizarding world, he of course had no idea what the fuck a Basilisk was. But he figured it was just a creature that somehow got into Hogwarts like the Troll.

    It wasn''t until the system gave him the information on the Basilisk did he realized, this might be a scam.

    [The Basilisk known also as the King of Serpents, is a dark creature which may reach gigantic sizes, and live many hundreds of years. It''s highly resistant to magic (except light magic) and highly venomous. It has a murderous stare, and the Beam of its eyes can be fatal. Young Basilisks are weak to rooster''s cry, but it''s effect diminishes with the Basilisk''s age. The size of the Basilisk can go upto to 50 metres...]

    Going through the information, Axel realized that he might have bitten more than he can chew this time. He was particrly intimidated by the ''Death Stare'' skill. This thing can kill with just eye contact. How crazy is that?

    ''System, how am I supposed to handle the Death Stare?'' He asked the system incredulously. If not for that skill, he could have still managed, but if he''s going to die even if he made a direct eye contact by ident, then it''s too risky.

    [Axel, death stare is not an absolute skill. There are ways it can be avoided. If you just close your eyes, it can''t affect you.]

    ''Then how the fuck am I supposed to fight?''

    System: [Arcane Eyes]

    Damn...

    ''The venom...''he began.

    [Leftover phoenix tears.]

    Fuck.

    ''Sigh...'' No excuses then.

    It would seem that he has some snake hunting to do.

    ...

    Entering the Bathroom, Martina went straight to the sink with the small serpent.

    $"Open"$ she said and the old mechanism came to life as the sink sank out of sight.

    ''I don''t want to do this...'' murmured Martina, looking into the wide aperture that appeared in front of her. Her feet left the ground as she started to float in the air without the help of any broomstick. She then flew into the huge aperture, the long tresses of her purple hair fluttering behind her.

    *crunch* *crunch*

    When she reached the bottom of the tunnel andnded on the ground, the crunching of bones beneath her feet creeped her out. She tried to ignore the huge snake skin that was lying not far away from her. Looking at it only made her determination waver.

    Walking into the passageway for a while, she came across another door. It had two stone serpents entwined carved on it, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

    "$Open$" Spoke Martina once again in a low, faint hiss. The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, and Martina, shaking slightly due to nervousness and anticipation, walked inside. This was it. This was the Legendary Chamber of Secrets, built by Szar Slytherin. This ce has such a high archeological value, and they were never explored further in the books. It''s called the Chamber of Secrets, surely it should contain some other secrets as well apart from a giant Basilisk, right?

    Stepping past the parted walls, she entered the dimly lit chamber. From what she could see, it was a huge area, at least two football fields. Towering Stone pirs entwined with life-like carvings of giants serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, ck shadows through the odd greenish gloom that filled the ce.

    A stone pathway, wide enough for two cars to pass side-by-side led to the wide expanse further into the chamber, with had the giant statue of Szar Slytherin.

    Greenish water surrounded either sides of the pathway which she walked on, as she fixed her attention on the giant statue with some anxiety, specifically, its mouth. That was the area which is supposed to open and free the Basilisk. Thankfully, it was closed.

    Sighing in relief, Martina decided not to open it yet. She will make all the preparations before she makes her move.

    While she was walking on the long pathway, her attention was diverted due to the amazing architecture of the Chamber of Secrets. She was itching to explore the wards and enchantments ced around this ce.

    That''s why, she was takenpletely by surprise when something grabbed her hand from behind and attempted to drag her back forcefully.

    "!!!"

    Martina screamed as her magicshed out at whatever was trying to pull her.

    "What the fuck?! For fuck''s sake, Don''t cause amotion and quicklye!" A low voice came from right infront of her, making her freak out of even more.

    How can someone else be in the chamber of secrets?! And, why does this voice sound a bit familiar?

    Instead of going towards the voice, Martina instead began backing away as she raised her voice. "Y-you! D-Don''te near me! I-I-I know v-very PoWerFulL MaGic!" She yelled, raising her staff infront of her as a magical shield was raised around her.

    There were more curses from the other side. "¡ªDumb bish is going to get me killed as well," muttered the voice in frustration as a person suddenly became visible, making Martina widen her eyes in shock.

    "Axel?!"

    ...

    Axel was stealthily following Martina into the Chamber while gathering more information from the system.

    It seems the Basilisk is inside a secret chamber of Szar Slytherin (thank god it''s not roaming around freely like the troll) and Martina is going to Hunt it down. Well, she does seem well prepared about the task and she''s a powerful genius. So, Axel figured he would just watch from the sidelines and help out in case of emergency and im the rewards afterwards. After all, the system only asked him to get rid of the Basilisk. He doesn''t need to do everything by himself.

    Thus, closing his eyes and activating his Arcane Eyes, Axel followed Martina, using her as a testing rat for traps and attacks.

    And as expected, Martina seemed to know her stuff since while Axel was constantly on edge, trying to search for the Basilisk in the shadows, while Martina was navigating the ce familiarly and wasn''t even surprised by the life-like statues and Basilisk skin.

    ''As expected, this girl is on a different league,'' thought Axel as he looked at Martina who was walking along the pathway without triggering a single trap with some respect. She even had the time to admire the scenery while he worked hard to step on the exact steps she had taken. He had a headache just thinking abouting all the way here while checking for traps and wards by himself, especially since the wards of this ce were quiteplicated when he once increased the intensity of his Arcane Eyes and caught a glimpse of them.

    (Meanwhile, the unaware Martina who just didn''t bother about that stuff due to her reliance on canon knowledge andck of practical experience: transmigrators? )

    While walking along the pathway, Axel realized that the woman hadpletely ignored the seemingly deep water that was surrounding them from both sides, just like how she had ignored countless traces of the Basilisk''s existence around them.

    A doubt came into Axel''s mind.

    ''Does this girl really know what she''s doing?''

    If the Basilisk is not in that water, then where is it? Not trusting her, Axel increased the intensity of his Arcane Eyes as he peered into the waters on either side of them.

    ''Fuck!''

    His heartbeat elerated as he saw a giant shadow faintly glowing at the depths of the water through his xray vision granted by his Arcane Eyes.

    ''It''s huge....'' He thought, looking at Szar''s snake. And it was getting bigger and bigger.

    Axel looked back at Martina and still found no reaction from her. The huge serpent wasing closer to the surface. It was moving very slowly, as if to not make any disturbance in the water.

    ''Even if she''s using herself as a bait, this should be enough, right?'' he thought, as he still saw no magical fluctuationsing from Martina, neither did he see her put up her guard or set up a trap. His suspicions of her kept increasing as time ticked by.

    A few secondster...

    ''If she''s still intentionally not doing anything, then I really admire her patience and balls,'' he thought as the shadow of the snake was even closer to the surface. It seemed like it would reach the surface very soon.

    A few secondster...

    ''...System, she has no idea, does she?''

    [No.]

    "Fucking hell," he muttered as he hurriedly tried to pull her back.

    Why did he not run away at this moment? Because of the thing called ''Life Debt.'' This girl had saved his life when he was attacked by Dementors on the previous Halloween. Now, he can''t just let her die, can he?

    That''s why, Axel tried to pull her away. But, Martina had the leisure to scream like a little girl and evensh out at him with her magic.

    Curses flew out of Axel''s mouth as he realized that the snake was now just beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to pounce on them. He tried to persuade her toe quickly, but Martina still didn''t seem aware of the danger.

    "Y-you! D-Don''te near me! I-I-I know v-very PoWerFulL MaGic!" She yelled, backing away from him and going even closer to the Basilisk.

    ''Damn it!'' In his frustration, Axel canceled his stealth as he quickly pointed at the waterbody beside her. "There''s a Basilisk down there!!"

    He thought this would be enough to make her prepare her overpowered magic and also back away, but¡­ it would seem that he had overestimated her intelligence.

    Martina looked rmed, but also confused, "No, the Basilisk is obviously inside the statue¡ª"

    *BOOM*

    At this moment, with a huge ssh, something huge broke through the surface,ing straight towards them with a surprising agility.

    A.N.: Next Chapter: Snake Hunting.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Can''t wait? Come read ahead on P¨¤treon! /Snollygoster

    Track the progress of next chapter at my Discord channel.

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 Chapter 67: Snake Hunting

    Chapter 67: Snake Hunting

    Chapter 67

    Upon encountering Axel in the middle of Chamber of Secrets, Martina was actually more surprised than she was at the prospect of encountering a ghost here, which was her earlier assumption.

    Seriously, what is he doing here? And how did he get here? Has he always been here or did he somehow follow her? Did hee here because he''s under the control of Diary? All sorts of questions shed inside her head.

    But, before she could get her answers, Axel shouted that there was a Basilisk behind her!

    At first, Martina couldn''t understand. Shouldn''t the Basilisk be inside the statue? It won''te until she opens the statue.

    It was only then did it click to her. She had assumed that the Basilisk would be trapped behind the statue. But, why did she automatically assume that?! If you actually think about it, can such a big snake stay alive locked up in a statue for years? Fat chance. It would have made more sense for it to actually reside in the water here. But, she had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn''t pay attention to this detail.

    All this was too much for her to process at once. And by the time she realized, it was already toote. With a loud ssh, something huge broke through the surface,ing straight towards them with a surprising quickness.

    *BOOM*

    Within the blink of an eye, Martina and Axel both disappeared as the mouth of the giant creature, filled with sharp fangs, closed around them.

    "!!!!"

    Everything happened so quickly that Martina couldn''t even react. Her breathing stopped as she saw her life sh before her eyes. In the next moment, a strong force enveloped her and she found herself being moved at an astonishing speed.

    When she came to, she realized that in the blink of an eye, Axel had moved the both of them a few metres away from where they were standing a moment ago. The stone pavement behind them still contained a streak of magic due to his footwork.

    *!!!!!*

    Cold shivers ran down Martina''s spine when she realized that she would have been swallowed just now.

    $"HISSSSSSS! SSSSS"$

    {PREY IS FLEEING! I WANT BLOOD!}

    The snake''s loud hissing reverberated in her ears, making her shake. She could feel it''s sinister and bloodthirsty nature. She had thought that the serpent might have been like that only due to Voldemort''s control and hunger. That''s why she had brought a lot of food for it. But right now, after feeling the malice and sadism in its voice, she was certain that things could not be settled just by talking. It wasn''t attacking them because it was hungry. It was attacking them because it wanted to Kill.

    "Run." A voice spoke into her ear before she was unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

    Axel couldn''t be bothered to pay attention to this Mafia Princess right now. Even though he had sessfully saved Martina, his work here had just started. And only after seeing the creature upclose did he realize that, it wasn''t going to be easy!

    The serpent was ginormous, its vivid green scales looking imprable. And despite its size, it was moving with surprising agility!

    But of course, Axel was still faster.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    [Arcane Footwork]

    [Knife Wielding]

    [Light Magic Infusion]

    Right after its ambush failed, Axel didn''t give the serpent the time to turn around. With a streak of light, he appeared on top of the creature. The knife in his hand glowed with a golden magic and his Knife Wielding skills, which had even defeated Akiko, showed it''s charm once again as dozens of cuts appeared on the giant serpent''s back.

    $"SsssssHISSSSS"$ The snake hissed in pain but unfortunately, Axel only had a knife in his hand, not a sword. It couldn''t even reach deep enough to pierce through its thick scales.

    "!!!!"

    Meanwhile, lying on the ground, as she witnessed this scene, Martina felt a strong feeling of Deja vu. But right now, she was so surprised with Axel''s skills and so scared of the Basilisk that she couldn''t remember where she''d witnessed something simr.

    Her mind wasn''t working properly right now and her hands and feet were shaking.

    Scrambling to her feet, she quickly took out another pair of goggles simr to the ones she was wearing and sent them to Axel.

    "Axel! Wear them quickly! They''ll protect you from the Basilisk''s eyes!" She called out in a fluster as she attacked the Basilisk with a few powerful spells.

    Due to her shaking hands, some of her spells hit the Basilisk in the face while the others missed, but since she was so distracted, they didn''te out as powerful as she intended them to be. They ended up only annoying the magic resistant snake and drawing its attention.

    "Shit." As he wore the useless goggles she had sent him, Axel cursed as he saw the Basilisk once again heading in Martina''s direction. He hoped that this girl had some powerful weapon ready to attack the Basilisk or she was at least prepared to run.

    Martina did have a powerful weapon for this asion. And when the snake swerved around toe for her, she had no choice but to use it.

    ''I''m sorry, Basilisk. But it seems that there''s no other choice,'' she thought regretfully.

    Taking out a box from her pouch, she threw it at the Basilisk. Instantly, a dozen of roosters came out, along with a sound amplifying magical device.

    "COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!" The loud sound of the roosters'' cry reverberated throughout the chamber, drowing all other noise for a moment.

    $"Hisssss!"$

    {Annoying!}

    ''What?!''

    Martina had thought that this should do the trick, but surprisingly, the loud sound of the roosters'' cry didn''t seem to cause much damage to the Basilisk.

    It only made the tense situationical as the Basilisk ignored the roosters and fixed its enraged gaze on her.

    Martina couldn''t understand it. She had clearly read in the books that the Basilisks were weak to Rooster''s cry. Even in canon, Tom Riddle''s diary had gotten rid of all the roosters in the second year. That must mean something right? Or why would he do that?

    ''Wait a moment...'' Martina only then realized. Tom Riddle in the diary was just a 16 year old. Chances are, he never actually tested the Rooster''s cry on the Basilisk and only read it in the same books Martina had read. And this information mustn''t be totally urate.

    But, it was toote to realize this now. The Basilisk was alreadying for her with its scary eyes fixed on her.

    At this moment, she happened to make eye contact with the serpent for the very first time. Itsrge yellow eyes filled with viciousness were fixed directly on her as it slithered towards her with great momentum.

    !!!

    Looking into its eyes, Martina felt fear gripping her heart. The sses did protect her as she was still alive, and she could still move as well. But, she was too scared to take action. Her magic was only powerful when her mental state was stable. But right now, her mental state was all but stable. Nothing was going ording to the n. Plus, she was too damn scared! In her previous life, she had been an ordinary girl who would be scared by cockroaches, okay? Even though she was powerful right now and had lumency, it seems that a 1000 year old Basilisk is still out of her mental capacity.

    Looking at the cowardly girl about to be devoured, Axel clicked his tongue.

    ''Did she really think it would work?!'' He thought in exasperation. He was thinking of taking it easy, but it looks like he''ll now have to take things a bit more seriously.

    His eyes glowed brighter and he searched for the best spots to attack on the serpent''s body. Then, increasing the output of his skills, he rushed forward, running along the serpent''s back.

    Before the snake reached Sakura Martina, Axel had arrived in front of the useless girl with a gust of wind that blew her hair back, standing between her and the snake.

    "Run! This is thest time." He said in warning. He figured his life debt should be over by this much. Now he won''t go out of his way to save her. His life is also in danger right now. Throwing those words, he rushed towards the iing snake with all his might.

    In the chamber of secrets, amidst the towering pirs, a boy and a Basilisk charged at each other, each unafraid of another.

    $"HISSSSSS!"$

    "Let''s see what you''ve got, you worm," muttered Axel as he overclocked his skills to the max. The bones of his body made crackling sounds as he prepared to push his body to the limits. For some reason, he felt especially empowered right now.

    The glow of his knife intensified and the muscles of his hand that was holding the knife bulged. When they shed, hundreds of cuts instantly appeared on the head of the creature.

    $"SSSSSSSHISSSSSSS!!!"$

    Dark green blood sshed as the creature hissed in agony. In a few moments, both of its eyes were gone, and it''s skull head deep gashes, formed by repeated shing of Axel''s knife. It snapped at Axel causing him stop his attack to dodge easily, but in that moment, the snake unexpectedly raised its body and plunged its head into the water as it started to flee.

    "Fuck! I had almost reached the skull!" Eximed Axel as he tried to stop it with no avail.

    On the other hand, after witnessing Axel''s attack, that was much more powerful and faster than the previous one directly upfront, Martina suddenly realized where she had seen it before.

    "That¡­.. Isn''t that¡­?!!"

    Her mind quickly dug out the memory and her eyes widened in absolute shock. Last year on the third floor, during the confrontation against Voldemort, when the Lethifold had attacked Daphne and Martina was helpless to stop it, she had seen these same golden shes appear all over the Lethifold! There was no way she could forget it because she had never known that it was possible to actually kill a Lethifold. It was such a groundbreaking discovery that she had researched about it for days but wasn''t able to find anything. That''s why, when she saw those golden lines cut into the Basilisk''s skin from close proximity, she quickly connected the dots.

    "So, it was actually him all along?" As she looked at Axel who was currently fighting a Basilisk single-handedly while moving at a speed difficult to follow, the boy her appeared to be covered in a veil of mysteries.

    Just like how she was fascinated with magic, simrly, the boy in front of her full of mysteries fascinated her. She has seen this boy fight a troll, Dementors, a Lethifold, and now Basilisk. And each time, the level of his magic keeps increasing. From the boy limping in pain through the corridor alone at night, to the powerful wizard fearlessly fighting a Basilisk, she wanted to uncover the story behind this transformation.

    ''How...?''

    The look in Martina''s eyes slowly changed. She now looked at him with the same desire that she showed for rare tomes of magic.

    It made the fear inside her dissipate, letting her achieve the stable mental state that is needed for her magic to work. In face of her passion, her fear would never win.

    ''It''s my turn now,'' she thought, as her magic red, making her robes flutter.

    Martina raised her staff, and thick purple chains of magic burst forth, wrapping themselves around the serpent. Her hair bellowed as the purple magic oozed out of her. And surprisingly, the chains were actually able to stop the Basilisk from moving its body into the water!

    The intensity of her magic increased. And, the chains actually started to retract slowly, pulling the giant creature along with them!

    *ck*

    That was the sound of Axel''s jaw falling to the floor.

    He was ready to jump into the water and fight the creature underwater. Somehow, he felt that his chances underwater were not bad, especially since he felt additional power burning inside him at this moment. But, it would seem that there was no need to do that anymore. Looking at Martina bursting with magic, he only had one question.

    ''Woman, would it have killed you to use those powers earlier?''

    (Your daddy here had to fight at his max just now and even risk getting poisoned just now.)

    Against its will, the thrashing serpent was brought out of the water as the chains tightly held it down on the ground.

    Not wanting to miss out on the chance, Axel used his Arcane Footwork to jump a few meters high. From that height, his knife hand stretched backpletely while he infused as much light magic in the knife as he could.

    [Knife Throwing]

    Then, he used his knife throwing skill. The real deal, not the small percentage he had used in the ss.

    *BOOM*

    The knife he threw from his hand broke the sound barrier as it passed through the gap he''d created with his earlier shes.

    $"SSSSS!!!"$

    It''s pierced through the Basilisk''s skull, sealing it''s fate. The serpent gave out a few dying thrashes before it moved no more.

    Like this, the life of the thousand year old Basilisk came to an end.

    [Congrattions! You havepleted the Special Quest: Snake Hunting.

    Rewards:

    ->Basilisk Body Parts

    ->Special Skill: Poison Arts

    ->Special Skill: Poison Immunity]

    Landing on the ground, Axel panted lightly as he sat on the ground. Even though the fight wasn''t difficult, it wasn''t easy either. Fortunately, the rewards were worth it.

    The New skills looked great. Poison¡­ it was something he had been vulnerable against up until now. If anyone attacked him, whether it''s upfront or a sneak attack, he had made counter measures. But, if someone attacked him using poison, Axel would have been helpless against it.

    It''s actually good that he has been eating his own diet ingredients till now, or he''d have been poisoned by Damien Malcolm long ago. If the organization had decided to subdue him using a poison that spreads through the air, he would have been helpless as well.

    But now, he can learn about making poisons and even slowly develop his own poison immunity as well. So, over-all, even though the mission had been risky, he''d say it was totally worth it.

    ''Sigh¡­'' Sitting on the ground, Axel sighed. He thought that it was time to rx but then he remembered something. ncing back, he saw Martina, who was currently looking at him in a daze.

    ''Fuck I forgot...'' It would seem that the problem was still not over.

    "Come sit," he said, beckoning her to sit on the ground beside him. He had a headache just thinking about what he was going to do now. Martina had seen too much.

    ....

    A.N.: Next chapter: Flustered Martina, Training with Akiko

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Read ahead and support me at P¨¤treon.

    Pa treon./Snollygoster (remove spaces)

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 Chapter 68: Flustered Martina and Training with Akiko

    Chapter 68: Flustered Martina and Training with Akiko

    Martina looked at Axel, lost in thoughts. Her heart was still hammering in her chest due to the near-death encounter with the giant poisonous serpent just now, and she couldn''t calm down at all. She had almost died! Twice!

    Just because she had gotten very powerful in this life, she had naively assumed that her fear would go away now. But, she had forgot to take into ount that some fears are irrational. A tiny spider, or a cockroach, can''t really hurt you. But don''t most girls still hit the ceiling whenever they actually see one?

    The same thing happened to her when the Basilisk suddenly attacked her. It was only thanks to this boy that she was alive right now. The scene of Axel hurling down the knife mid-air with skull-shattering force was still ying in her head.

    At this moment, Axel happened to look back at Martina.

    "Come sit," he said calmly, beckoning her to sit on the ground beside him as his sight went back to the dead Basilisk in front of him. He had a headache just thinking about what he was going to do now. She had seen too much.

    "....??"

    Martina looked at Axel in a daze. The way he was so calm in this situation gave her a sense of incongruency. Especially since she still couldn''t even look at the creature''s corpse without freaking out. So, the sight of Axel''s small body casually sitting in front of the giant Basilisk he killed just moments ago, looked oddly striking.

    Still in a haze of emotions, Martina found herself agreeing to his suggestion as she plopped herself on the ground beside him as she also turned to look at the Basilisk. Somehow, after sitting beside him, she no longer felt so afraid. Her frantic mind slowly calmed down as the two of them just sat there on the cold stone ground, looking at their trophy.

    After a while, Axel turned to fix his gaze on her. "You can''t tell anyone about this."

    Martina flicked her hair to look at Axel in daze. This was the same boy who had made her trip on his first night at Hogwarts. In their second meeting, she had gotten a glimpse at some of his painful memories, making her traumatized by just witnessing them and wanting to know what led up to those memories and what happened next. Then the troll, Dementors, Lethifold... Looking back, Axel had always been mysterious. But the more she knows about him, the deeper the mysteries surrounding him be.

    But, he guards his secrets strongly. This was not the first time he was asking her to not tell anyone about his secrets. And every time she tries to know more about him, he always shuts her out.

    This time though, the things she has found out are too shocking. How is he doing the things he did? How and why did he sneak into the 3rd floor corridor that night? How did he appear here? How was he able to fight fearlessly against the Basilisk? And most importantly, how is he so powerful? Martina had so many questions, and she badly wanted to know the answers! But, she knew that even if she asked, Axel wouldn''t open up.

    So, she only nodded her head. "Don''t worry. I won''t tell anyone," she said reassuringly.

    She''ll save the questioning forter.

    Axel nodded, but still didn''t look convinced. "Would you sign a secrecy contract?" Axel couldn''t help but ask that. The things she had witnessed today were too big for him to risk it.

    Martina tried not to look hurt by that, "O-Okay, I''ll sign it if you want," she said.

    "Though I thought we would have enough trust between us by now," she murmured in a lower voice.

    But Axel still heard it. "Hey, it''s not your fault. I''ve just... stopped trusting people due to certain reasons," he exined, not wanting to hurt her. Martina was not a stranger. He knew her well and he knew she wouldn''t reveal it if she said so. It''s just that, he doesn''t trust his judgement on this matter anymore. It''s better to be on the safer side since the secrets are too huge.

    ''Stopped trusting people?'' That made Martina think about his circumstances. He was an orphan, that much she knew, and from the brief glimpses of memories she had glimpsed when she had tried reading his mind, she was sure that his life had not been pleasant.

    She could understand some of his pain since she was an orphan herself in her previous life, but,pared to him, her life was quite smooth sailing untill the end since she had good rtives on both sides as well a few nerdy friends she could trust. And in this life, she had her loving family whom she could trust with almost all of her secrets. So, it saddened her a lot to think how his life until now must have been, to have this outlook towards life.

    ''No, this isn''t right," she thought. Having this state of mindset is wrong. Axel is missing out on too much. She decided in her heart that she''ll find out more about his circumstances and help him out, especially since she might have died tonight if not for him. But right now, since she had regained herposure, she needed to properly express her gratitude.

    So, she smiled, "Don''t worry, I don''t mind signing the contract. After all, you just saved my life. I don''t even know how to thank you!" She eximed, giving him a hug.

    Axel froze. ''There it is again...'' he thought ufortably as he attempted to push her away. Though, in the next second, Martina opted to separate on her own initiative as she turned her face away from him, her long purple hiding her facepletely like a curtain.

    Martina touched the tip of her ears, which were feeling hot for some reason. As a recluse, close contact with the opposite gender was, of course, a big no for her, but she had beenfortable with Axel since she viewed him as a person very younger than her. But, for some reason, when she hugged him just now, she felt a bit flustered. She reasoned that it must be because Axel''s temperament and physical appearance don''t match his age, so her antisocial tendencies were kicking in.

    "A-Anyways, how did you end up here?" She asked, changing the subject to hide away her mortification.

    Axel rolled his eyes, "Don''t ask. Just be d you''re not good at being stealthy. If you weren''t so sloppy, I wouldn''t have followed you, and you''d have been dead by now."

    Martina looked at Axel in disbelief, "You actually detected me? How?!"

    "Well, there''s only one person I know who smells like Lavender¡­" answered Axel as he got up to examine the Basilisk in front of them.

    Martina looked at Axel with her mouth slightly agape. "Y-You¡­ You actually¡­" she was speechless as her whole face went red this time.

    But Axel''s attention was already on the Basilisk now. "Anyways, what are we gonna do with this thing?"

    Martina sighed as she cleared her head of the messy thoughts in order to answer him. Because, he had actually raised a valid question. They had won the war, but what to do with the spoils?

    "The first thing we do it is to cast preservation spells on its whole body. Every part of a Basilisk''s body is extremely precious, especially since this one is around a thousand years old," exined Martina, also getting up to join him. Now that she had calmed down, she no longer felt afraid, and her excitement reced her fear as she looked at the treasure trove in front of her.

    She continued, "Its skin has magic resistant properties, making it a great research and development material. Its venom is one of the most poisonous substances in the world. Its eyes, which are the main conduit for its deathly gaze also have diverse uses in potions and rituals. To sum it up, its body is a treasure from its blood, down to its bones," she concluded.

    Axel''s eyes were already shining after hearing her. "So, how do we divide it?" He asked. They had both contributed in bringing this Basilisk down. Martina hadn''t contributed much to the fight, but she had brought him here and restrained the Basilisk at a critical moment. So now the question was, how should they divide it? Axel was thinking 50-50 would be good enough, but they would have a problem if she asked for too much.

    Martina thought about it, "I only want the materials for research and experiments. Just lend me the materials. I''ll return them to you along with the things I make out of these. I will just keep a few things I make out of it." Even if she did keep something, it would be for her and the three members in her family.

    "???" Axel was confused at first, but then remembered that this girl was filthy rich, and also a genius who had invented a lot of things.

    ''It''s good to be rich,'' he thought, skipping this matter for now as he asked the most important question. "How do we sell it?"

    Martina looked appalled at his words, "Sell it?! Why would you want to sell?! Basilisk are already an almost extinct species. And this is probably the only thousand year old Basilisk in the world, hatched and nurtured by Szar Slytherin himself. Its properties are much superiorpared to any other Basilisk. If itnded in the wrong hands, it could end up causing a lot of damage."

    She then scratched her head embarrassedly, "Besides, we don''t know any reliable channels to sell it. Whoever has that kind of money would try to directly rob it from us instead of buying it. And if I ask for my family''s help, they''d find out that their precious daughter was in close proximity with a 1000 year old Basilisk, which would be the end of my days at Hogwarts.

    "So, it''s better if we keep it to ourselves," she concluded.

    "...." Axel sighed. Martina did make sense, but he was still disappointed to hear that. The expenses for his diet and potions are only increasing, and stealing little by little can only get him so far. He needs a different source of ie. He had thought that he had struck it rich just now, but his hopes were dashed in the next moment. It would seem that Damien Malcolm is going to have to be robbed again soon. The guy had been a nuisance these days anyways.

    They got to work after that. The Basilisk''s body was massive, and they had to cast the preservation spell on every part of its body and move it to Martina''s storage bag. It was the first time Axel found out just how big the storage bags can be from inside. Apparently they''re rare, but they do exist. For example, a certain Magizoologist used to have a suitcase with a whole wildlife sanctuary inside. Compared to that, Martina''s storage bag still seemed much tamer.

    So, by the time they were done, it was already time for his morning training. Sighing, Axel had decided to choose training over sleeping.

    "Aren''t youing?" He asked, ncing back at Martina.

    Martina shook her head, "No, I''m going to explore the chamber more. I''ll tell you if I find something."

    Axel shrugged as he waved her goodbye. He got out of the chamber and made his way towards the forbidden forest.

    But, as he arrived at his training spot deep in the forbidden forest, he wasn''t alone this time. A familiar silhouette was present there, casually leaning against the tree.

    "You''rete," said Akiko, pushing off the tree.

    Axel smirked, d to find out that she was out. He had thought that she was deliberately avoiding him due to the training. "Late? Me? Who was the one holed up in the VIP ward until now."

    Akiko''s perpetually calm face had a ripple of annoyance at the mention of that.

    "Anyways, you ready to train me now, sensei?" Asked Axel, figuring it would not do to annoy her too much. He''s already getting free training from her, through ckmail, if he must specify. He should at least not make this more unpleasant for her than it already is.

    Akiko nodded, looking slightly ufortable at being called sensei, "I''m ready. Let''s start with the absolute basics," she said, doing some light stretching.

    "What''s that?"

    Akiko tilted her head, as if the answer was obvious. "Hand to handbat, of course," she said, cracking her knuckles.

    ''Damn, does she know?'' Thought Axel, not so confident anymore at the mention of Hand-to-handbat.

    It was already toote though, since Akiko was already rushing at Axel with a punch.

    Whoosh

    Axel had barely dodged it when a volley of punches followed, some almost hitting him. Then all of sudden, a kicknded on his side, which he had noticed toote.

    ''Fuck¡­'' Axel grunted as he did a side roll using the momentum of the kick to take some distance.

    ''She knows,'' he realized. Looks like after her loss, this girl has been closely analysing their earlier fight in order to find his weak points

    Sure enough, even though Akiko''s face remained passive, the hint of triumph in her eyes could not be hidden.

    "As I had thought, despite your exquisite skills in knife, you somehow have little to know skills in Hand-to-handbat," she derived, looking slightly puzzled herself. After all, any person with his level of skills is normally first trained in Hand-to-handbat first. So Axel, with his peerless knife skills and shitty Hand-to-handbat skills, was indeed an oddity.

    "Sigh¡­"

    Axel shrugged while sighing, not rejecting her words. When he used to be on the streets, with his small and scrawny body, he couldn''t do shit against grown thugs no matter how much he tried to improve his Hand-to-handbat. That was when he first got his hands on a knife. And suddenly, the doors to a new world had opened to him. He realised that you don''t need strength for knife fighting, and he had talent in this field as well.

    Since then, he had never looked back at Hand-to-handbat. He was still quite good at itpared to most people, but if the opponent is someone like Akiko¡­ yeah, he''s weak as fuck.

    "So, first I''ll need to train you in Hand-to-handbat," said Akiko, showing more enthusiasm than she should.

    ''Bitch... karma,'' thought Axel. He could easily tell that this girl wanted some payback for the painful days she spent recuperating in the Hospital. And training just happened to provide a very good excuse for that.

    ***

    A.N.: Next Chapter: Sparring with Akiko and A Stalker?

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 Chapter 69: Encounter with a Metamorphmagus, And news about Atlantis

    Chapter 69: Encounter with a Metamorphmagus, And news about Antis

    During the past few days, Axel had been refraining from taking action even when someone had been following him. The first reason was, of course, because the person seemed quite skilled. This was the first time someone had thwarted his Arcane Eyes, and if someone can do that, then they must be damn good.

    The other reason was, Gorski had warned him that the organization might being for him soon. So, the chances of this mysterious person being from the organization are very high. He wanted to act immediately, but considering the fact that he knows next to nothing about the organization and this person, he had been testing the waters and making some preparations until now. He had to first judge whether he could actually afford to confront this person based on the stalker''s skill level, behavioral pattern, and reaction to sudden circumstances. After that, he had to n in order to catch the person with a method that won''t fail, but also won''t be crippling in case it''s not someone from the organization. And that''s what he had been trying to do these days.

    From what he can gather, this person is very skilled at concealment, but also very shitty at Stealth and Tracking. They''d randomly do things that will blow their cover. It has been very hard for Axel to pretend that he didn''t notice anything.

    Their skill level seems to be quite high, but their reaction to sudden situations is¡­ absolute shit. He can take advantage of that. That is also why he can''t wait much longer, since he has to be the one to make the first move to have the element of surprise instead of letting the stalker take the initiative.

    It would have been better if he waited a day or two more, but, he isn''t willing to dy it any longer.

    ''Let''s just get this over with,'' he thought as he recalled Daphne''s forlorn appearance throughout the day. For forcing him to be the reason for that, this stalker is going to have hell to pay.

    ...

    Nymphadora Tonks had been having a very hard time these days. And it was all due to a certain second-year student.

    When Aunty Be had given her the responsibility to protect a boy, she had been very surprised. That ck widow, actually caring about someone''s well-being? No way. She had thought that the boy must have some extraordinary background, important enough to jeopardize Aunty''s position. But turns out, the boy was just an orphan.

    More curious than flummoxed by the situation, she had still decided to do this easy job anyway, lest Aunty send her back to the boring Auror training again. Since it''s a hassle to keep on the disillusionment charm all the time, she borrowed Rose''s invisibility cloak and began her mission. But, who would have thought that she would fail spectacrly at such a simple task?

    It has been a few days already, but she still hasn''t been able to keep track of him most of the time. She can only see him during the ss hours and in the great hall. The rest of the time, the time when someone is actually supposed to attack him, he somehow always manages to escape her sight very easily. How is she supposed to protect him if she can''t even see where he goes half the time?

    She would ept that she wasn''t very good at stealth and tracking, it wasn''t her forte, but she didn''t think that she would be so bad to not even be able to keep track of a 12-year-old. The boy somehow manages to escape her sight every damn time she''s following him.

    There''s no way she''s that bad. It''s the person she''s following who''s out of the ordinary. That much is clear enough after keeping an eye on him for a few days.

    He''s got the Greengrass Heiress showing puppy eyes for him, he''s sometimes seen talking to the Princess of the Valentino Family, and then there''s the daughter of the, Brazilian Minister, who was fawning over him tonight.

    And then, there was Rose, who was currently training day and night after knowing that he''d be ying for the Slytherin team, obsessing over defeating him.

    This guy, who you''d somehow usually overlook when looking at the crowd, is unexpectedly quite popr. Even her mom and aunty Be are worried over him, which is extremely puzzling.

    ''Is there something I don''t know, that''s making him so interesting?'' she thought, unable to see the point.

    The boy is handsome, she''ll ept, but the women included in the list aren''t the type to be swayed by mere handsomeness.

    And of course, she didn''t think he had used some bewitching magic or something, since Aunty Be was also included in the list. And that woman has so much protection that even a killing curse might not do anything to her.

    Another question is, why the hell is his life in danger? Aunty wouldn''t give her details until now even after asking multiple times. All Tonks has managed to get out of that woman is that some Organisation from Antis is after him. That had been enough for her to start taking her job seriously and increase her curiosity even more. Antis is the most mysterious magical civilization, closed off to the outside world. And an organization from that ce is after Axel? That generates so many questions!

    So, to find the answers, she followed him very closely tonight, in order to make sure not to lose sight of him at a corner like she usually does. No matter what, she has to stop failing at such an easy task.

    ''Nice...''

    Maybe because her luck today was good, but she managed to follow him for quite far this time. Usually, she''d lose him after just a few corridors. But this time seemed different. He seemed to be traveling along the corridors which she hadn''t seen much before. She couldn''t help but notice that this ce was nowhere near the Slytherin dorms. The corridors kept getting darker and gloomier, until they were in an area with no lights or torches at all.

    ''This... this doesn''t seem right?''

    Things were not looking good at all. The boy was somehow walking familiarly through theplete darkness, as if he waspletely ustomed to it, while she almost couldn''t even make out what was in front of her.

    ''Would it kill this guy to use a Lumos?'' She thought, resisting the urge to use it herself. She can''t light up her wand without blowing her cover.

    How familiar does this guy have to be to walk so confidently in such a dark and gloomy ce with no fear? It only means that he''s beening here very often. In this environment, even she is afraid of the dangers that might be lurking in this dark, abandoned part of the castle, let alone for someone so young. How is he supposed to protect himself if some kind of dark creature shows up here? It''s difficult to even see anything, let alone react.

    ''Well, it seems I''ll have to use ''that''.''

    The lens of her eyes erged and shifted closer to the retina, allowing her to see much better in the dark. Still not satisfied, anotheryer of the membrane formed behind it, bouncing back all the light on the retina.

    ''Thanks, aunty,'' she thought as she was suddenly able to see well. The ck family has had many metamorphmagi over the centuries. She only knew the true uses of her ability after Aunty Be started to train her.

    "This ability is wasted on you,"¡ªshe''d said when she realized that all Tonks had been doing with her ability was pulling pranks like changing the shape and color of her nose and changing her appearance to someone else''s. Metamorphing is an ability that lets you manipte your physical body. The degree of Metamorphing increases the more you train and also through some rituals. And her aunt hadn''t spared any expense at either of those. So, it was safe to say that Tonks could be very dangerous if she wanted to. But, after teaching her all this, that heartless woman has also forbidden her from using these things unless absolutely necessary.

    Just now, Tonks had copied the characteristics of an owl''s eyes into her own, allowing her to have a sort of night vision. Owls are nocturnal creatures that are able to see much better in the dark. She just adjusted the structure of her eyes to make them simr. This was just one of the many uses of her ability.

    Though, when she surveyed her surroundings, she got a surprise when she looked at the ground. Huge footprints could be seen, going in the direction Axel was going.

    "Gulp."

    ''Troll footprints¡­'' she recognized from her training. Where was this boy going? Now Tonks was debating whether to keep following the boy or just stop him. But curiosity got the better of her and she decided to follow. A Troll would be a bit difficult, but nothing she can''t handle.

    Finally, she saw him entering a ssroom after walking forever. Interestingly enough, the troll footprints were also leading into the ssroom.

    ''What the hell are you up to?'' She thought as she hastened her footsteps. By now, she was sure that this boy was up to something shady. Why else would hee to this ce at this time of night? Certainly not to sleep. No one can sleep in such a creepy ce.

    Curious to find out, she went into the room and was surprised by the scene inside. It looked like a Troll fight had taken ce here. There were a few craters, andrge footprints, with ropes lying everywhere. She had taken just a few steps in when she felt like her foot just snapped something.

    !!!!

    "WHAT THE¡ª!!!"

    Before she could even look down to investigate, the ropes that were lying on the ground suddenly went taught, binding around her hands and feet, leaving her suspended above the ground, unable to move. Her years of training with her aunt suddenly kicked in as her hands transformed into huge and sharp talons in order to cut through the ropes. Though, by that time, she had already been hit by a few spells at the exposed parts of her body.

    ''So¡­ it was an Invisibility cloak?'' Axel realized in astonishment as he looked at the stalker who was half exposed now. He had, of course, thought of this possibility, but his arcane eyes could see through normal invisibility cloaks. And he didn''t want to think some cloaks could actually thwart his eyes out there.

    He looked at the person who had been exposed after the cloak hade off.

    ''The fuck is that?!'' He thought, looking at the half-transformed hands of the person and the half-cut ropes. He was d he hadn''t trusted the traps. They hadn''t worked against the troll, and they didn''t work on this stalker as well.

    He further removed the cloak, exposing the face of the person, and got a surprise.

    "You¡­?! You''re that Auror chick, right?" Axel didn''t know if he was more disappointed or more irritated at that moment.

    The person turned out to be an Auror. Now, she''d either be from the organization, which would mean that the Organization has already infiltrated the ministry, and if she''s not from the organization, then it''d mean that an Auror had been following him. Now, if he had been an upstanding,w-abiding goody-two-shoes, this wouldn''t have been too worried. But too bad, he was so opposite of those things that he couldn''t even count the number of crimes he hadmitted.

    Sighing, he freed only the girl''s head from the state of paralysis.

    "Speak. Why have you been following me?"

    Tonks scrutinized the boy who was currently pointing his wand at her in a threatening manner. She had panicked at first, but after knowing that it was the boy who had designed all this, her fear disappeared. "Auror chick?! Seriously? I have a name, alright?"

    "...." This doesn''t seem like a response a person caught harboring intentions to kill him or kidnap him would have.

    "What IS your name? Why have you been following me?" He demanded, tightening the ropes.

    "Ouch! Hey, stop it! I''m not into this shit!"

    "Your name, and purpose."

    "I''m Tonks! I''m on your side, you idiot!"

    Axel unconsciously loosened the ropes at that, "Tonks...? Do you have any rtion with Andromeda Tonks?!"

    "Yeah, that''s my mum," replied Tonks with an eye roll. "Now, can we talk like civilized people instead of people with weird fetishes?" She asked, indicating her bindings.

    "So, you''re that daughter on training, huh?" muttered Axel as he looked at the girl. Well, the resemnce from that woman was clearly visible, her heart-shaped face had simr aristocratic features as her mother, but they weren''t as sharp, giving her more of a girl-next-door vibe. Of course, the beauty gene seems to be present in all members of the ck family.

    ''Sigh¡­ what the hell is up now?'' Though, Axel was only further annoyed at the mention of that connection. Seriously, he tries to forget the family but they keep popping up from time to time, reminding him of that day.

    "You still haven''t answered my question. Why have you been following me?"

    Tonks red at him, "It''s not like I want to, ok? But Aunty Be forced me to guard you since your life is in danger."

    Axel''s eyes narrowed at that, "What did you say?!" He squashed down his irritation at Betrix''s involvement and instead focused on the key point, "What kind of danger?"

    Is this just a coincidence, or does she actually know something? Come to think of it, Betrix ck is the minister of magic. It could be possible for her to know about the organizationing after her. After all, she did know his father. But, he wanted to confirm. "Tell me, what kind of danger am I in?!"

    "Free me first, alright? I thought that we''d at least established the fact that I''m not trying to hurt you by now. This position is a bit embarrassing," protested Tonks.

    Axel scratched his head. Well, she WAS indeed tied in a rather disgraceful matter, but it wasn''t his fault, alright? He couldn''t even see the target and he couldn''t afford to miss, in case the person had ill intentions. But, he wasn''t about to let up just yet. "Well, you might be deceiving me with those word since you can''t actually hurt me anyway. First answer what I asked! Tell me everything you know about the danger I''m in."

    Tonks sighed, "Look, I really don''t know much. Aunty Be refused to tell me the details. All she''s told me is that an organization from Antis is after you."

    "??!" Axel was shocked to hear that answer. An organization is after him, she was right about that much, but... Antis?! Now that was news to him.

    But Tonks had more to say, "And, you''re wrong to assume that I can''t hurt you," she said to the still shocked Axel.

    *Snap*

    Her tongue suddenly extended and licked Axel''s cheek lightning quick while he was still distracted by her words.

    !!!!

    Axel backed away as he looked at Tonks incredulously.

    The woman gave him a smug grin as her tongue sharpened. And as if to demonstrate, she cut a rope near her with it before retracting it.

    "That... could have been you."

    ''.....Fuck...'' Axel was bbergasted. This.... just now, while he was distracted due to the shocking revtion, this woman might have actually seeded in taking him out if she really wanted to. He had to admit it was his fault, he really hadn''t anticipated that she might be able to do something like this and neither had he calcted this in his ns. She had been paralyzed from neck down, but she was able to attack him with just her mouth.

    "You have a ''sharp'' tongue," muttered Axel with some envy. He definitely wants this skill.

    "Thanks. I get that a lot," Tonks ept with faux humility.

    Axel raised his wand at her in resignation, as if he was about to free her. "You really don''t know anything else?"

    "Yep, that was about it. Are you going to free me now? This is really ufortable." She demanded, wiggling her body as she tried to close her legs which had been spread apart.

    "Yes." Axel finally agreed after thinking about it.

    "Brillian¡ª

    "Stupify"

    But before Tonks could celebrate, she had been hit by a stunner. "¡ªBut only after I confirm it," finished Axel, re-paralyzing her head for good measure.

    Does this woman actually think he''d free her after she revealed such a scary ability? She could have almost taken him out using just her tongue, what would happen if he freed the rest of her body?

    Nope, he can''t do it unless he''s sure about her intentions. He has issues trusting even his friends, let alone a stranger.

    "Let''s see," he thought, prying open the girls eyelids. He was about to use Legilimency on her. Though, since he still wasn''t much proficient in it, there are chances he might damage her or his own mind if he dug too deep or worse, get detected by her. If she finds out that he had infiltrated her mind, too many problems would crop up. So, it''s better if he just found the information on the surface.

    "Let''s see... Legilimens!" He muttered, using the spell in the way he learnt from the system. By now, he was skilled enough that he could at least ess the surface thoughts of the person without getting detected.

    At once, his mind entered hers. Inside, there were thickly built shields, but Axel was able to get past them. The Legilimancy training provided by the system was obviously much superior, and Tonks'' lumency shields were fully developed yet.

    When he finally reached her surface thoughts, a slew of information bombarded him, making it very difficult for him to navigate through them.

    ''Let''s see. Metamorphmagus ability...only acquired through inheritance? Too bad....Damn, she had so much nned in case he was hostile? Couldn''t tell with her casual bubbly persona... what? there''s a wet patch somewhere? Maybe being tied up wasn''t bad? Unrted.... Here it is! Stupid Aunty, can''t even tell the details, why does she have to act all mysterious? Just an organization from Antis? Yep, this is it.'' Since he got what he wanted, he exited her mind since he can''t use it for too long yet.

    "So, she WAS telling the truth, huh?" muttered Axel with some surprise. It''s hard to believe, but there actually is someone who wouldn''t lie in captivity. It would seem that she really didn''t n to harm him and the information regarding Antis is true.

    Antis¡­ damn. This makes so much sense! Why else had he been unable to find anything about the Organization? It would make perfect sense if it''s from a ce that''s shut down to the outside world. But, how did that minister know about this? Is it because she knew his father? If his father had been a part of the Organization, then¡­ does that mean he''s also an Antian? What about his mother? Where was she from?

    How much did that Minister know? Does she know more about the organization?

    Would he actually have to face her and ask, after what she had done a year ago? Axel had so many questions.

    Just fuck it, he''ll think about thatter. Right now, it''s already veryte and he also has a dangerous Auror to deal with.

    ¡­

    ¡ªAntis¡ª

    Deep inside the ocean, a huge city, spread over hundreds of thousands of miles, filled with space extension magic was hidden. In this ce filled with ancient architecture, a huge castle dominated the centralnd, spanning over a few hundred miles.

    The castle was Luxurious andvish, with different kinds of jewels shining with magic embedded in it. Powerful wards surrounded the castle, giving it an even more grand and intimidating air.

    But, this was just a show. The castle had lost its power with no one to rule it. Thus, Antis wasn''t as peaceful as it looked anymore.

    Inside this castle, in a luxurious bedroom, an old man was lying on a majestic bed. Though contrasting from resplendence around him, the old man appeared rather pale and haggard.

    "Father¡­ Is there really no way¡­?" Asked a woman with dark blue hair and eyes. She had an exquisite appearance, worthy of someone from the royal family, but currently, her eyes had traces of tears and she looked exhausted.

    The old man coughed, "None that I could.. cough¡­ think of, my daughter. At this point, the throne¡­ can only be inherited if you have absolute power. Forgive me... Anti, cough¡­I''ve been an ipetent ruler¡­and father."

    Anti, the second princess of Antis only shook her head, "No, father. It is I who has been ipetent. If I was only as capable as sister, it wouldn''t havee to this."

    Hearing about his lost daughter caused the king to go into another round of coughing. "Atlena¡­" he whispered the lost daughter''s name between coughs.

    The princess grew frantic as she fished out a box from the beside, "Father, do not worry about sister," she said, opening the box and revealing a brightly glowing blue pearl inside. "See? It''s stillpletely fine."

    The king took the pearl in his hands as only then did his breathing rxed. Both father and daughter looked at the pearl with worry and hope. Because they knew what the pearl signified. It was their only source of hope left now.

    For as long as the pearl was glowing, it meant that Atlena, the powerful first princess of Antis was still alive and well.

    Looking at the king who had fallen asleep clutching the pearl, Anti sighed as she let her weakness show on her face once again.

    "Sister¡­ where ARE you?" She wondered, recalling the explosion that shook Antis more than a decade ago, taking away her sister along with her sister''s lover.

    .....

    A.N.: Axel now knows about Antis. This reserves a trip, right? And the first princess is actually alive? How? And where did she disappear to?

    3600 words, the biggest chapter. And it''s chapter 69, my favourite number.

    POWERSTONES!

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    P atreon./Snollygoster

 Chapter 70: (previous one was 70)Sparring with Akiko, a Stalker?

    Chapter 70: (previous one was 70)Sparring with Akiko, a Stalker?

    A.N.: I posted the next chapter by mistake so I deleted it. Those who already read, well good for you and those who did it''s even better for you. This is chapter 69, that was 70. sigh.

    .....

    In the clearing deep inside the forbidden forest, Axel and Akiko faced each other bare-handed.

    Axel rubbed his side where the kick hadnded. They were just sparring, so of course it didn''t hurt. But it was more of a mental blow.

    ''Well, this brings back memories¡­'' he thought, feeling the overwhelming gap between them. This gap is why he had quit hand to handbat in favor of knife. Though at that time, the gap was due to his weak body and with nobat instincts.

    This time though, inparison to his opponent, he had superior physical stats, better dynamic vision, and better instincts. But still, with his crude hand to handbat skills, there''s not much he can do against this fighting machine trained professionally with the best techniques.

    Swish

    Akiko didn''t give him time to think. She was on Axel once again as she swung her long leg to kick his face. But it actually turned out to be a feint as a roundhouse kick wasing for his face before he could counter. When he blocked that, he was instantly trapped in a grapple as his head was enveloped between Akiko''s thighs.

    !!!!

    In the next moment, he was flung to the ground with an incredible force, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

    ''Not so easily!'' Akiko might have overwhelmed him with her skills, but she would have no idea that this much beating couldn''t even put a dent to Axel.

    [Pain Tolerance: 87%]

    Yep, this was the same guy who took Cruciatus for ten minutes straight with a perfectly conscious and sane mind.

    BAM

    Not even a second after he had fallen, Axel had already freed his hand tond a solid punch across Akiko''s cheek, flinging her off himself. He then flipped backwards off the ground to take distance.

    ''She got me good,'' he thought, deactivating his Arcane Eyes. He had activated it at a very low intensity just when she had started attacking.

    Cracking his neck, Axel recalled the series of attacks he had faced in their brief exchange just now. They were all part of a single move, synchronized in a way that defending against everything would be very difficult, much less counter with his crude brawling. Especially since now she already knows that injuries have no effect on him. And he also can''t use too much force since he doesn''t want to hurt her too badly. Suffice it to say, he can''t beat her like this.

    But¡­

    ''This is good.'' A grin threatened to break from Axel''s face. Before getting the system, he had never received any sort of training. But, he had still managed to be skilled at many things. At that time, all that he had learnt was through observing, relentless practice, and real fights. And in those fights, you couldn''t afford to try something you weren''t good at. The things he had observed were pretty also mediocre since you can''t find many experts on streets.

    But now, he had someone who had mastery in many techniques. And, she''s also not trying to kill or maim him. This is a perfect opportunity to learn. What more could he want?

    Her moves which he had seen under slight usage of [Arcane Eyes] yed in his mind and he started to absorb and assimte.

    Meanwhile, Akiko was still stunned as she felt a familiar pain in her jaw. She couldn''t even understand how she got punched. Not even a second after she had hit Axel with a deadlybo, a punch hadnded on her before even she could recover. So, how did he recover?

    "My turn."

    Before she even came out of her shock, she heard Axel''s voice as he attacked her with a few rough punches with his non-existent style.

    ''He really is an amateur at this,'' she thought, easily deflecting the first few punches. But then, a series of master jabs were suddenly thrown at her, almost catching her off-guard with the familiarbo.

    ''This is!'' She eximed in her mind as she blocked the suddenly thrown kick to her side, mirroring the move she had just gotten him with in their very first exchange. This was the very samebo she had used against him. But surprisingly¡­ the kick actually turned out to be a feint, simr to the secondbo she had used on him!

    The iing roundhouse kick came so quickly that she could only brace herself to block it.

    BAAAM

    !!!!

    The force generated was enough to knock her to the ground even after that as her arms went numb.

    ????!

    What was this power?! It was much more than what he has shown untill now. If she hadn''t defended in time, another trip to Hospital wing was in order.

    "Oh¡­ my bad, I couldn''t control my power properly since I was trying it out for the first time," she heard Axel''s casual apology at that moment which made her realize... that he had been pulling his punches all this while. Her jaw might have been broken otherwise.

    But now the question is, how much strength does he actually have?!

    ¡­

    That''s how their Hand-to-hand to training began. Since he had run out of surprises and they were both trying not to seriously hurt each other, Axel got beaten up most of the time due to his low experience and skill level, but Akiko could no longer disdain him for it. He was getting better with each exchange!

    Akiko took her task seriously. Along the way, she gave him instructions and pointed out his ws from time to time. By the time they were done, Axel had at least gotten something good out of his beating.

    [Arcane Martial Arts: 2%]

    Yep, he had finally unlocked this thing since he had gained the threshold mastery required to unlock the skill.

    Plus, he could now train his [Heal] by healing the injuries he had gotten from the exchange. Overall, he''d say today was turning out to be a very productive day, adding his earlier exploits in the Chamber of Secrets.

    Rotating his arms and shoulders, he looked at Akiko resting against a tree trunk, "Thanks. I learnt a lot, and it was a nice warm up."

    All his muscles which were stiff from too much intense training had loosened now. He felt like he could do better than yesterday.

    "???" ''Is he kidding?''

    Akiko, who was panting slightly due to the exertion with her aching body resting against the tree trunk, didn''t find Axel''s joke funny. If this was a warm up, then the real workout would kill anyone.

    Not knowing Akiko''s thoughts, Axel exited the clearing. He would have liked to keep training, but it was already time for sses. Exiting the forbidden forest in stealth, he went to physical training ss as he canceled his Stealth.

    "Who did this to you?!" Asked Daphne as soon as she saw him.

    "Don''t worry, it''ll go away soon," said Axel.

    "You still haven''t answered my question,"

    Axel didn''t hide it, "I was training with someone."

    Daphne was surprised, "It was just one person? Did they cheat or did you not cheat?"

    She didn''t know exactly how strong Axel was, but she knew that If it was just one person, Axel wouldn''t be beaten unless he doesn''t cheat or the other party takes him by surprise.

    A hint of a smile crossed Axel''s face. "I was holding back." Even when she doesn''t know much, she still has absolute faith in his sleaziness.

    Daphne rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She then grabbed his hand as she began dragging him away.

    "Where to?" He asked, looking at her weak hands trying to drag him.

    "Hospital wing. We can''t have you attend the physical training ss like this, can we? It must be painful," she said worriedly as she lightly poked a particrly nasty bruise on his arm which hadn''t healed yet.

    "What about the ss?"

    "You think I give a fuck?."

    Amused, Axel let her drag him as she carefully steered him out of the crowd. He didn''t know why, but he recalled the conversation he had with Martina this morning.

    ''I''ve just¡­ stopped trusting people due to certain reasons.'' ¡ª that''s what he had told her at that time. But, looking at the blonde pushing aside other people to take him to the Hospital, he realized that he did, in fact, trust this girl to some extent.

    ''Though¡­ her mental defenses are too weak for me to tell her anything,'' he thought with dissatisfaction. It didn''t help that she was weak as fuck.

    "Oi," he called, tugging her hand.

    "What?" Asked Daphne, still busy navigating through the crowd.

    "Let''s not go to the Mahoutokoro sses. I''ll train you instead," he said out of nowhere.

    The Mahoutokoro sses weren''tpulsory, but one would have to do homework and assignments if they''re not attending them. Though, in the past few days, their poprity among the students had reached the peak. The sses were fun and such valuable knowledge was being taught on such a rare opportunity, no one was willing to skip them even if the school begged them to.

    But, Daphne didn''t even consider any of that as she stopped for a moment. "We''ll be training?...Just the two of us? Sure!" She eximed, finding the prospect too good to be true.

    Not because Axel was going to teach her some priceless knowledge though. She didn''t know that. She was simply happy for a different reason altogether.

    "... Yeah, I guess?" Answered Axel, wondering if she misunderstood his question. He was asking her to skip the ss that everyone was so pumped to attend.

    Though, Daphne only nodded her head blissfully as they continued on their way. "Skipping sses together¡­ Isn''t this progress?¡­" Along the way, Daphne kept murmuring strange things in a low voice.

    As they exited the crowd, Axel turned his head back, only to see no one following them. He quickly wrung his hand out of Daphne''s grasp.

    "What happened?" Asked Daphne, looking like a puppy who had been kicked.

    "Nothing." Replied Axel coldly.

    ''What''s wrong with him these days?!'' Thought Daphne despondently. This wasn''t the first time Axel had suddenly pushed her away. It has been happening for the past few days and she''s really beginning to get worried.

    On the other hand, Axel sighed. For the past few days, someone has been following him from time to time. Usually, it''s not an umon thing for someone to follow him, but this person is actually extremely skilled, making him worried.

    He has been cautious from the beginning. After dinner, he always goes into stealth to go to his secret hideout, he''s also in stealth when he''s alone wandering in the night or going to training in the Forbidden Forest. The rest of the time, he''s usually in public. So, the stalker hasn''t done anything yet. And Axel also hasn''t done anything either since he wants to catch this person alive with no chance of escape.

    ''Is it the organization already?'' This was his main suspicion. He wasn''t exactly ready yet. And he had been careful to not show off too much power in public these days, to make them lower their guard and not show any real weakness either.

    That''s why, Axel had been careful not to be too friendly with Daphne in public these days. If they find out that he has a close rtionship with her, they might use her to get to him. But, how could he exin this all to Daphne? As he alreadymented, her mental defenses are too weak. Though she HAS been training since an early age and she has talent, so there''s hope. But for now, she''ll just have to suck it up. He''ll start training her as soon as he''s handled this skilled stalker, whoever it is.

    ¡­

    At dinner that night, Patricia came to sit beside him.

    "What is it?" Asked Axel in irritation.

    Patricia smiled, "Why? Can''t I sit here because I want to?"

    "Of course you won''t. You usually sit with students with a powerful family background."

    Axel wasn''t the one who said this. It was Luna, who was sitting on the other side of Axel.

    Axel gave the dreamy girl a thumbs up while eating, "Good girl. Perhaps there''s hope for you yet. You observed right. Just don''t say these kinds of things right in front of the person in question."

    Not to anyone''s surprise, Luna was still mostly friendless, at least in house Slytherin. Axel had been trying to help her whenever he could. At least through his guidance, she now doesn''t hesitate to call Martina on the slightest problems, so it''s mostly Martina''s problem now.

    Still smiling, Patricia ignored Luna''sment. "You know, it''s been really hectic in the Slytherin House these days. I''m in a very precarious situation right now."

    "So I heard," replied Axel, putting more tasteless boiled food in his mouth.

    Patricia sighed. There''s no beating around the bush with this guy. "Actually, a lot of Slytherins are dissatisfied with your nomination as the seeker. And they need proof of your qualification now."

    "So what? You want me to give a trial now? You think I need one?"

    Patricia smiled fawningly at him as she put a hand to his shoulder, "No! of course not. You''re the best one I''ve ever had dear¡­ But, I''m facing a lot of bacsh now. I''ll ¡ª"

    "Lady Patricia," said Axel, cutting her off as he removed her hand, "I''d like to say, I''m deeply apologetic, that I don''t give a fuck about your situation. You had promised that I won''t have to go through any hassle. Don''t say empty words if you don''t have the ability to back them up. I''d sooner y for Hufflepuff than give a trial to those arrogant bastards when I''m already doing them a huge favor by ying for Slytherin."

    Patricia looked horrified, "You can''t ¡ª"

    "I actually can, princess," Axel grinned. "There''s no rule banning the students from ying for another house. And there are a few precedents of it happening as well. I''ve done my research." Actually, Daphne did it for him, but who''s gonna call it out?

    He was already aware of the Slytherins'' dissatisfaction with him. And he wasn''t about to be the one to bend in front of them. If they went too far, he had the option of ying for another house team. Giving another house a trial was much more preferable to this. Some might think he was arrogant, but he was not. He was just THAT good.

    Patricia was really terrified now, "Axel, please don''t leave. I''ll....I''ll handle everything. If you leave, it''s over for me."

    Axel grinned inwardly. Earlier, she was all but demanding a trial, but right now, she''s begging him just to stay. Well, let''s not tell her that he also doesn''t want to leave. It has too manyplications. Besides, the worse the team, the more he''ll shine. And right now, after all the yers had left with ric Malcolm, the Slytherin team was filled with a bunch of losers aside from Patricia. He''ll be the only star in the field.

    "Well, behave from now on. Use your Slytherin mind to deal with the situation. I''ll give you the Quidditch cup." he said dismissively as he finished his dinner and got up to leave.

    Exiting the Great Hall, he once again felt the same feeling, as if someone was following him. Usually, he would just ignore it and disappear at a turn after a few corridors. But not tonight.

    Tonight, he''s going to take action.

    . . .

    A.N.: People who read the next chapter (which I uploaded by mistake) already know who the stalker is. The next chapter is a long one, and there''s also shocking reveal on Antis.

    If you wish to read ahead and support me,e to P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

 Chapter 71: One wish

    Chapter 71: One wish

    "Renervate."

    Since his business with Tonks was done, Axel renervated her and removed her bindings.

    "?!!!"

    But... he didn''t anticipate her reaction. As soon as she woke up, the first thing she did was to punch him in the face.

    WHOOSH

    And that punch¡­ It turned out to be strong enough to cave his face in! Fortunately, Axel somehow managed to deflect it in time.

    "What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded as he red at Tonks, his knife already at her throat. Axel was really a but scared this time. He didn''t know if he could have avoided that punch without the training/beating in Hand-to-hand that he had received from Akiko. And what was with that power?! He thought only he was supposed to have super strength here.

    Tonks seemed to havee to her senses by now, "HolyMorgana!I''msooosorry!" She eximed frantically as she checked his face where the punch had barely grazed him. And Axel couldn''t help but notice that the skin of the hand she had hit him with had been darkened and hardened, in case the insane power alone wasn''t enough to destroy her victims.

    "...." If that punch had connected, he would have been in trouble.

    Tonks rubbed her temples, "I''m so sorry, I really didn''t mean to hurt you. It''s just¡­" Tonks was quite surprised by the situation herself. Her head was throbbing with pain and she was feeling very disoriented. Just now, when she had woken up in this darkness with her thoughts in a jumbled mess, not recalling how she was here, she hadshed out after suddenly seeing someone so close. Only after a few seconds she recall what had happened and how she had ended up here.

    Axel realized that her reaction just now must have been due to his forceful intrusion into her mind. He had managed to avoid detection using the system''s method, but his proficiency was still low. Anyways, he can''t me the girl for this. Looking at Tonks who looked to be on the verge of figuring out that she had been mind-raped, Axel quickly got up.

    "I''ll go now. Don''t follow me anymore," Before Tonks could respond, Axel had already left the ce.

    Tonight, he hadn''t caught the criminal, but he did get some important information.

    ''Antis¡­''

    He recalled what he already knew about the ce. Unsurprisingly, everything he knew was taught by Professor Gorski, their previous History teacher. Now it makes sense why he''d know about it. Gorski was a member of the Organization, and the Organization turned out to be from Antis. Of course he''ll know about Antis. Too bad, that source is no longer avable. It would seem Axel will have to find out about it some other way.

    ¡­.

    The next day, Akiko was once again found training at his spot.

    "Are you ready?" She asked, getting into position for another sparring session. She looked determined to beat him again.

    "Can''t you teach me ninjutsu today?" Asked Axel with a sigh.

    Akiko shook her head, "No ninjutsu until you''ve mastered Hand-to-hand," she said seriously.

    "... Whatever."

    Axel could only shrug as he got into position.

    Tilting her head slightly, Akiko looked at Axel like she was looking at a rare animal. "You''re ready for the pain?"

    Yesterday, after getting used to his surprises she had beaten him quite badly. And today was probably going to be the same. This was her grandfather''s method of making her back down whenever she forced him to teach her something risky. Had her resolution been weak andcking, she would have quit very easily. So, she thought that it would be easy to make Axel quit.

    On the other hand, Axel was a bit confused by her question. "Pain?" Was yesterday''s training supposed to be painful? That was pain? Inparison to the Crutiatus, it was nothing but a massage.

    "I don''t really care about the pain. Let''s begin," he replied to Akiko as he got into position. He was eager to learn ninjutsu, but he didn''t mind mastering closebat first. After all, it did save his face from being bashed inst night, didn''t it?

    But Akiko, who didn''t know all this, looked skeptical. She didn''t believe he wouldn''t give up if she made it more difficult. "Alright, let''s begin."

    And begin they did, fighting with a ferocity that would leave any onlookers shocked. Axel was now reaping the benefits of all the hardships he had suffered in maintaining such a tasteless but expensive diet and the grueling training he had been doing throughout the year. With his body at the peak of human endeavor, he can now easily keep up with someone like Akiko, who has been receiving the best guidance since early childhood. Combined with his insane pain tolerance, he was an unstoppable force in a sparring session.

    They only stopped when Akiko was too tired to continue. Panting for breath, she looked at Axel who still hadn''t shone any signs of backing out. When her grandfather had used this trick on her to make her give up, she had only persisted because her drive had been very strong. She wanted revenge against the Organization who had killed her parents. But, she couldn''t understand why the boy in front of won''t quit.

    "Why... Why won''t you give up?" She asked in between her panting.

    Axel, who was using [Heal] on his wounds, couldn''t be bothered to answer,

    "...Just cause." He replied, a bit short for breath himself.

    "Fine!" muttered Akiko as she left the clearing in a huff. He''ll give up soon enough. She''ll have to make him. She has no time to train someone else when her goal is to destroy the Kraken.

    ...

    Aftering out of the clearing, Axel went to the training ground where all the students had gathered. But this time, he didn''t go to Daphne. He first looked for Martina. To find out about Antis, the first person he could think of within his reach was her. Axel knew if anyone would know about a mysterious magical ce, submerged underwater, with outside entry banned, it would be this curious but powerful geek.

    Now that he has a lead on the organization, he was very eager to capitalize on it. He didn''t even mind the attention he''d draw to himself talking to her in public like this.

    Axel found Martina easily enough, you just had to follow the crowd. Wearing a purple workout outfit, she was doing some light stretching, unknowingly drawing the eyes of half of Hogwarts male poption towards her. Around her were a group of Ravenw girls, fiercely guarding her like a national treasure.

    When they saw Axel, they all red at him, but no one stopped him since everyone knew about them being close. But, that didn''t stop them from sending threatening and warning looks his way as he approached her.

    "Martina." Axel called out making her stop.

    Martina was doing some warm up before the physical training starts. After witnessing first-hand the effectiveness of high athletic ability during Axel''s fight with the Basilisk, Martina had decided to take this ss seriously. Hearing Axel''s voice, she was pleasantly surprised.

    "Axel?!"

    "Yeah, I need your help."

    Martina was actually d to hear that. She had yet to think about how to repay him for his help in the Chamber of Secrets. So, she quickly sent the Ravens away for some privacy.

    "So, what did you want my help for?"

    Axel sighed. "It''s about Antis. What can you tell me about it."

    "Antis? Why do you want to know about it all of a sudden?" Asked Martina in surprise.

    Axel shrugged, "Do you know or not?"

    Martina sighed regretfully, "Actually, I''ve already tried researching about it multiple times before. I''m quite curious about their civilization. But, I haven''t been able to find out much."

    "What are you guys talking about?"

    At this moment, someone interrupted their conversation. Coming to stand by Axel''s side. It was Daphne, who couldn''t help herself froming over after seeing so many students already pointing at Axel and Martina and manufacturing new sets of rumors.

    Martina nodded at Daphne, "Heiress Greengrass. It''s a pleasure as always. Axel was just asking about something important to tell." Whenever she was in front of outsiders, she would revert to her pureblood princess mode which had learned from her mom.

    But Daphne, who was already misunderstanding Martina''s intentions, thought that Martina was showing off her closeness to Axel to her. ''Flexing in front of me?''

    Putting on a surprised and apologetic look, she said, "Oh, am I interrupting something important? Actually, Axel had asked me to skip sses today since he was going to give me some ''private training''. I came here wanting to discuss that."

    Even though Daphne was trying to flex in a different context, her words did erupt quite a lot of jealousy in Martina.

    ''Private training from Axel?!'' This was the same person who had killed a Lethifold and a Basilisk. Of course she also wanted private lessons from him! But, she wasn''t thick-skinned enough to ask about joining them.

    Axel shook his head, "Not today. I haven''t found the right ce to train yet."

    The things he was going to teach Daphne were rather secretive. Not only does it have to be private since he''s going to teach her lumency, but it also has to be spacious for the physical training. And the clearing was no longer an option. So, he nned on finding such a ce today.

    Martina, who was feeling regretful after not being able to help Axel, perked up after hearing him. "You need a ce to train?"

    "Yeah."

    Martina smiled, "You don''t need to worry about that anymore. I happen to know just the right ce," she said, putting a privacy charm around them.

    ¡­

    "I still think she made a fool out of us," voiced Daphne, looking at the wall across from a tapestry of a man attempting to train some trolls for the ballet.

    Axel rolled his eyes, "You can''t even give her the benefit of doubt? And here I thought I was the one with trust issues."

    Daphne clicked her tongue, "I''m not saying I can''t trust her. I just can''t help but wonder, if there really was a ce as wonderful as the one she described, why would she so easily reveal it to us. Is she stupid or what?"

    Axel shook his head, "She''s not stupid. She could have told me about such a cest year as well, but she didn''t. She did it this time because she owes me." At least she thinks she owes him. But Axel wouldn''t reject it if he was being offered a good ce to train.

    Daphne narrowed her eyes, "She owes you as well? What did you do for her?"

    "Nothing much, I just saved her from a scary monster once."

    "... Well, don''t tell me if you don''t want to," huffed Daphne, thinking that he was being sarcastic.

    Axel shrugged. He tried. It''s not his fault if she didn''t believe it.

    "So, we just have to pace back and forth while imagining the kind of ce I want, right?" He asked, turning his attention back to the door.

    Daphne nodded, looking excited as well. After such a long time, it''s going to be just her and Axel. She wondered if it could be called a date? She imagined a romantic ce, where Axel would personally train her. They''d slowly, slowly grow closer, and then¡ª

    "It''s here!"

    Unfortunately, Daphne snapped out of her fantasy when a door appeared out of nowhere and Axel unceremoniously pushed it open.

    "...." Inside was not the romantic ce she had been imagining. But a spacious room with lots of training dummies, weights, and other training equipment.

    "This ce¡­" she began.

    "It''s perfect," said Axel, stepping in as he looked around. "It actually worked."

    ''Perfect'' wasn''t the word Daphne had in her mind for this ce, but nevertheless, she still followed Axel into the room as the door closed behind them.

    "So, what are you going to teach me?" Asked Daphne, looking at Axel with anticipation.

    Axel frowned. "Do 10ps of this ce first."

    ???

    Daphne couldn''t understand the situation, but unable to deny him, she still did what he had asked.

    "Hah¡­Hah¡­ Done¡­" This room was quite big. Big enough that 10ps was enough to make her weary.

    "Do 15 push ups now."

    ???

    "I¡­" Daphne wanted to say something, but in the end, she still got down on all fours as she began to do push ups.

    "One¡­ two¡­.¡ª fifteen¡­ hah¡­ "

    "20 sit ups now."

    "What?!"

    "....¡ªSeven¡­hah¡­.Eight ¡­.. hah¡­hah¡­hhah¡­ Can I stop now?"

    Axel watched her indifferently with his hands folded. "Do you want to give up already?"

    "No!... It''s just¡­."

    "Just what? You expected me to teach you something good. You didn''t expect it to be difficult, did you?"

    "I¡­" She did expect it to be quite a bit different. Or more like, she was just too excited by the prospect of him training her that she didn''t think much about this.

    "I won''t lie. I do have a lot to teach you," admitted Axel. "And those things are quite unique as well. Not this bullshit I''m having you do right now."

    Daphne looked up at him from the ground. She really couldn''t understand what was going on, "Then, why?" She asked, looking to be on the verge of tears. Why make her go through this for no reason? Was he just having fun in making her suffer?

    "Because¡­.I want to be sure that you''re determined. I will only teach if you are serious about this. This is not a pic, Daphne," replied Axel coldly.

    "You always say that I don''t trust you with my secrets, don''t you? Well honestly, you''re too weak and immature for me to tell you anything."

    !!!!

    That hurt. But Daphne had no words to deny him. She had always been trying hard to catch up to him, but no matter how hard she tried, the gap between them only seemed to be increasing over time. It has nowe to the point that she can no longer tell just how strong he actually is. So, Axel WAS right. He''s actually teaching her, giving her a chance to be able to stand beside him in the future, and here she is, only thinking about useless stuff. She just wanted to punch her earlier self now. She wondered if he''s regretting teach her now.

    ''Damn it.'' Looking at the dispirited Daphne, Axel wondered if he had said too much.

    ''Was I too harsh just now?'' He wondered, misunderstanding her regretful look as signs of her giving up.

    Actually, him offering to train Daphne, it wasn''t entirely for her benefit. It was for his own selfishness as well. He wanted her to be strong, so that she doesn''t randomly gets done in by one of his enemies in the future. He wanted her to have a good lumency defence, so that he can tell her stuff without having to lie and keep secrets for even the smallest of things. So, he didn''t actually want her to quit. He wanted her to train seriously. So, very reluctantly, he decided to make a concession.

    "Oi..."

    From her copsed position on the ground, Daphne looked up at Axel with her eyes glistening, seemingly on the verge of tears. She was afraid that Axel wouldn''t train her now. Though... what came out of Axel''s mouth waspletely different from what she was expecting.

    "One wish."

    ???"W-What?"

    "If you actually seeded in training to the level I deem passable... I will fulfill your one wish within reason."

    Daphne: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones. Thanks for support.

 Chapter 72: Common Ground

    Chapter 72: Common Ground

    Around a month passed since Hogwarts'' exchange program with Mahoutokoro had begun. And during this time, the happenings of the castle were the main focus of the wizardingmunities in many parts of the world.

    People were curious to see what results the fusion of thesepletely different schools would bring. And the various magical media throughout the world also realized this. That''s why, you could see reporters anywhere around the castle these days, searching for content.

    In these times, Newspapers weren''t the only means of information. Information could also be spread by Magi-mirrors, used by many wizardingmunities all over the world. And since everyone had Magi-mirrors, the equivalent of a phone, of course they also had televisions at home, which showed Wizarding media and shows.

    With the advancement of Wizarding Britain, other countries in the ICW had also made some advancement under Britain''s lead, at least in the media sector. By now, instead of radios and newspapers, most of the wizarding homes had switched to televisions which work with magic.

    Since the reporters from various countries were sent to the school, Hogwarts was currently trending on various tforms throughout the world. And the exchange program was just a small part of the reason why this was the case. In actuality, Hogwarts is already and of content as it is. The castle is huge, with no shortage of mysteries and attractions. The moving staircases, the secret passages, the Whomping Willow, the beautifulke with the giant squid, the boundless forbidden forest, and the various attractions in Hogsmeade... there is no shortage of interesting things here. Once the media came for the exchange program, these attractions were also inevitably featured in those channels, making everything more interesting.

    And during this time, a certain video of the Gryffindor Quidditch team''s practice was also uploaded. It featured Rose Potter, the Girl-who-lived, dodging the bludgers and catching the snitch in a brilliant Spiral Dive at breakneck speed.

    The video blew up, gaining a lot of traction, since the level of skill shown in it wasparable to the Professional athletes, and it was done by a second year girl. And when they came to know that this was the famous Girl-who-lived, there was no way it wasn''t going to get viral. The footage got a lot of views and was reposted several times on different tforms, being watched by the Quidditch fans and other audience all around the world. Some Quidditch stars evenmented on it, praising the girl''s skills at her age.

    However, the most shocking thing was when talk of the Rose Potter getting an offer from Montrose Magpies began circting. Montrose Magpies is currently rated best team in the Major Quidditch League, the Premiere League, with most of its star yers being from Ennd and Irnd''s national Quidditch teams.

    And getting selected for such a team is like the ultimate goal for all Quidditch yers. The sry is very high, and you get to y with the best yers under the best guidance.

    So, when the talks of Rose Potter being a part of such a team began to be raised, the school was, no doubt, in an uproar. Being able to be qualified for such a team already at her age, she was guaranteed a sessful Quidditch career even if she didn''t pass the trial now.

    Swoosh¡ªSwoosh¡ªBaam!¡ªhah!

    And while all that was going on at Hogwarts,pletely uninvolved with all activities, Axel and Akiko were exchanging blows in their clearing in the forbidden forest, both moving at blurring speeds. They had been doing this every morning for days. But, there was a drastic shift in the situationpared to how it was when they started.

    When they had started, it was like a one sided beating, since both were using pure Hand-to-handbat skills. And in that area, Akiko, who had been trained since childhood had an overwhelming advantage. But now, in just a few weeks, Axel had bridged the gap to the point that he was now fighting Akiko without taking even a single hit.

    "You ready to give up yet?" Asked Axel, easily blocking yet another series of kicks from Akiko.

    "Hah!" Akiko''s reply was yet anotherbo, trying to overwhelm him with her speed.

    ''How did he improve so fast?!'' She questioned in her mind. They weren''t meeting everyday these days since both of them had their own training to do, but Axel improved drastically each time they fought.

    In the beginning, Akiko had thought that Axel would give up on training after a few days of beating and she''d be able to focus on her own goals. But at this point, she can barelynd a hit on him anymore. She can only imagine how he must have trained to improve so fast.

    "Why¡ªdo¡ªyou¡ªtry¡ªso hard?!" She demanded in between her attacks. She had always thought that she was at least the most hard working, if not the most talented warrior in existence. She had to be, if she was going to face the odds that she needed to ovee in order to take her revenge.

    But then she meets Axel, the person who can beat her in both talent and hard work. She can tell just by the muscle strains visible on his exposed skin, that this guy is training half to death daily, and his body must be constantly in a lot of pain.

    "When will you answer?! Why do you work so hard?! How are you so strong?! And¡­ why the hell do you keep hiding despite having all this power?!" She demanded, her frustration showing in her usually impassive face. The reason she was so affronted by it wasn''t because of something as petty as jealousy. No, it was because his existence proved that she hadn''t tried hard enough. That her drive for power and avenging her parents wasn''t strong enough. That''s why she has been wanting to know, how and why he is what is today and why he still continues to strive for more.

    ''What''s with this girl?'' wondered Axel. This wasn''t the first time she was asking him these questions. She had already asked this to him a lot of times, but he didn''t know that it was so important for her to know about it. Otherwise, he would have told her a little about it since they''re not stranger anymore. Looking back, they have been sparring every few days, sometimes even using magic. And by now, he knows enough about her character to know that she isn''t a bad person.

    But, she hasn''t told him anything about herself, neither has she taught him the ninjutsus yet. So, why should he bother answering?

    "What about you then?" He asked. "Why do YOU work so hard? Even going so far as to train in forbidden arts for it? And why are you not teaching me even after so many days of signing the contract?" Asked Axel right back. He hadn''t been forcing her using the contract yet since it would be better if she taught him willingly.

    Akiko gritted her teeth. The contract! That had only happened because Axel had seen her practicing forbidden arts. She didn''t like the fact that she was being ckmailed into teaching him, and it annoyed her every time he brought it up.

    "You''d have to beat me first for that," she said, making a few handseals as her magic red.

    [Matsushima Secret Style: Fists of Fury]

    She stopped holding back and decided to use the secret Hand-to-handbat techniques of the Matsushima n, making her fists burn with magic.

    Axel shrugged, "If that''s the case..." he murmured, changing his stance, "Then so be it."

    As soon as he shifted his stance, the atmosphere around him changed.

    [Arcane Martial Arts: 30%]

    He hadn''t used this against her yet.

    Akiko''s speed and strength increased suddenly as Axel found himself facing unavoidable punches even one of which could seriously injure him.

    [Arcane Martial Arts: Softening Palms]

    But, in face of such punches, his hands glowed with a gentle light and the enormous force behind Akiko''s fists seemed to get nullified.

    ''Well, that was dangerous.'' Thought Axel, still feeling the remnants of the enormous destructive might of the punches even after the using Softening Palms. He dared not stretch this fight longer.

    [Magic Hands]

    His dexterity, which was already terrific, reached a godly level, and he caught her fists one after another.

    !!!!!

    He had been holding back since he had wanted her to teach him everything on her own initiative. And no one would truly want to teach someone who was already better than them. But,

    ''I had been wrong.'' He thought, ignoring her surprised reaction as his hands gripped her fist.

    If he wants to learn from her, he has to make her submit first.

    ''Take this!'' Axel jumped as his legs wrapped around her neck, and he flipped her to the ground with her hands pinned on either side of her.

    BAAM!

    "Cough!"

    The impact knocked the breath out of Akiko''s lungs as she found herself tackled by the same trick she had used on him on the very first day. Except, she couldn''t use her hands to counter attack like Axel had when this was used on him.

    "So... is this considered a defeat?" Asked Axel.

    Akiko struggled to free herself as she coughed.

    "Coughcough... Yeah...guess I lost..." she said in the end in defeat.

    Turns out, he had been holding back...AGAIN. Just out of consideration. Though she didn''t understand how he was able to do the things he did, but Akiko had no choice but to ept it. She had lost. She was incredibly frustrated. As a genius, it''s very difficult to ept someone else being better.

    But, a promise''s a promise.

    Thus, as Axel let her go, sheid on the ground and looked at the morning sky. "Well, since I already agreed, I''ll tell you about myself then. My drive for power and the reason why I go as far as breaking rules¡­ " she said with a sigh.

    "What is it?"

    "Revenge," replied Akiko with fire burning in her eyes.

    Axel frowned.

    "Revenge? For what?"

    "My parents. They went on a mission very far away, they could never return. I

    want to take revenge on their killers." she said as her face clouded over.

    "I see¡­" said Axel. Actually, he couldn''t see. He didn''t take Akiko for a girl who''d be so emotionally driven when she''s usually like a cold machine. And, revenge for parents? He couldn''t understand the motivation behind that. As far as he could remember, his parents had left him at an orphanage and he didn''t even know them. So, he didn''t really feel the need to avenge them.

    "Anyways, go on the mission my parents have gone on, toh need to be the elite of the elite. And the fatality rate is extremely high. So, only the best of the best are chosen for this mission. That''s why I''ve been training so hard. So, that I can go and destroy those who killed my parents."

    Axel couldn''t understand it.

    "You must have really loved your parents, huh?"

    Akiko covered her face to hide her emotions. "Of course. Who doesn''t love their parents? They were usually busy with their work but they always used to make time for me."

    "Must have been nice."

    "Yeah¡­ it was. But that''s all about me. Now it''s your turn," she said, sitting up. "You still haven''t answered any of my questions. Why are you so strong? Why still train so hard everyday? And, why does no one here know anything about your strength?"

    Axel pondered over it. Why he''s so strong today... It''s due to a variety of reasons. And talent is not the only factor that has contributed to it. The main factor would have to be his mindset. It is something that has been forged after a series of unfortunate incidents.

    Due to his extraordinary luck, he has somehow already experienced some of the worst things that can happen to you when you''re trying to survive on the streets. It made him tenacious and extremely selfish. It taught him the value of his own life, his freedom, his happiness and...the value of power. It has made him obsessed to obtain and retain these things at all costs.

    And then, he was tortured horrifically with the worst torture spell ever, almost killing him. By that time, he wanted to make it so that such a situation can never happened to him again. But then, he came to know that the world was going to be taken over by an extremely powerful madman, and he had been crippled.

    That made him realize the importance of what he already had and how much of an idiot he was not to use it to its full extent. So, from that day onwards, his hard work reached a new high. It''s not something you do unless you''re absolutely desperate. And, he did that for a whole year, while getting the best guidance from the system.

    And this is how he is as he is today. He wasn''t born an absolute genius. In fact, his talent could be considered worse than monsters like Akiko and Martina. But, he has slowly and gradually improved in all aspects, from his body to his mind, so that he is superior to Akiko today.

    Though, he can''t tell all this to Akiko, can he? That''s why he''s never answered her questions until now. But, he has a feeling that she wouldn''t actually start teaching him seriously until he gives her an answer.

    So, Axel told her what he could.

    "Well, I''m an orphan as well, though I never knew my parents, or any living rtive for that matter. I''ve had to live through some difficult situations and went through some tough timea. That has toughened me up."

    Akiko nodded, "So, that''s how you got the scars? I''d always been curious," she said, looking at the scars on his face.

    Axel nodded dismissively as he unconsciously ran a finger over his scars. They were both very light, one on his cheek and one across his left eye. He had lost count of the number of times people had asked him about the scars on his face. Some idiotic students have even tried to copy his scars when they heard girls saying it looks ''cool''.

    "Anyways," continued Axel, moving on the topic. "Right now, the reason I''m still training so hard is because, my life''s in danger."

    Akiko blinked her eyes when she heard that. "What kind of danger?"

    "Well, there''s this organisation that was after my father. Now it''s after me. That''s also the reason why I''m keeping a low profile these days."

    Akiko nodded in understanding. It would make sense to keep a low profile if an organisation is after his life. But then something else didn''t add up. "But if you''re trying to keep a low profile, why did you sign up for the Slytherin Quidditch team?"

    For being a seeker, you need to have dexterity, bnce, and sharp eyes. And, she somehow had this ominous feeling just thinking about Axel ying as a seeker.

    Axel looked at her in surprise. "Even you know about me being the Slytherin seeker, huh?"

    "Rose wouldn''t stop talking about it," said Akiko with a roll of her eyes.

    "Oh," Axel had totally forgotten that Akiko was actually friends with Rose. "How are you even friends with her anyways? You two are totally different."

    Akiko shrugged, "You might already know it, but she has a very powerful yin (darkness) affinity. I had noticed right away. Anyways, what are you going to do in Quidditch? Keep a low profile?"

    Axel just smirked, "You''ll see."

    "....." Akiko didn''t think Axel would be able to keep his "low profile" for long. But, now that she thought about it, why would this person even need to hide? Which organisation is powerful enough to even threaten someone like him?

    "By the way, what''s the name of the Organization that''s after you?" Somehow, only one name came to her.

    Axel shrugged, "I don''t really know. All I know is, it''s in Antis."

    Akiko thought she didn''t hear it right.

    "..... What did you say???!!!"

    ¡­.

    ¡ªNether World¡ª

    Lily Potter and Icitra, the Queen of Dark Elves, were currently in a room with tworge mirrors.

    "You think it''ll work?" Asked Icitra.

    Lily fiddled with the mirrors, "There''s no reason it shouldn''t. Besides, this is important."

    Icitra agreed. What they were trying to do was indeed important. Currently, living underwater, they were quite cut off from the activities of their enemy, and they didn''t have any allies. They were trying tomunicate with the other races in the Netherworld.

    To do that, they had sent two-way mirrors to other races. And right now, the mirrors had been delivered, along with the message. It was time tomunicate.

    "Which races have we sessfully delivered the mirror to yet?" Asked Icitra.

    "The Vampires and the Lycans."

    "It''s those two at the same time?" Icitra sighed, realizing the headache this was going to bring.

    "Ready? Asked Lily as she held up her wand.

    "I''m going to start the connection in 3, 2, 1. It''s on."

    The mirrors blurred and then two people''s faces appeared.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Appearance of New Characters. The Netherworld side will continue on the side and it''ll be relevant in Volume three.

    Hit me with PowerStones.

    Next Chapter: A bet with Rose

    Next next chapter: Akiko''s Proposal and the Iing Danger

    And also those who are interested,e to my P¨¢treon in the new month.

    Pa treon./Snollygoster

    (Remove spaces)

    Thanks for Support

 Chapter 73: A bet

    Chapter 73: A bet

    Chapter 73

    "What did you say?!" Akiko couldn''t help but ask. Because¡­ the organization that could threaten someone like Axel, and it''s from Antis¡­ there was only one that fit the bill: Kraken.

    Axel''s brows furrowed at her surprised reaction, "I said, it''s in Antis. You wouldn''t happen to know anything about it, would you?"

    So, she didn''t hear it wrong. It IS Kraken. The very same organization that she wants to destroy. She so much wanted to nod her right now, and tell him that yes, she did know about it. But s, she had no choice in the matter.

    "I¡­" Akiko paused in her reply, "I was just surprised," she lied with a heavy heart.

    She was feeling incredibly conflicted right now. The information about Antis and the Organization is even more restricted than the Forbidden Jutsus. She had only obtained it after signing an advanced secrecy seals. She couldn''t even revealed the information by mistake. So, no matter how much she wanted to tell Axel, she couldn''t say anything.

    But¡­ since she knew that the organization was theirmon enemy, she COULD help him out in a lot of other ways. For example, by giving him the best training she could. Previously, she had been hesitant to share the knowledge with him, especially since she was being ckmailed into it. But now, things were different. The Kraken. This organization was so dangerous that she is unable to deal with it even with it by herself.

    ''But, if it''s him¡­''

    At only 12, Axel is already so dangerous. If trained properly, they would have a Kraken-doomsday machine at hand.

    "Axel."

    "What?" Axel was a bit disappointed by the fact that she didn''t know anything about the organization, but it''s not like he expected her to know anything anyway. The girl can''t see anything past her revenge.

    Akiko looked Axel dead in the eyes. "Let''s begin your training," she said seriously. "Tomorrow morning, be here at the same time."

    A grin came on Axel''s face. "Now we''re talking."

    ¡­..

    Later that morning, Axel sat at the Slytherin table eating his breakfast.

    Sitting beside him was, surprisingly Daphne, surprising because this was the Slytherin table. It had always been an unspoken rule for the students to always sit at their own House table. But, after the start of their exchange program, with the nins sitting with them, some of the students had started to sit at the other house tables, iming they did not have enough space.

    There was some degree of resistance from professors like Mcgonagall, but Dumbledore, the ever-entric man he was, instead approved of its saying it promoted unity between houses. After that, the students had kind of started to sit wherever they liked.

    So, this is why Luna was currently sitting with Martina at the Ravenw table and Daphne was currently sitting beside Axel.

    "Can''t I eat something more edible?" She asked, looking down at the te of boiled ingredients that was supposed to be her breakfast.

    Driven by Axel''s promise of fulfilling her one wish, Daphne had been training hard under Axel''s instructions. And of course, diet was an important part of her training as well, which was going to start from today. But¡­ this food, it''s really difficult to eat for her! As a pureblood heiress, she was used to the delicious food carefully cooked by the house elves. Even when her father restricted her food intake, whatever she ate was still delicious. So, it was a bit difficult for her to eat this boiled, unprocessed food.

    Axel shook his head. "No, it''s important to eat if you want the benefits. Do you have a problem with it?"

    "Of course I do! This shit tastes absolutely revolting. How the fuck have you been eating this kind of stuff all this while?" She demanded, lowering her voice so that only he could hear her, so as to keep her pureblooddy image in front of others.

    She had thought that the physical training was the worst part, but when she had first tried some of the "food" that Axel had been eating for more than a year, that was when Daphne truly began to realize the extent of hell Axel had been living for the past year.

    No wonder he always used to be so grumpy. He had to work so hard, maintain that diet, and also deal with all the pain his almost crippled body was causing him at that time.

    Axel frowned, "Even if it doesn''t taste well, it''s still expensive and nutritious food, right?"

    Daphne nodded hesitantly, "But, that doesn''t mean you can eat it like this. I can''t understand how can you not throw up after eating this." She said, gingerly moving the ingredients in her te around with her fork.

    Daphne didn''t know why, but Axel looked incensed after listening to her words.

    "That''s right. You won''t understand it unless you have struggled to even get something to eat, unless you''ve felt happy to even be able to eat a motled loaf of bread. I was being unreasonable."

    "I¡­" Daphne felt like an absolutely spoiled, insensitive and immature brat right now. But more than that, she felt her heart aching for Axel. She knew that he had had a rough childhood, but since he had always been rather closed off about this topic, she didn''t know it was to the extent that he didn''t even have enough food to eat. Oh how she truly wished she had met him earlier!

    She wished she could have helped him when he was hungry, she wished she could have helped him when he got those scars, she wished she could have helped him when he was getting tortured to the point of being crippled. And most importantly, she wished she could have been there when he was getting these emotional scars that have yet to heal.

    ''But, I''m here now, aren''t I?'' She thought. She was here now, and things were getting better. Today he shared another detail of his past with her. Isn''t this progress? And she would be damned if she were to fuck it up now.

    ''My wish, this for you.'' She thought, grabbing of forkful of ingredients.

    Then, ncing at Axel, she slowly put it in her mouth.

    ....

    Meanwhile, sitting on the other side of the Great Hall, at the Gryffindor table, Rose Potter, the Girl-who-yed, was also quite exhrated. Sitting at the Great hall with her group of friends, she relished the attention she was getting as everyone pointed to her and talked about her instead of finding it ufortable like she usually does. She had done it! She was finally being recognized for something she had achieved herself instead of the whole Girl-who-lived thing.

    Because, all those Girl-who-lived rumors? They are all bullshit.

    Rose recalled the conversation she had had with Dumbledore at the end ofst term. Waking up in the hospital wing, she had panicked as soon as the events of the previous night hade crashing down on her. She had so many questions!

    What happened?! How was Voldemort still alive?! Why did he say he died because of her mother? Why did she suddenly pass out when Voldemort had her? And more importantly, what did he mean when he said he''ll kill her AND her mother? Isn''t her mother already dead?

    But thankfully, Albus Dumbledore himself was there when she woke up, to answer all her questions. At first, she was quite surprised and reticent, seeing Dumbledore in the flesh right after waking up. But the old man had calmed her down and given her some answers.

    Turns out, Voldemort never truly died that Halloween night, and whatever had happened, she certainly didn''t y any part in it. It would seem that her mother had used a very obscure ritual, something which even Dumbledore didn''t know of, to give her some very powerful protection. And was the reason why she was able to ovee the Killing Curse.

    And that''s why she disliked it even more whenever someone called her the Girl-who-lived lived. Her mother, while praised by everyone who knew her personally as the brightest witch of her time, never got any credit despite everything she had done.

    "Isn''t this great? We''re now allowed to sit at whichever table we like," said Susan, who was also sitting with her at the Gryffindor table.

    "Um...I''d rather we sat at our own table," said Hannah to Susan, feeling ufortable with all the attention Rose was attracting their way.

    Rose rolled her eyes. "Come on, Hannah. It''s so rare for all of us to be able to sit and talk like this. sses have been so busy," she said, getting nods from the table.

    "Well, not everyone," said Neville, looking pointedly at the Slytherin table where Daphne had chosen to sit. "It''s like she''s no longer our friend at all."

    Looking at Daphne, Rose''s face darkened. This was the same friend who had gone through life and death with her at the third-floor corridorst year. The same friend whom she has known for years. But, ever since Rose''s and Neville''s conflict with Axel on the train, Daphne has distanced herself from this group. And of course, she knows why. And now she''s always skipping sses as well.

    "She''s gone as well. It''s what he does. Bewitching witches," she said, ring at Axel. No, she can''t let him take away Daphne as well.

    Hermione, who was also sitting with them, looked surprised, "Does he really do that?" She asked, realizing why Martina paid so much attention to him.

    Rose nodded. Both of her Aunts, Daphne, Martina Valentino, Patricia Afonso, all seem to have been bewitched by him.

    "Maybe, he Bewitched me as well," said Susan, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

    "You are bewitched by every handsome boy," said Hannah as everyoneughed.

    Their group finished their breakfast after that. But as they were exiting, the two groups happened to meet at the door. Seeing the two talking among themselves andpletely ignoring them, Rose couldn''t take it anymore.

    "Daphne," she called, attracting the blond girl''s attention.

    "What is it?" Asked Daphne, looking impatient.

    "Why have you been skipping sses?"

    Daphne shrugged, "...Just cus. Do you have anything else to say?"

    Rose was annoyed. "It''s because of him, right? What has he done to you? You used to never miss sses."

    Axel frowned, they were beginning to attract a crowd here, "What do you want?" He asked, stepping forward, getting away from Daphne, so as to avoid getting attention on the two of them.

    Rose red at Axel, "What I want? I want you to stop bewitching witches all around!" She shot back, stepping up as well.

    Axel was a bit annoyed. He knew that he couldn''t clear up whatever misunderstanding this girl had of him even if he tried. And he was tired of her annoying him all the time. "Fine, let''s make a bet. The match ising. The loser will do whatever the winner asks."

    "....Fine!" Rose hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She had been training very hard. She was now at a level where even pro yers were praising her. Of course she can now easily beat Axel.

    And that''s how, the biggest bet in Hogwarts was made.

    ¡­..

    Meanwhile, in Netherworld ¡ª

    ¡ªContinuing¡ª

    In the room where Icitra and Lily were present with two mirror, two images appeared in the mirrors. Even though they were physically present, just their virtual image was enough to tell that these were not ordinary individuals.

    "Oh, if it isn''t the fallen Queen," said one of the two individuals, looking at the Dark Elf queen as he began to chuckle in a deep, hoarse voice . The appearance of this person was different from humans. He had arge and buffed stature, his teeth were sharp, his yellow irises were bigger than human with ck pupils, and his face had a beard that resembled wolf fur. He was the king of Lycans, Fenis¨²lfr.

    "Fenis¨²lfr, you shouldn''t be mocking others when you have be apdog of an outsider yourself," came a low seductive whisper from the other mirror. The mirrors were ced in a way that they could see the other mirror as well as Icitra, who was sitting on her throne.

    A low growl escaped Fenis¨²lfr''s mouth as he red at the other mirror. "I''m no one''sp dog! I''m his ally. And why is SHE here?!" He growled, looking back at the Dark elf queen.

    "I would like to ask you the same, Icitra," asked the person in the other mirror, flicking her white hair back. This was, of course, the Vampire Queen: Celeste. She was an ageless beauty, with pale skin and red eyes. Whenever she smiled, two sharp canines could be seen in between her red lips.

    Icitra sighed. She was very well aware of the unending feuds between Lycans and Vampires. The two races were like fire and water, always conflicting. They were already at war even when Voldemort started his takeover. But, seeing them still at odds even to this moment made her disappointed.

    "I had thought that getting your race conquered by an outsider would have made at least made you change, even by a little. But you two haven''t changed," she said with some frustration.

    But her words ended up offending the other two rulers.

    "The Vampires have not been conquered. We''ve simply changed our allies," proimed Celeste.

    "That''s right. The Lycans haven''t lost as well! Matter of fact, things are better now than they were in your rein. At least we don''t have to lose our people to monsters all the time."

    ''Sigh¡­'' things were not going as she had expected. It looks like these two don''t even want to rebel. But, she can''t really me them. Netherworld is not really an easy world to live in. There are various monsters living in the wild. And these monsters constantly attack all the Kingdoms in hordes.

    And Voldemort had somehow allied/convinced/enved these monsters to march under him. Now when he offers the rulers of the various kingdoms, "be allied with me, the monsters won''t attack you anymore, or be destroyed," the choice is of course obvious.

    At this moment, Lily, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "Bullshit."

    ?? 3x

    "You said something?" Asked Fenis¨²lfr, ring at Lily.

    Lily raised her head fearlessly, "Yes I did. If you really think you''re his Ally, that''s bullshit. That person only takes followers, ves, pawns¡­ pieces he''ll sacrifice in a heartbeat. So, you are not his allies."

    "How dare you?!" Snarked Fenis¨´lfr, crushing the armrest of his throne.

    On the other hand, the Vampire Queen was far more civilized.

    "Who are you?" She asked, studying Lily curiously. Her skin wasn''t pale enough to be a Vampire, neither did she have sharp teeth. Her ears were different from dark elves. This was, undoubtedly, a species she had never seen.

    Lily stepped forward.

    "I, am a Human. Just like Voldemort. I am what you call, an otherworlder. And the reason I said¡ª"

    "Halt!" interrupted the Lycan King. "Do you take us for fools? You have a nose!"

    "....."

    Lily was honestly at a loss for words for a moment.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Lycan King did have a point ??. Anyways, Next Chapter: Akiko''s Proposal and Iing danger

    Next next Chapter: Halloween I (Will be as peaceful as any other Halloween at Hogwarts)

    Vote with POWERSTONES!!!

    The month is here! Read Ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon:

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 74: Incoming Danger and Akikos Proposal

    Chapter 74: Iing Danger and Akiko''s Proposal

    Chapter 74

    ¡ªNetherworld¡ª

    Conversation Continued

    "Halt!" interrupted the Lycan King. "Do you take us for fools? You have a nose!"

    "....." Lily was honestly at a loss for words for a moment. Voldemort, you noseless bastard, would it have killed you to upgrade your looks?

    Though Icitra wouldn''t stay quiet as well. "She speaks the truth. Lily Potter ne Evens is indeed an otherworlder who arrived from the same rift as Voldemort himself. I can personally vouch for her.

    The Vampire Queen giggled, "Not all otherworlders have to look alike, Fenis¨´lfr. I don''t remember having furry ears, and neither do I have a tail."

    "You¡ª" The Lycan King was about to respond, but Icitra interrupted him.

    "Rulers¡­ We have some important information to share. Could you leave your squabbling forter?" She asked irately, making the two Rulers actually stop talking. Turning to Lily, she said, "Continue."

    Lily nodded, "So, I was saying Voldemort is just using you guys as his pawns. His real goal has always been to use you as sacrificial pieces. He doesn''t care one bit about your lives. He''s just trying to conquer you all by dividing you!"

    Fenis¨´lfr wasn''t convinced, "Look, girl. I will not say I''m happy with losing my Race''s freedom to an outsider. In fact, there are a hell lot of things about him that make me want to crush his head.

    But¡­ we have also gotten some undeniable benefits after joining him. The monsters attacks have stopped, and these Bloody Vampires don''t bother us anymore."

    Previously, before they were attacked by Voldemort''s forces, the Lycans and Vampires were in a war with each other. They had wasted so much manpower that they had difficulty even protecting themselves from the ever-present monster attacks. But after they had surrendered to Voldemort, there were no more monster attacks and the war had also stopped, letting them recover and heal their wounds.

    "The Vampires had been attacking you?" Celeste smiled at Fenis¨´lfr, but this time, her smile looked dangerous. "Don''t make us out to be the viins now. You Lycans are the ones who started this war in the first ce."

    Fenis¨´lfr also red up. "You bloody liar! Who was the one whose minions killed our brethren for no reason?!"

    "I already said it, it was an ident. They didn''t mean to do it."

    "What a load of¡ª"

    "Guys...Guys!" Lily Potter waved her hands in the air appearing very weak in the presence of these powerhouses.

    "That''s what I''ve been talking about! None of you actually started it¡­..It was Voldemort!" She revealed, mystifying the two rulers.

    Lily took that opportunity to exin everything.

    "Don''t you see? Voldemort first sowed discord between your people. He was the one who killed the members of your races in the beginning. He made you all fight among yourselves, while he also increased the frequency of monster attacks.

    While the Lycans and Vampires, two of the most powerful species are locked in war, weakening each other, all the burden of handling the monster attacks falls on the Dark Elves, making them weak as well.

    Don''t you guys see? You guys have been trapped in Voldemort''s schemes long before he even revealed his existence!"

    The Vampire Queen and the Lycan King both went silent, with different expressions on their faces. Celeste didn''t seem surprised, only intrigued while the Fenis¨´lfr looked surprised. No matter what, these circumstances were too much in favor of Voldemort. And now that they thought about it, it all fit together.

    "Is this true?" Asked the Vampire Queen, looking serious for the first time. "If it is, then how did he make the members of our races attack each other? I checked them personally. There were no signs of mind altering magic on them."

    Lily sighed, "The magic you guys use is quite different from the magic we use in our world. Of course you wouldn''t find any traces. Did you know we couldmunicate like this? This is also something from our world."

    The Vampire Queen had no answer to that. This was indeed a very novel and convenient way ofmunication. And indeed, she couldn''t find out what kind of magic was used to make this.

    The Lycan King also figured it out.

    BOOM

    "That Snake!" He roared, banging his feet on the ground. If what the girl was saying was true then that bastard had indeed gotten them good. They had been dancing to his tune all this time while as he overtook most of the Netherworld. So many of them had died meaningless deaths while the bastard reaped all the benefits. This was so infuriating and humiliating at the same time that Fenis¨´lfr couldn''t control his outburst as his whole pce shook with his howl.

    Meanwhile, Celeste appeared much calmer inparison, but her smile had gone and ck veins were now visible on her pale white face, and her eyes had gonepletely dark. She looked beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She had her doubts about this from the beginning when Voldemort had showed up, and she still had some doubts left, but it is almost certain now. Voldemort was the reason behind the deaths of so many of her brethren. Of course she was incensed.

    "Calm down, Fenis¨´lfr, Celeste. What''s done is done. We can''t change the past. But we can''t let the bastard continue to rule us. That''s why, we need to put our differences aside and join forces." Said Icitra.

    The Vampire Queen sighed, "What can we even do now? We''re under oath to him." Fenis¨´lfr growled at that.

    At this moment, Lily raised her hand once again. "There are ways around that. Our main priority right now is to gather our forces and monitor his movements. We want to know what he''s nning."

    Fenis¨´lfr shook his head, "I don''t know anything. Haven''t heard from the bastard for months."

    Celeste on the other hand, appeared solemn, "I''ve tried to send my spies to him. They haven''t found what he''s doing exactly, but one thing is for sure. He''s up to something, and whatever it is, he has had moderate sess already."

    Lily paled. This is exactly what she was fearing. Whatever Voldemort was up to, it could only be rted to one person: her daughter.

    ¡­..

    ¡ª HOGWARTS ¡ª

    The day after making the bet with Rose, Akiko and Axel stood in the clearing in the early morning. Today, Akiko was going to teach him seriously for the first time and Axel was looking forward to it.

    "So, we''re finallying to Lightning Ninjutsu?" Asked Axel.

    Akiko nodded. "We are. But there''s a lot of other things I''m going to have to teach you as well," she said seriously. The Organisation was no joke. If they were going to take it down, she was going to have to teach Axel a lot more than just Lightning Ninjutsu.

    Axel nodded. "So, are you going to teach me the real use, or like the ones you used on me?"

    Akiko looked surprised for a moment, but then the corner of her lips lifted slightly. "Both."

    ''Now we''re talking,'' thought Axel. In their fights until now, Axel has been able to glean one thing for sure. Akiko is mostly specialized in Killing. Meaning most of the techniques and Jutsus she has learnt are meant for delivering a lethal blow to the opponent. So of course she mostly didn''t use them on Axel. But Axel was still able to tell that she could do more than what she just did.

    Just take the Jutsu he had witnessed her doing on the very first day for example, It had destroyed the whole tree trunk quite easily. And of course, Akiko knew more Jutsus like that which she didn''t use. It''s like how wizards don''t use spells like unforgivables or Fiendfyre in normal duels.

    And Axel can''t have her hiding these types of Ninjutsu. He knows that he has many enemies out there. First, there''s the Organisation from Antis, and then there''s Voldemort and his army. So, there''s no way he would be satisfied with learning just the non-lethal and less destructive techniques she had shown him until now. That''s why, he was satisfied when she said she''d teach him Lethal Ninjutsus well.

    "Let''s begin then," he said eagerly.

    Akiko nodded.

    "I''m going to assume you don''t know anything and start with the basics of Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu consists of twoponents: shape maniption and nature maniption. Through nature maniption, you summon the nature of magic you need to use. Then you use shape-maniption to mold that magic into your desired Ninjutsu."

    Axel was a bit confused, "I thought you just had to do HandSeals to cast a Jutsu?"

    Akiko shook her head.

    "To cast a sessful Jutsu, simply doing the HandSeals is not enough. You have to focus on the precise execution of Nature and Shape maniption and hand seals to help you do that."

    ''Well, that makes sense,'' agreed Axel inwardly. If it was that easy then everyone would have learned to cast Jutsus easily.

    Akiko continued, "In a sense, Nature and Shape maniption is even more important than Hand Seals. Because, if you perfectly grasp these two concepts, you will theoretically be able to cast Jutsus without having to do any hand seals."

    "Sounds good." Axel grinned as he imagined spamming lethal Jutsus one after another.

    Akiko clicked her tongue, "Don''t be so hopeful. If it was that easy, then no one in the world would have stood a chance against Ninjas. The most that ninjas can do is to shorten the number of Handseals. But direct casting without no hand seals is almost considered impossible."

    Axel shrugged, "One can always hope. Anyways, I can perfectly learn the HandSeals in one go. So I just need to quickly learn the shape and nature and maniption, right?" He asked. With his perfect memory and dexterity, he could perfectly learn all the HandSeals in one go. So the only thing actually preventing him from casting Jutsus is this.

    But Akiko only shook her head, "It''s not something that can be learnt or taught instantly. I can only give you the key information and guide you through it, but you can only slowly learn Jutsus through a lot of practice."

    Axel frowned, "Why is that?"

    "Well, because it''s aplicated process. You can''t grasp the flow in one go without being able to see it yourself."

    Axel was just going to ept that fact, until he realized something. He smirked, "Yeah, I understand. It must be quite difficult, for most people."

    ''Unless they can actually see the process,'' he thought in his head.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    "Let''s begin then." He said, ready to observe the process.

    Akiko nodded, "Let''s start with the most basic one: Lighting Release: Lightning Bolt. It''s a simple Jutsu with which you can fire a bolt of lightning through the palm of your hand or through your fingers."

    "The hand seals are bear, ox, tiger, monkey, dragon¡­." She said, also showing the hand seals.

    "When you do the bear hand seal, you have to imagine the lightning nature magicing into your body. When you feel it, you have to make sure to pass it through the Life gate. Life gate is¡­" she began to describe the entire process and Axel realized why Jutsus were secrets that couldn''t be copied just by learning the HandSeals and why it was difficult to learn them.

    "Well, this seems more difficult than magic," Axelmented after she was done.

    Akiko nodded. "It is. And they only get moreplicated if you want to use this for other purposes. That''s why we are also taught wand magic. But, as far asbat magic is concerned, Ninjutsus are clearly superior. Once you get it down and master it, the power, damage, speed, everything can be higher."

    Axel thought about the Jutsus Akiko had used, especially thest one, in which her speed had increased exponentially. "Well, can''t argue with that. That Lightning technique which increased your speed was amazing."

    "The Ancient Forbidden Jutsu." Akiko winced upon remembering it. "That was only Half of the technique. The other half is supposed cover my body with a protective Armor of Lighting."

    ".... Damn. That sounds dangerous."

    Akiko nodded, "Of course it is. But it''s quite dangerous to the caster as well that''s why it''s forbidden. In fact, no one is actually able to master it for a long time. The most someone has progressed in thest two centuries is me."

    2 centuries? Axel couldn''t understand it. "Why is that?" He asked.

    "Well, the control and lightning affinity needed for it is quite high. Plus, very few ninjas have even been able to ess it, since it''s such a guarded technique."

    Axel swallowed his saliva, "You will teach it to me if I ask, right?"

    Akiko rolled her eyes, "How greedy are you? Learn the basics first. Dreamter. It will take years before you even reach that level." She said as she made the first seal of Lightning Bolt Ninjutsu. "I''m going to perform the Jutsu. Watch closely."

    ''You bet your talent I''m going to watch this closely, girl.'' thought Axel as he increased the intensity of his [Arcane Eyes].

    Akiko slowly made the HandSeals as she cast the Jutsu for real this time, following the exact process that she had described. Sparks began to be generated at her fingertips.

    "Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt!" She chanted casually, as her handunched a powerful Bolt of lightning, creating a burnt depression in the tree which she had aimed at.

    ZAP!

    "Now it''s your turn. Try with less intensity, and don''t expect much sess on the first try¡ª" she was saying as she slowly turned her head towards Axel, only to see him¡ª

    Zap!

    Before she could do anything, Axel had already cast a simr Lightning Bolt right where she had. Though the power was admittedly quite lower, but it was definitely the same Lightning Jutsu that Akiko had cast moments ago.

    ????

    To say Akiko was shocked would be an understatement. How was Axel able to do it on his first try? Even she had taken at least a whole day before she was able to do something like that!

    ''Are you going to beat me at Ninjutsu as well?'' She thought nkly, looking at the tree where the Jutsu had impacted. She was feeling embarrassed for saying those words earlier. But¡­

    ''This is good.'' She thought, thinking about the organization. She had long stopped expecting any help from her grandfather. He was a powerful man, but a peaceful one. So, if she had to stand a chance against Kraken, she needed exactly someone like Axel.

    Axel is like an unpolished gem. He has lots of imperfections. In a life-or-death fight, there are ways he could be bested. But, that is to be expected from someone with no systematicbat training or experience. These are things that can only be forged when he receives professional training for a long time. And she could do that for him. And once she has removed his impurities, and once she has properly polished him, if the two of them join forces, her dark affinity and his Lightning... revenge wasn''t just a pipe dream for her.

    ¡­

    The training went on for a while before it was time for Axel go on and do his own training.

    "By the way, what did you do yesterday?" Asked Akiko as he was leaving.

    Axel raised his eyebrows, "Even you know about it?" He asked, but then shrugged helplessly. Of course she did. It would be weird if she didn''t.

    Because yesterday''s matter had, sadly, blown up, and now everyone knew that Rose Potter and Axel Hunt had made a bet in which the loser would do whatever the winner wanted. Of course, it was blown in the sense that everyone was trolling Axel for making such a stupid bet.

    With her spectacr performancest year that won the Gryffindor team the Inter-house Quidditch Cup, Rose Potter was already considered the best seeker at Hogwarts. And if that wasn''t enough, the videos of her previous matches and training had gone viral, leading to her getting goodments from some experts as well. And Axel, who was trying topete with someone like Rose, was simply absurd to everyone. So, Axel was currently getting trolled all over the inte in various ways. There were memes, there were voting polls, and betting pools, all heavily in favor of Rose''s winning.

    "It''s really surprising how blind these people are. To treat a prodigy like you like this..." she said with some disdain.

    Axel rolled his eyes, "So what? I''ve always been treated unfairly, but it doesn''t affect me in the least anymore." Axel had long stopped expecting anything but the absolute worst from the people. So, it didn''t affect him in the least what others thought about him.

    But Akiko didn''t seem reconciled.

    "I don''t understand the system here. They judge students more based on their ability to tolerate cramming for written exams rather than their practical ability. There are no real rewards for being the best, no preferential treatment for the prodigies and hard-working students. The only rewards you get are some meaningless house points which, turns out, can get you absolutely nothing."

    Axel had to smile at that, "That judgment is surprisingly urate."

    "You know, you shoulde to Mahoutokoro," Akiko proposed out of the blue, looking absolutely sincere about her offer.

    ???

    "You''d receive the best treatment there. Custom training, custom diet, and forbidden knowledge. I''ll make sure you get everything there. You have the potential to be the best ninja in the world, and no one here even recognizes that, let alone giving you any benefits."

    Axel thought about it and nodded solemnly, "Thanks for the offer. I''ll think about it." Honestly, he didn''t think it would be a good idea to leave. In the future, Hogwarts was going to be the center of all the activities. And he''d rather be in on the action than let the situation get worse in his absence. It is not just a matter of his treatment. The World can turn upside down if Voldemort is allowed to take over, and then he can say goodbye to good treatment in any part of the world. That''s why he''s hesitant to leave Hogwarts for other ces.

    But, who knows what the future has in store for him? No one can tell where he might end up.

    Though if there''s really a bastard out there who can, that person better not make life more difficult for Axel than it already is, or Axel would have to consider breaking the walls to end whoever it is.

    Walking back into the Castle, as he passed by the Great Hall, Axel had to pause in order to look at the crowd that was gathering here. Students from both Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro were milling around the message board, talking excitedly about something.

    "Weird sisters at Hogwarts?!"

    "What are you going to wear? I''m considering to go for a Nundu."

    "I can''t think of anything yet."

    "Well, think fast! There''s not much time left."

    Getting closer to investigate, Axel found a poster on the board.

    HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY

    ALL STUDENTS INVITED

    Axel scoffed. A party? What a waste of time. As if he''ll be go there. His life is in danger here.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Of course he''ll have to go there. It''s a plot event after all.

 Chapter 75: Notification

Chapter 75: Notification

    there''s a chaptering. I''m booking those Powerstones. I just need toplete the p¨¤treon chapter.

 Chapter 76: Jealous Daphne

    Chapter 76: Jealous Daphne

    The next morning, in the Ravenw''s dorms, Daphne''s bedroom¡ª

    The morning sunshine fell on the few potted nts standing on the windowsill, pouring into a clean room containing a few more types of flora, lots of books, and some Quidditch posters.

    -Yawn-

    Daphne woke up, feeling her body sore all over. Axel had gone rather hard on herst night, not even letting her take any breaks. All she could do was grit her teeth and bear it, holding in her moans until they were finished.

    ''If he doesn''t take responsibility now, I swear I''llmit suicide,'' she thought, thinking of his promise.

    Really, if he doesn''t fulfill her one wish after making her train so hard, she would feel really unreconciled.

    Just as she was considering stealing a few more minutes of sleep, her Magi-mirror suddenly rang, making her sigh as she tried to find it.

    "Astoria?"

    Since it was just her sister, Daphne picked up the call without bothering to fix her groggy appearance. Astoria''s cute face popped up, holding the Magi-mirror too close to her face.

    "Hey Tory, what''s¡ª" began Daphne casually but her sister''s frantic voice cut her off.

    "Daphi! What the hell is happening at Hogwarts?!"

    Daphne yawned, "What is it?"

    "The forums, the inte, everyone is bad mouthing brother Axel."

    Daphne sighed, "Oh, that¡­" It has reached so far? This was indeed troubling.

    "Yes that! It is sooo infuriating! It''s so unfair! Rose has been ying Quidditch for so long and big brother Axel hasn''t even yed it. Why is it so unfair to big brother Axel?"

    Daphne chuckled at Astoria''s anxious ramblings, "Tory, let me tell you one thing," she said, making the bbering girl pause.

    "What?!"

    Daphnezily plopped her head back into the pillows. "That guy, there''s no way in hell he''s losing this," she said with surety. Daphne didn''t know why she was so sure herself. She had never seen Axel y. But, after getting surprised by his specialties again and again, Daphne had developed this strong confidence in Axel that now she''s not worried about him losing at all.

    "That guy won''t lose unless he wants to. So, don''t worry your little head over it." she said to Astoria. "Now tell me how my nts are doing. Are you properly taking care of them?"

    Astoria pouted, "I am, but is it necessary? I''m already healed, so why can''t we just have the house elves take care of it?"

    Daphne put away her smile as she brought her face closer to the screen.

    "Astoria, you''re a Greengrass. Nature is a part of your being. There''s a reason why you''re illness used to be stable when surrounded in greenery."

    Astoria rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, Whatever," she said sullenly.

    "Anyways, what are your ns for Halloween?" Asked Daphne with a smile, knowing exactly what would cheer up her sister. Halloween wasing up and her sister really liked cosying.

    And her words had the desired effect since Astoria''s face lit up on that, "Of course! I''ll be going to a party with mom! You want to see my costume?"

    "Of course." Daphne smiled.

    Astoria began enthusiastically showing off her costume. "See? This time the party is going to be so fun! Too bad you''re not going to be able toe," said Astoria teasingly.

    Daphne grinned mischievously at that, "Well, guess what? This time, Hogwarts is also going to step up its Halloween celebration."

    Astoria''s eyes widened, "You''re kidding!"

    Daphne let out an evil chuckle.

    "Hah, guess you were too focused on Axel to read the other news, Lil'' Tory. Instead of the usual feast, there''s going to be a Costume Party this time. Too bad you can''t be there."

    "What?! Nooooo!" Astoria screamed. "Why was I not born a year earlier?!" Astoria screamed.

    Andughing with satisfaction, Daphne triumphantly cut the call.

    "Sigh, what am I going to do next year?" Muttered Daphne, knowing that her sister would be here next year. That girl would not leave her side even for a minute, so how is she supposed to spend time with Axel at that time?

    ''Well, let''s worry about the current problems first,'' She thought as she checked the Magi-hive for news rted to the Rose-Axel fiasco. And soon, a frown slowly marred her face.

    Nope, she wasn''t worried about people talking bad about Axel. She knew that guy couldn''t care less about these things. What she was worried about was apletely opposite kind of problem.

    After this incident, Axel, who had always kept a low profile was once again pushed to the spotlight. His pictures and videos were being circted on various tforms, and¡­ it was starting to attract the wrong sort of attention.

    Daphne read some of thements.

    ["So what even if he loses? At least he has the balls to face someone on pro level! I''m with Axel!"]

    ["Yeah, I like his attitude. So what if it''s the girl who lived? He doesn''t simp for her like others."]

    ["Axel, please challenge me as well! I''ll lose and do anything you want!"]

    Daphne: "...."

    How to say it? Axel''s appearance was quite eye-catching. Usually, Axel has this effect that makes people not focus much on him or his appearance whenever someone is in his presence. But too bad, that mysterious effect doesn''t seem to work when his picture is seen through the screen instead of seeing it in person.

    With his sharp and handsome features, entuated with the light scars and the smooth and silky raven hair stylishly messed up, he gives off this bad boy charm that can hardly be ignored. So now, many girls areing out to defend him, saying it needs balls for someone to challenge the Girl-who-lived herself without any fear.

    But, that wasn''t enough. Daphne rubbed her face in exasperation as she read some other threads which were very popr right now.

    [AXOSE SHIP]

    [Rose x Axel]

    These kinds of posts were everywhere! Upon opening one of them, some infuriating shit popped up.

    [Now that I look at it from another perspective, isn''t this like a scene from a romantic story? Rose calls out Axel due to jealousy when she sees him with other girls and they make a bet in which the loser will have to do whatever the winner wants.]

    [Yes! I thought I was the only one who saw it that way. I''m shipping them so hard!]

    [They both secretly like each other but are very resistant to admit it. I simply love this love-hate rtion!]

    Yep, this was the most infuriating thing of all to Daphne. Many people, who apparently had too much time on their hands, had begun to ship Axel and Rose, making Daphne want to say a few choice words to them. Why is it their business who pairs up with whom? And how the hell did they see this kind of scenario as something remotely romantic?! Axel and Rose clearly hate each other!

    Daphne threw her phone away in annoyance.

    "F#?& ?&#$¡é¡é $$#? &¡Ì¡Á¡Ì?!!!! It''s not like that at all! Are these people blind? They clearly hate each other! There''s nothing like that between them!" She eximed in vexation. Her annoyance was immeasurable and her day was ruined. She''ll need some of Axel''s presence to wash this off. So, she was now looking forward to their next training meeting, and dreading it at the same time.

    ¡­.

    Somewhere inside Hogwarts, in a heavily warded room, a small diary remained opened on a desk, showing words from time to time.

    The room was filled with different types of bizzare ingredients, and drawn with different kinds of symbols. There were also cages, big and small, with various creatures locked inside them..

    "You think this is necessary? It could be dangerous" A person said, looking into the screen of the Magi-mirror held in their hand. In the screen, the image of a masked man in a dark cloak could be seen.

    "It is. And you should do what you''re told. You''ve already angered the dark lord the death of the Basilisk," replied the masked man, dark energy swirling around him.

    The person became a bit annoyed, "You are not the one to talk, after getting your headquarters raided single-handedly by just one guy. And you''ve still got nothing on him. So, don''t tell me about what and what not to do. The task I''ve been given is too Insane."

    The dark magic around the masked man red again. "The guy who raided us... I''ll find him one day. And as for giving you orders...well, these are Dark Lord''s orders, not mine."

    "But¡ª" the person tried to protest, but the diary glowed at this moment and the person stopped protesting.

    "Do you have enough sacrifices?" Asked the masked man.

    The person nced at the stacked cages in the room, "I do."

    "Good. Keep trying."

    ¡­

    ¡ªTime skip Halloween¡ª

    Just like this the days at Hogwarts passed. Axel trained daily with Akiko and the real training making him have some deep realizations. Not only for his attitude towards training, but towards life in general. And during this time, he continued to train Daphne as well, making her have some rather noticable improvements. Just like that, 31st October arrived.

    It was a day that everyone had been looking for. Because with all the attention that was focused on Hogwarts, it had been decided that Hogwarts would host a Halloween Costume Party to celebrate it and make this event more exciting.

    But surprisingly, the excitement for tomorrow was also not small as well. 1st of November, the day after Halloween. Because, tomorrow is the highly awaited Gryffindor vs Slytherin match!

    The match has been so hyped up that they have had to expand the Quidditch stadium, in order to amodate the growing number of people who were now going toe to Hogwarts to see the match. The security had been doubled, with Aurors and Ninja corps both being deployed.

    So with these events about to be held, Hogwarts was currently abuzz with activity.

    "What are you going to be wearing for the costume party tonight?" Asked Daphne after they had finished training.

    Axel shrugged, "Not going."

    Daphne frowned, "Why not? It''s going to be fun!"

    "I don''t have time. Besides, I don''t like parties."

    Axel really didn''t. He had only been to one party in his life, and it was thrown by the rich muggle boy he had beaten. In his mind, a party is a ce where rich assholes gather.

    "Oh,e on! You have toe! I want to see you in a costume!" Daphne protested. She imagined seeing Axel wearing a pair of cute cat ears and blushed.

    Axel rolled his eyes, "Not happening. Don''t even think about it."

    Daphne blinked her eyes cutely at Axel, "Pleeaaase?"

    Axel frowned, "Don''t do that."

    "Please?"

    "I said, don''t do that."

    "Please?"

    Axel gritted his teeth, "Fine. But no stupid costume," There were two reasons he agreed, none of which were because he couldn''t deny her. Absou-fucking-lutely not! He was still a Sigma!

    "Done!" Daphne jumped in joy. She knew better than to push her luck. Costumes weren''tpulsory. If you don''t want to put on a costume, you could just put on a mask.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: This interaction says a lot about how far Axel hase from his previous self. The walls are slowlying down, though only for one person.

    It''s Halloween. And Halloweens at Hogwarts are always peaceful, right?

    Anyways, how was the beginning?

    Next Chapter: Halloween, raising the g.

    Next next: Special Mission: School in Danger.

    Best time to subscribe on P¨¤treon. Come on already: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 77: Halloween and Raising a Flag

    Chapter 77: Halloween and Raising a g

    ''Why is it taking so long?'' Thought Axel as he stood in front of the Ravenw Tower. Wearing a formal suit he had bought on his shopping spree this summer, he was currently waiting for Daphne, who was taking too much time toe and he was now getting impatient. Every time, the door would open and instead of Daphne someone else would step out, increasing his annoyance.

    "Sigh¡­"

    Axel thought back to why he was doing this. If you look at the situation, it could easily be seen that he has no reason to go to the party. In fact, there are a lot of ways he could be putting his time to better use right now. But still, here he was, wasting his time on this silly event. Why?

    It was certainly not just because of Daphne''s spoiled behaviour. Well, maybe that yed a part, but it was more due to the realizations he has hadtely.

    The first thing he realized is, it''s actually quite easy to kill someone. And of course, that means it''s equally easy to get killed as well. He has learnt that in his training with Akiko, who is really going all out in teaching him.

    And, if it is so easy for him to die, he thought, ''Would I be reconciled if I just die just like that?'' ''Has my life so far been worth it?'' ''Have I lived enough?''

    And that''s when he realized ¡ª Living enough? What a joke. He hasn''t lived at all!

    For as long as he could remember, things have always been difficult for him. They were difficult when he was at the orphanage, they were difficult when he was at the muggle School, and they are difficult now, with the new enemies popping up. But he has always been a fighter. He wouldn''t stay satisfied with the lousy cards that life had offered to him. And so, he fought¡­.he struggled¡­.and he worked hard, to climb higher in life and not settle with the sorry excuse he had gotten for a life.

    And so, for as long as he can remember, Axel has never been able to stop for a moment, and live. At all. To the point that he even has forgotten the worth of his life. What''s a life in which he has to keep working hard every single day until you either defeat all of the growing list of enemies, or die trying?

    His future was getting bleaker and bleaker. Before getting tortured, he had been living a much simpler life. He had a goal to open a simple business, get rich, and enjoy life. And it was a very easy and reachable goal, one he could achieve with little effort and with little risk. He had high hopes.

    But now? He first has to deal with the organization, and if he survives, there''s still Voldemort and his army¡­

    Is this still a life he would endure inhumane torture for? Is this still the life he would give his all to protect in an extremely desperate situation, just like he did it thest time when he was under the Crutiatus? He was afraid that he might not.

    That''s why, he has decided to take a little break. To have a little taste of what could be a better life, to find out things that he would enjoy doing, to have some things to look forward to. So that when he gets back to work again, he would know exactly what was at stake.

    But of course, the break would be short. He doesn''t have the luxury to have a bigger one.

    And that is how, he is finding himself here today, standing in front of the Ravenw Tower to wait for Daphne. He hadn''t thought of wasting his break for this, But, Daphne had been very¡­ persuasive. Anyways, if there''s someone who can endure his rigid attitude and get him to have even a modicum of ''fun'', it would be that girl.

    As he waited, the entrance opened once again, but this time, rather than students, no one came out. The doors just opened and closed. And once again, Axel smelt a familiar aroma move past him.

    "Martina," he murmured in realization.

    There was a sound of someone tripping, or almost tripping before Martina''s voice sounded. "Axel!"

    ''Oh,'' Axel had somewhat forgotten about it, but he had lowered his presence a little until now, in order to not draw attention. Looks like he just now scared the girl, again.

    Martina made herself visible, looking stunning in her Halloween Costume.

    "Why are you sneaking around?" Asked Axel.

    Martina shrugged helplessly. "The costume was attracting too much attention, and I didn''t want to be surrounded," she said, looking back at themon room entrance.

    Axel looked at her outfit. She had on a red vest, a red coat, and ck spandex with red lining. Her feet were covered with ck boots, and her hands had fingerless ck gloves with red details.

    "What costume is that?"

    Martina looked at herself. "Oh, I''m Scarlet Witch. It''s a muggleic book character.''

    Axel was still scrutinizing her costume, "It doesn''t look ordinary," hemented, activating Arcane Eyes. It was filled with runes and magic.

    Martina''s eyes lit up in pleasant surprise, "You can tell? Of course it''s not ordinary," she said,ing closer to whisper to him. "I used some of the Basilisk materials to make this. It''s just a prototype, and I''m still experimenting, but let me tell you, this is amazing! I''ve made one for you as well. It''s almostplete."

    Axel nodded, extremely interested, "What are its features?"

    It looked like Christmas hade early for Martina, being able to talk with someone about it, "Oh you won''t believe it," she said excitedly, a privacy charm settling around them even as she spoke, "Since Basilisk Skin has very high resistance to magic, I''ve been able to salvage some of that property using runes! Really effective against dark magic. And then I can change it to any costume I want¡ª"

    Martina was still talking when the door to themon room opened yet again, and this time, Daphne finally stepped out, taking away Axel''s focus.

    Daphne was wearing an off-shoulder royal blue gown that fit her body perfectly till knees, after which it red out to resemble the tail of a mermaid. Her cheeks had light traces of blue scale patternsplementing her features and she had matching earrings to go along with it. Her hands were wrapped in blue gloves that reached above her elbows and click-ck sounds reverberated from her heel hidden under her dress. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that she was a mermaid tonight.

    "...."

    Axel didn''t properly register Martina''s words since he looked at Daphne with perplexity. He didn''t know why, but looking at her gave him a feeling of naturality.

    Daphne had brightened up as soon as she had seen Axel waiting for her. As he had promised, Axel was not wearing any costume, but he did put on a brand new trending suit, looking extremely dashing. But, her expression dimmed when she saw who he was talking to. She looked at Martina and then herself, and couldn''t help feeling insecure, making her steps falter. She gripped her dress and looked down as she tried to walk steadily in her high high heels but at this moment, a hand gripped her glow-covered wrist, stabilizing her.

    "I think we''ll need to train your bnce next," chided Axel as he helped her walk. "Or I''ll be embarrassed to call myself your teacher."

    Daphne felt so overwhelmed that she felt like passing out.

    "Thanks... Um, you look great,"

    Her makeup did its best to hide the blush that had spread on her cheeks, and she felt a scorching feel in her wrist where his hand was gripping hers, even through the glove.

    ''Wish I wasn''t wearing those gloves,'' an idle thought popped into her mind.

    Axel shrugged, "You too. But why put so much effort? We''rete now."

    Daphne smiled brightly, "Because, I wanted to."

    "Wait." She then rummaged through her satchel and produced a masquerade mask with would cover half of his face. "Here. Wear this. Fewer people will recognize you," she said, giving it to him.

    "Oh, thanks." Axel gratefully put on the mask. With the match tomorrow, many people would likelye to bother him. It''s very thoughtful of Daphne to bring a mask.

    But Daphne breathed a sigh of relief. With how handsome Axel was looking, she was afraid he would attract too many vixens tonight. It would be better if he had his face covered all the time.

    Axel nced back at Martina, "Let''s go."

    Martina looked at Daphne''s unweing look and shook her head with a forced smile. "I still had a few matters to attend to. You two go first."

    Daphne smiled, "Alright, we''ll be leaving first then," she said, dragging Axel along.

    Looking at the backs of Axel''s and Daphne leaving together in perfect harmony, Martina somehow felt very lonely.

    "I was still not finished about the suit..." she murmured to herself.

    ¡­.

    Like always, Hogwarts was really digging the Halloween theme. The Great Hall had undergone a total remodeling. The four long tables were reced by smaller round tables, and the whole ce had been festooned with confectionery-filled pumpkins, apples, ck cauldrons of big lollipops, carrot cake, bats, orange streamers, goblets of coloured sweets, Pumpkin juice, and all sorts of Hallowe''en-rted decorations.

    The student poption had gone bonkers over preparing their costumes for this event. Although it had already been said that students can prepare their own costumes using their magic or get others to do it for them, but of course, all of them only wanted the best costumes. Some of the students got their families to send them costumes while the others ordered online.

    As a result, owl posts had been arriving non-stop at Hogwarts, making it a giant owlery.

    "Looks like the party''s started," said Susan Bones, who was wearing a pink pixy dress, with two delicate little wings attached which were fluttering on their own. Her costume was matching with Hannah, who was wearing a Fairy costume, with insect wings fluttering behind her.

    "This is awesome!" Said Neville in a weird-looking nt outfit, looking around at the great hall. And indeed, the party was awesome.

    Usually, the great hall is always illuminated very brightly with the numerous candles that are always floating under the enchanted ceiling. But tonight, the number of candles had been reduced to provide just enough light for everyone to see but also properly bring out the effect of the pumpkinmps that were also floating around. Music suitable for Halloween yed in the background, and sweets of all kinds could be seen everywhere. What was most eye-catching were the students who were wearing all sorts of costumes from scary ones to funny ones.

    "Yeah, it IS Awesome." Said Rose, agreeing with Neville. "But Neville, what the hell are you wearing?"

    "What? You can''t tell? It''s Mimbulus membletonia," said Neville defensively as he looked down at his own bulbous outfit.

    "I could tell," said Hermione, "But I can''t tell what your costume is, Rose. It''s so cute!"

    Rose looked down at her own costume. It was a beautiful dress and she had a pair of rabbit ears on her head which twitched from time to time. Rose was surprised, "You don''t know? Oh, of course you wouldn''t. I''m Babbitty Rabbitty. It''s from a wizard fairy tale."

    "Oh! Wizards also have fairy tales?! How have I not read them?" Eximed Hermione in worry, looking as she was about to rush to the Library right now.

    Hermione herself had opted for a hag costume. With a dark cloak, messy hair, an elongated nose, and ne of small skulls with glowing eyes, she definitely looked like... how she always looked.

    Susan rolled her eyes, "Rx Hermione. They won''t being in exams tomorrow," she joked.

    "Now let''s get moving. We have to show off our costumes! Who knows? Maybe one of us might win the Prize!" She said, dragging everyone in.

    The group made their way into the Great Hall, looking around at everyone''s costume. It looked like everyone had gone all out. And why wouldn''t they? The event was being broadcasted and there was also a best costume contest as well.

    While they were looking around, a loud party horn suddenly red up right behind them, making them all jump. It was Fred and George, dressed as clowns.

    "Hey Fred, it would seem that our Dark Lady has put on a disguise tonight," said George with narrowed eyes.

    "Yes Georgie, and out of everything, she chooses to be the innocent Babbitty Rabbitty." Said Fred in surprise.

    "I say it is a ploy, to make the enemy lower their guard."

    "So that we can destroy them in the war which is tomorrow."

    Rose was not impressed by the twins'' antics. Not when there were already rumors about her being evil.

    "I''m a darkdy in disguise? Alright, but I see that you two are still clowns."

    The twins were amused. "That we are," said Fred, or was it George?

    "We have always been," said the other.

    "But tonight, we have the excuse¡ª"

    "To do the things which we have been wanting to do," they finished as they high-fived.

    At this moment, a few people started looking and pointing at the entrance, making the group also pay attention.

    "Hunt." Rose''s teeth clenched at the sight of the masked guy walking in with Daphne. She had read the news, of course. So she knew what people were saying about herself and Axel being secretly in love with each other, and it vexed her to no end. ''ROXEL?! Are you fucking kidding me?!''

    "Oh, this is Axel?" Asked the twins together. Then they grinned as they exchanged a nce. "Enemy spotted."

    "Fred?"

    "Yes George?"

    "I know what we''re doing today."

    "Wait what?" Rose had a bad feeling about this. Really bad.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Bruh I need all the POWERSTONES you can donate, quick! Those who''ve already spent today give me tomorrow!

    Also,e read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon? /Snollygoster

    Next Chapter: Special Mission: School in Danger

    Next Next: A Creature above XXXXX?!

    (There''s a fight)

    Next Next Next: Quidditch: One vs All

    (There''s a thrashing)

 Chapter 78: Special Mission: School in Danger

    Chapter 78: Special Mission: School in Danger

    In the dim lighting, the Great Hall, decorated with various Halloween decorations, coupled with the music ring in the background, lookedpletely different from its usual magnificence.

    At one side, a huge buffet was arranged on a table, with all sorts of Halloween themed dishes, and on the other, a stage was built with posters of seven weird people and various musical instruments installed.

    Walking in with Daphne, Axel looked around the great hall. People were wearing all sorts of bizarre costumes, most of which he couldn''t even recognise. They were talking, dancing,ughing, eating, scaring each other, or pulling pranks.

    "We''re on time. Look, it''s the Weird Sisters!" Eximed Daphne, pointing at the Stage where the music wasing from.

    And indeed, currently, everyone''s attention had shifted towards the stage where seven witches appeared. They were also in Halloween getup, looking like zombies.

    "Who are they?" Asked Axel as amotion started as soon as they appeared on the stage.

    Daphne was not surprised that Hermit Axel didn''t know about it. "They''re the most popr musical band! They are going to do a concert here tonight!" She exined, dragging him along with the crowd.

    "Are they a big deal?"

    "Big deal? They have fans all over the world. Look around! Everyone is here for them!" Said Daphne, and indeed a huge crowd was now gathering in front of the stage as the students cheered and yelled.

    "Let''s go, we have to get to the front spot!" Eximed Daphne, dragging him into the crowd.

    The concert started soon, and the crowd went wild, screaming and dancing along with the music. Standing in between the crowd of people, Axel looked at Daphne, who was vibing along with the music, and Daphne also looked at him.

    "!!!" Daphne shouted something which he couldn''t hear.

    "Can''t hear you!" Axel yelled back.

    Daphne just grabbed his hand and raised it into the air, making the both of them to move to the beats of music. It was a weird experience, moving along the rhythm in a crowd of people who are all screaming, dancing and jumping like crazy. But it was not unpleasant.

    After a while, they exited the crowd to take a break with the concert still going on in the background.

    "Wasn''t it great?! You were going to miss all this," said Daphne, leaning closer to be heard over the music.

    ''Was it?'' Wondered Axel. He didn''t know. But it was definitely unsafe. It''s quite easy to be attacked in such a crowd.

    Daphne rolled her eyes at him, "Don''t give me that look. For once, I''m going to have you live a little," she said as she dragged him towards the stalls.

    ?? ''What look?'' Wondered Axel. He was sure he hadn''t done anything.

    Daphne picked up two servings of what looked like eyeballs stuck with a toothpick. "Here, try this," she said, picking up one by the toothpick and offering it to his mouth.

    "Whose eyeballs are these?" Asked Axel, craning his neck away from the thing.

    Chuckling softly, Daphne ate the other eyeball to show him. "It''s not an eyeball, it''s a marshmallow!" She eximed.

    Axel frowned, looking at the eyeball, "How could you tell?"

    Daphne shook her head, "That''s the thing. You don''t find out until you eat it," she said, taking a bite out of a finger dripping with blood next.

    "Oh, fries with ketchup. Nice!"

    Axel sighed. Daphne had already taken his permission to skip the diet for tonight. And since Axel had decided to take a break tonight, he had decided to just go along with whatever for once. But, looking at her eating away freely, he was still getting second hand diabetes. "This is going to mess up all the dieting you''ve done," he couldn''t help but say.

    Eating another bloody finger, Daphne looked down at herself. "Oh fuck it, my tummy has never been so t before. It deserves a reward!" she said, patting her belly which had indeed ttened after Axel''s intense training, not that it was fat before. "Now, remember you''re on break. So open up¡ª" she said, still holding out the eyeball to mouth.

    Axel sighed and finally took a bite. It was the first time he was eating something other than his diet in a while. And he has to ept, it was fucking delicious.

    "You''re aware you''re going to have to train double after this, right?" He asked Daphne who was grinning like a Cheshire cat after feeding him.

    Daphne sighed blissfully, "I leave that to my future self. But this... this is worth it."

    Daphne''s smile seemed infectious, as a small smile slowly came to Axel''s face as well. "Well, I guess I''ll let go for tonight as well."

    They started to try different types of foods one after another. Witch''s Brew, Blood Stter Cookie tter, Treats not Tricks, Mummy Hot Dogs, Graveyard Parfait, things like that.

    "Axel, you''re here!" While they were still eating, someone called Axel. Axel and Daphne turned to see Patricia walking towards them. She was dressed as an Amazoness Tonight, wearing a revealing warrior outfit which was turning a lot of heads.

    Daphne''s smile stiffened as soon as she saw the older girl. "How vulgar," she muttered to herself. Though Daphne knew that it was only her jealousy speaking.

    Patricia seemed to have heard that as she smiled at Daphne, not at all bothered. "This is a Princess Diana costume. It''s quite normal in wizarding Brazil. Please don''t disrespect our culture."

    "...." Daphne had nothing to say to that, only cursing the fact that she was only 12, and there were some things she couldn''t have right now.

    Patricia then turned to Axel, "Axel, tomorrow''s our match¡­"

    "Yeah? So what?"

    "¡­" Patricia didn''t know what to do with this guy. She was dying with trepidation right now just thinking about the millions of ways they could lose tomorrow''s match, and the person she had pinned all her hopes on is so nonchnt about the whole thing, making her question her decision yet again.

    Patricia sighed, "The team I have this time is the worst team House Slytherin has ever had. The remaining good yers I had recruited have left because I couldn''t exin why our seeker doesn''te to practice even though he''s never yed Quidditch before. So we''re left with a bunch of noobs for tomorrow''s match." she said, her calm facade slipping.

    "So?" Asked Axel, as if he couldn''t understand where the problem was.

    "You¡ª" Patricia took in a deep breath, trying not to snap at the guy. He was her only hope now, and she can''t afford to have him leaving the team as well.

    "So, I''m wondering what we are supposed to do tomorrow. And should I worry about the match or the aftermath after we lose to Gryffindor under my terrible leadership," she said, barely keeping herposure.

    Axel smiled, satisfied to see that she had stopped her threats now. Yep, he was just testing her. "Listen Captain, the only thing you need to worry about," he said in a rxed tone, "Is to decide the point margin you want to win with. Leave the rest to me."

    "Oh, overconfident much?" Said someone, as a ball was thrown at Axel at high speed from behind.

    "?"

    Since Daphne was standing right in front of him, Axel didn''t dodge the ball, and it was toote for using magic. So, he could only deflect it.

    ¡ªPlop¡ª

    But unexpectedly, the ball exploded on contact, spraying golden and scarlet color all around. Daphne was saved since she was shielded by Axel, but Axel and Patricia had gotten paint stter on their outfits, drawing a lot of attention.

    !!!!!

    Witnessing such a scene, gasps were apanied by sounds of camera shes, and many people had begun filming it on their Magi-mirrors. Yep, people weren''t going to miss this opportunity.

    *Honk* *Honk*

    "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" Eximed the culprits, the Weasley Twins together after blowing the party horns, and many peopleughed along with them, finding this funny. People are like this. They find these things funny as long as it doesn''t happen to them.

    ''Don''t kill them, don''t Kill them, don''t kill them, ok may beter, but not now.''

    Axel slowly removed his mask and shook off its paint as he casually looked at the culprits.

    "Scourgify," he muttered, taking out his wand removing the paint off himself, and from the still stunned Patricia. The paint came off, but the stains were still there.

    *Crack* *crackle* Axel''s knuckles cracked as he clenched them into fists. He wasn''t angry, no. He had received far worse treatment than this multiple times back when he was on the streets. So of course just a bit of paint wasn''t going to phase him. But¡­

    ''Retaliation is a must,''

    That''s right, he has to dish out multiple times what he received just now. Because,

    First of all, that suit was expensive.

    Second, the paint was Scarlet and gold, meaning they were clearly sending a message here. This is not a simple prank, but a humiliating attack. And if he didn''t retaliate appropriately, it''ll send out the wrong message.

    Third, no matter if he was still very weak to defeat some of the enemies he would have to face in the future, he was still not weak enough to have to take this kind of treatment from a couple of clowns. As the person with power, he should be the bully, not the other way around. Otherwise, all this power is useless.

    Just as Axel was going to take action, a system notification shed in front of his eyes.

    [Special Quest: School in Danger]

    [An extremely dangerous creature has been summoned into Hogwarts, and it''s currently making its way down here. Your mission, if you choose to ept it, is to prevent it from reaching here, or it could result in extreme consequences.]

    [Rewards:

    ->Special Skill: Barrier

    ->Limited Information on Antis.]

    ''System! What the fuck?! Give me more details. What kind of creature are we dealing with? What''s its danger categorisation?''

    !!!

    The information came, and Axel eyes got stuck on the system interface, ignoring the clownspletely. He can also deal with them in the match tomorrow and the mission right now...

    ''Fuck¡­'' Isn''t this... too fucking difficult?!

    Axel was upied, but nothing was holding back Patricia. "Fred and George Weasley! I challenge the two of you to an Honor Duel right now! The duel doesn''t end until one side ispletely unconscious!" she eximed drawing her wand and pointing it at them.

    Meanwhile, Daphne dragged Axel away from themotion, fearing he might murder someone. "A-are you alright?! You''re not hurt, are you?" She asked anxiously.

    With all his attention on the mission, Axel snorted, knowing that his break was over. "I''m fine. But I need to leave. Now," he said, looking around for someone.

    ''So much for fun,'' he thought.

    "What?! But we were just getting started! There''s so much to do¡ª"

    Axel grabbed Daphne''s shoulders and looked into her eyes in all seriousness. "Daphne, I need to leave. Now."

    Daphne found herself unable to deny his words. But, she didn''t want it to end yet. This had been turning out to be the best night of her life.

    "Ah¡­alright, then let''s go toge¡ª"

    "No! You''re staying here! And don''t you dare leave this ce until Ie back! Find a professor and stay close to them."

    "... Alright," said Daphne in resignation. Daphne didn''t know what was happening, but she could tell that Axel meant business right now. So, she went along with his demands. But that didn''t mean she wasn''t crestfallen right now. "I''ll do whatever you ask, but please don''t do something that''ll get you into trouble," she said despondently.

    "Don''t worry." Axel nodded in relief as he turned to leave. He was really d she understood the severity of the situation. "And Daphne," he paused.

    "Yes?"

    Axel scratched his head as he looked away. "Thanks for tonight. I¡­ I think I had fun," he said, looking back at her.

    *Ba-dump* *Ba-dump* Ba-dump*

    Daphne was stunned as an unbelievable feeling rushed through her. "I¡ª" she began, but Axel was already off, disappearing into the crowd. It was definitely good that he had, because Daphne''s mental faculties were no longer working properly and she would probably have made a fool of herself if he had stayed.

    ¡­

    Axel didn''t directly go to the fight. He first had something else to do.

    "Martina."

    Axel quickly found Martina even in the crowd. She was sitting together with Luna, away from all themotion, literally on the opposite end of the great hall.

    "Oh, Axel? Do you know what themotion there is about?" She asked, pointing at the crowd that was gathering on the other side.

    "Hello Axel, you seem to be in trouble," greeted Luna casually with her usual half closed eyes. She was in a bizarre outfit tonight, with a crumpled horn on her head.

    "Hi Luna," Axel didn''t have time to chat with the girl so he went to business.

    "Martina, you said thebat suit you made for me was almost ready, do you have it on you right now?" He asked urgently.

    That''s the reason why he''s here. The information about the creature provided by the system is too overwhelming, and he was going to be needing more than just the clothes on his back for his safety.

    Now, normally one wouldn''t carry such stuff on them all the time, but Martina was different. The small hand bag which she kept on her person all the time is phenomenal. She has a researchb in there and also has enough space to put a giant Basilisk inside.

    And sure enough, Martina nodded her head, "Yeah, it''s here. But why are you asking for it right now?"

    "Because I need it right now! Things are turning out likest Halloween," said Axel, trying to make her understand that he was not fucking around.

    And his words had the desired effect, as Martina was instantly rmed as she stood up from her seat. "Again?! But isn''t the Basilisk already¡ª "

    "It''s not a Basilisk! It''s something more dangerous! Now, give me the suit. Quick! It''sing this way." Said Axel, cutting her off.

    All the nonsense was instantly gone as she brought out abat suit made out of ck leather. "I''m alsoing," she said, taking out her staff as her costume turned purple and ck, shifting intobat mode.

    Axel shrugged, "With the current situation, I could definitely use a hand," he said, turning to leave.

    "How about one more?" Came a voice, and Axel saw Akiko appear behind them. Akiko was in a fox spirit costume tonight, with two fox ears on her head and a tail on her back. She had been listening in to the conversation.

    Axel grinned. "I was counting on it. Let''s go."

    The three of them made their way out of the hall and they could finally converse freely. Martina looked at Axel and asked exactly what he had asked the system.

    "Axel, do you know what creature it is? And how dangerous is it? Could it actually be five X-es?"

    "Five X-es?" Axel had a grim expression on his face as he recalled the system''s information. "Its danger categorisation¡­ let''s just say that 5 isn''t enough to cut it."

    Yep, that was the thing. This thing was so dangerous that XXXXX was not enough to describe it. That''s why Axel was so serious right now. He didn''t think he was powerful enough to deal with it without any help.

    ''But¡­if it''s with these two¡­'' Axel looked at Martina and Akiko on either side of him. The most broken students of Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro. Their power level at their age was not something that could be understood withmon sense.

    If the three of them join forces¡­

    ''Ain''t no way we could lose right?''

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Revenge will be taken in the match. But what could be the creature?

    Next Chapter: Fight! Strongest Trio vs ????

    Read Ahead and support me on:

    pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 79: Creature above XXXXX

    Chapter 79: Creature above XXXXX

    "What did you say?! Above XXXXX?!" Eximed Martina as the three of them stood in a quiet corridor outside the great hall.

    "Unfortunately yes. It''s a very powerful dark creature," confirmed Axel.

    Akiko nodded grimly. "That would exin it," she said in realization.

    "Exin what?" Asked Axel quickly. If Akiko could exin this, it would save him the trouble of exining this by himself.

    The genius-nin nced at Martina with hesitation. Axel waved his hand, "She''s fine," he said, vouching for Martina.

    Those words might not mean much if someone else said it, buting from someone who had made her sign a secrecy contract just to keep his secrets, Akiko knew that Martina could be trusted, at least in this urgent situation.

    She nodded, as she decided to go with it.

    "Alright, I''m very sensitive to yin or darkness magic. And just a few moments ago, I suddenly felt a terrible disturbance in the yin element that almost made me pass out." she exined. It''s the reason why she came to find Axel in the first ce. Her Grandfather is not here and there''s no one else she could trust about her Yin affinity secret.

    "I''ve never sensed anything like this before," she said gravely.

    Axel shook his head inwardly. This much wasn''t enough. The two of them need to know more in order to face the creature. But the problem was, he couldn''t exin how he knew about it.

    "I know a bit more about this creature," he said, drawing everyone''s attention.

    "You know? What is it that we''re facing?"

    "You both already know about Dementors, right?" He asked.

    Akiko and Martina nodded in affirmation. "Is it the Dementors again?" Asked Martina with some distress.

    Axel chuckled ironically. If it was only that easy. "It''s not. It is an evolution of a Dementor. It''s called... a Demogorgon." he said, recalling the information he had gotten from the system.

    "What?!"

    The two girls were understandably mystified. So, Axel exined to them as quickly as possible.

    Dementors are actually iplete creatures. They seek darkness and souls for theirpletion. And when a sufficient number of souls and Dark energy is consumed, under the right circumstances, they can evolve. They be more powerful, more sentient, more corporeal. And more¡­a lot more dangerous.

    "And that thing... it''s actually in school right now?!" Martina covered her mouth in horror. "How did it end up here?!"

    Axel shook his head, "The situation is beyond improbable, but the priority is how to deal with it before it''s toote."

    Actually, the circumstances of evolution are too difficult to be met on Earth, what with theck of sufficient dark magic. And since the creature is more corporeal, it loses its ability to travel from the Netherworld to here. So, these creatures are only supposed to be found in the Netherworld. But somehow, it''s here tonight in Hogwarts, about to cause a lot of Mayhem.

    "How do we deal with it?" Akiko asked the main question. Both the girls at least had enough sense to not ask how Axel knew what he knew.

    Axel looked into his Magi-mirror, smoothly hinting at the source of his information.

    "It''s a very dangerous creature. Fighting it alone without prior preparations guarantees certain death for each one of us."

    !!!

    Now that was a blow that took them by surprise. Each of them was somewhat aware of the other''s power. Even all on their own, each of them was a force to be reckoned with, with different types of skills and specialties. Even XXXXX Creatures like dragons weren''t impossible for them to deal with let alone just surviving against one. But here Axel was, guaranteeing certain death in a one-on-one confrontation against this creature.

    "But, since we are going to be facing it together, with such preparations, we have a real shot at this," he said, reigniting their hopes.

    "What do we have to do?" Asked Martina and Akiko nodded.

    Axel looked at her seriously, "How powerful is your Patronus?"

    Martina nodded a bit apprehensively. "It''s quite powerful. But¡­" But it hadn''t properly worked in theirst encounter with Dementors on the previous Halloween. She had been too scared and unfocused to cast it in one attempt, almost losing their lives.

    "Don''t hesitate. You can do it," said Axel with surety. Even though this girl could be quite unreliable, Axel atleast had this much faith in her ability.

    Axel then looked at Akiko. "How many weapons do you have?"

    As the granddaughter of Hiroshi Yamazaki and the Heiress of two powerful ns? Akiko smirked, "A lot."

    ...

    In front of Axel''s eyes, the system Interface showed him the live location of the Demogorgon as he ran through the corridors in a blur together with Akiko, with Martina actually flying behind them.

    Of course, all three of them were almost invisible, only showing themselves enough to be able to see each other.

    Axel was currently wearing a ck hoody with the hood on, ck jeans, and ck sneakers. His hands had fingerless gloves and his face was covered with a mask, only leaving his eyes visible.

    Due to necessity, Martina had also lent a suit Akiko, which was one of the prototypes she had made for herself. Since the suits can change into anything, she had turned it into her usual tight ninja clothing that outlined her curves and like Axel, her face also had a mask on. "It''s close. I can feel it."

    Axel nodded, it was indeed close. And now, even he could feel it. The familiar ominous and hopeless feeling, quite simr to the one he felt in the Dementors'' presence, only much more¡­ sinister. And judging by the quick intensification of the this feeling it would seem that they were almost there.

    "Martina, it''s time," Axel said, ncing back a Martina.

    It was better to cast the Patronus before. With the unreliability of Martina, it''s not certain if she would be able to do it after theye closer to the creature.

    Martina nodded, taking out her staff.

    She would be lying to say that she wasn''t nervous. From what Axel had exined, there were high chances she could die a horrible death just now. But, whether she liked it or not, she was not a runner. She was a coward, but she wouldn''t run away from situations like this, a situation where she''s risking her own life for saving others. Even though this was what had gotten her killed in her previous life.

    [Child of Magic]

    She used her second cheat ability that she had gotten for saving the previous world.

    Yes, this was the reason for her insane Magical talent. Magices easily to her and the power of every magic spell she casts can be magnified multiple times ording to her will. Sadly, she had not been able to use this gift to its full potential.

    Closing her eyes, she recalled all the happy memories she had formed in this world, as well as the happiness of saving the lives of millions of people in her previous world with her research. And finally, she recalled Axel''s powerful and reassuring presence right beside her, which made her fear vanish, filling her up with motivation. Yes, she couldn''t embarrass herself again. Raising the staff, she said the incantation.

    "Expecto Patronum!"

    A bright light erupted from her staff, lighting up the whole corridor as an extremely corporeal and life-like owl emerged from her wand. The creative seemed to have a sentience of its own as it flew around and came to sit on Martina''s shoulder. Dense waves of positive energy radiated from it,pletely disrupting the previous gloomy atmosphere.

    "It worked!" Martina jumped in joy, feeling aplished at not failing like the previous time.

    "Don''t celebrate yet," muttered Akiko, feeling the dark presence getting stronger as they reached their destination. In the next moment, they heard a sound. It was a creepy mixture of breathing and groaning, which sent chills down their spine.

    "Alright, I''m scared," admitted Martina, moving a bit closer to Axel.

    "Just stay back. You''ve done your part. We''ll do the rest" said Axel, running forward to the next corridor where the creature was. There they saw it, a giant silhouette, wrapped in a cloak, currently hunched over in a facing away from them. It must have sensed their approach, because it turned its head in their direction, slowly drawing to its full height.

    !!!

    The moonlighting from the window in the corridor fell on the creature, and two things became visible at that moment, surprising them. First, the creature''s appearance. It was around 15 feet tall, quite taller than a Dementor, wrapped in a dark torn and shabby cloak and rotten sh visible at the uncovered parts.

    The second thing that was very noticeable was,

    "Mrs. Norris!" Cried Martina in horror. Blood was clearly dripping from the creature''s cloth covered head that only exposed a mouth. And lying on the ground where the creature was previously hunched over, was the half eaten body of a cat which used to be Mrs. Norris.

    ''More corporeal indeed,'' thought Axel, truly realizing what that meant. This thing ate more than just souls.

    The creature sucked in a breath and then,

    "SCREEEEEE!" It screeched in one of the most sickening sound Axel had heard, which even trumped that of Umbridge''s. A wave of its aura hit them, shing with the Auro of Martina''s Patronus.

    "It''s working! Let''s proceed with the n!" Shouted Axel, infusing his knife with light magic. Martina had truly done her job. The clothes they were wearing, made from the Basilisk hide, are highly resistant to magic. That''s the reason why their soul wasn''t getting sucked out of their bodies right now. Without them, they''d already be dead since the pull is much much strongerpared to a Dementor''s. And the Patronus had prevented Demogorgon''spresence from affecting their minds. Otherwise, most of its prey can''t even muster the will to escape, let alone fight back.

    Annoyed by the Patronus, the creature screeched again as it extended its hand.

    !!!

    A mass of dark magic came out of its hand heading for them. It was the Demogorgon''sability. It could harness dark energy.

    "Akiko!" Called out Axel.

    "I''ve got it!" Came her reply as she formed a few handseals. "Yin Release: Dark Shield

    A shield formed in front of them, defending them from the corrosive darkness. The creature let out a shriek of frustration as it moved forward.

    "Can''t let ite closer!" Shouted Axel, backing away along with Martina and Akiko. That was the main problem. The intensity of Demogorgon''spull on the soul increases with the distance. So, it''s very risky to get near it.

    "Yin Release: Chains of Hell!" Akiko cast another Jutsu, and ck chains emerged from the ground, wrapping up the creature. "Now,"

    Axel nodded as two kunai appeared in his hands.

    [Tracless]

    [Light Infusion]

    [Throwing]

    The kunai in his hands began to flow in with Light magic, and Axel threw them out, sticking them straight into the creature''s skull.

    "SCREEEEEEECH!!!"

    The creature screeched in agony as it struggled hard, almost breaking off the chains of darkness. But Axel wasn''t done yet. He kept throwing out the Kunais, knives and swords, piercing the creature every time.

    *Shing* *Shing* *Shing*

    The creature kept wailing with each attack, but for some reason, there wasn''t enough damage. It kept struggling against the chains as the pull on their souls got stronger, causing them to back away.

    "I can''t¡­ hold it for much longer.." said Akiko through gritted teeth.

    "We have to hurry! If the others arrive before us they''ll die without the protection of the suit!" Said Martina, firing her own spells, none of which seemed to work.

    "Damn it! I''m so going to make an offensive Patronus spell if I get out of this alive!" She eximed helplessly.

    The pull on their souls intensified, and the creature began to attack them with its dark magic, which Martina had to defend them against.

    Akiko could see where this was going. "It''s... too powerful! We... agh...we should think of evacuation!" She said with difficulty. There were barely any ways to deal with a Dementor. And an evolution of that thing? It''s a total abomination.

    "I''m not done yet!" Shouted Axel.

    ''Work, damn it!" Thought Axel, throwing the Light magic infused weapons.

    Axel didn''t know what the problem was. Everyone had done their part, but he wasn''t able to sessfully y his part.

    ''System, why isn''t it working?'' He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

    [Arcane Thief is not a ss that specializes in Light magic. Your [Light Infusion] skill is not strong enough to counter the dark energy of a Demogorgon, if delivered in such low quantity. And albeit they are more corporeal than Dementors, Demogorgons still have enough intangibility to negate most of the physical and magical damage.]

    "Damn it!" It was a familiar feeling, realizing that your magic just wasn''t strong enough. One that he hadn''t felt for a while after getting healed. But he had to ept it. When it came to the big leagues, his magic was still not strong enough, whenpared to people like Martina, Akiko, or Dumbledore. He couldn''t overpower these people purely in terms of magicalbat. At least not yet.

    But, since when had he only relied on brute strength to get through? Actually, never. He was used to not being the most powerful in the room. But what he couldn''t do with power, he had always more than made up for it with his other abilities.

    Closing his eyes for a moment, Axel went back to the time when his magic was extremely weak, making almost every spell impossible for him. Even at that time, he had managed to use his magic effectively.

    ''Repetition.'' That was the key.

    "Martina, can you lend me your staff?" He asked.

    Martina looked extremely regretful as she shook her head, "It''s bound to me. No one else can use it."

    ''Sigh¡­'' Axel had expected as much. He took out his own wand.

    ''I''m sorry for this,'' he thought, apologizing beforehand.

    The wand hummed in response, ready for anything. During this time, the degree of his bond with his wand had strengthened further, making the power out even better.

    Raising his wand he activated his special skill.

    [Light Infusion]

    It''s a skill that lets him infuse the Light element into his spells or weapons. And right now, he was doing exactly that.

    Taking a deep breath, he began using the same spell that had been very useful during the time he was crippled.

    "Electrica Impulsa, Electrica Impulsa, Electrica Impulsa¡­"

    Within a few seconds, he had charged his wand dozens of times, generating an incredible amount of power. It had to be noted that this spell could already generate a lot of power back when he was crippled. And now, with the massive improvement he had gone through, the amount of magic stacked up was truly staggering.

    *Crackle* CRACKLE*

    White Lightning began to snake around his wand, all the way up to his hand. And Martina and Akiko had to distance themselves from him, the former due to the lightning discharge while thetter due to the incredible amount of Light Magic.

    "SCREEECH!" The Demogorgon''s struggles intensified. Only now, instead ofing closer to them, it was now trying to get as far away from Axel as possible.

    "Drag it in front of the Window!" Said Axel with difficulty. With the power he was holding on, massive destruction would be caused if he released it in the castle. Axel was currently in an incredible amount of pain. He had never felt like this before. It felt like could put everything into the spell.

    "Alright!"

    Akiko tried her best, and Martina also helped, conjuring chains of her own to drag the struggling creature towards the window.

    Axel''s jaw clenched due to the sheer amount of concentration that was needed to maintain the spell, even with his incredible mental power. Blood started to leak from his nose and his head was pounding. His wand''s condition was no better, even showing tiny fissures along its surface.

    When it was finally right in front of the window, Axel was barely holding on.

    "This one''s for Mrs. Norris, you Demo-moron," he said, finally releasing the magic.

    *ZAP* *BOOOOOOM*

    ¡­

    A.N.: I need support and you need to read ahead. What say you,rade? /Snollygoster

    Next chapter: New Skill Unlocked. Conclusion

    Next next: Quidditch: beginning of revenge

    Next next next: Quidditch One vs All

    Vote me with Powerstones. Give me tomorrow if you''ve already spent today''s quota.

 Chapter 80: Limit Break

    Chapter 80: Limit Break

    BOOOOOOOMMM!!!

    The creature couldn''t even make a sound before it was utterly obliterated into nothingness, but the bolt still went on, out of the window, painting the night white for a few seconds.

    "...." x3

    Three people looked at the scene nkly, dark spots dancing in front of their eyes due to the ess brightness just now. The power of the spell was off the charts!

    There were a few reasons to exin that. First of all, Axel''s magic was already very powerful after getting healed. Second, he had a high affinity with Lightning, one which had only increased ever since he had started his Ninjutsu training with Akiko. And third, he had charged the spell too many times. It''s not something that even geniuses like Martina and Akiko can do, since it requires an insane amount of mental strength, something which was Axel''s forte.

    These were some of the reasons why the spell was so destructive. But, even after that, Axel was still surprised by its might. That was too much power.

    At the time of casting, he had felt a peculiar feeling. It was like...he had an unlimited amount of magic, causing him to put in more power than he had predicted. And now, he feltpletely drained.

    Axel copsed to his knees, so did Akiko right afterwards. The fight had taken a lot out of both of them.

    "Above 5 X''es¡­ it was definitely above that," said Akiko while gasping for breath. [Chains of Hell], a Yin Affinity Forbidden Jutsu which very few Yin users can perform without dying. A spell that could easily hold down dragons. And she couldn''t even hold down the creature for more than a few minutes with that spell.

    The Demogorgon turned out to be much more powerful than they had anticipated. Just a few moments ago, she had already given up on defeating it, instead considering how to stall it and evacuate everyone. Her thought process had even reached the idea of using the portal which the delegation came from to transport everyone at Hogwarts back to Japan. That''s how hopeless the situation was. And then Axel suddenly decides to use some extremely powerful magic, one she had never seen before, topletely annihte the creature.

    ''How..?'' She wondered.

    Martina on the other hand wasn''t so surprised by the fact that Axel had managed to save the day once again. She was more surprised by the magic he had just used.

    "H-How¡­? How in the ROB''s name did you do that?" She asked Axel, who was lying exhausted on the floor. The spell is only supposed to produce lightning and there''s no way it could be charged that many times! Martina''s eyes were shining with curiosity as she looked at Axel.

    "Don''t ask," said Axel distractedly. He had other things on his mind right now which were much more important than answering how he did it. He was currently looking down at his wand which had taken some damage due to thest spell.

    ''Thanks¡­and sorry.'' he said to the wand through his head.

    The wand gave out a weak thrum in response, making him regret even more.

    ''I''ll get you fixed.'' He promised.

    "¡ªel? Axel?! Are you alright? Ohmygod! you''re bleeding from the nose! Eximed Martina, bringing him out of his thoughts as she checked his condition.

    "I''ll live," said Axel with a nod, slowly getting up on shaky feet. "But not my wand," he said, looking at the damaged cherub feather wand in his hand which had apanied him through many difficulties.

    "Oh¡­may I?" asked Martina, holding out her hand.

    Axel hesitantly put his wand in her hand. "Thanks," she said, gingerly holding Axel''s wand with both hands as she closely examined it, stroking it a few times.

    "Careful," said Axel, a bit apprehensive.

    "Don''t worry, I know how to handle a wand. I''ve been doing this since I was a child." Martina said reassuringly.

    Meanwhile, Akiko: ''.....Do I have a dirty mind?''

    Unaware, Martina continued her diagnosis. "Let''s see, there''s critical damage to the wood, and a slight damage to the core as well, but it can be salvaged. Looks like the power output was too much for it. I can help you fix it," she said, giving it back to Axel.

    Axel raised an eyebrow, "You can fix it?" Wandlore was quite aplicated branch of magic. That much, even Axel knew. But she''s Martina after all, so it shouldn''te out as much of a surprise.

    Before Martina could reply, Akiko got up. "We need to get out of here."

    Martina nodded in agreement but Axel had one more thing to do. "Wait a sec."

    [Traceless]

    Activating the skill, he quickly removed traces of Akiko and Martina from the scene as well, only leaving the rest of the things undisturbed. Let Dumbledore and others do whatever they want with this. He had done his part, the rest, he minded his own business too much to bother.

    How did the Creature get here? Who brought it? What were they ying at? There were a lot of questions in his head, but Axel''s head was still throbbing due to the exertion earlier and he already had enough on his te.

    Though, Martina and Akiko had even more questions. How did Axel know the castle was in danger? How did he know that it was a Demogorgon? How did he know exactly what a Demogorgon was? And, how did he do that magic?

    So, after they were safely out of the area, the two girls turned to look back at Axel to ask questions, but to no one''s surprise, the mysterious boy was nowhere to be found, making Akiko click her tongue and Martina to stomp her foot. The only thing he left was a note tucked in each of their pockets which stated,

    "Thanks for the help. I owe you guys one."

    Martina crushed the note. "This is so like him¡­" she said in annoyance, and Akiko could only nod in agreement. Though, both the girls were smiling.

    ¡­

    After Axel had gotten rid of the girls, only then did he look at the System Notifications he had received.

    [New Skill Unlocked]

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Skill: Limit Break

    You can temporarily break past your limits in order to ovee a desperate situation.]

    "Son-of-a¡ª!" Axel eximed in surprise upon seeing the notification. Previously, he had been too concerned about his damaged wand to pay attention.

    So, a new skill! Axel sighed. Now he can understand how the spell was so powerful. And here he thought, he had finally became powerful.

    Limit Break. This is a great skill for critical situations. But, it was also quite dangerous. It doesn''t give him extra power. The power he is getting is at the expense of damaging his own body. He''ll have to use it wisely.

    Axel checked the other notifications.

    [Congrattions. You havepleted the special mission: School in Danger

    Rewards:

    ->Special Skill: Barrier

    ->Limited Information on Antis.

    ->Approval Rate]

    Another Special Skill!

    As exined, Arcane Thief is a great ss, but it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of skill set. A single ss can''t have every skill after all. And special skills make up for that. Like now, he has got a barrier skill, something which the Arcane Thief ss does not include. It''ll definitelye in handy.

    But, Axel''s main focus was on the information he had just gotten installed in his head, and as heid there on the ground, the tion he had been feeling atpleting the mission slowly vanished.

    Because the limited information he had gotten didn''t contain good news. He carefully sifted through the information and his expression grew sombre the more he read.

    Here''s the jist of it. Antis is the oldest magical civilization, much, much older than any other. And as one would expect, it used to be very developed in terms of magical technology. But almost everything was destroyed due to internal warfare thousands of years ago, and Antis sank underwater.

    The remnants of the Royal Family who had won the war, restarted the civilization, having very little left of the previous glory. They decided to start anew and discarded almost all of the previous advanced magical technology, leaving only a few pieces of the advanced technology which are called Relics. Now, after thousands of years, the opposing side has risen again, trying to take over, and the Royal family is at its weakest right now.

    It would seem that the organisation is going to take over Antis very soon. And when it does, it''s going to start a war against the world using the relics. So, if Axel has to handle the Organization, he has to do it soon, or he''ll have another force trying to take over the world.

    ''Looks like there''s no choice,'' he thought, slowly picking up his tired body. With his realisations over the past month, he had been having second thoughts about attracting the attention of the Organisation. Why not live in peace for a few more years? Why not train steadily, gather strength and then take it on?

    But, with this news, it would seem that he has no choice. He has to take down the Organization quickly, or at least prevent it from taking over Antis. So, it would seem that he''ll be going with his original n, attracting its attention and drawing it out. Which means, he can go wild in tomorrow''s match. It just so happens that he also had a few bones to pick with a certain pair of clowns who are now going to regret ever bothering him.

    ¡­.

    Feeling quite drained, Axel went back to the Great Hall after changing to find a very anxious Daphne. Axel dragged her to a secluded corner where no one would bother them.

    "Merlin''s beard, you''re bleeding! Are you alright?!" Asked Daphne, frantically checking for injuries.

    Axel checked his overexerted body. "I''m fine, just tired."

    "What happened? Why did you have to leave so suddenly?" She asked anxiously, sitting right beside him.

    Axel shook his head. "You need more lumency for that. But everything''s fine now," he said, settling into the chair.

    Daphne couldn''t help it, her eyes grew misty as she gripped his hand with both of hers. "I was so scared. I''ve never seen you so serious before."

    Axel didn''t shake her off. It was a really close call this time. They had almost lost it due to not being able to damage it. And with its high range, if the creature had reached anywhere near the great hall, it would have sucked hundreds of souls at once.

    And at that moment, Axel had thought of only one person in the Great Hall, which had helped him break past his limits. "Thanks," he said looking at the mermaid in front of him, not really exining everything.

    Daphne sighed, "Don''t thank me. I couldn''t help you make the most of your break. You didn''t have that much fun, did you?"

    Axel shook his head, "No," he said truthfully. In the first ce, he is not even the kind of person who would overly indulge in pleasure.

    But, his original purpose wasn''t having fun, was it? It had been to find something to fight for once again. Something that''ll drive him to not give up in a difficult situation and drive him to give it his all. A reason to work hard. And, at that moment, when he had foreseen the creature breaking out of the chains, he had felt it. He didn''t know what it was yet, but it was there. And he intended to explore it. So, tonight wasn''t meaningless.

    "You did help me," he said, smiling at her. "Just not in the way you wanted."

    ¡­

    The next day, Axel woke up in the morning feeling quite groggy and tired. His head was still aching from his fight with the Demogorgon.

    ''Is Halloween here cursed or something?'' He thought while groaning. Last year it was something else and this year it''s a creature above XXXXX.

    Axel dragged himself out of bed. It was early morning and he had some training to do. The break was already over, and though he was interrupted, the main thing was Axel had actually felt annoyed at being interrupted, meaning it was definitely something he had enjoyed.

    ''Oh, there was a match today as well, right?'' He realized while doing his training. So, he warmed up some of his skills which woulde in handy today. That was it for his preparations. After that, he leisurely made his way into the Great Hall, only to see a lot of eyes turning towards him.

    Patricia, the Captain who looked to be on the verge of pulling her hair out, finally seemed to have hope returned to her eyes as soon as she saw him.

    "Where have you been?! I''ve been trying to find you sincest night! You haven''t picked up any of my calls, owls can''t reach you, and I can''t even find your room in the dorms!" She asked in harsh whispers after dragging him aside.

    Axel rolled his eyes. "What is so urgent that you''re trying to find me like a crazy stalker?" His Magi-mirror is always on silent mode and of course she didn''t find his room in the dorms. It''s because he has removed his name from the door of his room there, so that no one notices his absence.

    "Urgent? We have a match in a few minutes! Is that not urgent enough for you?!"

    "So what? I''m still on time. Now let me eat my breakfast," said Axel as he began to leave.

    "Breakfast?! You still have time for breakfast?!" Patricia followed him like an angry kitten.

    Axel ignored her. "Yeah, I need my energy, don''t I?"

    Patricia once again almost pulled her hair out of frustration. "So overconfident! You''re giving me anxiety," she said, her hands reaching for her pocket.

    Axel pushed past her, offering her a potion. "Here."

    Patricia checked her pocket where the potion was supposed to be moments ago. "Wait, when did you¡ª?" But Axel had already left behind.

    "Just trust me, captain," said Axel as he went to sit beside Daphne.

    "What''s the news?"

    Daphne looked furious, "Not good. I so want to kill those brothers right now."

    Photos and clips of the Seeker and the Captain getting sshed in Gryffindor colors were currently making rounds on the Magi-hive and the Slytherin team was getting unceasingly trolled right now. Some might say that it was just paint, but it was not. Two Slytherin representatives get painted into Griffindor colours is extremely humiliating to the whole house and it IS a big deal. And the only reason it was just paint and not something more harmful like their other pranks was because the imps didn''t want to get disqualified before the match. Other Slytherins are the witnesses of how vicious those two can really be.

    Axel nodded. "The twins will get what''sing for them. Anything else?"

    The twins were dead meat, Daphne already knew that. "Don''t get into trouble," that''s what she was worried about. "And also, my mom and sister are here. Come see them after the match if you can."

    "Will do." Axel quickly ate his breakfast and got up, ready to kick some ass.

    ....

    A.N.: Well, it''ll finallye in the next chapter. POWERSTONES!!!

    Can you read ahead and support me?

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 81: One vs All: The beginning

    Chapter 81: One vs All: The beginning

    A.N.: Yep, it''s here.

    ...

    In the stadium, Betrix and Andromeda ck appeared one after another in the VVIP room through the Firece.

    They were here and not in the VIP box with the other cks who were supporting Rose because they wanted to see the match discreetly, without being seen by anyone.

    "It''s been a while since I attended one of these," said Betrix nostalgically, looking down at the stadium.

    And as she removed the cloak, the reason for their discretion became visible. For today, the majestic Minister of Magic persona was gone, reced by a girl in a ck jeans, green silver-green t-shirt that said "Go Slytherin!" and matching scarf, with the snake insignia on it. In her hands she held a tray containing a big bucket of popcorn and various drinks.

    Yep, as it can be seen, Betrix ck hade fully prepared for the asion, not as the Minister of Magic, but a hardcore fangirl. She had worked nonstop in the past few days to clear her schedule for today, postponed everything so that nothing can disturb her today, brought popcorn, booked a private vvip room at the stadium, and even wore the Slytherin Quidditch merch that she had always thought was stupid.

    Why did she do all this? Certainly not because she liked watching Quidditch, at least not since her cousin Reggie stopped ying. Nor was it because she was a Slytherin Supremist. There''s only one reason why she''s like this: Because Axel was ying in today''s match. And since it was his first match, she ought toe and support him, right?

    "Where IS he? When will it start?" She muttered anxiously, looking down at the pitch with her omni-rs.

    "In a few minutes," said Andromeda, who had also taken the day off from her master healer shift. "But... Be, don''t expect him to y very well. He was¡­ he used to be permanently disabled not too long ago," said Andromeda, who couldn''t share the same enthusiasm as her sister.

    It was good that Be had been too busy to check up on the recent news about Hogwarts. If she had, she might have exploded due to rage. Andromeda was quite outraged herself at how harsh the students can be over a simple match. And more importantly, Axel had only recently suffered from severe trauma in all of his nerves. So, even after he''s healed now, (Merlin knows how), his motor skills might not be as sharp as they used to be. So, she was quite apprehensive about today''s match, especially since it''s against Rose. That girl won''t pull back her punches.

    Betrix shook her head. "No matter how he ys, I''ll still support him," she said calmly, looking down at the stadium. "It''s not like there''s no nepotism in Quidditch. I''ll even make him a pro yer if he wants to."

    Betrix casually said some crazy stuff and Andromeda was d her sister hadn''t seen the news yet.

    ¡­.

    Meanwhile, in another VVIP private room, the Valentino Family, Italy''s biggest magical mafia family, was present.

    "Did we bring everything?" Asked Alessandro Valentino, Martina''s father and Wizarding Italy''s Godfather. He was a handsome middle-aged man, with purple hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his forehead. Wearing the suit, hat and essories like gold chain, watch and rings, he cut an intimidating figure, even though he was soft as a sponge with his family.

    "Yes we did," said Francesca Valentino, Martina''s mother with a slightly peeved look. "But you and your son overdo things when ites to her."

    Martina''s mother had auburn hair, violet eyes, and a calm and collected temperament. Seeing her parents'' looks, people will be surprised by Martina''s beauty.

    "We do not!" denied Alessandro in sinc with his son, Enzo. Enzo''s facial features matched Alessandro''s. Only, his hair was auburn in color, matching his mother. He had piercings on his eyebrows and ears, and his curly hair was long and wild.

    At their tant refusal, Francesca calmly handed out her rebuttal. "She only asked for specific materials for her research. Not the delicacies of half the world."

    "What?" Alessandro shrugged, as if he didn''t find anything wrong with it. "Our daughter is growing. She needs good food that''ll at leastst a year. What if the food here doesn''t suit her taste, right Enzo?"

    Enzo nodded, "Besides, she''s all skinny now. She''s clearly not eating properly."

    Francesca didn''t know why she even bothered. These two were a lost cause when it came to her daughter.

    At the moment, the door to the room opened, revealing Martina, who smiled as soon as she saw her parents.

    "My Martini!" "Lil'' Tina!"

    She was quickly hugged by her father and brother, making her smile wryly.

    "Mom." After she was freed, Martina quickly hugged her mother.

    Being an orphan in her previous life, Martina genuinely cherished her family and thought of them as her real family, unlike some other reincarnators who are more connected to their previous lives'' rtions.

    "How have you been?" Asked Francesca, her stern eyes softening as she caressed Martina''s hair. No matter how much she tried, she could not be her usual strict self with Martina. It helped a lot that Martina didn''t need it.

    "...Same as always," Martina replied. Even though she was not. Especially not yesterday''s incident with the scary Demegorgon. She couldn''t sleep wellst night. But, she couldn''t tell them since that would mean her transfer from Hogwarts. Feeling safe and relieved, Martina hugged her mother a while longer.

    She then began her enquiries. "How are you guys doing? Has there been any trouble? Are the businesses doing fine? There are no new gangwars, are there?"

    Alessandroughed, "Everything is fine, boss," he said jokingly. "Now, let us handle these things. You focus on enjoying life a little."

    "Even though I don''t like it, I''ve stopped fighting as well," added Enzo with a pout.

    "That''s great." Martina smiled, "Mom, did you bring the things I asked for?" She asked Francesca.

    "Yes, everything is here. Though I still don''t understand why you would need them. Just promise to be careful," said Alessandro

    "Yeah, yeah, I know," said Martina distractedly, checking the contents.

    At this moment, the noise from thementary and the crowd sounded from outside, signifying that the match was about to start.

    Enzo frowned, "Oh, I forgot to soundproof it," he said, taking out his wand.

    Martina stopped him. "No, don''t! I want to see the match today," she said as she looked out the stadium through the window.

    Enzo was confused for a moment but then a shit-eating grin slowly stretched on his face.

    "Hm? Since when have you taken an interest in Quidditch? It''s not even Ravenw''s match today."

    "It''s because¡­" Martina paused as she stomped her feet, "It''s not what you think!" She snapped.

    "Oh, so it''s not because of that boy ying?" Asked her father. "I heard it''s quite a big match for him."

    ".... It actually is... but how does that trante into him being my boyfriend?!"

    "We never mentioned anything about him your boyfriend though, did we Enzo?" Asked Alessandro innocently.

    "Not at all. I think we need to ''talk'' more with this guy,"

    "God¡­ just kill me now," muttered Martina, burying her face into her hands.

    ¡­.

    Axel headed down to the Slytherin Lockers when it was time for the match. The atmosphere inside the Slytherin Locker room decorated with Sliver and Green was depressing, to say the least. Which wasn''t a surprise, considering their situation.

    All the yers on the previous Slytherin Quidditch team were ric Malcolm''sckies, so on ric''s orders, they wouldn''t y for Patricia. As for any other yer with decent enough skill to make it on the professional field, they stepped down since they didn''t want to damage their track record. That''s why, most of the yers here were amateurs and they knew they were going to lose.

    So, when Axel, one of the major reasons for their current situation, came into the changing room, many ring eyes were cast on him.

    "Look who finally decided to show up,"

    "The one who''s supposed to ''win us the game''."

    Axel didn''t pay attention to these people. They aren''t even named characters for him yet, just people whose sole existence is to fill in the numbers of the team."

    There were two girls, the ones who behave like Patricia''s attendants all the time, and three guys, all of whom weren''t looking particrly friendly with Axel.

    "You''re here," said Patricia who had just emerged from behind the adjacent room. "Here''s your uniform. Quickly get changed! We don''t have time," she said, handing him the Slytherins Quidditch uniform.

    Axel checked it out. There was a silver green jersey and matching robes for the upper body. There was no lower body uniform so he didn''t need to change the joggers he was wearing. Aside from this, there were leg guards, shin guards, fingerless gloves, and a helmet.

    Axel looked at the other three guys in the room. Since they only had to change the upper body clothes, they were changing into their uniforms in the locker room itself but Axel still didn''t want to change here if he could help it.

    "Where do I change?" He asked Patricia.

    "Oh, the boys'' changing room''s on that side," she replied.

    The guys exchange nces and sniggered. "What''s the matter Hunt? Too shy to change here?"

    "I think he might secretly be a girl," said the other one. Of course, the team members didn''t have any good impression of him, so they weren''t going to miss any chance of taking shots at him.

    Axel sighed. He had no problems changing in front of others. He was just being considerate here. But if they didn''t want his kindness then so be it. Amidst the sniggers, Axel casually took off the loose full sleeved tshirt he was wearing.

    ¡ªSilence¡ª

    And suddenly, everyone went quiet for a second. Jaws dropped, gasps were heard, and eyes went wide as they caught a glimpse of Axel''s bare torso. Due to his relentless training and diet, Axel had the peak human male physique. He wasn''t bulky, but he was absolutely ripped, with well-defined chest, shoulders, arms and sculpted abs. Each and every movement caused his muscles to visibly contract, making for a fascinating view. But, on that perfect body, light and faded scars from all kinds of injuries like, cuts, gouges, lesions, andcerations were spread randomly, disying the struggles and damages the owner of the body had gone through.

    Though, before the onlookers could get a better view, Axel had already changed into his jersey, snapping the female audience out of their trance and drawing out sighs and awkward coughs from them as everyone went back to what they were doing.

    "Cough...Everyone, it''s time!" said Patricia, her eyes lingering on Axel a few moments longer. It was no wonder her threat and intimidation were useless against him. If someone has gone through all that¡­ what she did would appear nothing more than mere child''s y to him. She wanted to ask a few questions to Axel but she knew it would be no use.

    While the team made their way into the stadium, the Commentator also began to speak.

    "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Hogwarts Students! The match that we have all been waiting for has finally arrived! Amidst the touching reunions of families, an extremely savage and vicious showdown is going to take ce! The shes between these teams have always been the talk of the school. Because it has more than a thousand years of intense rivalry, GRYFFINDOR VS SLYTHERIN!"

    *CHEERS*

    "Today, this Match is being disyed across 7 different magicalmunities, a big achievement for us! And as we can see from the crowd''s response, everyone has been looking forward to this match. But this time, there''s something more to this match than the usual rivalry! Those who are still in the dark, let us bring you up to speed with what''s at stake today!"

    The big screens that were installed on both sides of the stadium disyed a short clip in which the Twins in clown costumes threw a ball at Axel and Patricia, painting them both in Gryffindor colours.

    Laughter erupted from the stadium, while all the Slytherins were offended.

    "This is a Clip ofst night which is quickly going viral on the Magi-hive. The two identical clowns in the clip are the Weasley Twins, infamous for their pranks. And theirtest prank included painting the Captain and the Seeker of the Slytherin team into Gold and Scarlet, the colour which signifies the Gryffindor House, which is a great humiliation to many a Slytherin. And through the match today, the Slytherin team is supposed to take its revenge today."

    Meanwhile, standing opposite Axel in the middle of the pitch, Rose looked between a mixture of amused and guilty. "I tried to stop them, don''t me me for this," she offered to Axel. She didn''t know why, but she had had a bad premonition as soon as the Weasley Twins hade up with the idea. She had tried to stop them, but of course, since when had the twins listen to anyone?

    Facing the humiliation from the crowd and the gloating looks of the twins, Axel remained unmoved. "You should have tried harder. Don''t me me for what I''m going to do next," he replied calmy, making Rose''s bad premonitione back in full force.

    The Commentator wasn''t done yet, as another clip was shown on the screen next, of Rose and Axel facing each other. "And this is a clip of the challenge between Seekers of the Teams. The new Slytherin Seeker, Axel Hunt, has challenged the Gryffindor Seeker Rose Potter, the Girl-who-lived herself. The Gryffindor seeker has been reported to be the best and the youngest seeker at Hogwarts, winning Gryffindor the Quidditch cup and House Trophy in her very first year here. There are talks of her getting offers to y in the Major leagues already, which is definitely going to be an unheard of feat. And such a seeker has been challenged by the Underdog Axel Hunt. The word is, the losing party will have to do anything the winner asks! So, ARE YOU EXCITED TO SEE THE OUTCOME?!"

    """""YEAH!!!"""""

    Axel frowned. The Commentator has been in favour of Gryffindor from the beginning, and passive aggressive towards the Slytherin. Like right now, he is all but stating that Axel is a reckless idiot, while trying to stay neutral to not get into trouble for it since the match is being broadcast internationally. But then again, the Commentator, Lee Jordon, was a Gryffindor and bosom pals with the Twins so it shouldn''t be a surprise.

    "Alright then, so let''s begin this very exciting match, brought to you by BigOwl, your shopping made easier, and Grapes, premium Magi-mirrors and other Magitronics!''

    Facing each other, both the teams were handed standard broom sticks, to ensure fairpetition. If the yers are allowed any broom, the richer side always has the unfair advantage. And to stop this, the School provides the teams with standard identical broomsticks with the same specs, checked by Madam Hooch herself. As already mentioned, Hogwarts was rolling in money. Just the promotions of those two brands had raked in enough money to fund the entire school for a year or two, let alone providing students with brooms.

    "I want a clean and fair match," said Madam Hooch as she blew the whistle, starting the much awaited match.

    Jordan began again, "And the match has started, with both the teams kicking off the ground, taking positions! Madam Hooch is going to release the balls any moment now. One thing to be noted in today''s match is that it is a debut match for most of the yers in the Slytherin Team. Yeah, Captain Patricia Afonso had this brilliant idea of making a team out of a bunch of inexperienced noobies for this important match, surprising us all. Let''s see if her strategy works," said Lee, once again passively dissing the Slytherin team.

    Madam Hooch released the ball, starting the match.

    "And the Balls have been released, and Gryffindor is immediately in possession, the Quaffle in Angelina''s hands,¡ªCaptain Patricia tries to Intercept but blocked by the twins!¡ªGood Strategy, the rest of the Slytherin team are almost all amateurs anyway¡ªAngelina to Katie¡ªSlytherin yer trying to defend, but in vain!¡ªKatie to Alicia Spi¡ªAlicia takes a shot¡ªAND SCOOORRE!!! Gryffindor has scored one of the most one sided goals in Hogwarts history. I was reserved in my judgement earlier, but it is clear now, the Slytherin team is really weak this tim¡ªWait¡ª" Lee Jordon suddenly paused in midmentary in surprise.

    "The Slytherin seeker is waving his hand in the air. When did he even get there? WAIT! IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS IN HIS HAND?!"

    Sure enough, high above in the air, looking down at everyone, with the sun''s re falling from behind him, Axel sat casually on his broomstick, his hand held high. And clutched in his hand, was a shiny struggling golden ball with wings attached to it.

    "In your assholes, doubtful people," he muttered, waving the Golden snitch, surprising everyone.

    He was not being overconfident when he said he would win easily. And, he is not being overconfident when he is saying, "This is just the beginning."

    The series of events from Yesterday night till now have left him more than a bit annoyed. And since he has free reign to go wild today, he is going to take this chance with open arms.

    "So begins the ass-kicking," he said, releasing the snitch.

    .....

    A.N.: Let it begin.

    Come here, you know you can''t wait:

    Pa /Snollygoster

    It''ll be worth it ??

    VOTE WITH POWERSTONES!!! ANOTHER CHAPTER TOMORROW IF YOU TAKE ME TO THE TOP!

 Chapter 82: Axel vs Gryffindor

    Chapter 82: Axel vs Gryffindor

    A.N.: Alright, I was happy with all the donations and my hands started working faster. So here''s another one.

    But read it slowly, okay? These chapters are 3000+ words, almost twice the size of other fics on this site. And you guys are stillining about chapters being short. It''s not my fault my writing is so good that you don''t realise how much you''ve read.

    ...

    After separating from Axel, Daphne went to the VIP box to see her family. On her way, she found Hannah, Susan and Neville, going in the same direction as well.

    "Heya, Daph! You''re going to the VIP box, right?" Said Susan, raising her hand in greetings.

    Daphne smiled, "Hey guys. Yes I am, mum and Tory are here."

    Susan beamed, "Our families are also here. I love this day!" She eximed. She then noticed the green scarf wrapped around Daphne''s neck and raised her eyebrows, "You''re supporting Slytherin? Is it because of Axel?"

    Daphne nodded, not bothering to deny it.

    Neville snorted. "How useless. When everyone knows there''s no chance of them winning. I''m so looking forward to Axel''s humiliation!"

    Daphne gave him one cold look, "No one asked for your jealous opinion, Neville. Just learn to ept that you''re not the main character outside your home," she snapped.

    She had been tired of this guy taking every opportunity to talk bad about Axel out of jealousy. Did anyone see her talking bad about Martina? Or Akiko? Or Patricia? He should learn something from her. Daphne wondered if she should write a book on how to be a proper fangirl.

    Daphne looked at Hannah who looked a bit intimidated by her outburst, and Susan who didn''t seem to know what to say, and then at Neville who had obediently shut up, and she suddenly didn''t want to stay here any longer.

    "Sus, Han, I''ll go ahead. See you guys in the VIP box!" With that, she was off.

    Walking away from the people who once used to be her friends, Daphne sighed. She used to be very close to them. But over thest year, they had just sort of, drifted apart. In the first ce, she had be friends with them because her father had ordered her to do it and she wasn''t given a choice. But her asshole of a father was already dead, so she could be friends with anyone she wanted, and frankly, she no longer wanted to be friends with them.

    Daphne didn''t let this small encounter dampen her mood. She was going to meet mom and Tory! Last time, those two had been away searching for a way to cure Astoria. but this time, they''re here, and she will be watching Axel''s match with them! Thus, feeling excited, Daphne made her way to the VIP box.

    "Daphi!" As soon as she stepped in, she heard a very dear voice calling her. There was only one person in the world who called her ''Daphi''. It''s because this girl couldn''t pronounce ''Daphne'' when she was little, and now, even when she''s 10 years old she still calls Daphne by that name.

    "Tory! I miss you!" Daphne hugged the little missile that was headed her way.

    "I missed you too!" said Astoria in a muffle voice with her head buried in Daphne''s shoulder. She then began hitting her with her little hands. "I''m so mad at you! You got to go to the Halloween party here with Axel and you didn''t take me!"

    Daphneughed gloatingly. "Who was the one teasing me for not being able to go to a Halloween party? I had so much fun with Axel! It was the best night of my life!"

    The two sisters went to the area where their mother was seated, waiting for them. Evelyn beamed as soon as she saw her elder daughter.

    "How''s my big girl doing?" She cooed, wrapping Daphne into her warm embrace.

    "Mum, don''t talk like that. There are people I know here!" Protested Daphne in a whisper while returning the hug.

    Evelyn just smiled. Holding her daughter at arms length she scrutinized her. "You seem to have changed a little in just two months," she said, patting her over her clothes. "Hmm¡­ your figure has changed so fast. Quickly share what you''re doing with mum as well."

    As a woman who took care of her appearance, Daphne''s change due to her intense training and extremely nutritious diet didn''t go unnoticed by her mother. The baby fat was gone, and she had gotten more beautiful, while also developing curves in the right ces. So, Evelyn naturally wanted in on the secret as well.

    "Is it because of the ingredients you''ve been ordering?"

    Daphne shrugged, "I dunno? Must be puberty," she said, ying dumb. She won''t tell anyone unless Axel allows it, not even her mother. Besides, Evelyn Greengrass does not need to worry about her appearance. There are already enough offers of remarriage as it is.

    At her daughter''s tant acting, Evelyn looked doubtful, but thankfully, Daphne was saved from further questioning when Lee Jordan announced the teams'' arrival into the stadium.

    "He''s here!" Eximed Astoria, excitedly standing up from her seat. And sure enough, both the teams were currently making their way into the stadium. Daphne''s eyes were instantly glued on Axel, who looked quite dashing in his Quidditch gear.

    But just when they thought the match was going to start, Jordan began to show the clip of Axel getting sshed with paint. Daphne once again closed her eyes. She couldn''t watch it. And she closed Astoria''s eyes as well. But Evelyn did see it quite clearly, and not for the first time.

    "Honey, I do hope you''ve thanked the boy after this," she said, looking at Daphne.

    Daphne was puzzled. "Foring with me? I did thank him."

    But her mother shook her headmentably, "You''ve so much to be thankful for to him. But in this case it''s only because of you that he got sshed with all that paint."

    What?!!!?!!?!?!!

    "How is this my fault?!" Asked Daphne disbelievingly.

    Evelyn opened her Magi-mirror and yed the clip in slow motion. "Look here. He was already dodging the ball as soon as he caught a glimpse of it. The twins'' shouts must have alerted him. But then look closely¡ª" said Evelyn as the slow motion clip showed Axel turning his head to look at Daphne, who was standing right behind him, and then moving back to his original ce.

    "Did you see? He would have moved away if he weren''t trying to protect you."

    "How dreamy!" Astoria went star-eyed at Axel''s disy of chivalry. For her, Axel has always been a sort of hero, the person who gave her the magical cure to save her life.

    Meanwhile, Daphne: "......."

    He did that¡­ for her?! Looking at the boy standing in the distance, Daphne''s heart started to beat faster. A feeling of incredible sweetness welled up inside her.

    "He always casually does these kind of things...And doesn''t even mention them!" sheined.

    Her mother patted her back understandingly. "It''s difficult, right?"

    Daphne put a hand on her heart, "It is." The debt on her increases yet again. "I hope there''s nothing more," she murmured, her glistening eyes not looking away from Axel.

    Evelyn looked at her daughter in pity. Thisss still doesn''t know the biggest one yet. Who freed them from Cyrus Greengrass?

    The family of three remained in afortable silence, until the second clip ended. Only after the match was going to start did Astoria have a worried look on her face. "He will not lose, right?"

    She was unwilling to see her hero lose and be a ve to sister Rose.

    Daphne shook her head. "No way."

    Astoria looked hopeful, "Then, will he punish those bad guys?"

    Daphne nodded. "Of course."

    "How do you know for sure?"

    Daphne smirked, "Because he said so." For her, that was reason enough to be sure.

    As soon as the match started, everyone else in the VIP box was looking at other yers. The only ones paying attention to Axel were the Greengrasses. Astoria wanted to see Axel y, and Evelyn, like Daphne, was a Quidditch enthusiast. So she wanted to see just how good Axel is for her daughter to have such confidence in him.

    As soon as the whistle was blown, they saw that while everyone was moving, Axel, on the other hand, remainedpletely stationary, with only his eyes moving. Then, as if a gun had been fired, Axel shot into a particr direction at a blurring speed.

    "So cool!" Eximed Astoria.

    Meanwhile, Evelyn, who knew more about Quidditch, looked at the scene with somewhat widened eyes. "Was¡­ was that?"

    Daphne nodded, her expression mirroring her mother''s. "...Launching Boom! That was definitely a Launching Boom! But, I''ve never seen one like this before..."

    Launching Boom is an incredible technique in which the yers somehow manage to keep their brooms at one ce while leaning down. They are essentially gathering an incredible amount of potential in their broom, not letting it turn into kic energy. And when they finally let go, the result is aunching Boom, whichunches the yer into a particr direction like a bullet. The technique is supposed to be a secret and only a few yers are known to be able to perform it. And none of them are able to gather as much momentum as Axel.

    Evelyn was still surprised, "He can actually perform a Launching Boom?! For Merlin''s sake he''s only 12! And where and when did he even learn it?" She questioned.

    Daphne''s gaze was transfixed on Axel, who was now waving his hand in the air. "Honestly, I''m also only finding it out now. But mom, there is... a bigger surprise waiting," she said, pointing at Axel''s hand.

    And by this time, Lee Jordon also noticed it. "IT''S THE SNITCH! AXEL HUNT HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! AND I THINK IT WAS BEFORE ANY OF THE TEAMS EVEN SCORED! Oh Merlin! Fastest Catch, Catching before any goal, smoothest catch, how many records has he broken?! Was that real skill? Or was it just a fluke?! That is the only question here!"

    *CHEERS*

    And just like that, the Slytherin supporters, who had been trying to hide themselves into the crowd, suddenly emerged forth, cheering for Axel in full force.

    Axel looked at Rose Potter, who was looking at him like the apocalypse hade earlier, and a smile slowly formed on his lips. ''She saw,'' he realized. Rose was actually chasing after the snitch at the time. But of course, you can''t really catch up to it in the beginning of the match since it usually flies the fastest in the beginning, But since she was paying attention, Rose had actually seen how he had caught the snitch. And judging from the look on her face, it would seem that she didn''t like what she saw.

    "You brought this upon yourself," he muttered, even though he knew she couldn''t hear him.

    ¡ªSwish¡ª

    In that instant, Axel noticed a bludger that was his way by one of the twins. ''Not every time,'' he thought, dodging it with leisure. He might as well have been yawning while doing it.

    Lee Jordan continued hismentary, "Is it only me or no one else saw what just happened just now as well? Let''s see the rey of the catch!"

    The big screens showed Axel loading up the energy and boosting away in a straight line out of the view of the camera, too fast for it to follow. The view of another camera then showed Axel smoothly catching the snitch in slow motion.

    And Jordan, also with more than half the audience went mad.

    "HOLY SHIT! A LAUNCHING BOOM! A LAUNCHING-FREAKING-BOOM!!!"

    "....JORDAN!" Even Professor Mcgonagall''s response to Lee getting using the wrongnguage on an International broadcast was a bit dyed, showing that she had found his words extremely agreeable until she realized it was still wrong to say those words.

    "But Professor! Aunching Boom! And one with such speed! And then he was even able to capture the snitch in the middle of it! I am sorry, but I can NOT be med for my reaction!"

    Axel frowned. He didn''t know what he had done was such a big deal. You just need the right bnce and dexterity to pull it off. Just don''t let the broom move forward, likepressing a spring, and then you let go at once, going at a much higher speed. Easy peasy.

    Lee Jordan continued. "And yes, after watching the rey, it has been confirmed that Axel caught the snitch before any of the teams had scored, and he also caught the snitch in record time: 11.2 seconds! The all-time international record is 65 seconds and Hogwarts'' record, made by Rose justst year, is 3 minutes 20 seconds!"

    While the crowd was re-watching Axel''s first catch and the yers had resumed their match, Axel was doing a count down. "55, 56, 57, 58,"

    There was this annoying rule, that you can only start to rechase a snitch at least after one minute has passed since it was previously caught, you know, to let it properly disappear. So, Axel had been waiting.

    "60."

    *Boom*

    And with that, another Launching Boom was used, this time much better than the previous one!

    And emerging on the other side, Axel''s hand was raised high in the air again.

    "ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?! ANOTHER ONE?!"

    "... Jordan," she really couldn''t me Jordan.

    "Sorry Professor, BUT AXEL HUNT HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH YET AGAIN! Has one minute even passed yet since the release of the snitch?! How many records did he break this time?!

    It Has Been Confirmed, THOSE CATCHES AND SKILLS ARE NO FLUKES. WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE WATCHING THE DEBUT OF A FUTURE QUIDDITCH LEGEND!"

    As Axel released the snitch, a time-out was called by Captain Oliver Woods. A 100 point lead is not small. Gryffindor has essentially lost this match if the 3 Slytherins now protect the three rings while the rest try to stop Rose from catching the snitch twice. And that is not even taking into ount Axel, who has caught the snitch twice in the first few minutes of the game. If they still want to win, a time-out is the right decision.

    While the Gryffindor team was still nning, the Slytherin team swarmed Axel like he was their saviour, which he kinda was. After Lee''s Commentary and those clips, it was everyone''s ass on the line if they did not win. Especially for Patricia, the Captain, who would be the one to take all the me. This was no longer just a game of Quidditch for her. Her whole career and reputation as a politician was depending on this match now.

    "Axel!"

    So as soon as the whisle for timeout was blown, Patricia was the first to arrive on Axel''s side, almost lunging off her broom to hug him, which Axel avoided by backing away.

    "We have already won the match! I love you so much right now Axel!!!! I could give you anything you ask!!" She eximed, opting to grip his hands instead. If she couldn''t lead the other team members to defend this win that had been handed to them on a silver tter, she didn''t deserve to be a Captain. The rest of the Slytherin team also agreed. They all seemed satisfied with the situation right now.

    Axel looked at the scoreboard, which now showed 10-100 in favor of Slytherin and his fists clenched. "Not enough," he muttered, shaking his head. "Nowhere near enough."

    To draw the Organization''s attention, this was nowhere near enough.

    And neither was it enough to satisfy this twisted desire for revenge inside him.

    He didn''t know what it was like, to be ridiculed andughed at by thousands of people right to your face. And by even more than that number who wereughing while watching this broadcast. Well, turns out, it''s fucking humiliating, and infuriating. Axel had thought that this would not affect him, but it did. And now he feels the need to show everyone exactly who it was they wereughing at.

    Even though he had this urge, he would suppress it if the situation doesn''t allow it, but right now, the situation not only permits him, it actually demands him to go further.... To go wild... To have free reign.

    "I can hold back a little less today," he murmured, a grin slowly spreading across his face, which spelt doom for the Gryffindor team. Activating his senses, he decided to listen in on what they were nning.

    *Beeep*

    As soon as the break was over, the Gryffindor team seemed to havepletely changed its course of strategy.

    Looking around, he saw the twins and some of the other team members circling him closely, looking at him like hawks. And Rose was circling him in a wider circle.

    He knew what they were nning. Launching Boom requires you to stay facing in a particr direction for a few moments before shooting off. And the direction you''ll go is the direction you''re facing, no turns possible. So, every time you do it, you are essentially dering the location you''re going to go, and in his case, also the direction of the snitch.

    So, as soon as he starts loading up the energy to perform it, they would know the direction and one of them would block him, while Rose goes for the snitch. It''s impossible to change direction at that speed. No one has been able to do it.

    So, since it''s impossible to change direction, he would inevitably crash into the person who had blocked his path. With a collision at that speed, he won''t be able to continue the match, and Rose would get the snitch.

    A very Gryffindor strategy, in which one of them is going to sacrifice himself for the team. Only, who said Axel always needs a Launching Boom to catch a snitch in the first ce? And¡­ who said he can''t break their strategy, even while using aunching Boom?

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Activating Arcane Eyes on low burn, Axel quickly caught sight of the snitch. Then, he quickly calcted the speed and direction of hisunch while loading up power in his broomstick.

    "He''s doing it! Everyone, follow the n!" Shouted Woods, thinking everything was going ording to his keikaku. The guy might as well have been popping an evil smile while at it.

    With everything done, Axel shot into a particr direction at an incredible speed, and just ording to the n, one of the twins, George Weasley, valiantly came into his path right before the second Axel hadunched himself.

    *Booom*

    For a moment, the Gryffindors thought they had done it, and the Slytherins realized that they had been toote to understand the Gryffindors'' strategy.

    But then, they saw Axel appear on the other side of George, his hand held high in a familiar gesture, with the Golden Snitch safely held within his grasp.

    *CHEERS*

    "WHAT?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO CRASH! I NEED A REPLAY!" Eximed Jordon, mirroring everyone''s thoughts.

    Meanwhile, casually sitting on his broom, looking at the snitch struggling in his hand, Axel clicked his tongue. "Who told them to assume I can''t turn at that speed?"

    ¡­

    A.N.: Well, cough... I tried finishing it but it''s already 3200+ words... It wasn''t on purpose! Looks like you''re going to have to wait for the iing climax which I couldn''t fit here ??

    Cough... anyways, you might as welle and read it here:

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Your support really makes my hands type faster.

    POWERSTONES!!!??????

 Chapter 83: R.I.P Gryffindor

    Chapter 83: R.I.P Gryffindor

    "WHAT?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO CRASH?! I NEED A REPLAY!" Eximed Jordan, mirroring everyone''s thoughts at witnessing the spectacle just now.

    Meanwhile, casually sitting on his broom, looking at the snitch struggling in his hand, Axel clicked his tongue. "Who told them to assume I can''t turn at that speed?" he muttered.

    Amidst the anticipatory gazes of the onlookers, the rey was yed in slow motion. And, what it showed managed to baffle the onlookers even further!

    "MERLIN''S SWEATY KNICKERS! DID HE JUST-?!"

    "Jordan!"

    Lee Jordan, along with many others, couldn''t believe what they saw! Just when Axel was about to bump into George, he somehow managed to swerve around the twin, missing him by a hairs breath, blowing George''s robes due to the sheer wind force.

    "HE ACTUALLY DID IT! AXEL HUNT HAS SOMEHOW MANAGED TO TURN HIMSELF ACCURATELY AT THAT SPEED!!! HOW?! I DON''T KNOW!"

    Ignoring the crowd''s cheering, Axel turned his head to look back at George Weasley. ''How the fuck are only Slytherins called the viins?'' he thought knowing exactly what the guy had tried to pull. Others might have missed it, but Axel had not.

    Just now, when blocking Axel''s path, the Weasley twin had slid back on his broomstick and raised the tip to point straight at Axel. In this way, the tip of his broom would hit Axel first in case a collision happened. Since he''s far back on his own broomstick while Axel is leaning forward, George would be rtively unharmed. On the other hand, having a broomstick hit right into his helmet or gut at that speed¡­ Axel would have been in trouble.

    "Seriously?"

    First of all, they humiliate himst night for no reason other than the fact that he was in the Slytherin Quidditch team, and now this. In the situation just now, it would have still been understandable if they had tried to stop him by putting themselves at equal risk as him, but George had purposefully tried to injure Axel badly, while also making sure that he himself won''t suffer anything more than minor injuries.

    Axel shook his head inmentation."You''ve blown it, you moron," he murmured. Previously, there was still a chance he might have let them off easy. But with the shit he had just tried to pull, Weasley had doomed himself, along with his whole team.

    Looking at the scoreboard, Axel decided to tilt itpletely to one side. He was going to butcher them.

    In the minutes toe, Axel was like an unstoppable machine, catching the snitch again and again. He even stopped using theunching boom, removing Gryffindor''s delusions that they had a chance if they somehow stopped him from using it. He had already caught the Snitch 9 times by now.

    It was almost Halftime, and Axel once again went to chase after the snitch. But Rose was flying right in front of him, being lucky enough to have the snitch pass right by her side.

    "And it looks like the Gryffindor team is finally going to have their first 50! Rose Potter is on to the snitch, and Axel Hunt seems unable to catch up!"

    Indeed a bit too far behind to do anything, Axel looked at Rose, who was about to catch the snitch for the first time in the match.

    ''Should I, or should I not?'' He wondered. But then, he justughed. "Of course I should."

    Rose has always been a little too arrogant for her own good. And since Axel has decided to take on the task of humbling her, he must be thorough.

    Rose looked at the snitch which was flying just a couple feet in front of her.

    ''This time, it''s mine!'' She thought, her hand stretching out to take the snitch. She didn''t care whether they won or lost at this point. She just wanted to beat Axel, at least for once, and wipe the confidence off that smug face.

    "ROSE POTTER IS ABOUT TO TAKE THE SNITCH! AND¡ª WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"

    Rose almost had the snitch in her grasp. But before she could close her fingers around it, it disappeared from her view! Turning her head, she saw that snitch clutched in Axel''s hand, which currently had its middle finger raised specifically for her! This grand gesture, promoting brilliant sportsmanship, was shown on the screen as well, to all the spectators who thought Rose was better.

    "AXEL HUNT HAS THE SNITCH! I SERIOUSLY CAN''T BELIEVE WHAT I''M SEEING! IS THIS GUY A HACKER?! Hunt has somehow caught up to Rose, snatched the Snitch right out from within her grasp, AND flipped her off! What an absolute vindictiveness! Please remind me to not get on his bad side!"

    Axel got a warning from Madam Hooch for using vulgar gestures which he shrugged off while the Slytherins, and many others among the crowd seemed to have found a new idol.

    """""AXEL! AXEL! AXEL! AXEL!""""

    Amidst thunderous cheers from the audience, the first half came to fruition, and the Slytherin team swarmed Axel once again.

    "AXEL! MARRY MEEEEE!!!" That was Patricia, whom Axel promptly dodged once again. The rest, they were still nameless characters for him, so he ignored them as well.

    Finally getting from people trying to marry, hug and pat him, Axel wasn''t allowed to take a breather since the Gryffindor Captain Oliver Woods had used him of cheating. That''s the thing with games. If you''re ying too well, people think you''re hacking.

    Several experts came to Axel, who still held the struggling snitch in his hand. So, instead of releasing the snitch, Axel had to give it to the experts, who began casting several spells on it to find out any signs of tempering since it did seem a bit unbelievable that he was able to catch the snitch so easily and quickly. After that, Axel''s broomstick was also checked, since his flying skills were too bloody brilliant and thest burst of speed did seem a bit sus. And then his eyes were checked in case he was wearing some sort of enchanted device which was allowing him to see the snitch.

    Meanwhile, inside the Gryffindor Locker room, the atmosphere was as depressing as a funeral. Which was kinda true, since they had just been butchered single-handedly by one person. The team members were all lost in their own thoughts, while Oliver Woods, the burly Captain and keeper of the Gryffindor team paced back and fourth, fuming.

    Rose sat quietly in a corner in a daze. What was she thinking when she epted Axel''s challenge? Did she really think she could beat him? The guy whom she hadn''t seen lose at anything even when he was crippled?

    In the first ce, what was she thinking when she went to confront him? What did it matter to her if he was seducing all the witches?

    Rose closed her eyes, and when she did, all she saw was the smug face of Axel, looking disdainfully at her with the snitch held in his hand, and the scenes of his amazing flying skills, which were much superior to hers without even trying.

    "Damn it! I can''t think of anything." Eximed Woods, bringing her out of her thoughts.

    "But we can''t let the Slytherin team win with such a hugendslide! We''ll be theughing stock of the entire Britain! So if any of you have any ideas, I''m all ears.

    The three chasers were out of ideas as well.

    "We have to stop Hunt, but I have no idea how." said Angelina.

    That much was obvious. If they had to stop Slytherin they had to stop Axel. But the question was, how?

    "I don''t think we can. Why did you guys have to provoke him?!" Questioned Alicia Spi. "He''s a beast!"

    "Yeah, a hot one," added Katie, without realizing that she had said it out loud. Though the other two chasers certainly did not disagree.

    The twins looked at each other. "I say we take him out," said Fred.

    "We can''t beat in terms of skills anyways," said George.

    Rose disagreed immediately. "No way! We were already wrong to let you do whatever you wanted with the earlier strategy! You could have seriously injured him!"

    The twins looked innocent, "But that would have stopped him, right? And we wouldn''t be in this situation right now," said one.

    "Besides, he''s a Slytherin. We can''t go soft on him, can we Rosie?" said the other. "Don''t you remember what the Slytherins were likest year? Just think how much more insufferable they will be after this kind of win."

    "So what if he''s a Slytherin? He hasn''t done anything wrong yet," argued Katie.

    Woods, who had been silent, seemed to have decided. "Alright, we''re doing it." He said.

    "But¡ª!" Began Rose, but Oliver cut her off.

    "Save it, Rose. I''m the Captain, and I''ve decided. We can''t let him disrespect us like that. It''s just a little injury."

    This time, Rose wasn''t worried about Axel. She had gotten a glimpse of his real skills. So now, she was actually worried about their own team. "You''ll only make it worse for yourself, trust me," she said.

    "We don''t trust you anymore, Rosie."

    "After all, you are already his ve, aren''t you?"

    !!!

    Though the Twins were mocking her, but Rose realized... they were right!

    ''Fuck! I forgot the bet!''

    ¡­

    The examination for whether he was cheating or not resulted in nothing more than pissing Axel further off. Of course the experts couldn''t find anything.

    As soon as the match resumed, Axel spotted the snitch yet again and went after it. From in front of him, he saw Fred Weasleying but he didn''t pay much attention.

    "And Axel''s revenge continues, he''s going for the snitch yet again¡ªAnd something is different with the Gryffindor beaters, maybe a new strategy¡ª OH!!!"

    ''The Hell?!'' Just as he was about to catch the snitch, Axel was surprised as one of the Weasley Twins out of the blue, decided to take a direct swing at him with his beater''s bat as he flew past him!

    Imagine flying at a blurring speed, and someonees at you with equally blurring speed and does a close line with with his beater''s bat. Yep, you''ll be toast.

    Though with nothing to hold him back, Axel dodged of course, but missed the snitch, making him frown.

    *Beep*

    The Gryffindor Beater Fred Weasley got a warning and a penalty was awarded to Slytherin.

    ''So, that''s how we''re ying now?'' Thought Axel, looking at the twins as he cracked his neck. "Then bring it!"

    For few the minutes toe, Axel''s pace increased, leaving no saving grace for Gryffindor. Even when Fred and George Weasley tried their best, how could they really take him out? Even the 10 year old Axel was skilled enough to avoid whatever tricks they had up their sleeves. Especially when he''s already on alert.

    The twins were desperate now. They knew that they were going to be disqualified if they actually seeded. So, why not go all out? If they are losing like this, it is only fair that they bring their enemy down with them, right? It''s the least they can do.

    So, just as Axel was about to catch another snitch, one of Fred Weasley distracted Axel by hitting a bludger his way with all his might, while George Weasley snuck up to him with his wand drawn, getting in as close as he could in order to get the perfect shot.

    ''Just one hit, and it''ll be over.'' Thought the Twins in sync.

    "IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE TWINS HAVE LOST IT! A WAND! A FUCKING WAND!" Eximed Jordan. Even Jordan had lost it. He wanted to know exactly what his friends were thinking.

    "Jordan!" Leave it to Professor Mcgonagall to be a stickler for rules even when a student is about to be hit with an unknown spell at such a high speed. But hey, she''s only doing her job.

    "Are you kidding me right now?" With the snitch right below him, Axel noticed what the twins were doing and was baffled at their gall. Are these two for real? Even using magic? When his own wand was lying broken in his pocket and the spare wand that couldnd him in Azkaban for murder?

    Yeah, what a great situation to be in.

    But it would seem it was his own fault. Perhaps he had been too soft on the twins, making them think they could do anything to him without serious consequences.

    Sigh...

    "Take this as a reminder then," he said, activating [Arcane Eyes].

    The Bludger had already reached him at an incredible speed, and so had George Weasley who was about to fire a spell at him. It seemed like Axel was a goner now. Even those who trusted him were worried.

    But perfectly calm at this moment, Axel ducked low, towards the snitch and actually raised his hand up towards the Bludger made of out iron!

    "WHAT?!"

    The Bludger hit his hand at an incredible speed, but Axel rolled with its momentum, changing its direction.

    While turning, he caught the snitch which was right below him with his other hand, and then¡ª

    [Throwing]

    Heuched the Bludger at George Weasley, who was about to fire a spell at him at, while even boosting it''s already very high speed!

    *BAAAM*

    ....

    A.N.: RIP to the twin and Gryffindor.

    Read ahead on P¨¤treon. Aren''t chapters like this worth it? /Snollygoster

    Vote with POWERSTONES!! give me tomorrow is you''ve already spent the ones you got today.

 Chapter 84: The Return of Savage Axel

    Chapter 84: The Return of Savage Axel

    A.N.: You have better savour every word.

    ....

    Chapter 83

    *BAAAAM*

    The bludger was thrown with such a force that Axel was pushed back a few feet with the recoil of just the force he had put into it. Add to that the force it already had, and you could tell that George Weasley''s fate had been sealed.

    *SPAT* *CRACK*

    The twin never stood a chance at dodging it. Hell, he might not even have seen iting, while trying to screw Axel over by hitting him with a spell from behind like a coward. The Bludger came to him too fast. It was like an unstoppable demolisher, aimed by a master shooter. It first hit Weasley''s wand, snapping it off, then it hit his hand, causing several fractures. And then it hit his face, taking him off his broom for a ride.

    "Happy Halloween." Said Axel, returning the words the twins had said to him, finallypleting his revenge.

    "WHAT?!" Shouted Lee, and everyone, everyone who was watching the match stood up from their seats, including Lee, Mcgonagall, and even the upants of the VIP box.

    Everything happened too fast. For a moment, it looked like Axel was going to be hit by either that bludger, or a spell, and in the next moment, he had pulled this absolutely badass roll, which hit George Weasley with the force of a cannonball.

    "OUCH! THAT MUST HAVE HURT! WE HAVE A MAN DOWN! PROFESSOR! QUICKLY SAVE HIM!"

    People couldn''t even see when the Twin got hurt, let alone where and how bad the injury was. Para-healers were quickly called, who promptly took away the Weasley Twin while giving an ok sign, signifying that he will be fine. When it was confirmed that George will live, Lee continued thementary.

    "I don''t think I can believe my eyes. What happened just now?!" Questioned Lee. This kind of move was way above hisprehension. He had seen what had happened, of course, but he was still having trouble believing someone had really done what he had seen. Everyone else also had the same reaction. They were all waiting for the rey.

    But, their minds glitched further when they saw Axel raising his hand in the air in a gesture that had be very familiar to everyone. It was only then did they realize: The mf has even gotten the snitch?!

    "HOW IN MERLINS BARMY HEAD DID THE SNITCH GET THERE?! HUNT SOMEHOW ALSO HAS THE SNITCH IN HAND RIGHT NOW! WHAT EXACTLY JUST HAPPENED?! REPLAY IT FAST!"

    Soon, the footage was reyed, which showed in slow motion exactly how Axel caught the bludger, turned using its momentum to catch the snitch, and then redirected the Bludger straight at Weasley, while upside down. And finally, it showed him looking down at George and uttering the words, "Happy Halloween."

    """""WOOOOAAAAHHHHH""""" The spectators had various reactions towards this savagery.

    "WHAT WAS THAT?! IS THAT EVEN HUMANLY POSSIBLE?! THAT WAS HANDS DOWN, THE COOLEST THING I''VE EVER SEEN! AND THE MOST MERCILESS! HE UTTERLY DECIMATED GEORGE! That Throw was personal, as were those words, Happy Halloween, clearly as revenge for their prank past night. Merlin''s pants! Remind me to never get on this guy''s bad side. Wait, will he be fouled for it or not?"

    Yep, that WAS personal, and Axel didn''t regret it one bit. Releasing the snitch, he quietly waited as Madam Hooch discussed with a few experts on the ground about what decisions to make for what had just happened. Along with Axel, everyone else also waited with baited breaths. Looks like no one wanted him to leave anymore.

    Soon, Madam Hooch announced her decision.

    "And it would seem like Madam Hooch has made the decision! AXEL STAYS ON THE FIELD WHILE THE TWINS HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED! What an absolute chad, doing something like that and still ying on the field!"

    Turns out, Axel hadn''tmited any foul by critically injuring another yer with a Bludger when he was not even a Beater. It would have been a foul if he had used the Beater''s bat, but understandably, there are no rules for what to do when a yer catches the Bludger by hand and uses it to injure the Beater instead.

    *CHEERS*

    Deafening cheers came from the audience, who didn''t want to miss even a little bit of time watching this genius y.

    """""AXEL! AXEL! AXEL! AXEL!"""""

    Sitting on his broomstick with the snitch still in his hand, Axel looked at the crowd that was chanting his name and felt the adrenaline pumping.

    "Is this enough?"

    He had gone and done it now. He had broken free of some of the faux mediocrity he had shrouded himself in. And he had to admit, it felt great, addicting, even. But he knew that this was the limit. He was not strong enough to afford revealing more for now.

    But¡­

    "One day." He decided. One day, he''ll be at the top, and won''t be afraid to show it.

    ¡­

    On the other hand, inside the VVIP box, Betrix struggled against the ropes she had been bound into. "Andi, don''t be ridiculous. Are you seriously going to have me call guards on my own sister?" she asked, her eyes on Axel.

    Andromeda, who was currently holding two wands in her hands right now, sighed. "And who forced me to do it? You would have killed those two if I hadn''t bound you."

    "Not before torturing them to insanity! And those two cheeky fuckers would have deserved it!"

    Andromeda winced at the statement, and the ropes around Betrix tightened. "No one. Absolutely no one deserves getting tortured to insanity, Be! And I am the one being ridiculous, she says," said Andromeda, looking at the ceiling.

    At Andromeda''s outburst, Betrix bit her tongue, recalling her brother-inw in Saint Mungos, who had been tortured to insanity. She had been out of line.

    (She was being a bad girl, and she needs punishment.)

    "I''m sorry. I didn''t actually mean it¡­" she said, looking away.

    Andromeda shook her head, "We both know you did," she said in slight annoyance. That''s the thing with Be. Once she gets attached, there are no boundaries she wouldn''t cross for that person, right or wrong be damned, consequences be damned.

    Andromeda sighed, recalling what had happened earlier here.

    ¡ªshback¡ª

    "What the fuck?! Who do they think they''reughing at?!" Shouted Betrix, throwing away her popcorn.

    Axel''s clip had just been shown on the big screens, and as expected, Betrix had gone berserk.

    "That Lee guy and those twins! I''m going to kill them! And Rose needs some serious spanking as well! As for those who areughing, I''ll ban them from all Quidditch stadiums in Britain!"

    "Calm down, Be. These things happen sometimes. Don''t take extreme measures. We have to deal with this smartly. " said Andromeda, not really surprised. She was only cursing whoever had the brilliant idea of showing these clips here.

    "This IS the smart thing to do," said Be. "Anyone who goes against Axel dies."

    Andromeda shook her head in regret. That is exactly what she had been worried about.

    Thankfully, the match started, distracting Betrix. Though Andromeda couldn''t watch. She knew exactly how bad Axel''s condition had been. So she was not hopeful.

    But¡­

    *CHEERS*

    "WOW! YES! YES! YES! HE DID IT! HE DID IT!"

    But when she heard the crowd making noise and her sister, the dignified Minister of Magic, jumping up and down like a little girl, Andromeda was left bbergasted.

    "H-How¡­?" She questioned, unable to believe her eyes. How did Axel recover perfectly from his previous condition? It was already surprising enough that he hadn''t gone mad after that torture, then it was surprising enough that he had been managing to do great despite those injuries, and then it was surprising enough that he actually seemed to have recovered.

    But¡­ doing something like this¡­ Flying with such grace and catching the snitch with such precision. Andromeda had to ept it now. Miracles do happen¡­ at least for certain people.

    Just when she was feeling relieved thinking that her sister won''t be causing any trouble today, those fools started targeting Axel, once again setting Be off again and again for the rest of the match, which led to the current situation, where she''s bound to the chair.

    Betrix once again struggled with her ropes, "At least let me celebrate! He was so brilliant today¡­" she said, sighing fondly. His father would be proud.

    "That he was," Andromeda agreed. She hadn''t seen anyone as skilled as Axel. Recalling how the boy had looked at his hands at that hospital bed, she realized the deep meaning behind his ironic and hopeless look when he had found out his hands along with his body were useless. He had just experienced something which would drive anyone else insane and then he had to face the fact that he had just been stripped of what he was best at. Stripped of qualities which defined him.

    She could only imagine how strong his mental state must be, to not waste even a single moment moping around and instead trying his best to move forward.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, inside the other VVIP box.

    Enzo ate his popcorn, whileughing, "Damn! That was fucking awesome!" He dered. Even his mother didn''t scold him about thenguage this time like she does.

    Alessandro sipped his martini (the drink), looking at Axel in approval, "There''s no doubt about it. That guy is a Top G. Trashed the whole team single-handedly and even returned the damage multiple folds."

    Enzo nodded, "Did you see that throw? No mercy! He''s one of us. No wonder little sis fell for him."

    "I did NOT fall for him. I just said he''s interesting!" Said Martina,ing out of her thoughts. She had been really worried about Axel just now. To begin with, he was already tired from the fightst night and in no shape to y. And then his wand had also been broken, meaning he couldn''t have defended himself even if he wanted to.

    Francesca looked at her, and she could clearly tell her daughter genuinely cared for the boy.

    Her gaze turned to Axel, judging him critically. "His injuries fromst time seem to have healed perfectly, he has a prime physique, and he is academically at the top of his ss, and has an unseen amount of skills. He certainly surpasses the criteria."

    "Why does nobody listen?! He is my friend!" Eximed Martina, but she really was considering inviting Axel over for a different reason: his wand.

    "We hear you, Martini. We hear you. But you''re turning 16, and you haven''t even been engaged yet," said her father.

    In Mafia families, it was the norm for their children to be engaged in their childhood, as in by the age of 12. It''s a way of establishing rtionships among their groups and saying, ''Peace bro, we ain''t fighting each other no more. Let''s find someone else to mess with together.''

    But Martina hadn''t been engaged yet. One, because Martina strongly denied it, and two, no one can mess with the Valentinos. They try, of course, but it''s always futile. So, even if she''s unaware, her engagement is turning into something of a big deal. The wealth and power of the Valentino Family is immeasurable and it''smon knowledge that Martina''s is the center of the Valentino Family. Whoever marries her will have the entire Valentino Family as their backing.

    That''s why, all the Mafia families are desperately fighting to have her marry into their family, causing a headache to the Valentinos. To decrease thepetition, they''re even spreading all sorts of rumors, like there''s something wrong with her and that''s why she hasn''t been engaged yet or that she likes girls.

    So, her family is currently looking for suitable candidates, to fix up the engagement and stop these hyenas who are eyeing their family. Martina, of course, is unaware of all this, lest she forces herself to get engaged to someone.

    "Don''t bring up my engagement, dad. I''m not thinking about it until it''s absolutely necessary," said Martina, lost in thought. When his wand had been broken, Axel had seemed really down. It was the first time she had seen him care so much about something. So, she had gotten a bit too ahead of herself when saying that she could help him fix it by mistake, making Axel think that she could fix it. Before she could rify, they had to run due to Akiko''s warning. By the time she had turned around to see Axel, he had already gone.

    It''s not a lie that she''s great at making wands and that she could ''help'' him fix it, but, Wandlore is a subject that can only be learnt through time and experience. And fixing his wand¡­ it''s a bit risky for her. So, asking for her teacher''s help would be for the best since it''s guaranteed it will be fixed. There''s only one problem: Her teacher doesn''t do anything for outsiders.

    So, Martina looked at her mom, "Mom, Axel''s wand has been damaged..."

    Yep, it''s her mom. Her mom''s family specializes in magical weapons. This was also the source of Axel''s knife. Only, they don''t share them with outsiders.

    "Specifications?" Asked her mother.

    "Beechwood, 12 inches, and Cherub hair as its core. There''s critical damage to the wood and slight damage to the Cherub core."

    Her mother raised an eyebrow, "Cherub hair? No wonder. But beechwood doesn''t seem to suit him. Does he have a problem with his control?" Asked her mother, evaluating Axel further based on his wand.

    Martina scratched her cheek at her mom''s ''No wonder''ment. Cherub wand users are usually known to be very charming and charismatic. Even if she said that that is not the reason why she''s Axel''s friend, it''s not like anyone in here is going to believe her. As for the matter of Beechwood not suiting him, Beechwood focuses on control more than power.

    "No, his control is good, too good, infact. But it used to be very bad before his injuries were healed so it used to suit him well. I was thinking we could rece the wood, along with other changes," she replied.

    Her mom''s eyebrows raised further. "Even ''those'' changes?"

    Martina sighed, knowing what they were going to think, but she had to do this. Axel had saved her life. And just yesterday, saved the school. It''s the least she can do.

    "Yes mom, I want the best. But it''s really not what you think, sigh..."

    All three other Valentinos in the room looked at Martina, making her feel like dying out of mortification. Finally, her mother gave out her verdict. "Fine, invite him over for Christmas. I''ll see what I can do," she said with a smile.

    ...

    A.N.: Where will Axel go? Greengrass or Valentino? There was a vote on Patreon.

    Next Chapter: End, *Snap*: Axel and Daphne

    Read ahead and support me:

    Pa /Snollygoster

    I''ll be damned, the number of subscriber are increasing too fast. It''s really pumping me up! Thanks for support!

    POWESTONES!!! Give me all!

 Chapter 85: *Snap* of Axel and Daphne

    Chapter 85: *Snap* of Axel and Daphne

    Chapter 84

    A.N.: Here''s thest PoV of the match. I''ve included damn well everyone now, or at least everyone I could fit in, so please don''t ask for more people''s reactions after this. We have Christmas After this and some fights areing after that so there''s other things to look forward to.

    ¡­

    During the amazing Axel V/S Gryffindor match, the VIP box had been quite eventful. So much so that it deserves its own chapter.

    ¡ªbefore the start of the match¡ª

    Inside the VIP box, the scene was a bit peculiar.

    Aside from various influential families, there was another group of people present, attracting a lot of attention. They were scouters, the people looking to sign talented prospects into their team.

    Scouters are here every match, so what''s the big deal? Well, the big deal is that, usually, they''re from local minor leagues, looking for talent. But today, aside from these, there were the real deal here as well, the big leaguers. And not just one or two from Britain, but from foreign clubs as well, which is quite surprising for a school Quidditch match.

    And, there''s only one reason why they''re here: Rose Lily Potter.

    Usually, the big leaguers don''t need to do this kind of grunt work. They can poach whoever they want directly from the minor league teams and even other Major league teams quite easily. But this time, the situation is a bit different.

    The viral clips of Rose were really impressive, which is not surprising considering that she''s extraordinarily talented and has been training from an early childhood. She''s even suspected to have what these people call a once-in-a-century level talent.

    Another advantage is her young age. There are no age rules, so most of these people like to have them young, because they''re cheaper and they can be taught all the pro techniques, grooming them to perfection.

    (We''re talking about Quidditch)

    So, here they are, to confirm her talent in person and sign her up quickly before the other predators get their hands on her.

    But, when the match finally started, something unexpected happened.

    "Did that guy just¡ª?"

    "The snitch!"

    "H-How¡­?"

    "The match just started, damn it! Isn''t this a record?!"

    "But how did he even do it? Did anyone see?"

    None of them did. All of them were only looking at Rose, it would seem. As people who called themselves Quidditch experts, they were quite embarrassed.

    "Is it only me or no one else saw what just happened just now as well? Let''s see the rey of the catch!" said Lee.

    But when the rey was yed¡ª

    "A Fucking Launching Boom¡­"

    "Merlin''s Eyeballs!"

    "For the love of Quidditch¡ª"

    "Merde¡­"

    "Did that guy just casually pull off aunching Boom?"

    "You sure we were here for the girl?"

    These guys had the most intense reactions. Because they knew the significance of what Axel had just done.

    On the other hand, the situation waspletely different on the other side of the VIP box.

    "Suck it, Neville!" That''s what Daphne had said, soon after Axel''s first catch was reyed, to Neville in a low voice, flipping him the bird. Neville''s ears turned red out of embarrassment and anger. He was sitting with his father and gran, both of whom certainly didn''t appreciate her extreme politeness.

    Frank Longbottom frowned. Just now, he had been listening to his sonin about how Daphne had gone dark and was supporting the Slytherin team today due to some random guy, even fighting with Neville over it. Frank had a hard time believing that, since Daphne used to be a very polite and sensible girl in his memory, but seeing her right now he figured his son was indeed speaking the truth.

    "Mrs. Greengrass," he said, looking at Evelyn. "I know it must be hard on you after Cyrus, but you have to pay better attention to your daughter''s behavior."

    Evelyn was embarrassed, "I apologize on my daughter''s behalf. I''ll have words with her." she said before turning to Daphne. "What was that about?" She asked in a low voice.

    "That jealous git is always talking bad about Axel," said Daphne ring at Neville, and that was all the exnation Evelyn needed, her attitude towards the situation changing 180¡ã.

    Unaware that he was no longer going to receive the same courtesy twice, Mr. Longbottom nodded patronizingly. He truly believed that the Catch just now was a fluke and Axel was no good. "It''s better that you understand. That kid has no family background , and he was still sent to Slytherin and no matter how good he ys, he can''t match prodigies like Rose. Kids like that have no future to speak of and will only have a negative influence on your daughter. It''s better to nip the bud in the early bloom," he said helpfully. The girl has no father figure to look out for these things, so he might as well help them out as amon courtesy to their children''s friendship.

    Evelyn''s eyes turned cold. Axel was the savior and benefactor of their family. And someone insulting him is someone insulting her family. She was going to say some choice words to Frank Longbottom, but something happened.

    *Boom*

    "ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?! ANOTHER ONE?!

    While Mr. Longbottom was giving his valuable opinions on Axel, Axel had once again caught the snitch in just a minute after his first catch, making Mr. Longbottom eat his words.

    "AXEL HUNT HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH YET AGAIN! Has one minute even passed yet since the release of the snitch?! How many records did he break this time?! It Has Been Confirmed, BOTH OF THOSE CATCHES AND SKILLS ARE NO FLUKES. WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE WATCHING THE DEBUT OF A FUTURE QUIDDITCH LEGEND!"

    Evelyn smiled kindly at Frank, "I think I would know better what''s best for my daughter, Frank. Please keep your long bottom out of it."

    "....!" Mr. Longbottom''s patronizing smile vanished.

    "Pffft!" A snicker was heard from near a seat beside them and the group turned to see Sirius ck sitting along with his wife Marlene and son Jamie. "Frankly speaking, got your long bottom kicked, Frank," said Sirius with a chuckle.

    Frank scowled at his friend. "Thought we were on the same side here," he gruffed, feeling even more annoyed. He had been speaking against the person who''s currently kicking his friend''s god-daughter''s bottom right now.

    Sirius chuckled, "Why so sirius, Frank? And I didn''t say you were wrong. The kid''s skilled, I gotta admit, insanely so, but we ARE gonna kick the Slytherin''s bottom today. Launching Boom has its ws after all," he said assuredly. Being the best friend of a seeker and a Godfather of another makes you know your Quidditch. So he could already see how this was going to y out.

    "The boy''s in danger, people. One moreunching Boom, and he''s going to the infirmary," said Sirius, his deep, far-seeing eyes set on the pitch, giving off the impression of an expert. "Oh look, it''s already starting." He added, and indeed, something had indeed started on the pitch, as the Gryffindor had changed theirposition.

    "What?" Daphne became worried. Axel was already looking a bit under the weather ever since he returnedst night. She was worried he might not be ready for whatever wasing.

    Seeing Daphne like that, Neville was of course d. "You suck it now." But daphne was too worried to him pay attention.

    "They''re going to take him down. If he uses that trick again, he''s going to crash. So if he has any sense, he should stop doing it now." Exined Sirius. "Oh no, he''s doing it again. Sigh¡­.As expected, he''s good, but seems like he''s still too green," he said, feeling more relieved than he sounded at the knowledge. The Scouters were here so Rose needed to perform well today. And this Axel was currently stealing her thunder.

    Sirius''s words of wisdom made all the Greengrasses worried while in the pitch, Axel had been loading his energy, about to shoot off. Suddenly, they saw George Weasley get in his way and understood what was going to happen. "NO!" Daphne stood up from her seat, but it was toote.

    *Boom*

    Axel disappeared from their view, and Evelyn had to hold her daughter back to stop her from rushing to the stadium. But then,

    "WHAT?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

    *CHEERS*

    They saw Axel appear on the other side of George, his hand held high in a familiar gesture, with the Golden Snitch safely held within his grasp. Daphne finally took a deep breath, her heart still hammering her chest due to the earlier scare.

    "He''s fine!" Said Astoria, hugging her mother.

    On the other hand, Sirius sat there like a statue, his words stuck in his throat as he tried to clear it while the Greengrass sisters gave him matching judgy res. ''Don''t talk if you don''t know anything,'' they seemed to say with their eyes. They had thought he was an expert. On the other hand, their mother was pure savage. "Your gift of foresight rivals the psychics of knockturn alley, Mr. ck. I am most impressed."

    "Ahem¡­ he¡ªuh¡­. Oh he did that¡­," tried Sirius, pretending to understand, though he had no idea what the fuck had just had happened out there. The expert image he had was shattering to bits. "It''s the least likely oue, huh? He must be really lucky," he said, nodding his head to himself while his wife Marlene tried to hide her face out of second hand embarrassment.

    At this moment, the rey was shown, in which Axel masterfully swerved around the twin, dodging him by a hair''s breadth very calmly, and then catching the snitch.

    "HE ACTUALLY DID IT! AXEL HUNT HAS SOMEHOW MANAGED TO TURN HIMSELF ACCURATELY AT THAT SPEED!! WHAT AN AMAZING SHOW OF SKILLS!"

    Sirius: *p* *p*

    "Mum, is this person really an expert?" Asked Astoria, pointing at Sirius.

    Evelyn shook her head, "No Tory, he''s a prankster. He likes to scare and bother people. Don''t listen to him."

    "Oh¡­so he''s like those bad twins?" Astoria asked, pointing at Fred and George.

    Evelyn nodded. "Exactly."

    Astoria looked at Sirius with a pouty re before turning away.

    Sirius: ????? "..." ''I really am an expert¡­. You have to believe that. I haven''t spent all these years supporting Reggie, James, and Rose in vain!'' Sirius was Siriusly hurt. "Oh, something must have caught my eyes," he said, rubbing his eyes. He wasn''t trying to hide his tears. Nope, not at all.

    At this point, even Frank pretended he did not know this guy. It''s not like he did not have the same thoughts, but at least he did not say them aloud anymore. But, he and his son could really sympathize with the man. These Greengrass women are brutal with their words.

    On the other side, the selectors: "OHHHH"

    "H-How?

    "God¡­ I''ve seen god."

    "Dayyumm! That was smooth as butter! How IS he doing this?"

    "Hello sir¡­ yes I''m seeing this too, sir. Yes I''ll try my best. Offer anything? Even that much sir? Yes sir. And sir, about Rose¡­ forget her? Alright¡­"

    Everyone of these scouts was already out of their seats, their attention focused solely on Axel. Once in a Century talent? This was a talent that''s never been seen in the history of Quidditch. Screw Rose. They can''t miss someone like this.

    The game continued like that, with these experts not moving their eyes away from Axel. They were already discussing the amount and terms they were going to offer with their bosses. Like this, the half time arrived, and Sirius got up from his seat. "Excuse me."

    To his credit, he had managed to keep his mouth shut until now with much difficulty, which turned out to be a good thing, since he would have been wrong again with thest catch in which Axel magically outflew Rose.

    Going out, he took out his Magi-mirror and typed a message.

    "Take out the seeker. At any cost." He sent it to someone he had saved as "New Marauders". He also sent out a few hundred galleons. This much was like chump change for him.

    The other side replied instantly, "Lord Padfoot has spoken. It shall be done!"

    What? He can''t let his daughter be a ve to a Slytherin boy, right? Oh, and these two were his sessors. Their pranks are hrious.

    Whistling a jolly tune, Sirius pocketed his magi mirror. Now, to save his expert''s image¡­

    Returning to his seat, he confidently looked at the Greengrasses. "I have some sirius predictions for the second half. And I think it''ll be for the best if your hero sits this one out," he said, waiting for them demand an exnation.

    But at this point, the Greengrass women just nodded perfunctorily giving him a lukewarm nce before turning their attention back to the match.

    Sirius shrugged. And within the first few minutes of the match, one of the Weasley Twins directly took a swing at Axel with his beater''s bat!

    "THAT BLOODY ¡ª" yelled Daphne almost at the top of her lungs, but paused mid-curse, realizing she was in the presence of many influential people of the society. Covering her face, she buried herself in her seat,pletely mortified. Her perfect pureblood heiress image was ruined. ''Axel Hunt! You''ll be the death of me!'' She thought furiously, her cheeks burning. The problem was, she was okay with that¡­Seriously what is happening to her?!

    Sirius sipped on his drink leisurely, sitting with his legs crossed. "Ladies, is this the part where I say, ''I told you so''?" He said calmly, though he was quite surprised, disappointed and annoyed that the boy somehow dodged, simr to how you feel when you smash a cockroach, only for it to spring up and run away without damage. For the next few minutes, the Greengrasses were constantly on edge, with the Twins attempting everything to take him down, and Sirius passing out ominousments, making them quite anxious.

    Not too long after, Axel was met with an inescapable situation! A Bludger was headed his way and one of the twins had drawn his wand, approaching close to him.

    Daphne was extremely angry right now. And she didn''t even know who. But she knew one thing: This man needs to shut up. She has absolute faith in Axel''s ability, but she can''t help but worry. And this man''s constant "predictions" aren''t helping.

    "Let''s see if he can escape this¡­" said Sirius excited.

    A few momentster¡­ Sirius ck sat with a ckened eye, looking at Axel, who had somehow managed to pull off something incredible. Only now did he wish he had kept his mouth shut the whole time. But today, he had at least learnt a few life lessons.

    Firstly, ''I''m never betting against that kid again... whatever the situation. He''s a monster.'' and second, ''That girl packs a Sirius punch.''

    ¡­

    The match finally ended, with Gryffindor''s or any team''s worst defeat in the history of Quidditch. The point margin had never been this huge in the History, even back when the rules hadn''t changed and the games sometimes had to be stretched for days because the Seekers couldn''t catch the snitch.

    "Sigh... It''s finally over..."

    Axel''s head was feeling very heavy towards the end of the match, maybe because he was mysophobic and the crowd was just too damn loud. But his headache persisted even after he turned down his hearing using his [Super Sense].

    When he finallynded on the ground, he wobbled a bit as his feet felt shaky. ''System, the heck is up with my body?''

    [It''s not only because of your body, Axel. But the cause is the skill [Limit Break]. A long break is necessary to recover from that skill, depending on by how much you have broken past your limit. But you have only pushed your body and senses to work intensively after that, only getting a few hours break. You need immediate rest.]

    While he was still struggling to keep standing, with his vision blurring, Axel felt someone jump on him, almost making him fall as they hung onto him like a ko.

    "AXEL! Banaca! I finally got my hands on you! Holy Diana, you were amazing!" It was Patricia, who hadnded not long after he did. But before he could muster enough strength to push her off, the rest of his team members had arrived, also leaping onto him.

    "Get away from him, you all! Let the guy breathe!" Though someone came at the right time, right before he was about to snap, pushing away his team members much to his appreciation. Only, this person wasn''t any better. Axel was suddenly dragged into a side hug, as the man seemed to parade him along. And Axel realized who it was:

    ''Lockhart?''

    Why this fool of all people?

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, my Student, Axel Hunt! Came to me for some Quidditch tips. He''s learnt a lot from me. So proud of you, Axel." He felt the person rubbing his head as if they were very close. "I think your parents must be proud, huh? Tell them that they don''t need to thank me much, I was¡ª"

    Okay, that was it for Axel. A could only take so much before he¡ª

    *Snap*

    ***

    A.N.:Lockhart pulling Salf Bae at Football Worldcup lolll. But that''s just so like him!

    Next Chapter: Axel is not Messi, he''s tan

    (Messi: Merciful, tan: Savage)

    Read ahead on what happened:

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Come support me?

    VOTE with POWERSTONES!!! ??????

 Chapter 86: Hes is not Messi, hes Zlatan

    Chapter 86: He''s is not Messi, he''s tan

    Chapter 85

    "With that, this painful match finally ends, and I can NOT believe the numbers on the scoreboard! 1140 to 90 in Slytherin''s lead! With a MASSIVE 1050 point difference!"

    "Axel Hunt, the star of the match, finallynds on the ground, and his feet are looking a little bit shaky. Well, can''t tell what state he must be in, cause no one else is even capable of doing what he did today."

    "And OH! A hug from the Stunning Slytherin Captain, boy is he lucky. And herees the rest of the team! The Slytherin team is having a moment right now, but Axel Hunt doesn''t seem to be in a good state¡­"

    Axel, as the main attraction of the whole match, was of course being shown on the big screens. And by now, people were obviously starting to take notice that something was wrong.

    "Honey, there are wards out here! Only reporters, professors and yers are allowed entry into the pitch," said Evelyn, putting a hand on the panicking Daphne''s shoulder.

    "Can''t you do something about it mum? He''s clearly not alright!"

    Daphne was trying her best to get into the pitch. But students or civilian entry was forbidden, with all kinds of wards set up.

    "That idiot! I knew he wasn''t alright." Said Martina in half worry and half annoyance.

    "And herees¡­ Professor Lockhart?" Commentated Lee. "Woah, didn''t see himing, but looks like he''s getting everyone off of Axel. And¡­ Now he is hugging him?"

    On the big screen, pure vexation was clearly written all over Axel''s face which was considerably paler, while Lockhart was waving his hand to the cameras with his brilliant smile, making oundish ims.

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, my Student, Axel Hunt! Came to me for some Quidditch tips. He''s learnt a lot from me! So proud of you, Axel." Axel felt the person rubbing his head as if they were very close. "I think your parents must be proud, huh? Tell them that they don''t need to thank me much, I was only¡ª"

    *Snap*

    Axel had had enough. He had been feeling nauseous for a while and there was only so much he could take. The teammates couldn''t really be med for their reaction, he had won them a match and they were just thanking him. So even if he didn''t like it, it didn''t piss him off too much.

    But what the heck is up with this guy? Is he really doing this right now?

    Even though Axel''s body and his senses weren''t working properly, his mind was. And he knew what had just happened. This person, Gilderoy Lockhart, is a very popr, well-established, and very experienced adventurer. His skillset includes being great at pretty much everything. And who is Axel? Before today, a fucking nobody. So, if Lockhart ims he''s got some great insights in Quidditch and he trained Axel, and Axel says otherwise, who''s the majority of people going to believe? Of course Lockhart.

    It means this man is trying to piss on all of what he did today.

    Today, when Axel woke up, he wanted nothing more than to sleep a bit more. It wasn''t like his usual ''tired-to-bone'' kind of tired state... it was even worse, due to the [Limit Break] bacsh, but he still forced himself. He came here, and did everything he needed to do, even exposing many of his cards, even if he needed rest, and even if it was so risky for him to show off.

    And here is this bastard, trying to take that all away? For what? Simple fame? How infuriating is that?!

    Plus, Axel didn''t really like thement about his parents. They will be proud? Well their son is a thieving murderer. Axel was sure they couldn''t be prouder. But it''s their fault for abandoning him.

    Andstly, ''This guy''s sticking too close! And he''s too creepy,'' thought Axel in revulsion, trying to move his body to push the bastard away.

    Usually, Axel would be pissed with even one of these things. But right now, they''re all happening together while he can''t do anything. So, he could not be med for what he did next.

    [Limit Break]

    Raising his hand, Axel gripped the hand that was rubbing his hair. And¡ª

    *Crack* *crick-CRACK*

    "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

    In the next moment, Lockhart found himself lying on the ground, screaming like a little girl, with many of his bones broken.

    "You have an extreme talent for pissing people off," spat Axel. In terms of being infuriating, this guy couldn''t rival Umbridge, but yeah, hees pretty close. And that was saying something.

    *Ding*

    Red messages started popping up in front of his eyes, and Axel felt like his head was splitting off. But he couldn''t leave as bright shes of lights started toe from all around him, as the reporters who had been on the ground began to surround him for a close up shot on what had just happened while asking him questions.

    "Mr. Hunt! Why did you injure a professor?"

    "Axel! Is what Professor Lockhart said really true?"

    "Were you really taught by him?"

    Now after using Limit Break once again, even his mind was having problems working, since all of his concentration was spent on not passing out. At this moment, amotion started in the crowd as the reporters slowly parted to reveal a familiar figure.

    "Professor Lockhart is only trying to wrongfully im the credit," said the person sharply. "The man can''t even replicate 5% of Axel''s skill and neither does he know how to perform even half of the tricks Axel performed today. He hasn''t taught anything to Axel. In fact, before today, that man didn''t even know about Axel''s existence, much less teach him anything," said the person, spitting facts in everyone''s faces. But, it wasn''t just the words that had a high impact. It was also the person who had spoken those words.

    """Martina... Valentino?!"""

    "Miss Valentino herself hase to Axel Hunt''s defense!"

    "Miss Valentino, why are you defending Axel Hunt?"

    "Miss Valentino, are you using Gilderoy Lockhart of tantly lying in front of the whole world?!"

    Yep, the person was Martina herself, who came to stand beside Axel. Martina nodded at the cameras. "Yes, Gilderoy Lockhart is lying and it''s very easy to prove it. You can test him anytime. He won''t be half as skilled as Axel, not to mention the fact that he''s only been here for barely 2 months, not really enough to learn anything of that level," she said matter of factly, thoroughly crushing Lockhart''s ims and also showing his stupidity.

    "After Axel has shown his talent today, Lockhart is just one of the many who are going to try and take advantage of him. But Axel is my friend, and I won''t let anyone make use of him like that," she said sternly, radiating a powerful presence.

    She then turned to Axel and her brows furrowed in worry, noticing his pale face and unsteady feet.

    "Are you alright? You shouldn''t have pushed yourself so hardst night!" she said, trying to support him.

    ""!!!!!""" Last night? Shouldn''t have pushed himself? The reporters realized that they had struck gold.

    "I''m¡­ fine¡­ and thanks," muttered Axel. He was really grateful to her for stepping up. Between Lockhart and Axel, Lockhart would have won. But between Lockhart and Martina? The fraud doesn''t stand a chance.

    Martina could clearly tell he wasn''t "fine" as she came forward and tried to support him.

    *Whoosh*

    Just then, a gust of wind blew, as someone appeared right behind him, and even in his woosy state, Axel still recognized the familiar presence easily.

    "Hah¡­ you''re here too?" He asked, without even turning back. He thought that student entry was forbidden?

    "You were amazing... just likest night." said Akiko, her handnding on his shoulder to support him too. She had, of course been watching the match too and knew about Axel''s condition.

    The reporters: """!!!!!!!!!""" Nani?!! Another one?! This is Jackpot!

    Axel nodded, now the red messages in front of his eyes finally fading, and the noise around him also getting lower. His body was no longer able to hold on. "Then¡­ guess I''m in safe hands..." he managed, as he finally let go of his consciousness.

    ...

    That day, the name Axel Hunt made big waves around the world. Catching the snitch wasn''t the same as scoring a goal. No matter how many goals you score in minor leagues or in school Quidditch, it wouldn''t beparable to scoring in a World Cup or a Major League. Because scoring goals depends more on the level of the opponent team than personal skill. But, catching the Snitch is almost the same in any format. Because the snitch is always difficult to catch.

    And someone catching the snitch 22 times in a single match¡­ anyone with even a little Quidditch knowledge would be interested.

    Video and articles, all with colorful titles began appearing within hours after the ending of the match.

    "HOGWARTS STUDENT CATCHES THE SNITCH 22 TIMES IN A SINGLE MATCH!"

    In an Inter-house Quidditch match at Hogwarts, a student named Axel Hunt (13) managed to make History by catching the snitch a total of 22 times in a single match. This is reportedly the highest number of time anyone has ever caught the snitch in a single match, the second highest being a measly number of 8 by another student named Victor Krum. This was¡­ Click here to continue.

    THE FASTEST CATCH IN THE HISTORY OF QUIDDITCH

    The fastest catch! A yer caught the snitch in just 11.2 seconds, creating a world record! The yer'' is Axel Hunt, 13 year old, and he caught it using the very difficult technique, the Launching Boom.

    "A 13 YEAR OLD SEEKER BREAKS MORE THAN 20 RECORDS IN A SINGLE MATCH: ANOTHER RECORD!"

    Axel Hunt, a member of House Slytherin at Hogwarts, managed to break the record of most records being broken by a single yer in a single match. Watch the highlights of his spectacr performance here.

    "THE MOST BRILLIANT CATCH IN QUIDDITCH HISTORY"

    We guarantee you have never seen a catch like this. In an iconic match, the seeker catches the Bludger with one hand and the snitch with the other, but it doesn''t end here. Watch in high quality ?

    "GILDEROY LOCKHART GETS THRASHED BY 13-YEAR-OLD BOY"

    The Well-established Defender Against The Dark Arts, Best seller Author, and famous Adventurer and influencer Gilderoy Lockhart, who is currently teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts subject at Hogwarts gets brutally beaten on by 13 year old student. Reportedly, the students was not in a right state after his match and Lockhart pushed his buttons further by iming credit for the boy''s achievements, causing the boy tosh out.

    There were thousands of videos and articles like this started appearing, making Axel''s name resound not only in Britain but also in different parts of the world. And various Articles of Axel began toe up as well.

    "WHO IS AXEL HUNT? EVERYTHING ABOUT THE QUIDDITCH PLAYER AXEL HUNT IN A NUTSHELL."

    Suddenly, a name has be very popr by taking the Quidditch world by storm by breaking more than 20 world records in a single game. So naturally, the questions have begun to arise. Who is Axel? What kind of person is he? What is his family background?

    In this article, we will cover everything we have managed to find about the rising Legend.

    The first thing we discovered, is that Axel Hunt is a mystery. His birth is not registered in the ministry or Hogwarts website like all other students. There''s no information about what his life was like beforeing to Hogwarts and neither is there any information about his parents or legal guardian. ording to our sources, the boy has always arrived and left the Kings Cross Station alone, and nor has anyonee to visit him on the visiting days either.

    In his first year, the boy hade to Hogwarts heavily injured, and his performance at his sses were consequently affected as well, including his performance at Quidditch. "He used to fly without gripping the handle. His hands were always all shaky,'''' said one of his anonymous ssmates.

    "His spells used to be very weak. And his hands were always shaking. Also, his aiming was horrible," was what another source confirmed.

    The cause, origins, nature of Hunt''s injuries remain undisclosed but it was something that even Hogwarts'' finest medical staff couldn''t heal, and it caused him to have problems with his magic casting, dexterity, and bnce¡­ almost everything a good wizard and Quidditch yer needs.

    But Hunt didn''t let this bring him down, as over the year, he made steady improvements in his health and studies, bing one of the top students at Hogwarts. He finished his Hogwarts first year as the Valedictorian,ing first in almost many subjects¡­ click here for more.

    "MOST POPULAR BOY AT HOGWARTS?"

    (Below were pictures attached of Axels. One of him being supported by Martina and Akiko, one of him face to face with Rose, one of him being hugged by Rose and one of him and Daphne.)

    Click here to read??

    ¡­

    While these kinds of articles were appearing all over the inte, unaware of all this, Axel was blissfully asleep in the VIP ward with no disturbances. When he finally woke up, it was already the next day.

    Looking around, Axel found himself in an empty room with no one present, only arge pile of letters, and various choctes and other kinds of trinkets. As soon as he sat up, a bell on his bedside began ringing, causing him to try and shut the thing down.

    While he was still fiddling with the thing, the door opened and Madam Pomfrey entered. "I have to say Mr. Hunt, you continue to suprise me," she said in exasperation, to his bedside with a writing pad. "How did your crippling injuries fromst time get healed? It''s like¡­ there were never there," she said, slight intrigue and frustration slipping into her tone.

    Sigh¡­

    Axel sighed. He had been nning on avoiding Pomfrey for this exact reason. That was also the reason he learnt [heal]. But oh well, him and dangers are old friends, and he should have known it was inevitable to avoid this ce forever. Now that Madam Pomfrey has had time to scan his body, she must have noticed a lot of peculiarities about it.

    "Professor, I am not telling you. And I will ask yourplete discretion over the matter through the Healer-Patient confidentiality pact as well. Also, please destroy any reports you have on me."

    If there was one thing everyone knew about Madam Pomfrey, it was that she was a stickler for rules. And Axel knew the rules now, he knew he could do this.

    Madam Pomfrey gave him a disapproving look. "Mr. Hunt, are you aware how many people we could hel¡ª"

    "Pardon me, Madam Pomfrey," interrupted Axel, "But I couldn''t give a flying fuck about how many people you could help with whatever I reveal. Besides, it is useless even if I do tell you since it was a one time thing," he said simply, flexing his fingers to check their functioning.

    He could understand the Medi-witch''s perspective, but the cure included the substance called the immortal elixir. There was no chance in hell he was telling her. Anyways, he wouldn''t tell her even if it was cheap and easy to make the recipe. He''d rather sell the potion made from it to the rich people at high prices.

    "Now could you tell me where I am? Can I leave now?" He asked, flexing his arms and legs experimentally. He was still feeling tired, but everything else seemed fine.

    Madam Pomfrey sniffed disapprovingly. "You had half the schooling here to see you so you had to be shifted in the VIP room. And no, you are not leaving until you''ve gotten at least two more days of rest. Your condition is serious."

    Axel frowned, "Serious? Isn''t it just some fatigue?"

    Madam Pomfrey seemed to consider hitting the boy. "Fatigue?! Your body was refusing to function properly no matter what I tried. I have never seen this level of "fatigue", or whatever it is. It is always like this with you," she said inplete exasperation. Before this, he had suffered from extreme torture, to the point his nerves had received permanent damage.

    Madam Pomfrey gave him a judging look, "You don''t¡­ enjoy this, do you?"

    Now Axel considered hitting her instead. Enjoy?! Enjoy your sister! He did NOT survive all that torture to be humiliated like this! But Madam Pomfrey actually smirked a little, meaning she had said it on purpose, maybe revenge for him being a snob. But Axel''s eyes narrowed. Alright, he will remember this.

    In a much better mood, Madam Pomfrey handed him a list containing various names. "You have quite a few visitors waiting for you. Which one would you like to meet first?"

    Axel looked at the list.

    "Daphne Greengrasses, Martina Valentino, Akiko Matsushima, Patricia Afonso, Rose Potter¡­"

    "...." What''s with this list?

    Axel decided to call Martina and Akiko first, since he had to thank them. First they helped him out yesterday and then today as well.

    "How are you now? And what exactly happened to you?" Asked Martina as soon as he entered.

    Since even he didn''t know, Axel checked the system notifications. But he got the chills as soon as he read.

    ''Risk of Soul Damage?! Fuck me sideways!''

    But on the outside, he maintained his casual appearance, "As I said, just a little tired. I''ll be fine after a short rest."

    Akiko looked at him with scrutiny. "That''s not it," she dered. "Just tell me if it''s serious. I need you to be fine," she said seriously. She really needed him in top condition for her revenge.

    ''System, will I be fine? What''s this notification about the risk of soul damage?! Exin everything!''

    [Yes Axel. The skill [Limit Break] does not only draw strength from your body. It also draws strength from your soul. In a way, it''s a kind of soul magic, an extremely dangerous and risky branch of magic. And by over using it, you have put strain on your soul. Thankfully, you stopped before causing any permanent damage, so yes, you will be fine.]

    Axel looked at Akiko. "I will be fine. Really."

    Picking up his wand from the bedside table, he gave it to Martina. "Anyways, you said you can fix this, right?"

    "Um¡­ That¡­" Martina hesitated, feeling quite nervous for some reason. It was time to invite him over.

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    Let me know if you want to read the article: "MOST POPULAR BOY AT HOGWARTS?" I didn''t have enough time for that.

    Come read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon. /Snollygoster

    CLICK VOTE!!! ??????

 Chapter 87: Axel Hunt: The most powerful Rizzard

    Chapter 87: Axel Hunt: The most powerful Rizzard

    Two days passed, and Axel''s poprity only increased. On the Wednesday morning, when Madam Pomphrey

    finally let Axel "officially" leave the Hospital wing, he went to the Great Hall for breakfast like usual.

    !!!!

    But as soon as he went past those double doors, he realized something. Every pair of eyes turned towards him and the bustling atmosphere quieted down for a moment, before bursting again with even more noise. Students began pointing at him and many were rushing towards him for autographs and selfies and a few reporters who had been waiting for him also came forward.

    ''Fuck¡­'' This thing had slipped his mind. Somehow, the concept of people actually treating him like a celebrity seemed quite absurd to him. But, it was happening, and Axel was hating every second of it. He wanted so much to share an eye roll with Daphne, but he resisted the urge.

    *CHEERS*

    Axel turned his head to see the whole Slytherin house standing up from their seats, pping and cheering for him, with Patricia standing in front.

    """"""SA-VAGE AX-EL!''''''''''''''''''''

    """"""SA-VAGE AX-EL!''''''''''''''''''''

    """"""SA-VAGE AX-EL!''''''''''''''''''''

    Then the Slytherins began chanting this new title which he had apparently been given after disying his exceptional savagery.

    "....." Axel had no words for it. What the fuck was going on with these students? And that title? He didn''t know if he was being praised or insulted here. But he supposed it was at least better than some cringe song like ''Axel is our king, he can catch a snitch by its wing, that''s why Slytherins all sing, Axel is our King!'' Truly, that would be a disaster.

    His team members came and started pushing away the crowd and the reporters, making way for him to go towards the table, at the leader''s position, right beside Patricia. A bit weirded out, Axel sat down, with his teammates sitting all around him.

    "What''s all this about?" He asked Patricia in an undertone.

    The Brazilian Captain tilted her head as she peered at him, "What do you mean? It''s a celebration, of course. We''re celebrating your glorious achievements!" She said excitedly.

    Axel was confused, "It wasn''t a big deal. Doesn''t this seem a little too much?"

    "Not a big deal?!" Patricia had to squint at him to confirm he wasn''t just joking or being humble. "Of course it''s a huge deal! Slytherins are a bunch of egoists and supremacists. And they were really aggravated by Gryffindor after the insult on Halloween night and on the inte, especially since there was little to no chances of them actually winning! And, most of us have already been the victims of the Twins'' pranks.

    But then you pop out of nowhere, and maul the Gryffindors in that savage and satisfying fashion¡­ you should have seen yourself out there. The moment you caught the snitch while throwing that bludger at Weasley¡­ it was thrilling¡­it was electrifying¡­" she said with a somewhat intoxicated look, her legs clenching together as she looked at Axel.

    "Uh¡­Okay, I get it," said Axel scooting a bit further away from the girl, "But can you make them stop now? It''s causing me a headache." It really was, and so was Patricia''s perfume due to her closeness. Axel risked a nce towards Daphne, only to see her stabbing her fork into her te, while ring in his direction. He had a feeling that she was going to be grumpy in today''s training session.

    But then from a few seats beside Daphne, Axel saw another re directed his way. But this time, it wasn''t from a girl. It was a student from Mahoutokoro. It was the wind guy duelled Martina. Looking around, Axel noticed more unfriendly gazes from many other guys, making him frown.

    "Have I done anything against Mahoutokoro?" He asked Patricia. Who else could he ask? There was no Daphne here.

    Patricia coughed, "Well, Akiko is an unreachable existence among the students of Mahoutokoro. And she personally came to rescue you so¡­"

    "Great. More enemies," Axel sighed, looking at the ceiling. Looks like his life is changed forever.

    ¡­

    From that day onwards, Axel stopped appearing at meal times at the great hall, and the number of sses he was skipping increased. A few professorsined, but his head of house, Professor Snape, couldn''t care less, letting him get away with it.

    Just like this, the days passed, with Axel bing a reclusive star of Hogwarts. Every day, he''d first practice his own skills, then train with Akiko, and then train Daphne. During this time, with their daily interactions discontinued by Axel, Daphne seemed to have gained even more motivation, making rapid improvements in her training. She even learned a few ice-rted spells which Axel had asked for from Akiko.

    Patricia didn''t let a peep anymore, even if he didn''t show up for training even once. On the other hand, the Hufflepuffs were under a lot of pressure, due to their uing match against the Slytherins. Axel was living the thug life, with the Slytherins worshipping him whenever he showed up at the dorms or the House table and skipping sses as he pleased. Even the students from Mahoutokoro wouldn''t bother him without a reason. After all, he had Akiko''s protection. They could be jealous and outraged but they couldn''t really do shit.

    Overall, anyone would think he must be very happy, right? He was not.

    In his quiet training room, Axel looked at the damaged wand in his hands. For the hundredth time, he cursed himself for being so careless. The thing is, he didn''t actually realize how much he cared about it until it was lost. During this time, he hadn''t bothered getting a new one, opting to make do with Daphne''s father''s wand when it was absolutely necessary. That was also one of the reasons behind his ss skipping.

    But it wasn''t like losing it only had downsides. Axel raised his free hand.

    [Magic Hands]

    [Proficiency: 52%]

    "Incendio."

    His hand suddenly began to feel hot, before gradually, a very tiny me lit up on the tip of his finger.

    Looking at the me, a crooked grin stretched across Axel''s face. "Finally Wandless, huh?"

    After loosing his wand, Axel realized his dependence on it. Take a wand away from a wizard and he''s suddenly more fucking useless than a muggle. So, he had been training his skill, [Magic Hands] a lottely. Magic Hands increases his hands dexterity. By training it, he can get absolute control over his hands. When you have absolute control over your hands, you can do very awesome things with them, which everyone thought were impossible.

    But still, he''s a long way off before this actually bes useful, and it might never beparable to his output with his wand. So, fixing his wand was a must. Pocketing his wand, Axel sighed. Fortunately, the wait was finally over. Going down towards the Great Hall, he noticed the changes from the usual mornings. The Hall was decorated in Christmas decorations, and students could be seen lugging various types bags.

    Yep, the Christmas Holidays were here, and as decided, Axel was going to the Valentinos to get his wand fixed.

    As Axel arrived into the Great Hall, many eyes were drawn to him, of course. But no one really came to bother him. It is already known how much he hates crowds. Only Patricia seemed to break the rule. "Merry Christmas, my Estr," she said,ing to walk alongside him.

    "What do you want?" Asked Axel.

    "How hurtful. Can''t I approach you just to wish you?"

    "No you can''t, Patricia. Get to the point."

    Patricia sighed as she got serious. "The interview. Have you thought about it yet?"

    Axel shook his head, "I already told you. It''s not my thing."

    Patricia didn''t agree, not letting him leave. "But you have to understand, it''s for the best. There''s literally little to no information about you out there. Right now, you are just a nk canvas. And if you don''t fill it, people are going to fill it the way they want."

    Axel stared at her for moment then scoffed. "You''re making a big deal out of it."

    "No, I''m not," said Patricia,ing to stand in his way as she fished out her Magi-mirror. "Look here." She said, showing him an article in her magi-mirror.

    It was an article titled: "MOST POPULAR BOY AT HOGWARTS?"

    Below were Axel''s various pictures attached. One of him being supported by Martina and Akiko, one of him face to face with Rose, one of him being Hugged by Patricia and one of him and Daphne. Looking at the Article, Axel''s brows furrowed as he gave it a read.

    "Hogwarts seems to have gained a new most popr student. And the escapades of this particr student are so extra-ordinary that we feelpelled to write this article. The name of the student in the picture is Axel Hunt, an unseen Quidditch prodigy and a Valedictorian. And as can be noticed from the pictures, it seems that not only in Quidditch, he is also an amazing yer in terms of wooing beauties as well. But the most astonishing detail here is not the jaw-dropping beauties of these girls. It is their identities. Here''s a detailed review of the identities of these beauties and their rtions with Axel. It will truly boggle your mind.

    Martina Valentino:

    (Here''s a picture)

    Do not have any thoughts about this beauty, because this is Martina Valentino, the little princess of the extremely powerful Valentino Family. The Valentinos is the most dangerous and influential family of Italy, with its businesses spread in many fields, running in many parts of the Wizarding World. And Martina is the one and only extremely doted princess of this family. Not only that, she is also an exceptional prodigy in Magic and Enchanting, owning patents to various Magical Inventions. It is also suspected that she might have a hand in the invention of various other Patents registered under the Valentino family.

    ording to our sources, this prodigy has long taken a liking to Mr. Hunt, even before he had started to show any talents. In his very first year, a picture of Axel and Miss Valentino sleeping together on the Hospital bed had gone viral, causing quite a stir. With the school belle apparently getting together with a weak boy of unknown origin, her suitors were outraged at Axel, to which, Miss Valentino herself came forward, announcing that anyone daring to bother Axel Hunt will have to face the wrath of the full Valentino family. And this year, the two were seen going in anding out of a broom closet, with evidences of some suspicious activities. The response of the rest of the family to their precious daughter''s wild actions is yet to be noticed, but the spections are, it might not be positive, given Hunt''s rtions with other women. Regardless of the oue, everyone is looking forward to how the rtionship develops. Click here to see more on this.

    Rose Potter:

    (Here''s a picture)

    The next in the list is Rose Potter, none other than the Girl-Who-Lived herself! Rose Potter is said to be the girl who vanquished Britain''s one of the most fearsome Darklords, Lord Voldemort and also a very talented Quidditch yer. She''s the heir to the Ancient Potter Family and adoptive daughter of the ck Family, which is currently the most influential in Britain.

    So, something is going on between this Vanquisher of The Dark Lord and the Quidditch Prodigy Axel Hunt. And the fans are loving it. Axel and Rose have this love and hate rtionship that many havee to adore. ording to our sources, their first meeting had urred even before the two arrived at Hogwarts and they were on friendly terms. But then the Sorting happened and they were sorted into rival houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin. And before they knew it, the friendship turned into rivalry, with the two often seen being at odds with each other. And during this time, our witch charmer began to make friends with other witches. At the end of the year, Axel went to be the Valedictorian of first years while Rose went on to win her House the Quidditch Cup and House Cup, beaten Slytherin to the punch.

    In their next year, in order to settle the scores, Hunt managed to get himself into the Slytherin Quidditch Team, also as a seeker, the same position as Rose, while he continued his rtions with other girls. Unable to take it anymore, Rose confronted Axel, calling him to stop his wickedness. To which, Hunt, also thoroughly irritated, proposed a wager that whoever loses will do whatever the winner says. At this time, Hunt had no history with Quidditch, while Rose was adroit in it to point of even getting offers to y for major league Quidditch team. There was no way Hunt could have won. Hence Rose epted the challenge, and Hunt wasmbasted throughout the inte by all of Rose''s supporters. But who would have thought that Hunt would actually turn out to be a never seen Quidditch Talent? Truly triggered by all the ridicule and criticism, Hunt caught the snitch 22 times in that match, setting many records and winning the wager by thoroughly beating a very stunned Rose Potter. Fans are immensely curious about how this love-hate dynamic is now going to y out. Click here to see more on this.

    Patricia Afonso:

    (Here''s a picture)

    The stunning beauty in you see in Slytherin colours is Patricia Afonso, a Sixth year Slytherin Prefect and the current Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. She is the only daughter of Pedro Afonso, the Head of the very influential Afonso Family and the current Minister of Magic of Brazil. Axel seems to have had no interactions with Patricia in his first year, but in his second year, he managed to get the Slytherin Captain to hire him into the team without even a trial. The Slytherin team was already pretty weak at the time, with most of the yers graduating justst year and there was a lot of pressure on her as the Captain and de-facto leader of House Slytherin. But she went against everyone''s expectations and selected Axel without a trial. From our sources, it is known that Patricia had started to approach Axel on a daily basis, asking him for something, and it wasn''t until Axel got himself the seeker position did he agree for whatever demand she had.

    But Patricia might have never thought that selecting Axel could be a such a significant risk to her, as the seeker and captain were both humiliated in a prank by Gryffindor team''s beaters right before the match, getting covered in Gryffindor colours in front of the whole school. The prank sparked great outrage in the Slytherins and to make the matters worse, the clip of the prank was shown on live international broadcast, making winning a necessity for Slytherin and Patricia. With Patricia at her wits end to save her political career, our dreamboy Axel came to not only save the day, but also win Slytherin''s honour back by defeating Gryffindor by more than a 1000 point margin. During the match, out of sheer joy, Patricia imed of loving Axel and even proposed marriage to him, and gave him a tight hug after the match, almost making our charmer pass out as he added yet another member to his growing list of Witches. Click here to see more on this.

    Akiko Matsushima:

    (Here''s a picture)

    The next of the list is Akiko Matsushima. Don''t get fooled by the cute face. The girl you see in the picture is a very dangerous Hunter-nin. Akiko Matsushima is arguably the most talented warrior of Japanese School of Magic, Mahoutokoro. She is the first ninja to get a Hunter-nin license at her age, something which is equivalent to a Hit Wizards in Britain. Her talent can estimated by the fact that she defeated Martina, the Hogwarts undefeated prodigy in a duel. Akiko is also the Granddaughter of Hiroshi Yamazaki, the current Headmaster of Mahoutokoro and the inheritor of the powerful Matsushima n. Currently, it is quite unclear exactly how and when Axel and Akiko have known each other, but when he was about to fall unconscious after his Akiko came to his rescue, with the two exchanging words smilingly before Axel passed in her embrace. This behaviour is quite uncharacteristic of the cold hunter-nin who has never cared for anyone. Akiko''s onlyment on the matter has been, "We''re good friends. I''ll help him out whenever he needs." Which is already enough to state to the magnitude of significanceing from someone like her. See more on this here.

    Daphne Greengrass:

    (Here''s a picture)

    The adorable witch in the picture and thest in the list is Daphne Greengrass, the Heiress of the Greengrass Family, one of the sacred twenty eight in Britain. She has been known to be quite a good friend to Axel and she is reportedly the one who forced Rose to confront Axel. The two of them even went to the Halloween party together like a couple. But it would seem that the only purpose of this rtion was to make Rose jealous, as Axel haspletely cut off all contacts with Daphne after the match. See more of this here.

    Whatever his rtionship might be with these girls, it seems a strange coincidence that all of them are outstanding witches, with prominent backgrounds. And to be able to win over all of these with no background, Axel''s charm cannot be underestimated. Many are curious to find out how he''s doing this and there are many men out there who are willing to be his stude¡ª"

    Axel stopped himself from reading more of this nonsense now that he was sure nothing sensitive about Daphne was written, but he did get Patricia''s point. These guys had dug up his whole history and made him out to be some kind of witch charmer who is going for witches with powerful background. But¡­ giving an interview? That''s just not his thing.

    "Did you see? There are a lot more like this," said Patricia, scrolling down to show articles with other headings.

    "Axel Hunt: Background Search"

    "Secret Behind Hunt''s sess"

    Axel sighed as he side stepped her and began walking away, "Well, let them write whatever they want. Anything is fine as long as they don''t change my name," he said, walking away.

    He wasn''t doing this to get everyone''s approval. To get his name across to the Organization, he just needed the fame. Even if it''s infamy.

    Walking a few more steps, he finally encountered Martina, who had been searching for him.

    "Ready to go to my home?" She asked excitedly.

    For going to the home ce of the most dangerous magical mafia? Who''s princess is rumoured to have romantic rtions with him? Yeah absolutely...

    ...

    A.N.: Delivered the article you guys demanded.

    Next chapter: Daphne Fainted (Out of embarrassment)

    Next next...next: Angry Axel: Super Savage Mode On

    POWERSTONES!!!

    JOIN P¨¤TREON ON THE NEW MONTH!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    (Remove Space)

    VOTE ???????? I need the top spot!

 Chapter 88: New Chapter coming

Chapter 88: New Chaptering

    You don''t have to wait today, there''s another chaptering. Just take me to an overwhelming lead by voting with your POWERSTONES. Your POWERSTONES will be refilled in around 2 hours from now.

 Chapter 89: Daphne Fainted

    Chapter 89: Daphne Fainted

    "Ready to go to my home?" She asked excitedly.

    Axel shook his head, "Actually, I have one more thing left to do before I''m ready," he told her. In theirst meeting, Daphne had strongly requested he spend his train ride with just the two of them. She refused to even tell him why. A bit bewildered, Axel had still agreed since he saw no problem in agreeing. With the door clock and blinds drawn, no one would be able to see them together anyways.

    Just as Axel was about to leave, someone unexpectedly showed up.

    "Hey Martina." It was Damien Malcolm, someone who had all but disappeared ever since hisst confrontation with Axel.

    "What do you want?" Asked Martina a bit impatiently.

    "Nothing much¡­Just some payback," said Damien with a dark chuckle.

    Martina frowned, "What is that supposed to mean? What kind of payback?" Even she was understandably surprised. Damien had never been so openly rude to her before.

    Damien shook his head, "I was sincere, Martina. You are younger and yet I treated you with respect. Time and time again, I expressed my love to you. But you never gave me a second nce. You just had to go ahead and choose this bastard instead," he said, ring at Axel hatefully.

    Martina took out her wand, "I''m warning you, Malcolm. You''ll regret it if you ever involve Axel."

    Damien chuckled darkly. I''m also warning you, Martina. Merry Christmas." He said as he left.

    Axel sighed, shaking his head. He had beaten up the guy a few times under stealth and even emptied his room several times before, and Malcolm had stopped bothering him altogether. But it seems people just can''t change, huh?

    "Any ideas what he was talking about?" He asked Martina.

    Martina only shook her head, "No idea. But don''t take him too seriously. He''s always overly dramatic."

    Axel shrugged, "Whatever. I''ll go now."

    "Oh, alright, let''s meet at the station then," said Martina.

    After separating, Axel activated his Stealth as he joined the crowd of Students heading out of the school, picking a carriage to the Hogsmeade station. After boarding the Hogwarts Express, he activated Arcane Eyes and began searching for Daphne.

    He found her sleeping inside apartment locked with a charm. Opening the door with just a little of his [Lockpicking], he quietly closed the door behind him. Axel sat down beside her, observing her sleeping form. Strands of blond hair covered some of her face, her hands were hugging herself, maybe due to the cold, and she had a bit of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth.

    It was the first time he was seeing her sleep since usually it''s the other way around. Daphne has always been the one taking care of him. But she''s been pretty tired and stressedtely, working really hard to improve. Axel is afraid she might burn herself out. Even now, dark circles were visible under her eyes due to theck of sleep.

    Axel casually removed the strands of hair off her face. He felt quite sorry for her. She''s been going through all this due to him. Daphne shifted ufortably in her seat, trying to get into a better position.

    Shaking his head, Axel gently lowered her head to let it rest on hisp. But, the movement woke her up. Her eyes flew open as she tried to sit up.

    "Ohno! I slept?!" She asked in a half asleep state as she saw him, not even realizing she was lying in hisp. "I needed to spend thest few hours with you! I need to refill my Axel energy before the Holidays!" She said dazedly with sleepy eyes.

    Axel raised an eyebrow at her behaviour. He made a mental note to himself that Daphne can talk nonsense in her half-asleep state. He pushed her rising head back down, using his jacket as a pillow. His ripped thighs cannot be the best pillow. "Stay asleep. You need rest," he told her. Spend time with him? They meet daily in her training sessions. Daphne should instead save her energy to spend it with her family, whom she only meets asionally.

    In her half asleep state, Daphne took a deep breath, burying her head back in hisp as she fell asleep once again.

    Hours passed, and Daphne seemed to have found the best sleeping posture as she slept like a baby. And from the way she''d smile and snuggle further up to him, it seemed that she was having pleasant dreams. Axel didn''t wake her up, who knows how little the girl must have slept in thest month, always looking tired. And the less time she wastes here the more time she''ll be able to spend with her family.

    Only when they had almost arrived did Daphne stir. "Hmm¡­Axshhe'' I wuv u¡­" murmuring incoherently, her eyes slowly opened.

    And she saw Axel reading a book, making her realize that she was actually lying in hisp.

    Daphne smiled blissfully. "What a dream¡­" she mumbled, before snuggling back into hisp. With her head buried in his jacket, she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. "It''s almost real¡­"

    "It''s good that you woke up. We''re almost at Kingscross," said Axel, closing his book.

    "¡­.???" Daphne froze and her eyes opened as her mind came out of the sleepy haze. Her head mechanically rose from his jacket as she took in everything around her. One of her hands touched the slight traces of drool at the corner of her mouth while the other hand touched her hair which was a mess. Her eyes went back to Axel before looking back at her position, her head unable to properlyprehend the situation. Finally her eyes closed again as she fainted.

    "Well, she must be really tired," muttered Axel.

    ¡­

    "Hey," said Axel as he appeared beside Martina, making her jump.

    "It''s you! Sorry, I didn''t see you approach," said Martina. She had just alighted the train and was about to call Axel through the Magi-mirror. "Let''s find my brother. He''s here to pick us up," she said, walking together with Axel. Martina seemed really happy right now, maybe because she was excited to go home.

    But before Axel and Martina had walked much, they were ambushed by a bunch of reporters, who blocked their path.

    Click click!

    "Miss Valentino, and Mr. Hunt, you two are walking together. Does that mean you''re going to be spending your Christmas Holidays together?!"

    "Mr. Hunt, we''ve never seen you with any guardian. Is it possible for you to tell us about your living conditions?"

    "Miss Valentino, does your family approve of your ''close'' rtion with Axel Hunt?"

    A lot of questions were thrown their way. Axel was a bit annoyed. If he wasn''t Martina he would have left without giving answers. But Martina was too kind. The girl was trying to actually talk to the buggers. "Excuse us please. My brother is here. It''ll be good if you guys leave before hees¡­"

    Of course, the reporters wouldn''t listen if you''re so nice to them. The crowd only increased. Just when Axel was wondering if he''d have to wait forever, a few rowdy looking wizards in ck suits barged in as they roughly shoved the buggers aside, creating a path for Martina and Axel to walk through. And leading these men was of course, none other than Enzo, Martina''s brother.

    "Lil'' sis," he said spreading his arms.

    Martina smiled, hugging him. "You have a bruise on your cheek," she couldn''t help but point out.

    "Oh-no, don''t make wrong assumptions here! I haven''t been in any fights. It''s from Maria."

    "Then you must have deserved it," she said, lightly hitting him. "Maria is Endo''s fiance," she informed Axel.

    Enzo then turned his attention towards Axel. "And here is our guest of honor, huh?" He said, offering his hand.

    "Axel Hunt," said Axel, shaking his hand.

    Enzo looked down at Axel''s hand, "No longer injured, eh? I need a rematch," he said, tightening his grip to test Axel out. Axel''s hand, of course, didn''t budge at all, but he didn''t do anything either. He still needs to get his wand fixed after all.

    Martina, who had seen him fight XXXXX level creatures, and exacting vicious revenge on those messing with him, quickly separated their hands for her brother''s sake, "Enzo, can you please behave? He is our guest!"

    Enzoughed, releasing Axel''s hand. "Rx sis, I know what I''m doing," he said as he grinned at Axel. "You already passed the first test¡­"

    Axel furrowed his brow, "What test?"

    "Nothing!" Said Martina, giving Enzo a warning re. "Enzo likes to y around. Now, can we go already?"

    Enzo nodded, grinning teasingly at Martina, "Right, let''s go. mom and dad are waiting," he said, taking out a ring from his pocket that expanded in size. "Grab on."

    Martina turned to look at Axel. "You still have the Valentino knife, right?" She asked.

    Axel nodded. The knife is always in his pocket.

    "Hold the ring then. It''s a portkey," she said, gripping the ring.

    ''A portkey¡­'' Axel looked at the ring curiously. Of course knew of portkeys, but he had never actually tried one himself. So he was, without a doubt, curious to try one.

    "Is this your first time?" Asked Martina, observing him.

    Axel shrugged.

    Endo was surprised, "You''ve never portkeyed before?"

    Martina hit her brother on his shoulder. "It''s not that umon." She then smiled reassuringly at Axel, "You just have to grip the ring tightly. It''s very safe, so you don''t need to be worried."

    "..." When did he say he was worried?

    "Ready?" Asked Endo, when everyone''s grip was secured. "Here we go." he said, pressing a button.

    Axel felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward as his feet left the ground; he could feel Martina and Enzo on either side of him; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; his hand was stuck to the ring as though it was pulling him maically onward and then, they were suddenly ejected, out into Italy.

    Martina staggered a little, ending up holding onto Axel, who hadnded quite stably. "Oh, sorry. That usually does not happen!" She rified, feeling embarrassed about her earlier reassurances. In the end, she was the one who ended up needing help.

    "It''s fine," Axel already knew how steady Martina was based on the number of times she had ended up shing him.

    He took a look around the surroundings, and even if he was expecting it, he was still surprised. He was currently standing in a magnificent garden, which seemed to stretch behind him endlessly. In front of him was a cobble-stoned pathway, leading to a giant manor, which shimmered due to the magic surrounding it. Men in ck suits were stationed everywhere around the ce, armed and dangerous.

    "Wee home, princess!" said Martina''s dad, Alessandro, who was walking towards them with several other individuals.

    "Dad! Mom!" Martina quickly got away from Axel as she embraced her parents. "Maria! You''re also here." said Martina, hugging a girl who hade to stand beside Endo. Maria was brte with an athletic figure. She was wearing a simr punk outfit like Endo and her nose and ears had piercings.

    Maria nodded, "Yeah, I thought I mighte and help out, you know, with the ongoing situ¡ª" she couldn''t continue, as Enzo cut her off. "She''s here for Christmas, of course. She''s helping out with the party organization."

    Maria realized her screw up as she quickly caught up, "Yeah, you know how onerous our Christmas parties can be," she said, forcing a smile.

    Martina was going to ask questions, but Alessandro shifted everyone''s attention to Axel as he approached.

    "And here is your boyf¡ª"

    "Dad!"

    "Alright, alright, here''s your friend fromst time. Axel Hunt, right? I''ve heard a lot about you," said Alessandro, looking at Axel with the intimidating air of a Mafia boss as he held out his hand.

    Axel sped the offered hand with some exasperation. ''Are we doing this again.'' He thought, feeling Alessandro applying pressure as soon as he shook it. Trying to crush the hand of someone with an inhuman level of dexterity is not a good idea.

    At this moment, Axel happened to yawn. Watching Daphne sleep had made him sleepy as well.

    "Nice to meet you, sir," he said, stifling his yawn with the back of his other hand.

    The rest of the people: "..."

    "Damn sonny, you sure you''re only 13? Your hand wouldn''t budge," he said, squeezing it further.

    "Leave it, dad. I''ve already tried. The guy has a grip made of iron," said Endo, really empathetic with his father''s situation. Being bestest by a 12 year old sucks. He had already experienced it twice, counting what had happenedst year.

    At Alessandro''s question, Axel shrugged, "Not my fault if you guys squeeze like little girls."

    ¡ªsilence¡ª

    There was a moment of silence as everyone stopped what they were doing. Only the sounds of birds and fountains in the distance could be heard as everyone looked at Axel with surprise.

    After which, Alessandro burst out into a raucousughter, followed by Enzo. Alessandro thumped Axel''s shoulder pleasantly, "You do have balls, kid. Much better than the sissies of today."

    Axel inwardly gave himself a thumbs up. As someone who''s been in thepany of crooks, and one himself, he knows that showing weakness and politeness in situations like this is even worse. It makes you a pushover and puts you in a weaker position. It only invites them to push you further. Besides, Martina is right here. She wouldn''t let her father hurt their enemies, let alone her friend Axel who saved her life.

    Axel turned towards Francesca, Martina''s mother who had been observing the whole scene and bowed slightly. "Thanks for inviting me, ma''am," he said politely. Different people need different treatment. From what he knows from Martina and what he has observed, Martina''s mother is a very uptight woman. And she''s one who''s going to help him out with his wand so of course he has to behave.

    Francesca nodded in approval, "It is our pleasure. I''ve long wanted to know more about Martina''s first friend," she said, studying Axel with a critical eye.

    "Mom! I have many friends! I''ve just never invited them!"

    "Exactly my point, dear."

    Losing the argument, Martina looked at the sky in exasperation.

    At this moment, one of the men in ck came to Martina''s parents and whispered something in a hushed tone. Hearing it, their expressions became somber, as they exchanged nces, talking in low voices.

    Alessandro turned back to Martina and smiled, "Martini, you show Axel around. We have some work to do, okay?"

    Martina scowled at her parents, "Mom, dad! You''re doing it again. Why can''t you guys just tell me the problem?"

    "Because no matter how mature you are, you are still too young to know about some things," said her mother

    Martina''s further protests fell on deaf ears as everyone left to deal with whatever problem they were facing. Left alone with Axel, Martina stomped her feet. "They always do this!" She whined.

    Axel shrugged, "Why would you even want to know?" He was just fine that they had left. Now if only they deal with the problem quickly and get around to fixing his wand, he''ll be relieved.

    Martina shook her head, "You don''t understand. They think¡ª"

    "¡ªOf you as a child? While you think yourself far more mature? Tell me about it," said Axel with a scoff.

    "You¡ªhow¡ª?" Martina sputtered but she sighed as she sat down on the bed of lush grass and small flowers beneath her. "You wouldn''t understand. I have always had a very high IQ. But in other things¡­ I''ve always struggled. And my family''s overprotection and deciding everything for me hasn''t helped me at all."

    Axel sat down beside her. "Parents making decisions for you, that''s gotta suck," epted Axel. "But you are still quite lucky." Her parents decided for her to have an easy, struggle free life, and a happy life. That can''t be such a bad thing, right? The decision his parents made for him was that it would be better for him to stay at an orphanage rather than with them.

    Martina looked at Axel and suddenly realized what an absolute bitch she was being, whining about a perfect life in front of Axel, who must have had a very tough life, especially considering the state he was in when he arrived at Hogwarts. "I''m SO sorry, that was so insensitive. You''re right, I''m already lucky."

    Axel shook his head, "I am right. But, I didn''t say you were wrong. You do need to experience some hardships, and start helping out with your family''s problems." Martina''s parents'' method might have been great in normal circumstances, but the fact was, Axel could see war in the future. And Martina as his ally, having so much power without knowing how to properly wield it, was a huge waste of war potential.

    Martina sighed, "But what can I even do? My parents wouldn''t tell me anything. I''ve never seen them so tense in ages. It has to be something really bad," she said worriedly.

    Axel put his hands in his pocket. "Well, I might have heard a little of what they were talking about."

    Martina looked at him in surprise. "You did? What did you hear?"

    Axel nodded but instead of replying, he asked his own question. "You guys are the most powerful magical mafia in Italy, right?"

    Martina nodded.

    "Well, then what do you know about the Russian Magical Mafia?"

    Martina''s eyes widened.

    "It''s them?!"

    ¡­

    A.N.: Daphne almost confessed lol.

    And Axel mocking a mafia boss in his own house.

    POWERSTONES!!

    Next chapter: The Russian Mafia, and Martina shes again

    Next next: Avoid Sleeping with our daughter from now on

    Next next.... next: Angry Axel¡ªGoing Super Savage mode!

    Once again, great chapters are ahead! Come read ahead and support me!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    (remove spaces)

    VOTE ??????

 Chapter 90: The Russian Mafia, Martina Flashed again

    Chapter 90: The Russian Mafia, Martina shed again

    Chapter 89

    "The Russian Mafia?!" Martina''s eyes widened. "What else did you hear?"

    Axel nodded, "Yeah... I also managed to hear something like "Mikhailov" from them."

    Hearing that, Martina paled as her fears came true. "Oh my god, it IS them. No wonder mom and dad were tense."

    "What is it?" Asked Axel, not liking her reaction.

    Martina sighed as she exined, "When ites to the magical underworld, it is most active in two countries: Italy and Russia. These are the countries where the Mafia gangs are so strong that even the local governments can''t do anything to stop them. So, in each of these countries, there needs to be one overlord, someone who would stop the Mafia gangs from running rampant and reign them in. Italy, has the Valentino Family and Russia¡ª"

    "¡ªHas the Mikhailov Family," finished Axel, to which Martina nodded. "So, how is this Mikhailov Family? And what business could they have with your Family that''s gotten them looking so troubled?" Asked Axel.

    Martina shook her head. "Until now, both the families have left each other alone, so I have no idea what they might want. But I do know one thing for sure: those Mikhailovs are no good. While we mainly deal with maintaining order and keeping the crimes in the country to a minimum, the Mikhailovs manage the Russian Mafia by running all the syndicates themselves. Drug cartels, prostitution, very, smuggling, arms dealing, nothing is beneath them."

    Axel had to sigh at that. This Russian Mafia, it couldn''t have waited till his wand was fixed, could it? He just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

    It was getting dark, and the lights began to get lit up in the whole estate, making the scenery even more beautiful. Catching Axel looking around, Martina shook her head vigorously, temporarily removing all the worries. "But forget about all that. You''re here for the first time. I can''t have all this spoil your visit," she said with a smile as she got up and patted the grass off her jeans.

    She then began pulling Axel up forcefully, who seemed to have no thoughts of getting up. "Come on, let me show you around the house."

    Axel couldn''t understand her, "Aren''t you worried about the Mikhailovs? What if a gang war begins?"

    Martina shook her head, "Oh trust me, you''d know if there were chances of a gang war," she said, looking around. These men would be celebrating if that were the case. "And even if something does happen, we just happen to have a lot of weapons and countermeasures ready. Come on now, I can show you!"

    At that, Axel was suddenly very cooperative about having a tour.

    Since Martina had never had a friend over before, she was naturally very excited to show him a lot of things. She first showed him around the outside. The grounds around the estate were like a township itself, and there were portals installed to move between ces. "You''ve never tried a portal either, right?"

    Axel shook his head. "I didn''t know they even existed before they got one at Hogwarts."

    "That''s normal. Portals are a rtively new concept, so not many ces have them," said Martina understandingly. "It''s an interesting concept, really. Think of it as apparation. Only, the very thin tube is widened a lot."

    Axel had no idea what she was talking about. "I have never experienced Apparation either." It''s just not something he could learn at Hogwarts due to the wards.

    "Well, then let me help you experience your first time," she said, shing him a smile, but she then paused, "Wait, that came out a bit inappropriate. I didn''t mean it that way¡ª"

    "Let''s go already," said Axel dragging her along.

    They both stepped in front of the portal. It was a gateway of sorts, and since it wasn''t active right now, you could see through it. Martina waved her hand and the wards around the thing disappeared. She then pressed a button at the side. "To the front wall."

    The portal got activated as magic filled the gateway, making the other side translucent. Martina tugged at Axel''s hand. "Let''s go,"

    Axel''s [Void Travel] skill hadn''t been progressing very well so he also wanted to experience it. Thus, with some hesitation and curiosity, he stepped through the portal.

    *ZZZZZ*

    As his body passed through the translucentyer, he felt this fizzy sensation buzzing on his body, followed by another fizzy sensation as he emerged from the other side. It was quite surreal. Looking around, he found himself on top of a high Wall overlooking the entire estate.

    "This is the outer wall that surrounds the mansion," exined Martina.

    The wall circled the entire estate, which was quite beautiful. But, what was on the other side of the wall was even better. On the other side of the wall was a lush forest, beyond which was a beautifulke which shined with rainbow colors.

    Martina looked back at him, "Isn''t it beautiful? It''s called Lake Carezza, a famousndmark of Italy. It is also called "lec de ergobando", the rainbowke. It''s covered with myths and legends."

    Axel nodded. "It IS beautiful." Theke was magical, it almost seemed to call onto him.

    "That isn''t all," said Martina, raising her hand, casting out waves of magic.

    "How do you even do that?" Asked Axel. He knew first hand how difficult wandless magic was.

    Martina smiled mischievously at him, "You''re not the only one with secrets, young man."

    Axel stared at her. Just now, it almost actually felt like she was... older. Martina turned her back to look at the magic she had been casting. "It''s done," she said, and in the next moment a ripple became visible in front of them, followed by another, and another, until hundreds of them were visible.

    Axel''s jaw dropped, "Are those all...?"

    Martina nodded. "Yeah, they''re the wards."

    Like every other Wizarding Estate, the Valentino manor was also protected with wards. But, the wards here were...

    "Fuck...." swore Axel. "This ce is better protected than bloody Hogwarts," he muttered, activating his Arcane Eyes for further checking.

    Wards of all kinds were interwoven soplexly that he didn''t know where to even begin deciphering them. And they thrummed with powerz strong enough to withstand anything. His Wardbreaking skill, which had advanced quite a lot afterst year, was stilling short in front of this borate piece of work.

    Martina looked at him in surprise. "You can tell? I''m so d! I''ve spent years working on them. These wards are a big reason why we don''t need to worry about a Gang war."

    "You designed them?" Asked Axel, amazed. "But they''re interconnected to power each other, and there I can see at least 5 back up setups for each ward. How did you even do that?"

    "!" Martina ceased functioning for a moment as she looked at Axel nkly, her eyes widened, "You can actually understand them? Oh my god! There''s finally someone who gets it!" Martina looked like she would kiss Axel any moment.

    Axel on the other hand had something else on his mind, "How did I even get here? These wards should have thrown me a mile away," he asked in confusion.

    Martina smiled, "Your knife. The Valentino knife, didn''t I say it''s a symbol of our friendship? You got ess to the wards when you had dropped blood on it and bonded with it," she exined.

    "Come on, let me show you myb as well!" She said, taking Axel''s hand. We''ll go by Apparition this time. It''s quite easy really, all you have to do is picture the location you want to go, and will yourself over there.

    Without barely a sound Axel and Martina disappeared, before appearing on the other side. It was quite a peculiar feeling. It was like being forced through a very tight rubber tube. Axel decided that he preferred portals.

    As he emerged on the other side, Axel looked at his surroundings. They were in a spacious and luxurious room. The room was painted lc, hung with dark purple curtains of silk andce, and with a sumptuous bed in an alcove covered with violet sheets. But the room wasn''t tidy, there were a lot of books piled up all over the ce, with a few clothes scattered here and there.

    "This is my bedroom," said Martina, but then she realized something. "D-Don''t misunderstand! I only brought you because the door to myb leads from here.

    Axel looked around the room. It was much betterpared to the alley he used to sleep in. Martina really is quite lucky. "It looksfy," hemented.

    Seeing him looking around, Martina suddenly got self conscious as she also looked at her room. "I''m sorry for the mess," She said, quite embarrassed she began leading him towards the door to herb. While walking along, Axel paused in his footsteps as he was about to step on something.

    It was... a pair of purple panties with an "I ?? Magic" print on it.

    Martina: !!!!!

    *Boom*

    A beam of magic escaped Martina''s hand, destroying a pair of panties as soon as she could. She might have even defeated Akiko had she been that fast in her duel. She smiled back at Axel, praying that he hadn''t seen, "What did you see?"

    Axel shrugged. "Nothing I haven''t seen before," he said, trying to reassure her.

    But that only made Martina feel even worse mortification as she led him to the bookshelf. "Anyways," she said as touched a book, her ears red. "This is the way to myb," she said, half-drawing the book out of the shelf. Suddenly, there was a mechanical click, after which the bookshelf opened from the middle, showing a door made out of heavy metal.

    "Cool,"mented Axel.

    Martina smiled proudly, "This is nothing. Wait till you get inside."

    She pressed her hand on the door and suddenly, the runes inscribed on it started to light up, making the doors open. The inside was so capacious that it made Martina''s room look small. And it seemed it was divided into sections. One section, the biggest one, was dominated by books, lots of them. Like, they were rivaling Hogwarts Library. One section had lots of tes lying around with various runic sequences on them, on the other various kinds of trinkets dominated one section, one was filled with lots of potions and potion ingredients, along with all kinds of equipment. And there was more, there was only so much you could describe.

    Martina turned and spread her arms. "How is it? You''re the first person other than me to step foot in here."

    "What¡­ in the tarnation of Netherworld have you been doing here?" Muttered Axel, walking in.

    Martina smiled sheepishly, "I had started out small but then I just kept expanding it¡­ Anyways I brought you here to show you the things you''ll find Interesting," she said, summoning a metal contraption from afar.

    Axel looked at it in surprise, "Is that a gun?"

    Martina nodded, "A magic gun. 5 times more destructive than muggle guns, runs on magic batteries. It''s one of the few offensive equipments I''ve made. As you know I didn''t use to like violence¡­ "

    Axel raised an eyebrow, "And now?"

    Martina aimed the gun at a target range and fired, shooting a beam that dug a hole through a dummy. Martina blew away the imaginary smoke off the gun as she shrugged. "Not anymore¡­ You''ve been a bad influence on me," she said usingly. Lately, Martina had been faced with more than a few situations in which she found her strengthcking. And then looking at Axel dealing with his problems with pure and unadulterated destructive violence, she instead began somewhat liking solving thing with violence.

    Axel shrugged, "Might keep you alive longer," he muttered, still looking at the dummy. He was amazed by the power of the magical gun. That could definitely be useful. Not for him, but for people like Daphne in case of emergencies.

    "What else do you have?"

    She Martina grinned. "Many things. I haveser guns, light sabers, A railgun, a jetpack, a prototype of Ironman suit¡­" Martina began listing off the things.

    Hiding away in this basement for year, she had of course been fullfiling her nerd fantasies, building one thing after another. And now that she had to go to the violent route, a lot more things were toe.

    "Well, let''s see them then." Axel grinned. This was definitely turning out to be quite a fruitful visit.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a meeting room, the Valentinos were in the middle of a very important discussion. They had dismissed even all their trusted men, leaving just the family members including Maria.

    "I hope it was just a war. It would have been much simpler," said Alessandro, Enzo nodding along with him.

    Francesca sighed, "Even I have to agree. It is clear that Makhailovs have been eyeing our power for a long time. But this approach is a bit difficult to deal with."

    Maria also shook her head, "Asking Martina''s hand for marriage, it is really¡­"

    "Fucking insane," finished Endo. "Do they really think we''ll ever ept?"

    "It is also a smart move. They are already here, we can''t reject them outright. And they''re alsoing to the party tomorrow," said Francesca, feeling a headacheing. "We have to fix up Martina''s engagement quickly," she decided.

    "But¡­ who will it be? Can it be that boy? Doesn''t he have no family background?" Asked Maria curiously.

    "We don''t need a family background as long as there are no red gs. And we aren''t sure about how she feels about the boy yet. But it will be whoever who can keep her happy," said Alessandro. "We can''t, and god knows we''ve tried."

    "What does that mean? Isn''t Martina quite happy?" Asked Maria in confusion.

    Francesca sighed. "No, she''s not. Martina, has always been different¡­ distant. It''s not that she doesn''t care about us or loves us, it''s just that she has always kept some boundaries with us, no matter how close we are."

    "She''s always locked away in her room, doing who knows what," said Enzo.

    The Valentinos are quite distressed about the future of this daughter of theirs. It is very difficult to find someone with whom Martina would be happy with.

    ¡­.

    On the other side, it took a while for Axel and Martina to go through her inventions. Before they knew it, it was already dinner time and Martina and Axel were feeling much morefortable around each other''spany, their initial awkwardness gone. Martina was no longer feeling nervous at having a friend over and Axel was feeling less tense at being in a Magical Mafia home. You could say they had bonded over destructive geeky toys.

    At dinner time, they emerged from Martina''s room with their clothes disheveled. Martina''s face was brimming with jubtion and her eyes were shining. Even Axel''s usual bored and broody expression was gone, and his face looked almost neutral now.

    But, when they emerged, the rest of the family, who were justing back from their meeting happened to catch the two of theming out, with their clothes disheveled and Martina beaming with joy,

    !!!

    Alessandro, Francesca and Enzo, all three of them stop to look at the scene in surprise as they exchanged nces. They hadn''t seen Martina this happy in a long time. But more importantly, all three of them had one question.

    ''He¡­ he just came out of her bedroom, right?''

    There was no doubt about it. Both had emerged from her bedroom. And with the state of their clothes and the difference in their expressions, they were either tumbling on the bed or they were doing something in the room further in. Either of the options was a huge shock.

    Francesca was the first one to recover. "It is good you guys are out. It''s dinner time. Come on, you two must be tired."

    Martina realized that her parents might be misunderstanding her. But there was nothing she could do or say that wouldn''t make the situation worse, so she just sighed and went to the dining room.

    In the dining room, as Axel sat on his seat beside Martina, he found that everyone was looking at him and Martina for some reason, making him ufortable. As the first course was served, Francesca finally spoke up, looking at Axel.

    "So, Axel. How old are you exactly? Is it still 12 or is it 13?" She began her interrogation, looking at Axel with even more critical eyes. It was the eyes of a mother looking at her prospective Son-inw.

    Axel was stumped on the very first question. "I¡­ don''t know."

    ¡­.

    A.N.: There are a lot more questions she can ask next.

    POWERSTONES!!!

    Next: Interrogation, Avoid Sleeping with our daughter please

    Next next: Christmas Party

    Next next next: Christmas Party Gone wrong, New enemies, the Mikhailovs

    Next....next: Angry Axel: Going Super Savage defending Martina

    Lots of exciting chapters toe! Come read ahead on P¨¤treon already. I''ll take ages to read here *wink* *wink*.

    Pa /Snollygoster

    VOTE!!!??????

 Chapter 91: Avoid Sleeping with our daughter from now on

    Chapter 91: Avoid Sleeping with our daughter from now on

    Chapter 90

    "So, Axel. How old are you exactly? Is it still 12 or is it 13?" She began her interrogation, looking at Axel with even more critical eyes. It was the eyes of a mother looking at her prospective Son-inw.

    Axel was stumped on the very first question. "I¡­ don''t know."

    Everyone on the table paused, surprised at Axel''s answer. How can you not know your own age?

    "You¡­ don''t know?" At this absurd situation, Francesca couldn''t draw conclusions on her own. So she asked. "Could it be that you have forgotten or¡­?"

    Axel shook his head, "No, I''ve never known when I was born."

    "Oh..."

    Francesca''s line of natural conversation that she had nned beforehand waspletely broken after this answer.

    "How can someone not even know their birthday?" Asked Enzo insensitively, getting a kick from Maria from under the table. (Ouch!)

    Francesca continued, ignoring Enzo''s question. "What about your family? Who is your guardian?" She asked the main question, hitting two birds with one stone. First, it was important to know about his family background before deciding anything and second, she wanted to know what kind of guardians he had who hadn''t even told him his date of birth.

    Axel almostughed in derision. Family? Guardian? Him? Hell no. But he was once again stumped at what to say. With all eyes fixed on him, he couldn''t help but feel ufortable. Everyone other than Martina was looking at him with some sort of calcting, judging eyes, as if wondering how much he would sell for. Axel hadn''t forgotten that he was currently in the house of a Mafia family. Martina was good, but the rest of her family could not be trusted. They seemed like good people but you cannot really know for sure in such a short time.

    Axel coughed, "I''m sorry, but I''d rather not talk about my family," he said, trying to look apologetic. Thisdy here is going to fix his wand and he''d rather not disappoint her. But really, openly saying that, ''I have no one to look after me, so making me disappear will not create any waves'', in front of a Mafia family is just not a wise decision.

    "Yes mom, he doesn''t like to talk about his past," said Martina, shooting a warning look at her mother which said, ''knock it off! She had already guessed what was going on here. Her mother was interrogating Axel!

    There was a good reason why Axel doesn''t talk about his past. In their second meeting, Martina had tried to read Axel''s surface thoughts, but by ident, she had ended up getting glimpses of Axel''s worst, most horrific memories. She had already broken down when the scar part hade, forcefully breaking the connection. With such a past, it is already a surprise he isn''t going all Voldemort mode until now. Thus she has always respected Axel''s boundaries, making sure not to push them. And now her mother is just insensitively asking Axel ufortable questions just because she has delusions of engaging the two of them? Not on her watch!

    Francesca inwardly heaved a sigh. The duo''s response had already broken away any possible route for her to enquire further without making Axel ufortable and drawing Martina''s ire.

    She looked a bit taken aback and apologetic. "Oh, is that so. I''m sorry if my question made you ufortable," she said naturally. "But whether you are 12 or 13, I''m just d that you are getting along so well with Martina."

    Alessandro nodded, "I know right? Usually, she doesn''t even let us into her room.

    Martina looked into her te, not speaking. A girl needs her space, right? Her family is just clingy and overprotective. Back when they were allowed entry, at least one of them would always be in her room. If it stayed like this, then how was she supposed to do her research all the time which also involves dangerous idents, explosions, and other risks in front of them?

    "Yeah! And I haven''t seen her this happy in a while," added Enzo, to which everyone agreed. The moment Martina and Axel hade out of that room, Martina had the brightest, most rxed and genuine smile on her face. It was almost as if-

    Francesca put on a serious look, "You two, I know it might be difficult to control it since you''re at that age, but you need to show restraint on what you do in the bedroom. I don''t want my daughter to be pregnant this early," said Francesca, dropping a bomb.

    !!!!!

    "What?!" (Enzo) "What the hell?" (Alessandro) There was sound of cutlery dropping.

    "Cough! Coughcough!" Martina choked on the juice she had been drinking. "Mom! What are you talking about?!"

    "Yeah! Was Tina doing¡­that?"

    "My daughter is¡­ already grown so much?" Both father and son couldn''t ept it, and Axel suddenly got two piercing res directed at him.

    ''Good thing I didn''t reveal my background¡­or theck there of,'' thought Axel, as Alessandro and Enzo looked at him like he had, well, fucked their daughter and sister respectively.

    Francesca rolled her eyes, "Ohe on! What might the two of you be doing if not making out, with your clothes and hair in a mess and your face practically glowing?" She asked in exasperation.

    "T-That was because we were¡­ we were¡­" testing out dangerous magical weapons and blowing off one dummy after another? No way she could say that. "ying," She finishedmely. The reason why she was so happy was that, with Axel, she didn''t need to hide anything. She was able to finally freely show someone the things she had been working on her entire life, and he liked it! How could she not be happy? Sadly, she couldn''t exin all this to her parents, resulting in herme response just now.

    "You were¡­ ying¡­" repeated her mother in understanding. Martina never yed. Even as a child.

    "...Yeah, we were ying" Martina didn''t sound convincing even to herself, let alone her parents. She realized that she might have further solidified their suspicions instead, as her father and brother were now looking positively murderous.

    She quickly changed the subject. "Why didn''t you guys tell me that we''ve gotten into trouble with the Mikhailovs? I could have helped!"

    That managed to divert everyone''s attention as they looked at Martina in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

    "Yeah, who told you that they''reing tomorrow?"

    Martina''s suspicions were confirmed. "So, they really AREing?!" She had only known that there was some trouble rted to Mikhailovs. But theming over? For tomorrow''s party? It''s much worse. "Why? Will that guy Maksmilian also being?"

    Her family exchanged nces. Maksmilian Mikhailov, the future heir of Mikhailov family, was the most arrogant, cruel, and insufferable guy they had seen. And incidentally, he also happened to be the guy whose marriage proposal hade from the Mikhailov family to the Valentinos.

    The discussion shifted towards the Mikhailovs as Martina''s father and brother were sessfully distracted, letting Axel have his dinner in peace by just lowering his presence a little.

    "Mom, when will you fix Axel''s wand? It''s really inconvenient for him," said Martina to her mother after everyone was finished eating.

    "Oh, that," Francesca nodded in acknowledgement as she sighed, "I haven''t forgotten about that, but currently, I''m swamped. It''s been very hectictely. There''s a party tomorrow, and there are some other problems as well," she said, casting an apologetic look at Axel. "I''m sorry, young man. Repairing a wand is a delicate work that can take hours to days to get done. I''ll try to do it as soon as I can."

    "I understand," Axel would be lying to say he wasn''t disappointed. But he really couldn''t me her. She was already doing a huge favor to him by even agreeing to do it.

    "But," she said, putting her cutlery down and putting a sanitizing spell on her hands, even though they were pristine. "I can see examine wand right now and tell you how long it''ll take to repair it." She said, holding out her hand.

    Axel''s wand suddenly appeared in his hand, as he handed it to her. He had forgotten to tone it down, drawing raised eyebrows from around the table due to his quick draw. If he attacks someone like that, wouldn''t they not even have time to draw their own wands?

    Taking the wand, Francesca examined it closely but her eyes widened immediately. "By gods, how did it even get like this?" She asked, looking up at Axel in surprise. "Were you the one who cast this spell?"

    "What''s wrong dear?" Asked Alessandro.

    "Did he cast an illegal spell?" Asked Enzo excitedly.

    Francesca''s eyes went back to the wand, "I can''t be sure since I don''t know the wand''s endurance, but the spell which did this¡­ it had enough power to take down even a dragon," she said, surprising everyone.

    Axel didn''t bother answering her, "Can it be repaired?" He instead asked the main question.

    Francesca gave Axel a deep look, as if looking at him for the first time. The spell was most likely cast by none other than the boy in front of her. With the bond she was sensing, no one else could have used that wand. Her evaluation of Axel was raised. To be able to cast such a spell at his age¡­ he''s certainly now ordinary.

    But then again, he''s Martina''s friend, of course he couldn''t have been simple. It is even more impressive that the boy is capable of so much and yet the thing he''s actually known for is Quidditch, something harmless and non-threatening. He''s hidden himself very well.

    She nodded,ing out of her thoughts. "Don''t worry, it can be repaired. I would just need time." she said reassuringly.

    Axel felt like he could suddenly breathe again as the load on his chest lightened a little. "Thanks. I''ll owe you for this," he said, though no one other than Martina truly knew the value of this favor.

    ...

    The next morning, it was Christmas.

    Early in the morning, Axel woke up in the extremely luxurious guest bedroom of the Valentinos. The bed was quitefortable, and the room was spacious enough for him to exercise and train so he was very satisfied. He did his exercises and took a bath in the swimming pool-like bathroom.

    ''Am I forgetting something?'' He wondered. He had a feeling that he was. ''Must be nothing, I even removed the owl post restriction,'' he thought. He had removed the magic that had been blocking the owl posts so that he could receive the few gifts he was going to get from the few people he had managed to know in thest two years.

    As he left the room, he didn''t notice the fact that his Magi-mirror, which he had forgotten to remove from silent mode, had been ringing for a while.

    When he came downstairs, he thought as if he had taken the wrong route, as the manor looked quite different with all the Christmas decorations.

    In the spacious living room, there was a giant Christmas tree, finely decorated with everything decoration baubles, Christmas Lights, Stockings, Wreaths, Tree skirts, Gands, Tinsels, you name it. Axel had never seen a Christmas tree this big. And under that tree were the gifts. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. Axel had never seen so many gifts either. Since he got dyed due to his exercise, the family was already there.

    Martina was the first person he saw. Aside from her purple skirt, she was also wearing a santa hat, and long red socks on the asion. She was currently sitting on the ground, with her presents opening around her by her magic.

    The rest of the family was also there. Alessandro sat in his pyjamas between a pile of different types of gifts, opening them one by one with his wand while Francesca sat on chair with a pen and note book floating by her side, noting down who gave which present, her hair tied in a messy bun until her usual uptight appearance. Enzo and Maria sat with a pile of their own, as Enzo opened the gifts with his knife.

    It was quite a peaceful harmonious scene, one which Axel didn''t feel himself adequate to witness, let alone interrupt. He wanted to return to his room ande backter, but Martina spotted him before he could leave. "Oh you''re awake? Merry Christmas!" she said, turning her attention away from the gifts she had been opening. "Come fast! You have a lot of gifts to open!" She said, beckoning him excitedly. The rest of the family, who had seen him by now, also weed him warmly, giving him Christmas greetings.

    As Axel looked at his pile under the tree, he doubted his eyes. "Are those..?"

    Martina nodded, looking at the Hundreds of gifts and letters he had received. "Yep, everything that is addressed to us has been passed down to the wards and stored here in different piles. The harmful ones have already been removed so you can open them.

    "..." Axel randomly picked one.

    "Dear Axel,

    Merry Christmas! I''m your biggest fan. let me have your babies!

    Love

    Xxxxx xxxx"

    "What the heck?" Sifted through at the pile and found that a lot of letters were like that. But, he suddenly ignored everything as he found the gift he had been unconsciously looking for.

    "From Daphne Greengrass." It was a neatly wrapped box with a ribbon on top. Opening it, he found a Letter, a card, a rolled up piece of paper and a strange box. He first opened the letter.

    "Dear Axel,

    Meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, or my family. Thankyou for being you. Here are gifts from me and my family.

    There''s a gift card that we didn''t have much use for from my mother. You can order any ingredient from BigOwl for free for a year. The rolled up piece of paper is a drawing Astoria made for you, andstly, the strange box is from me. It has some wood that''s been lying in our family treasury forever. It has quite powerful magical properties. It''s been used for wand making in the past but then the method was lost, so it''s just been lying for centuries. Ask Mrs Valentino if she can use it in your wand. They are, after all, the best at Wandlore. Hope your wand is sessfully repaired.

    So, these are the gifts. If they seem excessive or annoying, please just take it as us being bothersome. You''ve already given us a lot. The only thing we want in return is that you remember us.

    Love

    Daphne

    P.S.: Can you be back by New Year? Please drop by if you can, we had something nned for you.

    He had just closed the letter when Francesca and Alessandro came over. "Axel, here''s a small gift from us," she said, passing him a delicate wooden box.

    Axel was surprised. "You don''t need to. Helping me out with my wand is already too much," he said, trying to decline. But the Valentinos wouldn''t have it.

    "Just take it already, boy. It''s for Martina," said Alessandro. He still seemed a bit gloomy afterst night''s misunderstanding.

    Axel thought it would be better to just ept it, lest this Mafia boss flips out. Francesca opened the box as she offered it to him, and inside was a beautiful wand which had a "V" engraved on it. "This?" He asked in confusion, picking up the wand.

    "It''s a substitute wand. You can''t just rely on one wand. It''ll also prove to be useful till I repair your original wand. Put a drop of your blood on it," Francesca told him.

    "Thanks. It''s a wee present," said Axel as he did as he was told, dripping some of his blood onto the wand. The result was immediate. He felt a click, signifying that the connection had been established, and a powerful shockwave erupted from it, blowing back everyone''s hair as Axel''s eyes widened from the power he felt.

    !!!!

    ''What the...''

    Axel could feel that this wand was different. Not in terms of bond, but in terms of power.

    "This wand¡­" he began,pletely taken aback. He had been expecting just some ordinary wand, something you can get for quite cheap at Olivanders. But this thing¡­ "It''s quite¡­"

    "Powerful?" Asked Francesca understandingly. "It is. I especially handpicked it from amongst our finest collections, after considering what would be the best fit for you. It''s 12 inches, the wood made from the Manna Ash tree, exclusive to Italy, and a hybrid core made using our family secrets. There is no trace, and the Valentino crest, that grants you special privileges in 10 magical countries including Britain. But, your original wand will be even better," She said, casting a nce at Martina.

    The girl was going all out for the boy''s wand. Even Francesca couldn''t understand why. What mag ical had the boy cast on her daughter to make her fall so deep? She just hoped that this will all be worth it. "It should be a good substitute while I''m fixing your original wand."

    "It IS a great wand," said Axel in agreement, waving the wand experimentally, "But, I don''t think I can ept it. It''s too precious, and you''re already doing a lot for me," he said, offering it back with much reluctance. It really was a great wand and it was certainly a much, much better alternative to Cyrus Greengrass''s wand that he was using right now. The power alone was astonishing. Axel was sure it wouldn''t be damaged by even the 30xElectrica Impulsa, unlike his original wand. But he couldn''t really ept it. It''s not a good thing to owe a Mafia family. He had no choice in the case of his precious Cherub wand, but in this, he had a choice.

    Francesca shook her head, refusing to take it back. "It''s already bonded to you, Axel. And it won''t work for others once it''s bonded to someone, just like most Valentino weapons. Just ept it, it''s useless to anyone else now." she told him matter of factly.

    "... Alright." Axel sighed. So there was no choice after all. "I''ll take it. Thank You very much, Mrs. Valentino. I owe you another favor. Please let me know if you need anything," he said, once again giving out a favor they didn''t know the value of.

    "Will do." Francesca nodded perfunctorily, but then she smiled, "Actually, there is something you can do."

    "What is it?"

    "Come to the Christmas party tomorrow. Martina could use somepany."

    Axel sighed. Again, no choice, right? There''s no way to reject this invitation withouting out as aplete asshole. "Alright, I''ll be there." He said with reluctance. He just hoped it would pass peacefully.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Peacefully? Does that even exist?

    Next: Christmas Party

    Next next: Christmas Party Gone wrong, New enemies, the Mikhailovs

    Next....next: Angry Axel: Going Super Savage defending Martina

    Next.....next: A Massacre

    Come read ahead already, you know you can''t wait ?? /Snollygoster

    DON''T FORGET TO VOTE!!!??????

 Chapter 92: A challenge

    Chapter 92: A challenge

    A.N.: There was in IRL emergency in the real life, so I couldn''t update. It''s sorted now. I''ll upload another chapter tomorrow as well.

    Chapter 92

    While almost everyone was meeting to celebrate Christmas, a few people were having a different sort of meeting in an underground base in Britain. Incidentally, this was the same ce Axel had identally broken into before the start of the term.

    In a dark meeting room, three people were meeting up, wearing skull masks and dark cloaks. "How are the ritualsing along?" Asked the one who was clearly the leader, looking at the short one of the two, his voice magically altered.

    The shorter one bowed. "I''m facing some difficulties. But I am positive the experiments will seed."

    The leader nodded. "Keep at it." He then turned to the other person. "How is your searching along? Did you find the masked intruder?"

    The taller person nodded enthusiastically. "I have some definitive leads. I''ll definitely catch him soon! But, can I ask why we''re searching for him?"

    "The ritual circles reacted when he came here. It is therefore crucial that we find him. You just need to get that reaction again, and you have found the thief," said the leader patiently, taking out his wand. "Crucio!" He called out without warning.

    The other person screamed like a dying pig, almost crying in the process.

    "This is for the stunt you pulled a month ago," said the leader calmly. "You were warned time and time again not to do it, but you couldn''t resist it, could you?"

    "I was.. I was only¡ª"

    "Crucio!"

    The person screamed again, almost beginning to sob pathetically this time. "I don''t want to hear any excuses. I warned you against doing actions which would attract attention. Just catch the thief and you''re done."

    ¡­..

    VALENTINO BALLROOM, ITALY

    Axel sighed. He already wasn''t liking this party.

    "Oh, Martina! Look at you, you''re all grown up now?"

    "Yeah, how long has it been? You were still clutching your mother''s hand thest time I saw you!"

    As people saw Martina, they began greeting her familiarly, trying to make small talk with her. Martina put on an ostensible smile as she began dealing with the people one by one, using the standard responses that had been trained into her by her mother. She seemed to be doing fine on the surface, but Axel could see that she was quite ufortable.

    "Oh no..."

    Then all of a sudden, she excused herself as she began dragging Axel along, walking as fast as she could without looking conspicuous. "Oh no, oh no, they saw me," she muttered, keeping her expression natural.

    "What''s up?" asked Axel, looking around.

    "Don''t look," whispered Martina, her smile never leaving her face as she kept looking forward. "Just pretend to be casual and they might leave me alone¡ª"

    "Miss Martina!"

    "Miss Valentino!"

    Unfortunately, before she could evenplete her sentence, a few high pitch voices had called out to her, making her stop. "Damn it!" she muttered, making Axel raise an eyebrow. You know it''s bad when Martina is using ''damn'' with her unsullied mouth.

    Putting on a smile, Martina turned around to greet the iing people. They were a group of girls, all dressed gaudily in expensive clothes and essories.

    "Oh, it''s you guys. Merry Christmas."

    "Merry Christmas Miss Martina, we''d just been talking about you. Don''t you look a-mazing!" said the girl in the lead. She looked older, around 18-19. She was beautiful, but she looked a bit too superficial with all the excessive makeup and jewelry. The rest of the girls agreed, while also returning the Christmas greetings, but their eyes were constantly straying towards Axel, giving him coquettish looks.

    "And this must be the friend we''ve been hearing the rumors about, right?" asked another girl, who seemed to be wearing some traditional Roman garb, also with an excess of essories. "I have to say, he''s drop-dead gorgeous! Miss Martina, why don''t you introduce him to your childhood friends?" She asked, looking at Axel hungrily.

    "He is Axel Hunt, my close friend," Martina said while looking warily at the girls. She then turned her back to look at Axel. "These are...my friends. This is Sofia, Bianca, Chiara, Aria, Gia..." she introduced the girls one by one, and Axel didn''t even properly listen to their names.

    "Ciao, Mr. Hunt! My name is Sofia Lombardi, and I have to say, I. am. your. biggest fan!" she eximed, looking at Axel.

    "Shut up, Sofia, you might have not seen even a single match of Quidditchpletely," said another girl before turning to Axel. "Hello Mr. Axel, I''m Bianca Romano. And I have been infatuated ever since I first saw you. Would you like to dance with me?" She asked, offering her hand and leaning forward a little to show her cleavage.

    "Hey, that''s not fair Bianca!"

    "Yeah, get in line."

    The girls began arguing over who was going to dance with Axel. At the Halloween party, he was wearing a mask, and he hadn''t been standing beside the host of the party. It also helped that he was still rtively anonymous back then. But in this party, with his mask off, dressed in a highest quality tux, standing beside Martina, and after making history in Quidditch, he was attracting just too much attention.

    A frown came upon Martina''s always docile face. "Excuse me, but he is with me," she said,ing to stand in front of Axel.

    The girls were surprised, to say the least. They had never seen Martina like this.

    "Why Miss Martina, I didn''t know you two were dating," said Sofia, putting on a confused expression.

    "Yeah, especially after the rumors that have been circting aroundtely," said Bianca, lowering her voice to emphasize the gravity of the news.

    Martina sighed. "No, we''re not dating. And no, the rumors aren''t true, I do not prefer girls," she rified. She had heard some of the rumors spread around by the families to lower thepetition for her marriage.

    "Oh no, you misunderstand, Miss Valentino," said another girl. "That''s not the rumor Bianca was referring to."

    "Yeah, it''s thetest one," said another girl.

    ''Great, another one?'' Martina just gave up dealing with these girls as she grabbed Axel''s hand and began to leave. "Just leave us alone." Just the Lesbian one was embarrassing enough. She didn''t want Axel to hear more.

    The two of them kept walking until they were blended into the crowd of people, who either didn''t know them enough or weren''t going to bother them.

    Only then did Martina sigh. "I hate parties," she muttered, her fake smile finally slipping off her face.

    "I''ll join the club," said Axel, his eyes somehow darting at people''s neck, fingers, wrists, and pockets. Old habits die hard, and there were lots of prime targets here. "Anyways, what was the deal with those girls back there?" He asked.

    Martina''s face cringed. "They are how the girls growing up in Mafia households are usually like. They''re just trophies...or bargaining chips. And all they have in their life is topete to be a better trophy than others," she said somewhatmentably. All those girls are interested in, is drama, gossip, romance, getting a better man... superficial things like that.

    Martina sighed. "Anyways, I really am sorry my mother made you go through this." she said apologetically. "But I''m truly helpless in front of her decisions."

    "I know," said Axel. Martina had her brother and father wrapped around her finger, making them unable to make her do anything. But her cuteness card doesn''t work on her mother, forcing her to go along with a lot of her decisions. "But I don''t mind," he said, looking pensive. "It''s a small price to pay, really. In fact, I have to sometimes wonder if they actually have some kind of ulterior motive for doing this," he said with some suspicion.

    He did NOT like being here at this party at all. But, it''s too low a price for something as huge as fixing his wand. So low that he began to wonder if something was wrong.

    Martina shook her head, "They wouldn''t do that. We''re friends, right? We''ve been through so much together. Of course I can have my family do this for you," she said sincerely.

    Looking at Martina''s positive attitude, Axel sighed. He had to ept; Martina WAS pretty na?ve. High IQ does not automatically give people high EQs. In fact, some people with high IQs have a much harder time dealing with people and emotions. Another problem: She was too kind for her own good,

    "Martina," he said, stopping to look at her in exasperation. "You should stop predicting other people''s actions based on your own moral criteria. It will get you into trouble someday," he told her. He knew Martina wouldn''t do anything against him, but he couldn''t say the same for her family.

    Martina looked almost physically stung by Axel''s statement. "What... are you talking about? They''re my family! Of course I trust them. They''ve gone above and beyond to fulfill my wishes. Of course they can repair your wand if I ask them to."

    Axel sighed. "See? That''s the problem. They would do pretty much anything for your sake."

    While they were talking, someone walking by gave Axel a hard shove, definitely on purpose. "Oops. Sorry, didn''t see you there little guy."

    Axel, who had barely budged, looked back at the interrupter with an unimpressed look, his hand blurring for a moment until he resisted. Before he said anything, Martina beat him to it.

    "Maksmilian Mikhailov, Go away now," she said seriously.

    Maksmilian fixed his gaze back on Martina, eyeballing her. "Martina, Is this any way to talk to your future husband?"

    "What?" Martina looked downright disgusted. "If you were the one choice I had, I''d still choose dying alone rather than you."

    The smirk faded off Maksmilian''s face as his anger began to show. "So it''s true? You''re actually going to reject a marriage proposal with the heir of the "Mikhailov family"? And for someone like¡­ him?" He asked, pointing at Axel.

    ????

    "....What the hell are you talking about? What marriage proposal?" Asked Martina, and Axel suddenly had a sinking feeling as he slowly processed what he had just heard. The douche right in front of him, the one whom he was just going to teach a lesson to, turned out to be the heir to the Mikhailov family. And where the hell did a marriage proposal suddenly pop into the conversation?

    Maksmilian looked at Martina ludicrously. "What? Are you going to pretend to be ignorant now? Your parents rejected the proposal without telling you?" he asked, pointing at the elevated tform where the Valentinos and Mikhailovs were, seemingly in a debate.

    "So it''s like this¡­" there was a click in Axel''s head as he figured out what was going on here. Suddenly, everything made more sense. Why the Valentinos invited him, why they were extra courteous to him, and why they agreed to fix his wand and also gave him a new powerful one when the privilege is only reserved for the members of the family, and why he was invited to this party with Martina. It all made sense now. "Why am I not surprised?" He muttered, smiling sardonically.

    Maksmilian turned his attention to Axel. "And you. I''ve had my men look into your background," he said, shoving him back. "You absolute nobody, How dare you even DREAM of being with her, huh?!" He asked, his voice rising with every word as he shoved him again.

    Themotion caused was attracting a lot of attention, causing people to gather around, and Martina finally came out of her shock as she came to stand in front of Axel. "Hey! Don''t get him involved! He has nothing to do with this!" she eximed as she turned to look at Axel. "You were right Axel, I am so sorry I didn''t believe you! I promise I''ll make things right again." she said, feeling mortified. She still couldn''t believe her family would do this. But as Axel had said, they would do anything for her, which includes doing even this...if they think it''s good for her.

    Mikhailovughed at Axel. "Hiding behind a woman? That''s the kind of person you are? I am seriously disappointed in your choice, Martina." He said, trying to shove Axel again through Martina.

    Axel had to push the girl aside before Mikhailov''s handnded on her. He sighed. "You''ve done enough damage already, Martina. Don''t make things worse," he said in extreme exasperation, his voice still calm. "And you," he said, finally speaking to Mikhailov for the first time as he looked at him like looking at an ant. "As it happens, I''m already having a bad day. Don''t test my patience." he said, his calm voice containing a hint of danger.

    That only made Maksmilian more infuriated. Laughing out of anger, he stepped forward to look down at Axel. At 13, Axel couldn''t be expected to grow taller than an 18 year old with tall genes. "You..." he said, shoving Axel again. "Just who do you think you are, huh? (shove) You think you''re a big shot if you can y Quidditch? (shove) Let me tell you, it makes you an absolute NOBODY! You think a nobody like you deserves someone like her?" He asked, shoving Axel with each of his sentences, until Axel''s hands could no longer stay still.

    Mikhailov took the glove off his hand and threw it at Axel''s feet. "Let''s duel then. If I win, you walk away from her. You also have to change your school and grovel at my feet!"

    Themotion had attracted so much attention that a ring of people had gathered around them. These were the guests of a Mafia Overlord. Of course they weren''t peaceful herbivores. At the mention of a duel, the crowd became excited as they began moring for them to fight.

    *click* *snap*

    Also, the reporters were having a field day, recording and snapping away photos one after another like no tomorrow.

    Axel, on the other hand, who had already been beyond annoyed by the repeated shoving and taunts, had his annoyance increased even more just by listening to the terms of the duel. He wasn''t even Martina''s boyfriend! He had just been set up to be the scapegoat so that all the me for the rejection of the proposal would be ced on him, leaving no chance of friction between the two overlord families. Francesca, he reckoned, must be the one who thought of this. And now he''s stuck with some bullshit dueling proposal which he should have no business dueling.

    "Fight! Fight!"

    ""Fight!""

    """"Fight""""

    """"Fight! FIGHT!...."""""

    The crowd would, of course not let this chance of watching drama and action stop, so they began making noise.

    Axel had to admit, this Mikhailov at least had some brains. Since he''s in the enemy territory with no fighting force of their own, the guy is ying this game carefully.

    If they were outside, he''d have Axel sted off before he even said anything. Instead, he''s initiating a duel, with the terms achieving his purposes. He hasn''t even drawn his wand at Axel yet, since Martina is standing right beside him and if he pulls his wand on Axel, he''ll also be pulling it on Martina, which is a justified reason for at least a dozen stunners along with a few bone breakers by the men guarding her. Only when Axel epts the duel would the guy be able to take out his wand and attack him like he''s been itching to. So overall, he''s yed his cards smartly, almost being sessful at being legitimately drawing his wand on Axel.

    But.... that''s what makes the situation so... funny.

    Axel grinned, deciding to just go along with it. What choice does he have at this point? Back out of it? In such a situation? Nah, he''s not capable of it. Besides, backing out won''t prevent these people froming after him since ording to them, he''s already "Martina''s Boyfriend".

    But oh well, he already has too many enemies now. Adding one more to the list isn''t going to change anything.

    "Alright¡­ I''ll ept," he said, cracking his knuckles. Since he was already screwed whether this guy proposed the duel or not, he was grateful to him for the opportunity to relieve some of his anger.

    ¡­.

    A.N: Look forward to how Axel deals with him.

    Next Chapter: *spoiler* Total beatdown

    Next next: Axel going super savage mode

    I got busy with an irl emergency, my main project''s submission date was today and I was the leader of our group of procrastinators. So I had to step up and drop all my other activities toplete it and also make thosezyass fools to do something. It''s over now, so I think I can write in peace at least for the whole month.

    If you want to read ahead and support me: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 93: Axel Hunt: Super Savage Mode

    Chapter 93: Axel Hunt: Super Savage Mode

    Chapter 93

    "What do you mean you''re not going to ept the proposal?! Why? Did we not show enough sincerity?! We personally came to Italy all the way from Russia, we put ourselves in danger bying right in the middle of your territory, we offer you so many benefits along with the marriage, and you''re rejecting the proposal?! Do you think my son and our family are not good enough for you?!" Standing on the elevated tform, Andrei Mikhailov stood along with his son Maksmilian, his brother Sergei, and a few other of his men, while the Valentinos stood on the other side.

    Alessandro and Francesca exchanged nces. It was as they had feared. The Mikhailovs were forcing them into a corner. If they reject, they''re threatening them with business wars and gang wars, leaving them with the only option to ept. It is also worth wondering just where the Mikhailovs are getting this confidence from. It can''t be a bluff, right? The Mikhailovs definitely have a few cards up their sleeves. That''s why, they have no choice but to make a sacrifice.

    Francesca shook her head regretfully. "Actually, we''d have been very happy to consider the option, but the thing is....our daughter is already engaged," she said, dropping the bombshell that caught Mikhailovspletely unaware.

    "What?!"

    "What the fuck?!" Eximed Maksimilian.

    "What?! Is this a joke or something?!" Asked Andrei in rage.

    Alessandro shook his head, pretending to look helpless. "You know how she is, always doing whatever the hell she wants," he said, pointing into the distance, where Axel and Martina were talking to each other, looking like a couple.

    "Axel Hunt," said Francesca, also looking at the ''young couple'' along with everyone else. "Apparently, she fell for him during their time together at Hogwarts. I trust you must have already heard about the rumors concerning the two of them?" Asked Francesca.

    "No, don''t you dare deceive us! Those are just rumors about their friendship and the brat has no background!" said Sergei, shaking his head furiously. "If what you said is true then why haven''t we ever heard about the engagement?!"

    Alessandro sighed. "Andrei, she was already 16 and not engaged, and since there was someone she was finally liking, we didn''t oppose it. We''ve just kept it under wraps for now while Hunt proves himself to be worthy for Martina," he said with some pain, some of which was actually real. Looking at her walking together with Axel made him realize just how much his little girl has grown up.

    "She really does like him," Enzo pitched in. "We can''t do anything now."

    Andrei took a long look at the family of liars and shook his head in anger. "Fine. You wanna y like this? Then that''s how we''ll y." He said, bringing Maksmilian off, along with the rest of their men. "Listen Max, here''s what you''ll do."

    Valentinos didn''t know what the father and son were talking about, but the two of them had vicious grins on their faces by the time they were done.

    "What are they nning?" Endo asked his parents.

    Alessandro shrugged. "Beats me. But I''ve my man to remain at guard. As soon as they touch their wands, they''re going down."

    Pretty soon, Maksmilian went off as he began confronting Axel and Martina.

    "Are... are we doing the right thing? Getting the kid involved in all this?" murmured Maria, Enzo''s fiance, as she looked at the scene, making the Valentinos feel guilty.

    Francesca sighed. "No option is right at this point. We''re choosing one of the lesser evils. The alternative options would have resulted in loss of multiple lives and assets." she said, looking at Axel in pity. "He''s a good boy, and a great match for Martina. We''ve decided to ept him as her fiance. He''ll be under our protection from now on," she said with aplicated expression.

    epting the proposal was never an option. For some reason, Martina has an immense hatred for the Mikhailovs. So, Francesca would never let her daughter marry into that family. The other option left would be war. So yes, making Axel take the fall is the only choice.

    Alessandro nodded. "Overall, I''d say he''s one lucky bastard. From now on, he''ll have the full backing of the Valentino family and the chance to marry Martina," he said, emphasizing his daughter''s name. "How great is that? Facing a little friction from the Mikhailovs is nothing inparison."

    "Damn straight, dad. He should thank us for it instead," said Enzo, making Maria sigh at this father-son duo. But at this moment, amotion attracted her attention.

    "Uh...guys, what''s happening there?" Asked Maria, pointing into the distance. While they were still talking, Maksmilian had begun confronting Axel and Martina, his voice getting louder and louder, attracting more and more attention.

    "This is bad¡­" said Francesca as Axel was challenged to a duel. She didn''t like the consequences if Axel actually lost.

    "What the heck is that ridiculous challenge?! The kid should reject it straight away," said Alessandro with a scoff. It was a totally one-sided deal, one which Axel should definitely reject.

    "There''s still time. Hunt hasn''t pick up the glove yet. Why can''t we just let the guards take the Mikhailov brat down?" Suggested Enzo hopefully. "It''ll solve the problem and also give that guy some much needed beating."

    Francesca shook her head with a sigh. "We can''t, Enzo, as tempting as that might sound. He''s technically not breaking any rules. He''s only challenging Axel to a duel. A very unfair one, but it''s still a duel, proposed formally by throwing the glove."

    "So, what do we do now? Maksmilian is older and has been fighting and training for years! It would be over as soon as Axel picks up the glove!" Said Maria reasonably. Maksmilian has grown up in an environment extremely favorable for making you good at fighting. Of course Axel would have a hard time facing such a foe.

    Alessandro shrugged, "Well, we can only hope he declines. The kid has the balls of steel. Let''s see if he has a sensible enough mind to go with it."

    ....

    """"FIGHT! FIGHT!...."""""

    "Come on!"

    "DUEL!"

    "PICK UP THE GLOVE!"

    The moring of the crowd was getting louder and louder, making Axel more and more annoyed, and the taunting smirk on Mikhailov''s face which was right in front of him wasn''t helping. He had to make a decision.

    "Alright¡­ I''ll ept," he said atst, cracking his knuckles as a cheer went up in the crowd.

    Since he was already screwed whether this guy proposed the duel or not, he was grateful to him for the opportunity to relieve some of his anger. "But, I have my terms," he added.

    Seeing the befuddled look on Maksmilian''s face, Axel gave him a derisive look. "What? Do you think I''m an idiot who''d ept such a ridiculous duel? I lose so much on my defeat, but gain absolutely nothing if I win?" He asked, looking at the guy as if he was an idiot.

    Maksmilian barked out a disdainfulugh. "You think you can win? You actually do? Great then. What are your terms?"

    Axel seemed to think about it. "First of all, I don''t want any interference until one of us is unconscious."

    There were severalughs from all around, the loudest one being from the Mikhailovs. "Fine, what else do you want?"

    "Second is, of course, a knife from your family. One like this," he said, pulling out the Valentino knife, causing a stirr in the crowd. He looked at the elevated tform not far away, where the Valentinos stood. "I heard it''s supposed to grant me "friendship and protection"," he said sarcastically, his words having a different meaning to the Valentinos, who knew they had screwed him over.

    Martina, who was standing by his side, felt as if pierced by a knife as she recalled the time she had the shining knife containing their family crest on it. These knives, in the Mafia Families represents that you have the friendship and protection thay Family. But what did they do after that? Screwed him over. ''So much for the "friendship and protection",'' she thought in mortification, watching him having to deal with the mess he was currently stuck in due to her.

    "What the fuck? You think we''ll give that to someone like you?!" Maksmilian was furious. It was an honor possessed by very few selected individuals. A Nobody like Axel shouldn''t even think about it.

    Axel shrugged. "No deal then," he said casually. Why is he asking for the Mikhailov family knife? Well, he doesn''t want to get into too much trouble for just one duel. It would at least prevent them from openly acting against him. If they still try other things, well he''d still have the knife to rub into their faces, as a reminder of their great humiliation.

    At this demand, Maksmilian had to turn to his father for help. A family knife is not a thing that can be handed out casually. But Andrei just gave a ''go ahead'' signal. He didn''t think the guy can actually win.

    Maksmilian once again puffed up. "Fine, I agree with the terms. Do you ept my terms?" He asked, taking distance as the crowd formed a ring around them, and Axel couldn''t help but notice that the guy still hadn''t tried drawing his wand.

    ''He must think he''s being very smart,'' thought Axel. But really the guy had thrown away any chance of winning when he had decided to shove him.

    Axel shrugged. "I''ll ept. You ready to duel a 13 year old?" He asked mockingly.

    "A 13 year old nobody who has the gall to even look at someone like Martina? You bet your broom-fucked ass I am, you snitch-chasing-bug!" replied Maksmilian. "Quickly pick up the glove so that I can beat the shit out of you!" he called out amidst the mockingughter of the crowd.

    Axel''s fists clenched. But before he could do anything, Martina, who was standing beside him, gripped his hand very tightly.

    ''The heck?'' With some surprise, he noticed that her hands were actually shaking.

    "What...?" Turning around to look at her, he was baffled to see traces of tears in her eyes. "What''s up with you?" He had never seen Martina looking this vulnerable before. Not even when facing XXXXX creatures.

    Martina squeezed his hand tightly. "... Please don''t lose. I really, really don''t want to marry that guy," she said quietly, her voiceing out timid and shaky.

    ???

    Axel tried to understand the situation. If he loses, the Valentinos won''t have an excuse to reject the proposal, which could lead to war, something she wouldn''t allow to happen if it''s because of her. It would mean that she''s nning to agree to the marriage if he loses. So, it was understandable that she didn''t want him to lose. But, that still doesn''t exin the current situationpletely.

    There''s... something wrong with Martina, ever since she learnt about the Mikhailovs. Like how she seems a bit off since yesterday, like how her lumency would activate every time the Mikhailovs are brought up, like how he''d see traces of rage sh in her eyes from time to time, and like how she had been quite nervous ever since in the beginning of the party. He''s tried to ignore it, but now he''s had enough.

    Axel looked into her eyes.

    [Legilimency]

    And, he used Legilimency on Martina to enter her mind. He didn''t feel guilty doing it all. He''d just take it as a payback for when she tried to read his mind back in their second meeting.

    And, as if she wanted him to look, her extremely strong shields were loose at this moment, letting him easily slip into her mind using the Legilimency of the system. It was far superior aspared to ordinary lumency knowledge that the other families possess. There were things you could do with it that weren''t possible by other Legilimens. And he had been training with it everyday.

    Thus, he was able to sessfully enter. Martina''s mind was currently chaotic, and with his improved skills, he quickly navigated to the reason for this mess, entering into a memory which had been on the surface of her mind.

    ¡ªThey''re younger. Martina looks to be 12 while Maksmilian looks around 16. When they meet, Maksmilian smiles at Martina as he pretends to be a gentleman ¡ª But, as soon as they''re alone, he tries to touch her inappropriately. ¡ª"What are you doing?! Do you have a death wish?!" Martina pushes him away. Maksmilian grins, stepping forward again ¡ª "Oh yeah? And then start a war between our families?" Heughs. "You''re going to be mine someday, Martina. Why do you resist?"¡ª He tries again but Martina sts him away. "Don''t you EVER try toe near me again. I''m never marrying someone like you!" she says, her eyes glowing purple¡ª

    Axel came out of the memory as he looked at Martina in surprise. Legilimency is very quick, so not even a second had passed as Axel had entered and exited her mind.

    !!!!

    But having a mastery in lumency herself, Martina''s eyes widened in horror as she realized what had just happened.

    "!!!!! D-Did you just¡ª?"

    [lumency max]

    Axel turned away from her, ignoring herpletely as he gently began to drag her out of the circle.

    Martina didn''t know what to do in this situation. "Axel¡­?" She called out, but Axelpletely ignored her as he escorted her out. His head was currently down, his long hair obstructing most of his face. But, she could see that his jaw was clenched, and the veins on his neck were bulging out.

    "Don''t let anyone interfere."

    That''s all he said to her, his voiceing out suppressed. When he turned around, his face was back to normal. But, hisplexion was slightly blue and he seemed to give off almost ¡­. an inhuman vibe.

    "Let''s begin," he said, looking at Maksimilian emotionlessly. Though the veins around his eyes and forehead had turned blue, making them visible. Returning back to the glove, the tip of his oxford shoes flicked up, smoothly flipping the glove into his hand.

    *CHEERS*

    A cheer went up the crowd as Axel picked the glove, starting the duel. Everyone was afraid Axel would back out, but now that he''s picked it up, they''re guaranteed some more fun!

    "Fucking finally!" said Maksmilian, his hand flicking out, to finally draw the wand from his holster without getting shot down for it.

    ??

    But when he flicked his hand, his wand didn''te to his hand, making him frown. He was only d that he was up against just an amateur who still hasn''t made a move, or he might have actually lost by making such a blunder.

    ''Dad''s going to kill me,'' he thought in embarrassment, feeling more anger towards the brat as he flicked his wand again.

    ?!?!

    But to his surprise, his wand still didn''te to his hand, making him pull his sleeve up to investigate.

    "The fuck?" He thought in panic as he didn''t find his wand anywhere. Thankfully, Axel was still standing opposite to him like an idiot, doing nothing.

    "Looking for something?" Asked Axel ndly, flicking his own hand. But what came into his hand, was not his own wand. It was a tacky wand with a grip made out of gold and gems. It also happened to have the Mikhailov family crest on it. How did he get it? Well, his hands might have slipped when he was repeatedly and rudely being shoved by the guy.

    "!!! You¡ª How did you¡ªHow dare you even touch my wand?! I''m going to kill you tonight!" He said, putting his hand in his pocket to draw out his other wand.

    ?!!?!?!?

    But s, he was once again met with disappointment as Axel flicked his other hand. "Don''t bother," he said, twirling the other wand in his hand. There was no joy and no triumph on his face. He was just looking at Mikhailov with his facepletely devoid of emotions.

    "You don''t have more, I suppose?" He asked Mikhailov who was currently beginning to find Axel''s expression a bit unnerving.

    Storage devices weren''t allowed here, since you could bring just about anything in those, so Mikhailov really had nothing.

    "Give my wands back now, you filthy piece of shit!! You can''t afford it even if your mother sold herself!"

    *Snap* *Snap*

    "You are making it very difficult," said Axel in a suppressed voice, as a small part of the emotions he had been holding back slipped out, making his hands snap off both the wand. Even his amber eyes were beginning to have a shade of blue in them now. If not for his superior lumency, he might have ended up killing the guy now.

    But sadly, Maksmilian didn''t have the same control as Axel. Seeing his wands broken, hepletely lost it as he rushed at Axel! "HOW DARE YOU?! I SWEAR I''LL TIE YOU UP AND MAKE YOU WATCH AS I MARRY MARTINA AND¡ª"

    *Snip*

    Maksmilian suddenly screamed in agony as he found his tongue pierced by the broken edge of his own wand, filling up his mouth with blood. Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground with Axel sitting on top of him, his knees pinning down both of Mikhailov''s hands as he looked down at him emotionlessly.

    *BAM*

    Hended his first punch,pletely shaking off Maksmilian to his eye sockets.

    *BAM*

    Then second.

    *BAM* *BAM*

    Third, fourth.

    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*....

    Axel began raining down punches on the guy, all the while, he kept healing the guy secretly using [Heal] to not let him pass out.

    *Zap*

    A spell came his way at a very high speed, but he was protected by a shield that was definitely cast by Martina, saving Axel the effort of dodging.

    *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*....

    Axel did not stop at all, methodically punching the everloving hell out of Maksimilian. All this while, his expression didn''t change, and neither did his hands stop despite Maksmilian''s miserable sobs and the noise from around the crowd. He was like a machine, with the sole function of punching, as his emotionless eyes looked straight into Maksmilian''s.

    "You¡­ stay¡­ away¡­ from¡­ her." He said in between his punches, his rage not going away. He knew that Martina didn''t need him to protect her, and he certainly knew she could protect herself. But, there were very few people he could actually trust, all of whom he had gained after years of loneliness. Even more difficult was actually trusting them, making himself vulnerable to their betrayal. And when he saw the guy trying to force Martina, red hot rage hade over him, forcing him to use lumency to prevent himself from taking the wrong actions.

    He wasn''t satisfied with just killing the guy, and he certainly wasn''t satisfied with letting him leave after just some injuries.

    [Legilimency] [max]

    That''s why, he entered into Maksmilian''s head, breaking through the barriers like they were made out of paler. Once deep inside, he finally began to make the real use of Legilimency.

    [Thought imntation]

    He had dared to try forcing Martina? Fine. Axel will make it so that he will never be able to force any girl ever again.

    The funny thing? No one would know it was his doing.

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Next: Martina in Danger

    Next next: Massacre

    Come read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Please VOTE Everyday ??????

 Chapter 94:

    Chapter 94:

    Chapter 94

    *BAM*

    *BAM*

    *BAM*

    *BAM*

    *BAM*

    *BAM*

    In the elegant and posh ball room of the Valentinos, a gruesome event was currently taking ce amidst the aggressive shouting and yelling of the crowd.

    Everyone was congregated around a circle, in which punch after punchnded on Maksmilian''s face while Axel sat atop him, pinning him down. Droplets of blood sprayed out with each of his punches, some evennding on his face, but Axel did not stop, his bloody fists meticulously repeating the same action with the same intensity.

    Meanwhile, on the elevated tform, the Valentinos: "..?!.."

    They werepletely bbergasted.

    "How did he even get the wands?!" Asked Enzo, chuckling out of disbelief.

    They couldn''t understand how Axel even got Maximilian''s wands. They had beenmenting his recklessness and immaturity for epting such a challenge, expecting him to lose, but who knew he had such a thing nned?! Turns out, the boy was more than prepared for it. He didn''t even need to draw his own wand.

    And what was more impactful, was the way he was responding to the situation. Seeing him continuously bashing away the Mikhailov heir in the middle of so many important people, including Andrei Mikhailov, without any fear, had a different level of savagery to it.

    Alessandro looked down at his hands which were twitching due to the thrill. He had to ept, it had been a long time since something had gotten his blood pumping like this. "I''ve been wanting to do that for a long time. that''ll teach that mikhailov bastard to stay the hell away from my Tina!" He eximed whileughing. "That''s my son-inw! Give him more!" He cheered, his voice drowning in the yelling and cheering of the crowd.

    Francesca, on the other hand, saw this differently. "It''s not something to cheer about," she said, looking ominous, her eyes not leaving Axel.

    "What are you talking about, mom?" Asked Endo in bafflement. "Just look how he''s protecting Tina! Isn''t this what we wanted?"

    Francesca shook her head, "I''m not worried about his qualifications. The boy has enough Magical capabilities to overpower his wand to the point of serious damage, a feat which might be impossible even for Martina to aplish. And yet, that''s not the most dangerous thing about him," she said, pausing at their bewildered expressions.

    "Look at him now," she said, ncing over at Axel still punching a somehow conscious Maksmilian. "He''s beating the Heir of Mikhailov family right in front of everyone, AND he''s going to get away with it. And how much of his extraordinary magical capabilities did he have to show in order to make it happen? None. No matter how much he was provoked, he waited until the start of the duel to attack. His terms were: No interference, and a Mikhailov knife. So, the Mikhailovs, the most dangerous Russian Mafia family, can''t do anything while their Heir is getting egregiously beaten right in front of them. Not only that, to rub salt on the wound, they also have to grant their family''s protection to the boy.

    He''s not only managed to exact his revenge 10 folds for all the insults, he''s also managed to keep his abilities hidden, and ensured his own safety. How many thirteen year olds can do that?"

    Maria had a look of awe on her face. "I didn''t think of it that way. He really is extraordinary."

    "Yeah," agreed Endo, "But how is that a bad thing?" He asked in bewilderment.

    Francesca sighed. "From this, and from his past feats, which include taking Endo hostage while he himself was still crippled, and shattering his enemy''s skull with a bludger and getting away with it, it can be seen that¡ªhe can hold grudges, and... he''s not someone you would want on your bad side."

    "Yeah that''s ri¡ª... Oh..." Then it suddenly dawned on them. And now as they looked at Axel still bashing Maksmilian''s bloody face which had turned beyond recognizable.... the scene suddenly looked more spine-chilling to witness.

    "We screwed up, didn''t we?" Asked Endo, his jolly expression going away. They had just screwed him over to avoid the confrontation with the Mikhailovs.

    "He''ll definitely hold a grudge for this, right?" Asked Maria, now finding Axel scary. With what they''ve done, they''ve definitely pissed him off.

    Alessandro shrugged. "You worry too much. This is just a small matterpared to what we''re offering him. Sure we might have estranged him to us, but I think that''s well worth it if we''re avoiding a WAR," he said dismissively.

    Francesca shook her head. "You might still be underestimating him, dear. Do note that we don''t know his true capabilities yet, and we don''t know his future potential. So, I have to wonder¡­"

    Was it truly worth it?

    ...

    Meanwhile, Axel had already entered Maksimilian''s mind. But before he got down to business, he decided to take a quick scan of the guy''s brain, to get some useful information about his new potential enemies.

    And he had to admit, it was a bad decision. A lot of information rushed into his head at once, and the content of the information...

    ''Fuck!'' Axel almost broke the connection.

    This guy was¡­. messed up. Truly messed up. His thoughts and the things he had done¡­ he deserved to be tortured to insanity. For one, he liked forcing himself on women. He would rape them in a variety of ways, each more messed up than the other, and most of them ending in the death of the woman, and sometimes.... it doesn''t end even after their death. And then there were other scenes as well... things that can''t be mentioned. . .

    ''Ugh....good thing I haven''t had dinner yet,'' thought Axel in absolute disgust. And to think this guy wanted to marry Martina.

    Axel had just wanted to get some useful information before he started but he decided to seal away the information and get right to the business in order to quickly get out of this degenerate''s mind.

    [Thought Imntation]

    Going deep inside Maksmilian''s head, Axel found the part that controlled Maksmilian''s sexual and violent urges, and started changing his current thoughts and imnting new ones...

    This was true Legilimency. To have the ability to alter the other person''s mind. But, since he was still not proficient in doing this, it was only temporary, and he couldn''t change the victim''s nature. Meaning if they are evil, they will stay evil. He can only make them direct the evil towards... other things.

    ''Let''s see, instead of women, let''s direct his urges towards... evil men, and instead of children, let''s make it animals like Acromants and Grindylows... also, some of the urges should be directed towards family members as well...''

    Axel exited the guy''s mind with bile rising in his throat, his ears suddenly once again ringing with the crowd''s noise. He stopped channeling [Heal] and gave Maksmilian one final punch, shattering the guy''s jaw and knocking him out.

    *CHEERS*

    Deafening cheers went up in the crowd, and Axel slowly got up and flicked his hair back with his bloody hand, revealing his face spattered with small droplets of blood, a testament to how brutal his punches truly were.

    He nced at Andrei, the Godfather of the Russian Mafia and twirled the Valentino knife in his hand, gesturing to quickly fulfill the wager and give him a Mikhailov knife.

    "THE KNIFE!"

    "GIVE IT TO HIM!"

    "YEAH!"

    """KNIFE! KNIFE! KNIFE! KNIFE!...""""''

    "Boss, are we really going to¡­?" Asked one of Andrei''s men as the crowd began moring.

    Andrei cursed. "You think we have a choice? It''s not our territory. Give him the knife already."

    With the cheers of the crowd, a shining knife was presented to Axel, who now had a knife in each hand, one from the Valentino family and one from the Mikhailov family. Pocketing both the knives, he stormed out of the Banquet hall, Martina rushing right after him.

    "Let''s get out of here. Start n B," said Andrei after he created a noise-cancetion ward around him and his men. Unable to take the humiliation, he had decided to implement their alternate n.

    "n B, boss? Is it really the right time to do it?" Asked one of his men.

    Andrei had a vicious smirk as he looked at the exit. "With most of the guards inside? Yeah, you bet your ass it''s the right time."

    "Think it over again, Andrei. It means war," said Sergei, his brother. "Not to mention we''ll have to help "them" if we go with it."

    n B was very risky, it would definitely start a war between the two families. And to implement it, they were also borrowing help from some very dangerous people. If they really did it, they would also have to return the favor.

    Andrei scoffed. "We''ve already borrowed the relics, we''ll have to help them either way. With this humiliation, I don''t mind a war at all. We have their help this time and if the n seeds, we''ll be at a huge advantage."

    Sergei knew that there was no convincing his brother now. Sighing, he just decided that he''ll try to keep the damage to the minimum. Saying their goodbyes, the Mikhailovs quickly left using the Portkey, taking an unconscious and deviant Maksmilian along with them.

    ...

    On the other hand, walking out of the Hall, Axel clutched at his head which felt like it was splitting in half. The high level Legilimency he had performed back to back had turned out to be more taxing than he had imagined.

    "Axel!"

    "Wait! Axel!"

    Martina tried chasing after him but Axel wasn''t really in the mood to face her right now. Activating stealth and Arcane Footwork, he quickly lost her, randomly wandering around on his own. Only after he was around a mile away from all the noise did he stop.

    His headache wasn''t going away, and the cursed content which had entered his head due to Maksmilian wasn''t helping. Something had been bugging his head ever since he had decided to use Legilimency on Maksmilian. And Axel needed some quiet to figure out what.

    Reaching a quiet ce, he quickly began thinking about the information his brain had already processed. Axel wanted nothing more than to erase this from his mind, but he had a feeling that he had missed something important, forcing him to recall just what it was that he had seen.

    ''Damn it,'' he swore as his mind shed yet another piece of cursed information. The sick fucker Maksimilian was truly evil. As long as he performed well in his training and education, the Mikhailovs had allowed him to do anything he desired since his childhood, leading him to be more and more disgusting as he grew. It had been almost half an hour, and all Axel had managed to glean after essing almost half the information was how much of a degenerate Mikhailov was.

    ''And to think he was so sure he would marry Martina,'' thought Axel, recalling the memories of the guy''s fantasies.

    ''Wait,'' Axel paused at that thought as he realized what was wrong. ''That bastard was so sure about it because¡­THEY''RE GOING TO KIDNAP MARTINA!'' Axel''s eyes widened as he finally essed the right information. But, he quickly calmed himself down. This ce is surrounded by unbreachable wards. There''s no way they could seed.

    Digging further, he found almost nothing more in the bunch of random information he had managed to glean. ''Must be a false rm,'' he thought, going through thest bit of information.

    But then, his eyes almost popped out due to the sheer surprise he felt as a familiar name came up in the memories. "KRAKEN?!"

    A sudden feeling of foreboding came over him as he turned around to look for Martina. But of course, he couldn''t see her. He had left her behind on his own. But then,

    *Ding*

    [Special Mission Received]

    "What the¡ª?"

    As if to make his fearse true, the system handed out a new quest.

    [Protect Martina]

    [Martina Valentino, your valuable ally, might be kidnapped by her enemies. Stop the kidnappers before they seed.]

    Axel disappeared from his location.

    [Arcane Eyes: Max]

    [Arcane Footwork: Max]

    [Arcane Acrobatics: Max]

    He didn''t even read the rewards before he had rushed off at his top speed, quickly making his way back to the way he hade. But s, Martina was nowhere to be found.

    ''System! Where is she?''

    [I can''t directly help you in Missions, Axel.]

    ''Fuck I know! But would it kill you to just so it this once?!'' he asked, his eyes scanning all ces as he ran.

    There was no response from the system, and Axel calmed himself, knowing that his panic wasn''t helping the situation. He made his mind concentrate. Closing his eyes, he activated another skill.

    [Super Sense: Max]

    His senses heightened to a terrifying degree, and all of a sudden, he could perceive everything to the extreme. His eyes weren''t of much use here due to the abundance of trees and infrastructure here, but... his nose caught the familiarvender scent, making him open his eyes. But along with the pleasant scent, there was also, the coppery scent of....blood.

    [Limit Break!]

    Axel instantly activated the skill which he had decided not to use unless in an absolutely desperate situation. "You had better not be hurt," he muttered, rushing off at the highest possible speed.

    ¡­

    Damien Malcolm''s blood was boiling right now. His family, the Malcolm''s, was not an ordinary family. They have been the loyal and trusted vassals of the great Mikhailov Family itself. Under the Mikhailovs orders they had migrated to Britain, in order to spread their powers in this quickly rising country.

    They had flourished, bringing their family''s position even higher and further solidifying their loyalty by the benefits they provided to the Mikhailovs. And that is how, they had gotten this chance of Kidnapping Martina.

    Since no one actually knew that they were the Mikhailov family''s loyal vassals, initially, they were tasked to marry Martina into their family since the Valentinos wouldn''t ept a direct proposal from the Mikhailovs. This way, the Mikhailovs would have the Valentino family''s support through their vassal, the Malcolms.

    But who knew that the Mikhailovs family would suddenly get their hands on a wonderful piece of technology, making it possible to actually kidnap Martina?

    It was suicidal mission, one which naturally fell to the Mikhailov''s most loyal and capable force, the Malcolm Family. When he came to know about it, Damien was, at first, devastated. His Martina was going to be married to that bastard Maksmilian. But then, he decided to volunteer to lead the operation himself.

    He figured that since Martina was doomed already, he might as well give her ast goodbye. He wanted payback for all the times the bitch had rejected him. And in the end, who did she choose? Someone like that bastard Axel! How could let the bitch get away with it? So, during the kidnapping, there could be a few "idents", but they could fix her right up before he presents her to the Mikhailovs.

    Which was exactly why, his blood was currently boiling as wandered the Valentino estate in search of Martina. He and his men were currently hidden in some sort of invisible bubble, allowing them to bypass all kinds of wards. Only a limited amount of men could fit in this thing, so he had brought his family''s very best. They had breached the wards using this mysterious technology after receiving the news that Martina was currently outside, without any significant protection.

    As for his involvement, it wasn''t difficult. Someone was needed to lead these men, and he was a second son, not exactly the most important person in the family. He might be killed by his brother in the future anyway, if he tries to fight for the session, why not allow him to go on this mission?

    "So, where is she?! Are we there yet?" He asked, hurrying along with all the men. They had been running for more than half half hour, tracking her. Their spy from the party had been secretly following her, reporting her realtime information to them.

    "Her location is constantly changing, boss. She''s trying to find someone. But we''ve almost reached her now," reported his underling.

    "So, everyone knows the n?" He asked. "We quickly capture her and kill any witnesses. After that, do as I say," he said, his voice shaking slighty due to excitement. Finally, he was finally going to have Martina! Just recalling that beautiful face, his heart start racing. ''I''m going to have a lot of fun before I return you, Martina.''

    ¡­

    A.N.: Action in next chapter. Poor Maksmilian, Acromants and Grindylows? he''s fucked...

    Next chapter: Axel on a HUNT

    Next next: Massacre

    next....next: Ideal Son-inw, but no medicine for regret

    And much more exciting chapters after that.

    You know you can''t wait. Come to P¨¤treon(?^?^?)

    P /Snollygoster

    I need support, and also your opinions on thetest chapter.

 Chapter 95: Axel on a HUNT

    Chapter 95: Axel on a HUNT

    Going forward for a few more turns, they quickly found the girl in question, and Damien held his breath as he saw Martina.

    In the woods of the Valentino estate, the girl wandered around aimlessly, seemingly in search of someone. The dim moonlight illuminated the purple cocktail dress she was wearing and there were slight traces of tears in her violet eyes, which only enhanced her beauty.

    "Mar...tina..." Damien almost forgot all of his anger, all his thoughts of revenge starting to vanish. Even though she never reciprocated, and even though it was a task given to him by his family, the fact was, he did have feelings for her. If he saved her from all this mess, maybe, just maybe, she might also start to¡­

    "Axel?!" Called out Martina,pletely disrupting Damien''s thoughts.

    "Where did you go?!"

    "I really need to talk to you about what you saw! And I need to thank you!"

    "Look, I''m sorry for what my parents did, okay? I''ll¡­I''ll do anything to make up for it!"

    "¡­This... This BITCH¡­" Damien''s anger returned with a vengeance. Here he is, thinking about having a life with her, and there she is, having a hide and seek game with her boy toy. Why?! Just why couldn''t she see how much he had loved her?! That how better an option he was,pared to that guy with no background, who treats her horribly, and who is openly fooling around with other girls as well?!

    There was no other exnation to it. Martina was just another shallow bitch, who likes going after low-life rogues, just like other shallow bitches. She''ll only understand how wrong she is after her heart is broken.

    He was the fool here, idolizing her as some sort of pure goddess who wouldn''t look at mere mortals like him. But as it turned out, she was no better than the two-knut whores of the knockturn alley, choosing someone like Axel.

    Damien decided he had had enough. He had enough of simping, he had had enough of the grovelling, and he had had enough of being a nice guy. All he wanted now, was payback.

    "She''s beautiful, boss," said his second inmand Dimitri, also scanning Martina with a lustful gaze. He was holding the device which had created the bubble around them. It prevented them from being seen or heard so there was no problem.

    Damien gave the guy a warning look. "You pay attention to your job, Dimitri. She''s mine," he said, dead serious. The device wasplicated, and if Dimitri pressed the wrong button, the invisibility might disabled, exposing them, or worse, the bubble might deactivate and they''ll be exposed to the Valentino wards.

    Damien seriously looked at his men. "Nobody touches her! She''s mine!" He dered, his men giving out their reluctant agreement.

    "But...if you do your job well, you might get a show," he said with an evil smirk, getting perverse grins from his men.

    "So boss, Do we make a move?"

    Damien took a deep breath, looking at Martina still searching for Axel. And then, he gave out the order, knowing that there was no going back now. "Take her down."

    Instantly, red beams of stunning spells shot out, catching Martinapletely by surprise. And despite all her genius, Martina was helpless against such an assault as she crumpled to the ground.

    "Princess!"

    The few guards who were still guarding her were rmed, but multiple beams were already headed their way to take care of them. And this time, they weren''t non-lethal.

    *Zap*

    *Zap* *Zip* *Zip* *Zap* *Zip*

    "Good one!"

    "Bloody Hell"

    "Hey! who fired the Eviscerating one?"

    "Don''t know, mine was eye-gouging."

    The men wentpletely on town, not holding back like they were with Martina. The guards never stood a chance, their bodies being hit by multiple spells, all intended for lethal damage. Too many spells came out of nowhere, and there was no sound since it was blocked by the bubble. Most didn''t even see iting while the one or two shields that were conjured were rendered pretty useless. Within a few seconds, the poor guards were nothing more than a gory mess.

    "Hey! Didn''t I say Killing curses were enough?" Damien was more than a bit unnerved by this scene of violence. Though, he kind of knew he had iting. These men were the most powerful force of the Malcolm Family, each of them extremely skilled. But, along with that, they were extremely violent as well.

    Fortunately, in the face of what he was just about to aplish, all the unnecessary thoughts about all the blood and gore quickly went out of his head. "Come on, let''s take her in!"

    Under his men''s control, Martina was levitated into the bubble and brought to the ground in front of his feet. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Damien muttered, kicking her unconscious form viciously.

    "And this is for ignoring me while pining for that scum!" He said, kicking her again. But he felt it wasn''t good enough without her being conscious. Taking out a knife, he made a long cut on her cheek, drawing blood.

    "Why poison her, Boss?" Asked Dimitri, his right-hand man as he looked at the cut.

    "It''s the mind-numbing poison," said Damien. "Believe it or not, the bitch can actually do wandless magic," he revealed, surprising everyone. He had seen Martina perform it a few times, when she thought no one was looking. With this poison, her mind would be too dizzy to concentrate and she would be too disoriented to resist. It''s simr to what happens when people get drunk, only this is a lot stronger.

    Taking out his wand, he cast the renervation charm, bringing her back to consciousness.

    Feeling extremely dizzy, Martina slowly opened her eyes, her belly throbbing with pain. "Uh¡­Axel? Cough cough¡­" due to the kicks, she coughed up blood as soon as she woke up.

    *p*

    Damian pped her, hard, making her wide awake. "That git isn''t here," he said, an exhrating thrill running through his body at pping her.

    Martina frowned, squinting her eyes as she blinked away the tears that came due the pain. Always living in a protected environment, she had never been hurt like this.

    "You¡­cough?! What¡­cough¡­ are you doing¡­ here?!" She asked, a distasteful expression settling on her tearful face.

    Malcolm nodded with a sinister smile, "Yes... me. I warned you, Martina, did I not? Right before the holidays. You should have listened... you should have left that son of bitch for me. Now you''ll regret it."

    Martina was still disoriented, her handing to rub her stinging cheek where a red bruise was quickly forming. "How the hell¡­ are you here?" She asked slowly, her voiceing powerless as she struggled to draw her wand.

    "Uh-uh, no magic now." He said, her hands getting tied up at his gesture to his men. Damian took out her wand from her wand holster and threw it away. "And don''t ask questions. The only thing you need to know, is you''re going to have a wild night tonight. Merry Christmas, Martina Valentino," he said lewdly as he grasped her delicate neck, making her choke.

    *boom*

    Martina looked in horror as Malcolm leaned forward. Everything around her was revolving and it was too difficult for her to think coherently, let alone concentrate enough to do wandless magic. She didn''t know what was happening, and how exactly she had ended up in this situation, but she was in pain and she knew she was in danger, powerless to do anything.

    *boom*

    Martina tried using lumency, but she just couldn''t, her mind wasn''t working properly. But...it did bring her some rity. Just enough to form one thought, one...wistful...thought.

    *boom*

    In her each and every moment of extreme danger or helplessness, someone had been there with her. First with Dementors, then the Lethifold, the Basilisk, and then the Demogorgon. Someone. Had. Been. There. With his help, she had been able to fight out of any situation, no matter how difficult. That''s why, remembering him at dangerous moments had already be imprinted in her subconscious. Despite the very small rational part in her mind telling her that it was useless, there was only one wishful thought that still dominated her mind: ''I wish¡­ Axel was here.''

    *Boom*

    Just as he was about to touch Martina, Damien stopped, his eyes narrowing. "What''s that sound?" He asked.

    *BOOM*

    In the next moment, he disappeared from his position, followed by a powerful gust of wind, as another person appeared in his ce.

    Malcolm was sted off, bumping straight into several of his men, taking them down with him as everyone scattered. Some of the men were even thrown out of the circle, which instantly exposed them to the powerful wards, knocking them out.

    Dimitri was also bumped, the device falling off his hand, and suddenly, the invisibility provided by the bubble was gone, creating even more panic as they were now exposed to the outsiders'' eyes.

    "!?!" Martina blinked her eyes in confusion, a joyful expressioning to her face as she looked at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of her. "Ax..el?"

    And indeed, the person who had suddenly appeared, was none other than Axel. But right now, he looked extremely scary. Waves of magic radiated from him, causing a ripple in the surroundings. His skin had turned a shade of blue, and so had his eyes, as he examined Martina''s condition. She had a long bleeding cut from one cheek and a bruise on the other, her hands and legs were tied in ropes, and she was crying. Overall, she was in an extremely sorry state.

    "It''s my fault¡­" he said in barely anger, picking her up, and disappearing before anyone could react.

    *Boom*

    [New Skill Unlocked: Launching Boom]

    [Gathering magic in your hands or legs, and releasing it to generate an incredible opposite force.]

    Instantly, he had moved several meters away from his original position,nding softly on the ground. Walking up to a tree, he put her down, letting her lean against the trunk.

    "It''s¡­ really¡­ you?" She asked, her weak hands trying very hard to stay around his neck.

    Axel looked into her eyes. Her pupils were dted and her eyes were red. "You''ve been drugged," he discerned, realizing the reason for her odd behavior. "Where does it hurt?"

    Martina pouted, tears pooling in her eyes, "Every-where!" Sheined, hugging him. Now that Axel was here, her mind had already stopped resisting the poison.

    [Heal: Max]

    [Poison Arts]

    Axel started patching her up, slowly bringing her back to soberness, and also healing her injuries the best he could. But while he did so, Martina did not stay still.

    A drugged Martina was not an easy patient. "What¡­ happened to you? You''re all blue¡­!" She giggled, poking his nose.

    "Don''t move."

    Martina clung to him, "Alright, my little hero¡­ouch! That hurts! Be gentle~"

    As Axel healed her, visuals of how those injuries must have been inflicted shed in his mind, increasing his anger further and soon, he was done.

    "Oh¡­" as she came to her senses, Martina stopped clinging to him as she realized what she had been doing. "Oh fuck," she used the f-word for the first time in front of him, disying just how dibobted she was with the whole situation.

    Wrapping her hands around herself, she curled into a fetal position, her eyes tearing up again. "That bastard¡­"

    Now that she was alright, Axel gave a light pat to her shoulder as he got up. "You stay here. I''ll be back."

    Martina looked up at him in rm, "Where are you going?!" She asked, but Axel had already disappeared. His only parting words were, "Don''t get hit by stray spells."

    ?! Martina''s eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do, but it was already toote, as Axel appeared in front of the men, who were still trying to find her.

    She couldn''t help but notice that he had made a detour to reach them, so that she does not remain in the line of the fire of their spells.

    "What... are you doing?!" She muttered, feeling scared for his life. There were too many enemies!

    ...

    *Cough* *Cough*"Where the fuck *cough* did she go?!" Demanded Damien, whose ribs had been shattered and was currently getting healed by his men to their best of their abilities. "Find her! Find her and quickly get me out of this ce!" He eximed.

    "And Dimitri! *Cough* Quickly fix that damn thing! *Cough* We''re sitting ducks like this!" He ordered Dimitri, who was trying to make them invisible once again.

    "We''re trying, boss."

    "Was it *cough* Was it really Hunt?" He asked, unable to believe it. How could someone like Hunt appear like that out of nowhere and take Martina away from right under their nose?! He was thinking that his men must have seen it wrong. That low-life bastard won''t even face him, let alone so many of his men.

    But, as if to prove him wrong, the guy in question himself suddenly appeared in front of them, rming everyone.

    Damien''s eyes widened, "So¡­ *cough* it really was you, you bastard!" He said in anger. "You''ve pissed me off! *Cough*!"

    Axel veins almost burst out. "Pissed? You?" He would haveughed if he wasn''t boiling with anger right now.

    His anger had already been plenty high because of the party. And after this incident, it was really taxing for him to restrain himself. There was so much anger inside him that it was difficult to hold it back even with lumency. And... he wanted an outlet.

    "You think you''re angry?" He asked, his fists crackling. "I''ll show what it is like to be truly angry," he said, lifting off his lumency Shields.

    *Vroom*

    With the restraints holding him back vanishing, a magical shockwave erupted, with Axel as the center. His eyes disappeared, hidden under the overflow of magic and two knives appeared in his hand.

    Damien almost bricked himself as somehow, real terror st4ruck him upon seeing Axel right now. "KILL HIM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, his men already shooting out their best even without his instructions.

    "Toote," said Axel, grinning like the devil as he disappeared from his ce, reappearing right in their midst.

    ...

    A.N.: Well, hence the next chapter:Massacre

    Next next: Ideal Son-inw, but no medicine for regret

    Next next next: Past revealed

    You can read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon. /Snollygoster

    VOTE WITH POWERSTONES

    Thanks for support

 Chapter 96: Chapter coming

Chapter 96: Chaptering

    A Chapter wille today, but it will take a few more hours (about 5-6). I''ll post as soon as I''m done with the P¨¤treon chapter. So this is a heads to keep an eye out for the notification and save up the powerstones.

 Chapter 97: The Massacre

    Chapter 97: The Massacre

    Chapter 96

    Rage.

    Blinding, maddening, Rage.

    That''s what Axel was feeling right now. Martina was a friend. An ally. Someone he could trust. And someone he hade to care for. He was already quite pissed when that Mikhailov guy had tried to force her and make her feel ufortable.

    So...imagine his anger, when he finds out that this ant, someone with no actual ability to harm her, had actually hurt her so badly to the point of crying and swearing. And his wrath only bes worse when realizing what would have happened if he had arrived even a few momentster.

    A quiet, easy life. That''s all he had wanted. But in hopes of finding it, he had ignored even the obvious threats, thinking that nothing would happen as long as he doesn''t actively look for trouble. But tonight, that life had all but gone away already. And what did he get for not looking for trouble? This.

    *Tnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn*

    His ears were ringing and his head felt like it was about to explode. The anger was too strong for his shields to contain.

    So, Axel simply stopped containing it, letting it go. For the first time after gaining lumency, he decided to stop holding backpletely.

    *Boom*

    A shockwave erupted with him as the centre, as magic evoked by extreme rage overflowed. His eyes disappeared, hidden under the overflow of magic and two knives appeared in his hand.

    Damien almost bricked himself and somehow, real terror struck him upon seeing Axel right now. "KILL HIM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, his men already shooting out their best even without his instructions.

    "Toote," said Axel, as he grinned like the devil.

    There was something about Martina that he had always admired. Even while growing up in a Mafia household, she had managed to retain purity in her heart, not letting the evilness here taint her. It was something he had admired very much since he knew exactly how difficult it is to not get corrupted by a bad environment. And these men had hurt such a girl, most likely traumatizing her forever.

    Standing in their midst, Axel looked at each and every person in the bubble. "You all... you''ll pay for it," he said, fading from view.

    [Knife Wielding]

    [Blend]

    [Presence Reduction]

    [Soundless]

    [True Invisibility]

    [Arcane Footwork]

    "Where did he go?!" Demanded Damien, looking around in fear.

    *Plop*

    !

    He flinched at the sudden sound that came from right beside him. Turning to look, he was almost scared to death when he found the head missing from the body of the person who had been healing him moments ago, the head falling right into hisp.

    Damien screamed dropping him wand while trying to get away, but a paralyzing spell hit him, stopping him in ce.

    "You''re not going anywhere." a bone-chilling voice whispered right next to his ear, as more heads flew, of the other healers who were trying to get away.

    !!!

    Pure terror struck him like never before, andpletely unable to do anything but scream, his dder came loose, soiling his pants for real.

    "Boris! Dusan!"

    "What the hell?!"

    The men were rmed to see the heads of theirrades rolling as well, and equally angered as they were spooked. But, their nightmare was only beginning as more and more heads started to fall on the ground around them!

    There was no visual, no sound, not even any signs of struggle. Just heads flying into the air, as fountains of blood began spurting from all around.

    "Avada Ked¡ª" Panicked, they tried to fire spells randomly, but even that wasn''t allowed much as those casting spells would be beheaded first.

    "Bastard! You can''t hide forever! Homenum revelio!"

    "Do you see him?"

    *spurt* *spurt*

    Axel''s stealth, under the system''s training, had reached to the point that the detection charms no longer worked. There was nothing the men could do against him at this point.

    "Run away!"

    "I can''t apparate!"

    "Fool! Apparition is not possible in this bubble! Didn''t you know that?!"

    "No! I only came because I heard we were raping the Mafia Princ¡ª!" *spurt*

    Mass panic spread among the men as they began running around like headless chickens. In this moment, Damien waspletely forgotten, as everyone began looking out for themselves.

    Some took their chances and leapt out of the bubble into the wards, while some just kneeled down to beg for mercy; but s, not a single soul was spared, as the raging Axel became the Grim Reaper, harvesting lives one by one.

    It was over within seconds. The fearsome force which the Malcolms took great pride in, which struck fear in the hearts of their enemies, and the force which had ughtered many...gone. Just like that¡­ Wiped out within seconds by a single person.

    With everyone dead, Axel appeared again, walking towards Damien with headless bodies falling all around him as he sheathed his knives.

    "Hmphh! HMMPPHH!!" Damien tried to struggle, but s, it was useless. As Axel reached him, he tried to move his paralyzed hand towards his wand which he had dropped in panic.

    Axel chuckled at his vain attempt, mercilessly crushing the hand under his foot. "I''ve been saving you for thest." He said, picking up the wand Malcolm had been trying to reach.

    Damien Malcolm. This was someone who had been bugging Axel for a while. He had just kept postponing his revenge on the guy, thinking that him to be pretty harmless and beneath his stature. Axel had thought that he was toozy to deal with Damien, but now that it hade down to it, he realized what was the real problem.

    Axel had been scared. Scared of getting his hands dirty. Scared of once again getting into a world of crimes and filth which had finally escaped. He had thought of living an honest, ethical life, sealing away the evil part of him which had gotten used tomitting crimes.

    But what happened when he did so? Martina got hurt, and almost vited, just because he hadn''t bothered dealing with this bastard early.

    Now that the evil inside him was unleashed, there was no stopping it. And, it demanded revenge.

    With Damien''s wand, he undid the paralysis on his mouth, giving him the ability to speak. "Anyst thoughts?"

    Damien red daggers at Axel. He knew he was going to die. He hade prepared for that. If there was one regret, it would be, "I should have raped her straight away," he murmured wistfully, recalling how good it had felt to dominate Martina. His member hardened just thinking about it.

    *STAB*

    "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

    Damien''s wand, which Axel had picked up, was stabbed right into his crotch, piercing through all his important bits, making him scream like a banshee.

    Axel wasn''t satisfied. He twisted the wand, making the pain several times worse.

    "AAAAAHHHH!!! YOU BASTARD!!! I''LL KILL YOU!!!" Damien started crying, unable to take it.

    His eyes glowing, Axel tilted his head, looking disdainful. "Already broken? I''m just getting started."

    "Electrica.... Impulsa."

    "AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

    The screams of Damien reached a crescendo, loud enough to reach the party. Too bad he was the bubble prevented any sound from escaping.

    "Electrica Impulsa.

    "AAAAAAAA-RRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

    Axel nodded, unmoved. "Nice."

    "Electrica Impulsa. Electrica Impulsa. Electrica Impulsa. Electrica Impulsa. Electrica Impulsa. Electrica Impulsa..."

    Damien screamed himself hoarse, but Axel didn''t stop, even after he screamed no more.

    "Electrica¡ª"

    "Axel! He''s dead!" Martina said, stumbling her way towards him with much difficulty due to the drugs.

    Axel blinked, looking down at the guy. He was indeed dead. He once again reconnected the lumency shields and looked around himself as the high caused by his anger finally faded.

    It was a bloody scene, with heads lying everywhere. No survivors. "What... the hell?" He muttered, ncing back at Martina. It hadn''t been more than 2 minutes. How the hell did he end up doing so much damage in so little time of losing control?

    When their eyes met, Martina averted her eyes quickly, her expression shifting, which was almost like a physical blow to him. ''She must think I''m a monster...'' He realized. The ugliness he had been hiding since forever, the side of him that had kept buried, was already exposed. There''s no point pretending anymore.

    Axel got up on shaky feet, his face bing nk. "I''ll... I''ll go now," he said, disappearing from her view.

    On his way, he killed onest person, the spy who had been tracking Martina and had witnessed the whole scene. If he was able to get into the Party, he must be an important person, but Axel really couldn''t care less. If he had gone this far, he might as well be thorough, right?

    Completely exhausted, Axel dragged his tired body into his room and warded it up. Laying on the bed, he checked the system notifications he had been ignoring for a while.

    [Special Mission Complete: Protect Martina]

    [Congrattions. You have saved Martina from the danger.

    Rewards

    -+Approval rate: Total: 35%

    -Special Skill: Unshackle

    -Information]

    Axel frowned, opening the details about the new skill.

    [Unshackle: Grants the ability to get rid of all kinds of shackles.

    Current progress: 0.3%]

    Axel was surprised. This new skill was tricky. He only had a 0.3 percent proficiency in it. That is unusual. Well, something to dwell onter. Right now, he just felt like shit.

    "Sigh..."

    Martina''s family''s betrayal was not something he had not already expected. But what was unexpected was how badly it had hit him. He had been stabbed in the back many times by now, and he had been expecting it anyway since he was in a very vulnerable and exploitable position this time due to not having any alternative. His wand needed to be fixed after all. And, the Valentinos could honestly not be faulted for what they did. They were trying to protect their daughter, and save the lives of a lot of their men by trying to prevent a war. Of course they couldn''t be expected to choose him over all that.

    So, Axel wasn''t really ruffled by that.

    What actually gutted him, was that there really wasn''t anyone who would choose him over everything else. Not even Daphne. When ites to family, outsiders are, in the end, just outsiders. So, he can''t truly trust anyone.

    And then there''s the second problem: Axel himself.

    In actuality, he felt no remorse for the lives he had harvested just now. Any normal person in his ce, one who has people whom they can 100% trust, wouldn''t have been able to even look at the scene without feeling disgusted, let alone actuallymitting it. So, it makes him wonder¡­.does he actually deserve to have people caring about him?

    For example, Martina really seemed to care for him, and look what he did. She must be feeling pretty scared and disgusted with him. How is she supposed to trust and care for a mass murdering psycho? Someone who could make her head roll before she even finds something amiss? Any sane person would run.

    So, isn''t it time he started to stop ming other people and looked in the mirror?

    He is broken. He is damaged. He has trust issues. The little few people he actually trusts and cares for, he might create a massacre for them. He can take certain lives without any guilt. Plus, he can''t really tell people everything about himself. There are too many things that he just can''t reveal. His bad attitude doesn''t help either.

    And the MAIN thing: He prefers himself the way he is.

    Meaning, he doesn''t want to change much for others.

    ¡­Would anyone really choose such a person over other things? He doesn''t think so. Heck, even his own family abandoned him, let alone outsiders.

    The same thing happened with the Orphanage as well. They chose to abandon him as well, and the cycle repeats.

    So, maybe it''s time he epted it. That he''s just going to have to look out for himself. He should mind his own business, and stop having all these expectations and hopes that are never going to be fulfilled. At least no one would be able to screw him, right?

    ¡­

    Martina had just experienced the most traumatic thing in her life. When Malcolm was hurting her, and was going to vite her, she had been struck with fear like never before. Her mind, the one thing that she had always counted on, waspromised, and she wasn''t even able to think properly. Inparison to such a situation, she would have even preferred death, just to escape, that''s how strangled she had felt.

    And in her dazed state, when Martina had seen Axel appear out of nowhere and save her, the feeling she had felt at that moment was... simply euphoric.

    Never in her life had she been so happy to see someone. And in her drugged state, all she wanted to do was to hug the hell out of him.

    While in the state, she had done more than a few silly things in front of Axel, which made her want to die out of mortification as soon as she gained some of her consciousness back. And more importantly, she had wanted to really hurt that brat Damien, due to whom all this had happened in the first ce.

    "That Bastard!" She had cursed. But, as it turned out Axel wasn''t done yet.

    He was actually angry for her, and wanted to punish those who had hurt her as well. In her previous life, she was an orphan, and there was no one to truly care for her. So, in this life, she was d to have someone like that outside her family.

    But, that''s why Martina couldn''t afford for him to get hurt. He had just saved her, twice, and he was going to be in danger while she hadn''t even been able to thank him. She wanted to stop him!

    s, the poison was still quite active enough to not let her stop him, nor help him. All she could do, was watch as Axel risked his life for her.

    But then,

    !?!?!?!

    "What...?"

    She got to see the true abilities of Axel Hunt.

    She had known he had stealth, she had known he could be quiet, she had known he was skilled with knives. But, she had never expected him to be¡­this good at each of them, and¡­ she had never expected thebination of all of his skills to be so¡­ absolutely beautiful and deadly.

    And scary...

    In her previous life, maybe. But after dying for doing something good and growing up in a Mafia household, she was no longer a stickler for morality, if the other party deserved it. She hade to find that the world wasn''t just ck and white.

    Her family, for all their faults, truly loved her, and they tried to do their best in their own way. She had learnt to love and ept them the way they were. And, after getting killed for doing the right and witness a lot of unavoidable deaths, she wasn''t really the sanest person around anymore, nor the most moral one. She just tried to be one.

    So, when she saw Axel torture Damien, even though she was scared, she was also rather grateful. Because, the guy truly deserved it and she didn''t have the guts to do it herself.

    By the time she reached Axel, Damien was already dead, and her family was on their way. Since Axel had too much electrical discharge around him, she kept her distance from him as she called out to him.

    But, when their eyes met, Martina flinched.

    There were two reasons for that.

    Firstly, she found herself very flustered and ashamed of her behavior. She had wanted to show him that she was someone strong and dependable. But instead, what had happened? She hade off as some weak and pathetic damsel who can''t even fight her own battles.

    First, she had needed him to fight a duel for her, then she had to be save from another tragedy.

    She was especially mortified about her behavior when he was trying to heal her. So, she couldn''t real look at him without drowing in shame.

    The other reason... her damned past life. She has been trying to get rid of it, but and she has, for the most part, but there are still a few remnants of her personality made her flinch.

    And, she instantly regreted it.

    When she did looked back at Axel, she saw the briefest flicker of hurt in those eyes, before it was covered up. She realized that something had gone terribly wrong, but¡­ as she tried to stop him, the world started to spin, and she fell to the ground, unable to even keep standing. It was the after effect of drug: Heavy hangover and exhaustion.

    Martina wanted to stop Axel, she wanted to thank him, she wanted to hug him, but all she could do was raise her hand towards Axel, but he never turned back.

    *Snap*

    *Snap* *Snap*

    Then the sounds Apparation filled her ears, as help finally arrived. Only to see Martina sitting in a scene of carnage.

    ....

    A.N.: Next Chap: Perfect son-inw, but no medicine for regret

    Next next: Past revealed

    Read ahead and support me at: /Snollygoster

    Also, please VOTE ??

    Thanks for support

 Chapter 98: Ideal Son-in-law but no medicine for regret

    Chapter 98: Ideal Son-inw but no medicine for regret

    Chapter 97

    When they had received the news of Martina being in danger, the Valentinos had rushed here at their fastest speed, leaving the guest without a second thought.

    But, who would have thought that they would be witnessing such a scene upon their arrival?

    "Martina!"

    "Tina!"

    The first thing that they noticed was Martina, extremely eye-catching in her purple cocktail dress. With blood on her face, and her dress soiled, she knelt on the ground, struggling to move. ...And then they saw her surroundings.

    "!!!!"

    "Bloody Hell..." literally.

    Dead bodiesid everywhere, densely packed within an area of 10 metre radius around her. Rivulets of blood flowed out of the bodies, pooling around and making puddles on the ground. And the most shocking detail... none of them had their heads attached to them.

    "Martina! Are you alright?!" Her family quickly rushed to her side, checking her condition.

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    Finally seeing her family after experiencing such a traumatic event, tears once again started to overflow from her eyes.

    "I''m¡­ fine... I need to.... Axel."

    Whatever she had been trying to say, she couldn''tplete it as she ended up losing consciousness.

    "Martina? Martina!"

    ....

    Later that night, in the meeting room. The Valentinos, and their most trusted members of the family, all sat together at a round table.

    "How is she?" Asked Alessandro.

    "She suffered minor injuries, and from poison. She was about to be kidnapped. The intruders were the infamous special unit of Malcolms." said Francesca.

    Alessandro nodded, his face setting in a grim resolve. "It''s war."

    The men had already been identified. The Mikhailovs might have thought that the Valentinos weren''t aware of their connection with the Malcolms, but that was not the case.

    "Have you called in the best healers?" he asked.

    Francesca paused at that. "She had already been expertly treated before we reached her. There''s nothing to heal."

    "And the bodies? No survivors?" He asked.

    Francesca shook her head. "No survivors. Everyone dead.... beheaded with a single clean cut. No signs of any other wounds," she said, her voice wavering in disbelief.

    Everyone in the room felt a chill travel down their spine at that. "How... how is that even possible?" Asked one of the men. Gang wars are extremely messy, and all members, especially those of a special unit like this one, are not supposed to go down without a struggle. How could so many men allow their heads to be lopped off just like that?

    If it could happen to them, it could also happen to their men as well.

    Alessandro downed his ss of alcohol. "First the Antean Relic, and then this!" He eximed, mming the cup down.

    It was enough of a surprise that the Mikhailov had somehow gotten their hands on Antean Relics, but there''s also someone who is capable of easily taking down an elite squad just wandering around in their ce.

    The person took down the elite squad, saved Martina, and patched her up within minutes, before disappearing. This was not a small matter. If a person capable of doing this joins one side, it would change the oue of the whole war. That''s how big of a matter this was.

    "Dad... do you think...it''s the boy?" Asked Endo, raising the million dor question. Everything pointed towards the person being Axel, including the fact the cuts on the necks were identified to be made by a Valentino, and a Mikhailov knife. Just how many people possess the knives of both of the opposing families at the same time?

    Alessandro sighed. "Most likely. But we can''t say for certain," he muttered, resting his forehead on his fingers. He was certain, but he just didn''t want to believe it.

    "Why don''t we call him here and ask him ourselves?" Enzo asked.

    Francesca gave him a severe look. "You think that''s possible? After what we did, He''s going to be hostile towards us. If he really is the person who did this, d''you think it''s a good idea to annoy him further? Not to mention saving Martina. We''re in a great debt to whoever killed those men." she said as she sighed. "We.... We might have just made the worst decision by offending him," she admittedmentably.

    She had, of course, suspected that he had been hiding his power, but... to this extent? She had never dreamt of it. This was definitely a terrible decision. The war which they tried to avoid was going to happen anyway, and they had just lost the favor of someone who was capable of doing "that" at the age of 13.

    Alessandro poured himself another ss. "What''s done is done. Nothing can be done mulling over it. The question is, what do we do now?"

    Francesca pursed her lips. "There''s not much we can do really. We can only do our best to make up for it. To start with, I''ll be giving his wand the best possible treatment."

    (Dirty mind, dirty mind~)

    Alessandro nodded unwillingly. "Everything aside, I truly am grateful. From what we can gather, the Malcolm brat was trying to...." his fist clenched as powerful magical fluctuations filled the room. "If Axel hadn''t gotten there in time, or didn''t have the abilities he has... the unthinkable would have happened to Tina," he said, downing another ss.

    Everyone had to agree to that. "That bastard¡­ to Princess¡­ it''s so damn infuriating!"

    "Yeah!"

    "If something had happened¡­"

    There were enraged murmurs from all around. Martina was the heart of the Valentino family. Everything had changed after her arrival, and it was for the better. If anything were to happen to her, the whole family would not only go back to its previous darkness, it would have done everything in its power to take down those responsible for it.

    Endo also nodded. "Gotta appreciate what Axel did to them. Especially that Malcolm brat," he said, a grim smileing to his face. "My only regret is he didn''t leave him alive so that we could torture him more."

    "Yeah!"

    "I heard he suffered a brutal death."

    "What exactly happened to him? All I saw was a charred corpse."

    "I hope it was painful¡­."

    Francesca looked at the report in her hand. "Well, he was stabbed through his crotch, piercing through his penis and testicles, with his own wand. The wand was rough and jagged, and it was long as well, increasing the damage and pain several folds."

    Everyone: Oooooh

    But Francesca wasn''t done yet. "I don''t know if it was on purpose, but the wand was pierced at the ce and at an angle that hit the most nerves. It couldn''t have been stabbed more painfully, if we''re talking about the general area."

    Everyone: Oooooooooooooh

    But, Francesca STILL wasn''t done yet. "After he was stabbed, the wand was repeatedly twisted¡­ and a spell was cast, causing an electrical discharge to travel into his body, intensity of which was gradually increased. The pain caused was so intense that the victim was brain dead even before dying from excessive electrical discharge."

    Everyone: OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!

    "The Electrical discharge was continued well after he was dead."

    "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Perfect son-inw! I could kiss him!" Said Alessandro,ughing maniacally, his men joining him.

    "That he is."

    "Heck, I would have given him my daughter if he wasn''t already taken by the princess."

    "Same with me, if I had a daughter."

    "Same with me."

    "Dude, your daughter is 5."

    "...."

    ....

    Daphne Greengrass has been very anxioustely. Her holidays had started well enough. It was a great start, in fact. Ap pillow from Axel! She could cry out of happiness!

    Too bad she wasn''t able to remember it! First, it had been so damnfortable and she had been so tired that she slept through almost all of it, and when she woke up, she had been so overwhelmed that she had fainted.

    But, could she be med? She had found out that she had been resting on Axel''sp, her one hand looped around his waist, and her head buried in his cloak. How overwhelming is that to process!

    To make the matter more difficult, her eyes were all groggy, her hair was like a bird''s nest, in aplete mess, and she had drool leaking from the corner of her mouth! For someone who had tried her absolute best to look presentable in front of him even while going through all that hellish training, this was definitely a lot to process.

    When she gained consciousness, it was only because Axel had to wake her up since they had already reached Kingscross. While she fumbled to fix her appearance, he was already leaving, saying he had to meet with Martina.

    And hence the reason for her anxiousness. He was living at Martina''s ce! For days! He hade to the Greengrass manor only for a few hours, and had to leave wrongly misunderstood. And then she finds out he''s going to stay at that wench''s ce for such a long period of time!

    Who knows what could happen while they''re living under the same roof? She has always suspected Martina''s intentions. That witch ims to only be friends with Axel but Daphne doesn''t like the way she sometimes looks at him. Something about it just screams "SUS!"

    To make matters worse, Axel hadn''t picked up any of her calls, or replied to any of her messages. She knows that he just forgets or doesn''t even bother checking his Magi-mirror most of the time, but that didn''t stop her from worrying. What if there was another reason for his inactivity? It''s the powerful and infamous Valentino household after all. With all the rumors concerning him and Martina, who knows what they might do to him?

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    That''s why, she couldn''t help but feel anxious. The dinner on Christmas Eve at her home was, therefore, a bit subdued, unlike thest time, which was the best Christmas they had had. His presence had made their family...plete. So, not only Daphne, but even Astoria and Evelyn felt the absence of Axel. Her mother even said it might have been better to just go to one of the parties they had been invited to, but of course, there was no invitation for the party Daphne really wanted to attend.

    That night, Daphne called Axel once again. But, since he wasn''t picking up like always, she left him yet another voice message before going to sleep.

    "Hey, it''s me again. I still haven''t heard from you. I know that you''ve probably just forgot to check your MM, but I''m still worried. Today was Christmas, and we all miss you here. Astoria was pouting all the time. You know you''re her hero, right? Even more so after the Quidditch match. Her voice was all hoarse due to all the cheering she did for you, and so was mine." She smiled a bit recalling that.

    "She couldn''t meet you at the match too. So she was quite upset to know you weren''ting. Mom also seems to be quite fond of you. She''s asked me three times if you''reing for the new year or not."

    "Last Christmas, it was the best Christmas we had. This one, well not so good, but it was still better since we didn''t have to go to one of my father''s boring parties and pretend to be all prim and proper. Only your presence wascking. Just¡­ try toe, alright? You''re part of this family now. And, please, please give me a sign that you''re alright, okay? I worry."

    Ending the message, Daphne sighed as sheid on her bed. "Maybe, I''ll know by tomorrow," She thought.

    She didn''t know just how right she was.

    ¡­.

    "NO!!!!!" Martina''s eyes flew open as she woke up with a start. She had been having a nightmare.

    But¡­ the reason for her nightmare wasn''t Damien, or Maksmilian. It was Axel.

    In her dream, Axel was angry, with his eyes glowing with magic and his skin blue, and he was murdering everyone indiscriminately. Nothing Martina did could stop him. And she was scared, so scared as she called out his name repeatedly. And then, he fixed those eyes on her¡­ and she woke up.

    Martina shook her head. Was she really scared of Axel? No! That can''t be. He just saved her life! Again! And as for violence, wasn''t her family the same? How could she be scared of him?

    "Martina, are you alright?"

    Martina realized that she was back in her room. Her mother sat by her side in her nightgown, seemingly also waking up now.

    "Mom..." Still scared and quite reassured with her presence, Martina hugged her mother tightly, her eyes blurring with tears.

    Francesca hugged her daughterfortingly, gently patting her back. "It''s alright Martina. It''s over now. We''re so sorry... we couldn''t protect you..."

    As Martina slowly calmed down, she finally recalled something else as well. She pushed Francesca away, turning her head. "Why are you here?"

    Francesca sighed. "I''m here to look after you. I''d say it''s for the best actually. Otherwise your father and brother were going to camp here tonight."

    "Go away, mom. I don''t want to talk to you."

    Francesca looked flummoxed, "Martina? What¡ª?"

    "Go away! Axel probably hates me now because of what you did!" Said Martina, trying to push her away.

    That...I''m really sorry. But¡ª"

    "One friend... I had just one real friend who I was able to befriend without already knowing everything about him and who wasn''t affected by my family background. And you probably ruined it!" she murmured. All her friends at Hogwarts were because of the impressive front she had put on.

    Then there were Luna and Hermione, who were different. But she had befriended them through maniption because she already knew almost everything about them through the books. And those two had also not really seen the real her.

    Only Axel was the one friend she had made, who had seen her for who she actually was, and still befriended her. But he probably hates her now. Not to mention the ramifications he''ll have to face with what her family has done.

    Francesca shook her head. "I''m really sorry for what we did, dear. But you already said it. Axel doesn''t care about your family. If your family did something wrong, he won''t me you for it now, would he? Or else why would he go out of his way to save you? Not only that, but also take revenge for you? I''m sure if you apologize sincerely, he''ll forgive you."

    "I¡­ he¡­" Martina had to ept, her mother was right but her cheeks still puffed up as she refused to look at her mother. "But that doesn''t mean I''ll forgive you!"

    Checking the time, she quickly got out of the bed. "It''s early, but he might have woken by now. I''m going," she said, pulling on her robe and picking up her wand.

    "That''s my daughter." Francesca smiled, also getting up. She had better get started with the preparations of his wand as well. She would have gone with Martina to apologise as well, but she was afraid to anger him by her presence.

    "Just be honest with him, Martina. I love you the most when you are," she advised. Martina has a lot of secrets, and she''s not honest with them many times.

    Martina red at her mother. "I''m still not talking to you!" she dered as she left, banging the door behind her.

    But a few secondster, the door opened again, as Martina came back to check her appearance in her mirror. Finding her hair a bit messy, she first arranged them with her brush. "Don''t!" she said to Francesca, who was about to say something, before leaving again with a bang.

    Francesca sighed. "I was only going to say the messy look was better suited for seduction."

    She really wasn''t nning to point out the fact that Martina never seemed to care about her appearance before.

    ....

    The door to Axel''s room was knocked, and Axel, who had been training, looked back at the door. Activating Arcane Eyes, he realized that it was Martina.

    "It''s open," he said, throwing on a T-shirt.

    The door opened and Martina peeked her head in. "Sorry for disturbing you so early... I came as soon as I gained consciousness," she said, entering tentatively.

    "Why are you here?" Asked Axel, wiping his face with a towel. His face was neutral, with no fluctuations.

    Martina stepped forward. "I''vee to thank you, of course."

    Axel scoffed. "No need." Mass murder and that kind of torture¡­ a girl like Martina wouldn''t like it.

    She''s the kind of girl who''d risk her life for strangers. In the first year, she first went out of her way to save him from the troll, and to the third floor corridor to save Rose, even though she had almost died there the previous time.

    Then this year, she first risked her life to kill the Basilisk, and then helped him out with the Demogorgon. She also went out of way to help out Luna, aplete stranger, even calling in her favor with him. She made so many weapons but never used them, even though using them could let her family dominate their enemies. She''d rather agree to marry someone like Maksmilian than choose violence.

    Not to mention she''s quite timid. Would such a girl still treat him the same after witnessing him for what he truly was? Or would she treat him like how she treats people like Malcolm.

    So, he just shook his head. "You don''t need to force yourself. I know I traumatized you more."

    Martina flinched. "How¡­ I mean No! You didn''t!"

    Axel wasn''t convinced. "You don''t have to lie to yourself, Martina. The fact of the matter is, you don''t like violence. I bet you haven''t even seriously injured anyone, have you?"

    "I haven''t, but my family..."

    "They''re your family, Martina. You''ve been with them your whole life. You know them, and you can trust them. I''m someone you met for a year. And, you know nothing about me."

    He raised his hand towards her, and Martina flinched again. Axelughed humorlessly. "See? You might not even know it yourself, Martina. But I know it."

    Axel went to sit on his bed. "Go away, Martina. And tell your mother to quickly do my wand. Then you won''t have to see me more."

    Martina wanted to defend herself, and she wanted to contradict Axel. But like always, Axel''s presence seemed to have dumbed her down, and his eyes, which seemed to see right through her, made her realize that he might be right.

    She had to stop lying to herself. Seeing him like that did make her feel scared. And, it really was differentpared to her family, since she barely knew him. But, she really couldn''t control it. This aversion towards violence and this need to be selfless and kind¡­. It was something that had been ingrained forcefully into her in her past life. And she hated it. It was the reason for her death in her previous life after all.

    It had been going away slowly, but it would take some more time.

    ''But¡­ what do I do right now?'' She wondered. She could see her friendship with Axel, something which she hade to cherish deeply, breaking apart. Axel seemed to have simply given up on it, retreating back into shell he had kept him before.

    Not knowing what to do, she recalled her mother''s advice. ''Be honest¡­''

    Martina pursed her lips. Axel was someone who had saved her life. Twice. Thrice, if counting the duel. Her life was as good as over if she had agreed to marry Maksmilian. He had also gone out of his way to take revenge for her. She couldn''t afford to lose his friendship. And he at least deserved to know it wasn''t his fault.

    Thus, taking a deep breath, she made her resolve. Walking towards him, she kicked of her slippers to sit him on his bed. "I''m not going anywhere. Not until you hear me out," she said resolutely.

    Axel looked at her for a moment, and sighed. "Go on, then."

    Martina created a privacy ward around them. "I''m about to tell you something I haven''t told anyone. It''s also... the reason why I''m the way I am." She said seriously. "Can you promise not to tell anyone?"

    This got Axel''s attention. He turned his head to look at her with interest. "I won''t."

    Martina nodded as she leaned forward. "Do you.... believe in past life?"

    ....

    A.N.: Next chapter: Past Revealed

    Next next: Breaking News! Axel Hunt, a Muggleborn Orphan?

    Ah... I know, right? But you have to Wait.

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    Take me to the top with an overwhelming lead

 Chapter 99: Past Revealed

    Chapter 99: Past Revealed

    After sending another message to Axel, Daphne decided to sleep early on the Christmas night. She would just wait for his response.

    Lying on her bed, Daphne sighed, thinking how good her life was currently. With that man dead, and Astoria cured, and her mother finally happy, there was very little she had left toin. Especially since Astoria''s condition could have been much more fatal in a different situation. After all, the family''s curse is not actually Blood Malediction. That''s just a cover up.

    ''So, I should be happy with what I have. No need to worry too much about Axel.'' Thinking so she went to sleep, hoping to dream of him.

    ....

    Daphi! Daphi! This is bad!" Late into the night, the door to Daphne''s room burst open, as Astoria ran in and made a dive for Daphne, who was sleeping in peace in her bed.

    Since she wasn''t in a particrly merry mood, Daphne had turned in early right after dinner. But right now, her night owl of a sister jumped on her out of nowhere, rudely waking her up.

    "What the F¡ª Astoria? You seriously have to stop waking me up like this!" She grumbled, covering herself in sheets again.

    Astoria shook her head, pulling on the sheets. "No! It''s really an emergency this time! It''s about Axel!"

    ?!

    That woke her up alright. The sheets were thrown off as Daphne sat up, looking at Astoria sharply "What happened?!"

    In a different situation, Astoria would have had a few words to say about this behavior of her sister, but right now, she simply passed on the MM in her hand to Daphne.

    "Axel is engaged," she said, making Daphne''s eyes widen.

    "Tory, if this is some sort of sick prank¡ª" she began to say as she checked the Magi-mirror, but paused when she saw the news headlines on the screen.

    "BRUTAL VIOLENCE AT THE VALENTINO CHRISTMAS PARTY!"

    "THE VALENTINOS ANNOUNCE THE ENGAGEMENT OF PRINCESS MARTINA!"

    "AXEL HUNT ENGAGED!"

    "MAKSMILIAN MIKHAILOV CHALLENGES AXEL HUNT TO A DUEL!"

    "SAVAGE AXEL STRIKES AGAIN!"

    "AXELTINA SHIP SAILS!"

    Daphne''s heart sank and her throat dried up, causing her to swallow. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, desperately hoping that this was not what she was thinking it was. It''s either wrong or she''s dreaming. But, as she opened one of the articles, her hopes were Quickly shattered.

    "The Christmas party at the Valentinos this time was anticipated to be an exceptionally big event. Because this party was going to be attended by the Mikhailov Family, the equally mighty and influential rival of the Valentinos from Russia.

    But, no one expected the event to be blown so out of proportions! The Mikhailov family actually proposed marriage to the Valentino Family, possibly offering to make what would have been, the biggest political alliance in existence!

    Maksmilian Mikhailov (19) and Martina Valentino (15) are certainly very good matches, and the talk of a possible rtion between the two has always been a popr topic among the gossipers.

    This was certainly a very huge event! Valentino and Mikhailov are two tycoons of the Wizarding world which everyone steers clear from. With a sessful alliance, the two families might have turned out to be an unrivaled Magical Superpower, save for, perhaps, Antis, our sea neighbors.

    But when it was about to be a reality, things suddenly took a turn as the Valentino family rejected the proposal because, ''they had already Engaged Martina with someone else!''

    Yes, dear readers, Martina Valentino, the most eligible female bachelorette, and the dream of uncountable young men, is officially taken.

    And the lucky man who is actually the one to win her heart is Axel Hunt, a fellow student at Hogwarts, more than two years her junior."

    ?!! Reading until here Daphne began to hyperventte, as her hands holding the MM shook uncontrobly.

    She couldn''t believe it! But the article was from a trusted website, and the pictures were all real, in which Axel looked extremely dazzling, standing along with Martina. The two really looked like couples.

    And here she thought he would only go to parties with her... Her eyes blurred, big droplets of her tears dripping on the screen as Astoria hugged her from the side.

    Axel was engaged¡­

    With Martina¡­

    With fucking Martina!

    Daphne knew she should have done something about the girl.

    "Stop¡­ there''s nothing more," Astoria said, trying to take away the screen. She had just thought that her sister might want to know about this so she quickly came to her. But she had no idea that Daphne would be so deeply affected. Astoria felt like she made a mistake.

    "Don''t!"

    Daphne dabbed at her eyes with her sheets. Yes. The headlines were saying a lot more than this. There was blood mentioned as well. Axel might be hurt! Sniffing while stifling another sob, she continued to read.

    "The said fiance, Axel Hunt, has quickly risen to fame recently, after his legendary Quidditch match in which he broke 22 world records at once, showing an unseen amount of skills and talent for the sport. There''s no information avable about Hunt''s history or his background even after his legendary debut at Quidditch, which is definitely a surprise. But after this incident, that is certainly going to have to change, since he has caused too big an incident to remain anonymous anymore.

    Yes, at the party, he did something which blew the event out of proportions! When Maksmilian Mikhailov, the heir to the Mikhailov Family and the ex-soon-to-be Fianc¨¦ of Martina, found out that the girl he had epted to marry was already engaged to someone else. Like any man in love, he was devastated. In his resentment, he challenged Hunt to a duel, all the while calling him with provocative terms.

    If there''s one thing to be known about Hunt from his very little avable history, it''s that even though he stays out of trouble for the most part, he doesn''t take lightly to provocations. Whoever has provoked him in the past, Hunt has managed to deal them with an excessively brutal revenge without fail, even getting himself the nickname "Savage Hunt" in the process.

    So, when Maksmilian provoked Axel by saying vulgarities about him and his fiance¨¦ and challenged him to a duel, he must have known what he was getting into since the stakes were Axel would have to leave Martina forever and also grovel at Maksmilian''s feet if he loses. It has to be noted that Maksmilian is a known duelist, possibly the best in his age group, and Hunt being more than six years younger couldn''t have stood a chance.

    But contrary to what everyone expected, instead of rejecting the proposal, Hunt instead epted it, adding his own terms: No interference until one of them is unconscious, and the Mikhailov knife, the highest honour that can be given to outsiders.

    Not expecting him to win, his terms were epted by the Mikhailovs. But they didn''t know that they had just made a rather terrible blunder. Even before the fight had started, Hunt had somehow managed to take possession of both of Maksmilian''s wands.

    Maksmilian then made the mistake of provoking Hunt further by saying things about him, his mother, and his fiance¨¦, which somehow resulted in Maksmilian''s tongue getting pierced by the broken end of his own wand. Hunt then proceeded to pin Maksmilian''s hands and rain continuous punches on his face while telling him to stay the hell away from Martina.

    The beating was extremely brutal, and terrifying, by the way Hunt unforgivably punched Maksmilian without stopping for a second, each punch extremely heavy. Maksmilian''s screams didn''t seem to affect, neither the pain in his bloody hands. He wasn''t even deterred by the fact that he was beating the living hell out of the Heir of one of the most dangerous family in Existence, right in front of its boss.

    By the time Maksmilian passed out, blood was everywhere, he no longer had teeth, and the skin of cheeks was peeled to the broken bones. The scene definitely was not pretty to look at, but we still have it below for our curious readers.

    Click here¡ª

    With the duel over, Axel took the promised knife like it was business as usual as departed scene, leaving the chilled onlookers behind. Interestingly enough, Princess Martina, poprly known for her extreme kindness, did not even give a second nce to the fallen heir, instead choosing to follow her Fiance out of the party."

    ¡­.

    Daphne finished reading the whole article, and even saw the pictures and recorded memories of the incident repeatedly, hoping against hope that it was not true. But s, the reality was shown cruelly right to her face every time, chipping away at all of her mentality.

    Axel got engaged to Martina. He went to the party with her and he even offended the Mikhailov family for her. The two of them¡­ really do seem to be in love, right?

    Besides, now that the Mikhailov family is after him, there''s very little help he could get by marrying into the Greengrass Family.

    Looking at Martina, she also seems better in terms of beauty, right?

    Why would he even pick her?

    Why did she even have hope in the first ce?

    "Daphi? Daphi don''t!"

    ??

    Looking down at her sister pulling at her hands, she realized that she had been scratching her own arms, drawing blood.

    "What are you doing?! Mom?! MOM! QUICKLY COME!"

    Daphne could not stop.

    She needed something. Some kind of pain¡­ to rece the excruciating pain in her heart.

    !!!

    Suddenly, darkness began to encroach upon her, slowly but steadily, and Daphne felt her pain lessening. Before she knew it, she was already swallowed, unable to put up resistance.

    ¡­.

    In the guest bedroom of the Valentino manor, Axel and Martinaid side by side on the bed, with their backs resting against the headrest as Axel processed what he had just been told by Martina.

    "So, you''re saying that you are actually a person from a different world? And you have been able to retain your memories and personality?"

    Martina nodded, her eyes tightly shut as she processed she was finally telling this to someone. "Yes, it''s the reason how I''ve invented those things in myb, and the reason why I have so much magical knowledge at my age."

    Axel sighed. He hade into contact with quite a lot of crazy stuff in the past two years, like magic being real, a talking system in his head, a whole Wizarding World hidden from muggles, and two other worlds which he knew very little about. So, his boundaries for crazy are quite loose. But, this is still quite difficult to process.

    "How is that...even possible...?"

    Martina shrugged as well. "I''m not too sure myself... but it''s like this, when we die, our souls are reset, wiping away everything including our memories and personalities. But, that did not happen in my case. My soul is the same one that I had in my previous life."

    Axel thought about it. Everything was a bit unbelievable, but if he put it into Martina''s case, it would really exin a lot. Plus, he didn''t think she was lying.

    "So, you''ve been an adult since your childhood...And you''re from another world... Martina, that''s quite a dangerous secret." Axel looked at Martina with confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"

    He had thought Martina was just hiding an embarrassing secret, but this? It was a secret that could cause a lot of waves if fallen into the wrong hands. He was freaking out for Martina for revealing it to him so casually. For fucks sake, they hadn''t even signed a contract!

    Martina just looked at him as she rxed into the bed, a serene smileing to her face upon finally being able to lift off the burden she had been holding back since forever. "It''s to show you that I trust you, Axel. And to exin why I got scared," she said, looking at his hands that were stained in blood for her not long ago. "For that, I have to tell you the story of my previous life."

    Axel still thought it was quite stupid of Martina to reveal such a big secret only based on trust. But... he was just too curious to back down now. "Alright..." he sighed, also rxing into the bed. "Tell me then."

    Laying back, Martina looked at the ceiling as she started to talk.

    "My previous world.... it was quite simr to this one...at least in most aspects. The biggest difference was, it did not have magic. Everyone was muggle. But, the muggles had still managed to advance quite a lot through other means.

    In that world, I was an orphan living in a foster home. It wasn''t bad, but it wasn''t pleasant either. I was different from other kids my age, and that''s why I had trouble blending in. Then, I was tested to have a genius level IQ. Though along with that, I had a very mild spectrum of autism.

    Freed from the foster home, I was entered into a special program for gifted children along with other geniuses. Each of us were given custom education, based on our strengths and weaknesses.

    We were all given the most optimal living conditions, and I had even been able to make a few friends. If performed well enough, I was even allowed to have various means of entertainment from books to anime and mangas. Life was good..." Martina paused here, as her soft smile disappeared.

    "But, there were some peculiar things. We were all strongly discouraged from forming romantic rtionships. And Kindness, selfness, patriotism, humility.... these values were forcefully indoctrinated to us. Every day. They would train it into us until it was a deeply ingrained part of our nature. You see, we were geniuses being taught with knowledge with which we could destroy the country, if we decided to use it wrongly. So they had to be careful. From time to time, they would eliminate some of the kids who didn''t "fit the criteria"."

    Axel''s fists clenched in anger. He didn''t like this kind of thing.

    Martina sighed, looking back at him. "So, that is the reason I am the way I am. Kindness and selflessness is something that''s been deeply ingrained into me. It was the reason I died in my previous life. To save a lot of people, I sacrificed my own life without a second thought. And it''s also the reason why..." she said, trailing off as she looked at him regretfully.

    "The reason why you''re disgusted with me," he finished.

    Martina shook her head vigorously. "No! Who said I''m disgusted with you?! It''s rather the opposite! I really admire your character. You''re very strong, quite unlike the pathetic old me," she said earnestly.

    "When I was reincarnated into a Mafia household, it was quite difficult for me to adapt to them. In fact, I sometimes hated them as well. But¡­ they loved me so much¡­ that they decided to change for me! It was then that I slowly started to change my ck and white world view," she told him, a smileing to her face. "Seeing them, I realized that not everything is good or evil. And sometimes, you have to do what''s necessary."

    Gathering her resolve, she forced herself to hold his hand in hers, which were shaking due to her inner struggle. "I''ve been trying to change, Axel. And slowly, I''m making progress. You''re the only true friend I''ve had, and I won''t give up on you no matter what you do," she said, looking into his eyes. "Can you please also¡­ not give up on me?" She asked sincerely.

    Her mother wanted her to be truthful. Well, this was her being truthful. And turns out, it really wasn''t as scary as she had thought. For some reason, she did trust Axel, despite everything. So, it was, in fact, surprisingly great. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, making her feel quite light and giddy. She wanted to stay in this moment forever. Sighing, she rested her shoulders against Axel, no longer feeling the aversion.

    Axel nodded his head. He didn''t know if Martina was still high due to the poison to be talking like this, but he had to ept, he was touched. And he was d to know that he wasn''t the only one who valued their friendship. She went so far as to reveal such a dangerous secret for him. Overall, everything was fine now, wasn''t it?

    *Knock* *knock*

    A knock came to their door, making Martina jump in surprise. "I''ll¡­. I''ll get it." She said, truly furious at whoever it was who had decided to interrupt them at such a great moment. Opening the door, she found that it was their butler.

    "What is it?!" She hissed, being rude with a servant for the first time.

    The butler bowed his head in apology upon seeing, Axelying on the bed and the state of her hastily put on robes, quickly interpreting the situation. "My deepest apologies for interrupting your¡­ leisure, princess, but the situation is urgent. The mistress has asked for you to check your Magi-mirror. The Mikhailovs have begun their retaliation. Our side is currently trying to minimize the damage as we speak."

    "WHAT?! What did they do?! Did they attack us?!"

    "I apologize, princess. But I must go. Everything will be clear to you once you check the Hive. "

    The butler then looked at Axel and bowed deeply. "The Mistress sends her deepest regret and apologies over the situation. She''ll be personally servicing your wand as soon as she''s dealt with the situations."

    And with that, the butler was gone, leaving a panicking and frustrated Martina, the moment she had been cherishing ruined. "I don''t even HAVE my Magi-mirror on me!" Sheined to no one in particr. She had only brought her wand. Just as she was about to apparate, Axel called out to her.

    "Even though I don''t use it, I still have one, you know," he said, digging out his own Magi-mirror from the depths of his pouch.

    "Oh, of course!" Martina was embarrassed. Just what was happening to her?!

    She quickly took her original ce on bed at Axel''s side as Axel handed her his Magi-mirror. Opening it, she found a lot of notifications piled up.

    Daphne

    100+ calls, 100+ messages

    Patricia

    2 calls, 12 messages

    Akiko

    3 messages

    Unknown

    100+ calls, 100+ messages

    Unknown

    20 calls, 23 messages

    .

    .

    Axel realized what he had forgotten. Checking his phone. It''s always on silent mode to avoid distractions.

    Martina''s finger paused briefly upon seeing them, but then she quickly swiped up to get to business. She was curious what these girls wanted to talk to him about, but right now she was in a bit of an emergency.

    Her thumbs worked fast on the Magi-mirror, and within seconds, they found out the main reason for all the fuss.

    The Magi-hive was filled with various types of news about the party, like their engagement and all the other stuff about the duel, but Martina went to thetest news.

    ?!

    ?!

    And what they saw, managed to surprise the hell out of the both of them.

    BREAKING NEWS!

    AXEL HUNT, PAST REVEALED!!!

    AXEL HUNT: A MUGGLE ORPHAN?

    THE WONDER BOY WITH SURPRISINGLY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS!

    ¡­

    A.N.: Nice, huh?

    Next Chapter: Axel Hunt, Exposed!

    next next: New Wand, Surprised Francesca

    Next next next: Daphne lost it

    Read ahead and support me!

    Pat /Snollygoster

    POWERSTONES!!! Please take me to top

 Chapter 100: New Wand, Surprised Francesca

    Chapter 100: New Wand, Surprised Francesca

    Chapter 100

    Axel followed the mother daughter pair down to the portal outside the manor. Drawing her wand, Francesca tapped it a few times with her wand, making it whirl to life.

    "Come along," she said, stepping through.

    As he walked through to the other side, Axel was stunned by the scenery.

    In front of him was a huge hall, filled with heat. The ce resembled a Smithy, with forges of all kinds set up everywhere. Loud sounds of metals being hammered were being produced by the men working, making the ce quite lively.

    Upon seeing them, workers were surprised at first, but then continued to work after a gesture from Francesca.

    "This is the Valentino Weapon Factory, first level," said Martina over the noise. "The magic weapons produced here are used formercial purposes, one of the things our family is famous for," she said as they walked, pointing at the rows of different kinds of weapons on their side.

    Axel looked at the neatly organized row of shiny weapons. There were all kinds of them, from swords and knives, to bows and arrows. Picking one up at random, Axel found it to be quite good.

    "All of them are enchanted with various enchantments like unbreakable, no-rust, self-sharpening," said the woman upon seeing his interest. "You can take as many as you want," she offered generously.

    "Don''t mind if I do then," said Axel, taking out his wand.

    "Oppugno Totalis," he murmured.

    Instantly, more than a hundred weapons floated out of the racks, making the Valentino women widen their eyes. Ignoring their surprise, Axel opened his magical pouch and held it up.

    "How¡­ is your brain not exploding right now¡­?" Asked Martina in utter confusion. The spell had already been disciphered by her, and she had realized just impossibly difficult it was to do what Axel was doing so casually.

    Axel shrugged, his mind fully concentrated on the weapons. "Talent and practice," he muttered, jerking the wand in his direction.

    *Swish* *swishswishswiswish¡­*

    One by one, the weapons began going inside the pouch at an incredible speed, enough to pierce through someone. The only safety was that they were all sheathed with protective covers.

    Within seconds, the whole rack was empty, as Axel closed his pouch. "Thanks. They''ll be of use in the future. It would make things a lot faster¡­" he said, not specifying the purpose.

    "...."

    But, looking at what he just did, it was quite clear what it was going to be used for.

    ''Hopefully, not against us¡­'' wished Francesca, feeling a chill recalling their foolish blunder of offending this person. ''Well, we can only do our best to make up for it.''

    Putting on a smile, she began walking again. "Let''s go. What we need is in the custom section," she said behind her back.

    "The custom section is the restricted area. It''s packed full of secrets and extremely rare resources, so only family members can ess it," exined Martina as they walked past the wand section.

    "Well, let''s get this over with quickly," he said, recalling the messages on his MM. He was just needed for some tests. Then he''ll be free to do whatever he wants while Francesca works hard on his wand.

    After going through a few security checks, they reached arge pair of double doors, seemingly made out of gold. Francesca put her hand on the door and after a few seconds, the doors swung open soundlessly, showing a vast area, filled with all kinds of equipment and storage drawers. "This... is the custom area. It''s imprable, since it contains some of our most precious resources," she introduced, stepping through.

    Since she didn''t want to waste Axel''s time, she quickly asked Axel to take out his wand while tying her hair in a knot.

    The first thing she did was to examine it under some kind of magical item which looked awfully simr to a microscope. After doing a thorough examination, she looked back at Axel in surprise.

    "Just... what the hell did you do with your wand?" She couldn''t help but ask again. She hadn''t known the exact magnitude of the output through ordinary analysis, but now that she had done it thoroughly, the amount of power required to do that damage turned out to be much more than what she had expected.

    Martina frowned at her mother. "You can''t ask, mom." she reminded warningly. "Why can''t we start already?"

    Francesca was once again surprised at her daughter''s fierce protectiveness towards Axel. Though it does make sense now since Axel had just saved her from a terrible fate.

    "She has already grown up..." she thought, feeling like it was just yesterday that she was iming she would never marry.

    Shrugging helplessly, Francesca got behind a row of magical equipments, beckoning Axel to stand in front. "Please stand here. I need to run several tests before we get started on customizing your wand."

    Axel looked at Martina, who nodded reassuringly. "Alright."

    Francesca ran several tests on Axel, evaluating him with her critical eyes. From time to time, she would show astonishment and approval, sometimes nodding to herself, but Axel just stopped trying to interpret her gestures'' meanings after a while.

    "All done," she dered after a while, as she waved her wand, summoning several precious materials from the drawers.

    Putting his wand on a pedestal, she got to work, slowly dissecting it. "The first step is to decide the operation of the core. Your current core is Cherub hair, which makes your situation quite unique," she said,unching into an exination.

    Cherub hair cores aren''t that popr to begin with. Generally, it doesn''t enhance your spells much, but as your bond with your wand strengthens, the powers of the wand increase proportionally. But, this is where the peculiarity lies," said Francesca, pausing in her exnation.

    "What is it?" Asked Axel, also looking at the slow dissection.

    "Usually, the increase in power is not very significant, since the strength of the bond is not much. Cherub wands are... very hard to please. If that was the case here, your wand would have already been destroyed.

    But somehow... your bond is not only stronger, it''s somehow stronger to the point of being able to withstand that much amount of power without getting utterly burned. I still can''t understand how," she said, shaking her head in wonder.

    Axel didn''t say anything, even though he knew the reason: his bond strength was so high because he had been following the system''s instructions on this.

    "So, it can be fixed, right?" He asked for confirmation.

    Francesca smiled, as she gave him a nod. "Not only that, we can also upgrade your wand significantly, so that it can handle a lot more power than before."

    Axel''s eyebrows shot up. "That''s possible?"

    "It''s possible, Axel." said Martina, who had also been observing the wand. "That''s what I had asked mom to do in the first ce. Your bond is quite strong but the material that''s made up your wand is not able to withstand your magic. The wood does not suit you anymore, and cheerub cores aren''t strong enough. So, we need to change the wood of your wand, and make the cheerub core stronger and more durable, so that you can cast stronger magic without damaging it."

    This is what she had wanted to do from the beginning. But the procedure was so difficult and exclusive that outsiders don''t even know about it, let alone having their family do it for them. She had been very d when her mother had agreed to do it for Axel, but now she felt it was the least her mother could do.

    Axel nodded slowly. "So, what kind of wood are we using? Will it be possible to use "that" one?" He asked, looking at Martina.

    Martina brightened up at that. "Actually, I had started my research the moment you gave it to me and I have to say, I''ve never seen anything like it," she said, taking out the piece of wood that Daphne had given him.

    As soon as she took out the wand, Axel could feel the magic radiating from the wood. Activating his Arcane Eyes, he could see that Martina had actually made some progress in unsealing it.

    "What.... in the pluto''s name is that," asked Francesca, looking at the wood in astonishment. Martina just smiled as she handed the wood.

    "It''s one of the gifts Axel got for Christmas. Just check it out," she said knowingly.

    "My gods....."

    As expected, Francesca''s surprise kept intensifying the more tests she ran. "This... I''ve never seen anything like this. It is emanating a strong amount of light magic," she said as she looked at Axel. "It''s actually perfect for your wand."

    "Really?" Asked Axel in confusion.

    Martina nodded. "It is. Cherubs are small magical creatures, very much like pixies and fairies. They are light magic oriented and very weak. So, the core of your wand is also weak. But, If we use a small amount of this wood in your wand, we can also strengthen your Cherub hair core with it." she exined.

    "But... there''s one problem," said Francesca, summoning out several more materials from the drawers.

    Axel sighed. Of course it can''t be that simple.

    "What is it?"

    Francesca looked at the materials she had summoned with a difficult expression. "This wood,bined with the Cherub core makes your wand far too much orientated towards the light magic. I don''t suppose your dark spells were very effective before this?" She asked, looking at Axel.

    Axel had to agree to that. The dark spells he had tried weren''t all that powerful so he had stopped using them.

    Francesca sighed. "Then you will bepletely unable to cast them if I use this wood. I don''t have any material that is strong enough to neutralize its light attribute."

    "Actually¡­ it would be really helpful if you happen to have body parts of an extremely dark creature. It would be even more helpful if it has aged thousands of years¡­" said Martina, giving Axel a sneaky look.

    Axel understood her hint, taking out a Basilisk fang from the depths of his pouch. "I have a thousand year old Basilisk body. Would it do?"

    "What...?" Francesca just looked at him for several moments. "Did you just say... a Basilisk? A 1000 year old one at that?"

    But since when has Axel needed to exin anything? "You heard what you heard, Mrs. Valentino. No need to ask questions."

    Putting his hand in his pocket, he took out another pouch made out of dragon hide, from which, he slowly withdrew a small, ck stone.

    "What is this?" Asked Martina, taking the stone from him.

    "Careful," he warned, but she touched it anyway.

    !!!

    "Wha¡ª!" Martina almost dropped the stone to the ground, as she backed away from it in horror.

    Axel caught the stone unhurriedly, giving it to Francesca. "Take this as well. It might be of some use."

    "That¡­ that''s ¡ª!" Martina was tongue tied after realising what the familiar horrible sensation she just felt from the stone was. The power... it was quite simr to the one she felt on the night of Halloween.

    Axel gave Martina a nod, confirming her suspicion. At the night of Halloween, the Demogorgon wasn''tpletely destroyed.... It did leave something behind. Axel had spotted it using his Arcane Eyes, and taken it as apensation for his wand.

    Francesca was quite unnerved by the stone in the beginning, but she didn''t freak out like Martina, only looking extremely confused as she began examining the stone.

    *Clink* *Clink*

    But then suddenly, she dropped her equipments, backing away from the stone as if it would kill her. "My gods... I don''t believe it..."

    Axel''s brows furrowed. "You know what this thing is?" This was unexpected. This was a creature from another world after all.

    Francesca nodded, her mind jogging up her memory. "I... I think I do, but I thought these things only existed in rumors. If I''m not wrong¡­ it''s a dark stone obtained from ying a Demogorgon¡­"

    "?? How do you know that?!" Axel couldn''t help but ask. If she knows about this, then it means that there has been a precedent to a Demogorgon entering this world.

    "What?! So it really is a dark stone?!" Francesca really freaked out this time. Axel had never thought he would see the day that the always stoic Martina''s mother would have such intense reactions.

    Even Martina was looking at her mother like she was seeing her for the first time, but then she couldn''t help but shake her head ruefully in understanding. Hadn''t her situation also been the same? No matter how mature and knowledgeable, people will lose their shit when ites to Axel.

    "Mrs Valentino," said Axel, waving his hand in front of the stunned women who seemed to be lost in thought. "What exactly do you know about this?" He asked.

    Francesca looked at Axel for a long time. "How do you¡­sigh¡­you really are a boy of wonder, Axel." She murmured, shaking her head. How long has it been when she had been this surprised and curious about something? And the most maddening prospect? She can''t even satiate her curiosity.

    Activating her lumency, she regained her original look. "I''m not feeling very inclined to share the details, but suffice it to say it has happened long in the past, and you don''t have to worry about a Demogorgon showing up anywhere in this age," she said tersely, getting back to working on his wand.

    "You¡­" Seeing her mom being so petty, Martina looked at Axel with a look of worship. "You actually managed to piss off mom..." she murmured in wonder, letting out a giggle. "That hasn''t happened since forever."

    Axel wasn''t so pleased with the situation.

    "Is there anything else you need me for? Quickly get it done. I have something to do." He said, taking out his Magi-mirror. He wasn''t going to wait more to read the messages. Despite his logical judgment, he just couldn''t wait longer.

    !!!

    *Crack*

    And it was a good thing that he did so. Because as soon as he opened the messages, the screen cracked under the pressure he unconsciously put on the Magi-mirror.

    "Axel? What happened?!" Martina was rmed

    Axel took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Martina, I need to go to Britain. Right now." His voice was calm, but the magical fluctuations emanating from him were making the whole ce shake.

    "Britain? What hap¡ª?"

    Axel cut her off. "Martina¡­ Now," he said, opening his eyes. But they were not the usual amber eyes. They had turned sea blue.

    Francesca had already gotten a better grasp at the situation. She took out the Portkey ring from her pouch, activating it and giving it to Axel. "Here. You will need to press the button after getting out of this room. The Portkey is restricted here," she told him curtly.

    "Thanks," Taking the Portkey, Axel gave her a nod of genuine acknowledgement. He was grateful she was willing to do this despite the previous situation. "And if you really want to know, I killed the Basilisk, and the Demogorgon. That''s how I have the materials," he told her, nodding at the dark crystal and the Basilisk fang lying on the table.

    With that, he disappeared from the spot, followed by the opening and closing of the door.

    At once, the two women looked at the door in rm, before looking at each other, each mirroring the surprise in the other''s eyes.

    Did¡­ Did someone just casually break through their "imprable" room''s defenses?!

    ...

    A.N.: Next: Daphne

    Next next: For the Record, I''m single

    Next next next: The way of water unlocked

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 Chapter 101: Daphne

    Chapter 101: Daphne

    "Martina...?"

    "...What?"

    "Did you leave the doors open?"

    "N¡ªYes. I mean, I did."

    "So you did close them." Martina couldn''t sessfully lie to her mother.

    Francesca let out a hollowugh. Security built and improved through generations, broken through...just like that. If he can do this, then...

    "That boy... he can single-handedly destroy the Mikhailovs on a whim, or us for that matter. And we chose Mikhailovs over him..." she muttered, regretting her decision in the truest sense.

    Insane Mastery in stealth, assassination, Magic, and ward breaking... just who exactly did she piss off?

    Her knees buckled, as she slowly sank to the ground, letting the information sink in as she looked at the two different trophies lying on the table.

    A thousand year old Basilisk... Her mind recalled the details about a Basilisk. Aside from all the benefits its body can provide, she also distinctly recalled the fact that a Basilisk is an XXXXX creature. Gigantic size, Anti Magical hide, killing stare, and one of the deadliest venom found on the.

    ''And then there''s the other thing....''

    Her eyes went to the dark crystal lying on the table as a shudder ran through her body. When people get to her level, they can have ess to...certain information that''s not avable to the rest of the world. This information includes things that are just too beneficial to be released to the public, or.... things that are just too dangerous.

    Demogorgon, of course,es into theter category. There''s a certain book called¡ª the world level threats. The book has mysterious origins, and there are very few copies. Demegorgon was one of the threats listed in the book.

    ''A creature listed in the world level threats!'' Francesca was still unable to believe it.

    There was no mistake in her analysis. The description written in the book really matched what she had read. So, it really was a dark stone from a Demogorgon, there was no doubt about that.

    But, recalling the details, she couldn''t believe that it was actually killed by Axel!

    Quote, "Born out of darkness, this creature is a cmity that can destroy Kingdom upon Kingdoms until it is satiated. It can neither be stopped nor killed using the avable magecraft. If such a creature were to ever befall its presence upon this world again, then may there still be someone with obscure mystical arts to thwart it before it is toote."

    "...."

    Right now, Francesca just hoped she didn''t have such a good memory. Her mind should also stop making connections between ying of such a creature and Axel''s wand being damaged due to an inestimatably powerful spell of light nature.

    Because that would mean that Axel only recently killed a world threat level creature while he was supposed to be in Hogwarts...

    ....

    On the other hand, in the Saint Mungo''s Hospital VIP ward, Astoria and Evelyn both sat huddled up together at the bedside, looking after the unconscious form of Daphne.

    In front of them lied three magi mirrors, through which they had been calling Axel repeatedly, First they had tried through Daphne''s MM, but then thinking maybe Axel was deliberately ignoring her, they tried contacting him through their own devices as well, but to no avail.

    "Why did he not respond?!" muttered Astoria in frustration.

    "I... don''t know..."

    Evelyn also had no idea. She was also feeling quite helpless at the moment. They had already tried contacting Axel, and in order to contact the Valentinos you first have to fix an appointment, which will take time. So, they had no way of contacting him.

    "But... what''s the use in that? It''s already here." she muttered with a sigh.

    "The mind healers are saying it would be best to let her cope naturally," she told her, making Astoria''s eyes tear up again.

    "It''s... It''s all m-my fault¡­" Astoria began to cry again. "If... if only I hadn''t told her..."

    Evelyn hugged her daughter to her bosom, gently rubbing her back. "It is NOT your fault, Tory. She would have found out anyway. And things might have gotten worse if you weren''t there when she found out," she said firmly, urately stating facts.

    For all they know, Daphne might have done worse to herself if they hadn''t gotten there in time.

    "And, you couldn''t have known that her reaction to knowing this would be so... extreme," Evelyn added, feeling quite staggered herself. She knew that her daughter had feelings for Axel, and she had been happy for her. But... to have fallen to this extent... she didn''t know it was even possible.

    Seeing Astoria still crying, Evelyn patted her head gently. "You shouldn''t be sad, you know. The curse has already passed! It could have been a lot worse, couldn''t it? Even her life could have been threatened!"

    "You wouldn''t understand, mom," At her mother''s condolences, Astoria only cried harder. As someone who had married into the Greengrass family, Evelyn hadn''t ever contracted the curse. "It takes away the most important thing in your life. It means, even death would have been a better choice!"

    At this moment of silence, on the other side of Daphne''s bed, a person suddenly appeared out of thin air, startling the other two Greengrasses.

    "How is she?" Axel demanded, looking at the unconscious form of Daphne. Activating Arcane Eyes, he found several healing wounds on her body, making his expression harden further.

    Evelyn looked at Axel for a few moments, then shook her head with a sigh. "You''re already toote, Axel. Everything has already happened."

    Axel had a bad feeling upon hearing this.

    "What... What the hell happened to her?!"

    Astoria looked at Axel with some resentment. "Why did you not respond to our calls?! Were you too busy with your fiance¨¦?"

    "Astoria?" Evelyn called out, looking scandalized. She didn''t know her sweet little Tory could talk like this. "Need I remind you who he is?"

    Astoria huffed, turning her face away from Axel with her cheeks puffed. "But Daphi has been thinking about him ever since she came. And now..."

    "Now what?" Asked Axel, his bad premonition getting worse.

    Evelyn sighed. "Axel... do you know about... the Greengrass Family curse?"

    Axel frowned. "The blood malediction? Did Daphne¡ª?"

    "No," she Evelyn, cutting him off. "The family curse is not blood malediction. It''s a curse designed to strike you when you''re at your lowest, and take away what you desire the most. And, yes, unfortunately... Daphne did contract it."

    !!! Axel''s eyes widened as he looked at Daphne again. This was bad. His hand unconsciously reached out to grip hers. "Then Daphne...?"

    "Don''t worry, she''s not in danger," said Evelyn, making his biggest worry go away.

    "Then, what happened? How did she suddenly get infected by the curse?" He demanded. As far as he could recall, Daphne shouldn''t have been in danger of contracting the curse, otherwise she would have told him about it.

    Evelyn sighed as she exined. "There are very few chance of a family member getting infected by a curse. It only happens when a descendant is at their lowest. In Astoria''s case, it happened due to her father, and she lost what she desired the most in her childhood, by manifesting as the blood malediction. We thought that it was the end, but then Daphne..."

    But then Daphne also contracted it...

    Axel''s blood began to boil as he realized the implications. It means that something caused Daphne to feel unbearably bad.

    "What happened?" He asked, as his fists clenched.

    Evelyn looked at him like he should know the answer. "Daphne found out about your engagement with Martina," she told Axel, as if that would exin the situation.

    "???" Axel couldn''t understand. "What does that have to do with anything?"

    Evelyn studied Axel for a few moments in bafflement. "Holy Morgana... you don''t know, do you?"

    Axel was getting frustrated now. "Evelyn, are you incapable of answering my questions in a way I can understand?!"

    Evelyn sighed. She only now saw the situation from Axel''s point of view. He has grown up on his own. How could he have known about things like this?

    "I shouldn''t be telling you this, but I guess it doesn''t matter anymore..." said Evelyn with a sigh. "Axel, Daphne was deeply in love with you. So deep that she couldn''t bear the thought of you getting engaged to someone else. When she came to know about your engagement, she was devastated to the point of self harm. That''s the reason why the curse manifested..."

    Axel looked at Evelyn nkly. He knew that it was possible for someone to be extremely hurt when seeing the person they love getting together with someone else. But. Would Daphne love him like that?

    He shook his head right away. "That''s... that''s not possible," he dered.

    Evelyn looked at Axel in bafflement. "Why not...?"

    Axel shook his head again, unable to ept it. "Evelyn, have you not seen the news about my past? It''s all true. And Daphne knows I''m even worse. She... no one can''t love me to that extent. There must be some other reason why she manifested the curse."

    When even his parents abandoned him, then his ssmates, and then his fellow orphans at the orphanage, then why the hell would someone like Daphne want him?

    Evelyn took Axel''s hand in her own. "Silly boy, when loving someone, the heart doesn''t care about these things. For just a few good qualities, it can ignore all the bad ones. And Daphne used to love you with all her heart. There can be no question about that. Otherwise.. her curse wouldn''t have manifested in this form..." She said with a bitter smile.

    Axel paused, as the ominous feeling he had feeling in the beginning returned in full force. "What... do you mean by that?"

    Astoria began crying again. "Sister... no longer knows you anymore..."

    "....?!" Confused by her words, Axel looked at Evelyn for an exnation.

    "Axel¡­" Evelyn hesitated, thinking about how to break the news to him. "The curse manifested when she was at her lowest, and took away what she cherished the most..."

    "What... what did it take?" asked Axel. He was beginning to understand what had happened, but he was only hoping he was wrong.

    "You, Axel. You were the person she cherished the most," she said, making Axel stunned. "So, the curse took away all of her memories about you, locking them away in the unreachable parts of her mind. You are now¡­ a stranger to her," said Evelyn, looking extremely sorry.

    "...¡­What?"

    Axel didn''t understand what was happening to him, but he wasn''t feeling well right now. He was feeling very stifled, as if someone was trying to choke him, and his hands were very fidgety, moving around on their own.

    What she cherished the most... it was him?

    And those memories...

    All the time they had spent together¡­ all the memories they had formed¡­ all gone? Just like that?

    "Why... why didn''t you stop it?"

    "I''m really sorry, Axel. We tried contacting you, in order to stop the process, but you didn''t answer. The healer said it would be better to let the situation happen naturally, since interrupting it could have caused damage to her mind."

    "And...we also thought it was better this way, since you know, you''re already engaged. Now, she''s safe, and she also doesn''t have to bear the heartbreak..." she said, making Axel feel worse. He wasn''t even engaged, damn it!

    "Congrattions for that, by the way. We are happy for you," she said with a forced smile, but inwardly, all she felt was sad and regretful. She really had started to picture Axel as her Son-inw, but what could they do? They couldn''tpete with the Valentinos, and Axel couldn''t be med for choosing that family over the Greengrass.

    Still in shock, Axel took the chair on Daphne''s bedside, sitting down powerlessly. "I''m not, you know." He said, his expression neutral. He had cut off his emotions altogether at this point. "I''m not engaged to Martina."

    ???!!! x2

    Axel shrugged at their surprised expression. "I was never asked. And if they had bothered asking me, I would have said "no, fuck you". They only used me as a shield to reject the Mikhailov family''s proposal."

    "Oh Merlin¡­" Evelyn covered her mouth in surprise, as she realized the ramifications of the statement. If Axel was never engaged, then it means that he had to make enemies with the Mikhailovs for no reason, and then his information got leaked for no reason, and then¡­ Daphne got like this for no reason. "Axel¡­ I''m so¡­"

    "Save it," said Axel, leaning back in his chair, as he used his lumency with full force. "This is how it''s always been."

    What could be done at this point? Who could he me? The Valentinos were only trying to save their daughter and prevent war. They didn''t know it would have such extreme ramifications. The Mikhailovs were only trying to screw the Valentinos, not him, until they were forced to, and got lucky enough to find out about his past. Evelyn was only trying to do the best for her daughter.

    In retrospect, everyone was reacting as they were expected.

    And yet, the only one getting screwed... was him.

    And now, he has probably lost the one person he has always counted on to have his back.

    But, he should not be surprised anymore, and he should not be hurt. After all, his life is always finding new ways to screw him over.

    But then, why the hell does it hurt so fucking much?

    He realized why....

    ''You are what she cherishes the most, Axel.''

    Evelyn''s words rang in his head.

    Someone who cherishes him the most. Someone who would put him above everything. Someone who would never betray him. And, someone he could trust wholeheartedly.

    He actually had such a person too.

    And yet, by the time he came to know about it, it was already toote, wasn''t it?

    Axel looked at Daphne''s peacefully sleeping form and felt a surge.

    "No way..." He muttered.

    There is no way this is happening.

    There''s no way in HELL he''s going to LET this happen.

    "The memories..." he said, looking up at Evelyn. "They''re only locked up, right?"

    Evelyn looked extremely sorrowful. Understanding his intentions, she shook her head sadly. "They''re locked up in the unreachable depths of her by the curse itself. The healers said, even if we do reach them somehow, there''s no way to recover them until the curse is still present."

    "It means they''re there."

    Axel wasn''t deterred by that. He knew better than anyone else that Healers couldn''t be trusted with shit. He only knows one thing for sure: The memories are there! And, one way or another he''s going to bring them back!

    ''System, is it possible to get them back?''

    [It is possible. But very difficult.]

    Axel sighed in relief, ignoring the difficulty part. He took Daphne''s hand. Even if it''s difficult, for this girl, he''ll do it. He only now felt the value or those memories, and he only now felt the value of Daphne.

    ''She''s still here.'' That was what he was grateful for. Looking at her, he made a vow to him. That from this moment on, he will cherish every moment, every new memory he has with her.

    ...

    A.N.: He''s realizing it now.

    Next: Just for the record, I''m single.

    Next next: Way of the Water Unlocked

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 Chapter 102: For the record, Im single

    Chapter 102: For the record, I''m single

    In the Greengrass manor, in Daphne''s bedroom, Daphneid unconscious on her bed, her blond hair spread out on the pillow. Sitting at her bedside was Axel, looking at the messages she had sent him, disyed over the cracked screen of Magi-mirror.

    [Hey Axel, I''m really sorry for just now, I feel so embarrassed! (? ?¨R?§¥?¨Q?) I didn''t know that I was so tired, I slept through the whole ride! And your cloak¡­ I might have drooled on it, Argh¡­ I''m so sorry! (?-?_?-?;?) I asked to go back together so that we could have fun together, you know, like we used to all the time.

    Lately we haven''t even been able to sit together in our sses. So I thought, well, at least we can have the ride back to ourselves. But then I went and slept through it all¡­ on yourp (>?.?<) I can already see you rolling your eyes in annoyance at me. Sorry sorry sorry, okay? I''ll behave next time.

    Anyways, I hope you enjoy your Christmas¡­ at Valentinos¡­ with Martina¡­.]

    [Hey, just checking in. How is your first experience with the infamous Valentino family? You haven''t started a fight with them, have you? And how is Martina treating you? Is she a good hostess? I don''t really think so.

    I''ve been observing her, you know, I haven''t seen her speak more than five words to anyone other than you. I think she either has social problems or she thinks everyone is just beneath her.

    Anyways, I''m home now. Mom and Astoria are super disappointed they couldn''t see you, again. Anyways, I''m just sending out messages since I really don''t have anything to do. It''s not because I''m already missing you or anything. We just separated after all. Anyways, take care. And¡­ keep your doors closed during the night, okay? Don''t let Martina in.]

    [Hey, I''m sending out another message. My Christmas must have reached you by now. Did you see it? How was it? I know you might now even read these messages but there''s a chance you might want to reply about what I asked in my letter. So, are youing or not? Any time after Christmas. But I know it will take time for your wand to be repaired so I''d understand if you can''t make it. Anyways, that was it, I''ll wait for you. And, you know, about Martina, try not to get too friendly with her. She might take advantage of you.]

    [Hey, it''s me again. I still haven''t heard from you. I know that you''ve probably just forgotten to check your MM, but I''m still worried. Today was Christmas, and we all miss you here. Astoria was pouting all the time. You know you''re her hero, right? Even more so after the Quidditch match. Her voice was all hoarse due to all the cheering she did for you, and so was mine.

    She couldn''t meet you at the match too. So she was quite upset to know you weren''ting. Mom also seems to be quite fond of you. She''s asked me three times if you''reing before the Holidays end or not.

    I hope your wand is ready soon, since we can''t wait.

    Last Christmas, it was the best Christmas we had. This one, well not so good, but it was still better since we didn''t have to go to one of my father''s boring parties and pretend to be all prim and proper. Only your presence wascking. Just¡­ try toe, alright? You''re part of this family now. And, please, please give me a sign that you''re alright, okay? I worry.]

    Reading all the messages Daphne had sent him, Axel sighed.

    This girl...

    In the beginning, he had been ready to spend his life alone, not willing to put his trust in anyone. He was just there, observing the world safely from within the walls he had built around himself. For all he cared, the shitty world, and all the shitty people inside could go fuck themselves.

    Then she came out of nowhere, with her cynical humor and eager-to-be-corrupted personality, and began knocking on the walls, disturbing the stability he had created around himself in his monotonous days of training and enduring pain of his injuries.

    They were both quite different, but there was definitely one thing they had inmon: Both of them hated her dad with a vengeance.

    So he thought, why not guide her a little? Let her do things that would make her an asshole of a dad role in his grave? So, that''s what he did, and to his surprise, he actually enjoyed it.

    They started to hang out, sitting together in sses, as he taught her things a proper pureblood heiress would definitely not do, like learning curse swear words, making an absolute mockery of manners and customs, skipping sses, etc.

    And Daphne happily came for the ride, willingly getting corrupted by his crooked ways, and even helping him out in his homework.

    To him, spending time with her was just a distraction from his painful healing process. A momentary escape from all the stress.

    He had not wanted anything more from her. He truly had not. After all, he had known very well that the two of them were from different worlds. She had grown up in wealth, and would belong with people of simr status and upbringing. He wasfortable with the way things were.

    But not Daphne.

    She was not satisfied with just cracking the surface of the walls. She wanted them gone. So she began doing her best to make it happen.

    And she seeded. Axel realized that he had truly begun to care about this stubborn girl, who would not give up chasing after him no matter what. He hade to truly enjoy the time they spent together, and He hade to like her snarky yet sweet personality.

    The only thing he couldn''t understand was, why the hell?

    Why the hell does she do so much for him? Why the hell does she try so hard? Why the hell would she be wasting so much time with someone like him?

    Daphne was quite popr. She had many other friends who were much betterpany than him. So, he couldn''t understand why she chose someone like him over all others.

    But, the answer had always been there, wasn''t it? He was just in too much denial to see it. He had refused to think of that possibility. He had refused to even entertain such a wishful and unlikely notion.

    Daphne had always been trying to show him her love, and her sincerity. He was just too much in denial to see it.

    ''Just what the hell did she see in me?'' He wondered, looking at her, feeling quite surreal. Though she has always tried to remain low-key, Daphne is also quite popr in the school. Axel has seen dozens of boys try to approach her on a daily basis, but she wouldn''t give anyone else the time of her day.

    He had just thought that she must not care about this stuff, just like him. That''s why she didn''t pay anyone else any attention. But, as it turned out, she did in fact, pay attention. A lot. The reason she didn''t pay anyone else any attention was because, all of her attention was on him.

    ''As unbelievable as it may seem...'' he thought, shaking his head.

    "It''s not that much of a surprise, you know."

    ?? Axel turned his head to look at Evelyn, who had seemingly picked up on what Axel was thinking.

    "What?"

    "I was talking about your surprise reaction earlier. I don''t know why you would be so surprised that she loves you," she exined.

    "The way I see it, I''m not at all wrong to be surprised. Not with all the shit I''ve had to go through," said Axel with a shrug, recalling his past. Ever since the very beginning, no one had epted him. But aside from that, even after he had left the orphanage, the impression people had of him only got worse.

    When he''d walk by, people would distance themselves from him. Parents would hide their children behind them who would look at him like he was a weird animal. He would be called with things like the scarhead, little rat, or simply the ugly kid. No one would even treat him like a human being, let alone care about him.

    And then there were people like Betrix, who would throw a bucket of cold water on him from time to time, waking him up from any delusions or hopes he might have developed, and cruelly crushing him under their feet.

    So yeah, with this kind of past, he would say he was plenty justified in having trouble believing that Daphne was actually in love with him.

    Evelyn studied him for several moments. She then shook her head. "You can''t keep thinking that, Axel." she said seriously.

    "Why not?"

    "Well, first of all, your looks are extremely appealing. Frankly speaking, you look like some sort of royalty and your physique is already better than athletes. Merely this much is enough to sway most girls. But Daphne is not that shallow," said Evelyn, shaking her head. "This is just to say you should be more confident about your appeal."

    "What Daphne used to like the most, was you, your whole being. She liked spending time with you, she liked talking to you, she liked your personality to the point of getting influenced by it and always talking about you. She was obsessed with you. Aside from this, you were full of mysteries she wanted to unravel, and most importantly, you saved Astoria, fulfilling her deepest desire. Not to mention Daphne, this much is enough to make even a grown woman fall in love," said Evelyn earnestly, her words moving Axel.

    "It''s here!"

    At this moment, Astoria barged into the room, personally carrying arge tray.

    Evelyn smiled at her daughter, getting up to help her. "You didn''t have to bring it yourself, honey. It must be heavy."

    Astoria shook her head stubbornly. "No way, Daphi didn''t take help, so I shouldn''t either."

    Astoria carried the big tray with difficulty and set it on the bed, between the sleeping Daphne and Axel. But the contents of the tray were hidden by a dome shaped lid that is usually put over foods, so Axel couldn''t see what was inside.

    "What is it?" Asked Axel.

    Evelyn smiled,ing to stand beside Axel. "Another proof to remove your doubt. It''s something Daphne had nned for you in preparation if you came here."

    Axel looked at the lid once again, really curious this time. Daphne had been asking him toe here after he was done with his wand but she never told him the reason. Now that he was actually here, he wanted to know just what was in there.

    Astoria put her hands on the lid, looking at Axel with what she tried was a smile, but she looked more like she had been holding back tears. "Daphi made this for you. By her own hands. She wouldn''t even let me help," she said, opening the lid.

    Inside, Axel saw a beautifully decorated cake, on which, the words "Happy Birthday Axel" could be seen neatly written in Daphne''s hand writing.

    Axel blinked his eyes in surprise. "This...?"

    Evelyn exined. "Axel, as far as I''m told, you don''t know the date of your birth and you don''t celebrate your birthday. So, Daphne came up with the idea of holding a small birthday celebration for you, with just the four of us..."

    Axel''s eyes remained fixed on the cake, which had Daphne written all over it. She had even cleverly hidden a heart in it, probably thinking that he would just take it as decoration.

    Axel sighed, recalling a conversation he had had with her in the past.

    ¡ª"You missed my birthday! It was during the summer holidays," said Daphne, bumping his shoulder as they walked along the corridors to attend their next ss. It had only been a few days since the holidays were over.

    Axel rolled his eyes. "So? What''s the big deal? It was only a birthday."

    Daphne frowned at him. "It IS a big deal, mister insensitive. A birthday is the day you celebrate with your family and close friends. As my close friend, you didn''t even give me a call! Tell me when your birthday is! I''ll ignore you that day!" said Daphne with a pout.

    Axel shrugged. "I wouldn''t know... I don''t remember the date."

    "Oh... I''m so sorry. I shouldn''t have asked that.

    "It''s alright".¡ª

    ¡ª

    That was the end of the conversation. Daphne had gone silent after that, and Axel had not provided further exnation on the matter. He had never celebrated a birthday before, and he didn''t want one either. Birthdays were for people like Daphne, not him. But, it looks like Daphne wouldn''t ept that.

    "This stubborn girl..." muttered Axel, looking at the cake she had made for him.

    Evelyn put a hand on his shoulder. "A birthday is celebrated with family and close friends, that''s what she said. Daphne wanted you to celebrate it with us, as your family, Axel. Whether your rtionship with Daphne rebuilds or not, please remember that you will always have me and Astoria as your family. Axel, I don''t know about your past, and I don''t know what you''ve experienced. But, you are turning out to be a fine young man, and Daphne loved you. Never doubt that.

    Axel looked at Evelyn with gratitude. "Thanks, Evelyn. But... can I keep the cake?"

    Evelyn, who had wanted him to cut the cake the eat her daughter''s first cooking, was a bit surprised, but she nodded. "Oh...Of course. She made it for you, so of course you can keep it."

    Axel took out his wand and cast several stasis and preservation charms on the cake. This was thest thing Daphne made for him. With all her love. No way he was going to eat it.

    He looked at Daphne. ''You want me to do something as silly as celebrating my birthday? Well, fine. I''ll do it. But not without your presence,'' he thought, carefully storing the cake.

    ....

    Daphne was in a sea of Darkness. She was feeling extremely sad, but she couldn''t find any reason for it. She wanted to swim to the surface, but no matter how much she tried, the surface wouldn''te near.

    For hours, she kept trying, until she finally made it to the surface, gaining consciousness.

    Daphne squinted, her eyes slowly settling on the two people she loved the most.

    "Mom? Tory? What the hell happened? Ahh! And why the hell is my head hurting like this?!" She eximed, putting a hand to her head.

    Evelyn and Astoria didn''t answer, as they waited for Daphne to realize that there was another person in the room as well.

    "What?" Following their line of sight, Daphne turned her head to find a boy sitting on the other side of the bed.

    !!?

    Her eyes widened, as she blinked in confusion. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she didn''t know the why. For some reason, looking at the boy, her headache got worse, andplicated emotions began to rampage throughout her head.

    "Who the fuck... are you?" She asked in confusion, wiping at her tear. She didn''t know why, but she wanted to punch this person. But at the same time, she also wanted to hug him tightly.

    Axel smiled at her. Even though she has forgotten, she''s still the same Daphne he knows. Using the crudenguage he had taught her personally.

    "Axel. I''m Axel Hunt. But, you''ll remember that soon." he told her with certainty.

    "And for the record, I''m single."

    So what if she has forgotten? So what if she doesn''t know him anymore. She''s still Daphne. The most important girl in his life. With or without memories, he''s going to build a rtionship with her again. And this time, he''s going to do it right.

    ....

    A.N.: Next: The Way of the water Unlocked

    Next next: Diabolical Quidditch

    Next next next: Sorry, Hufflepuff

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 Chapter 103: The way of the Water: Unlocked

    Chapter 103: The way of the Water: Unlocked

    !!!!

    Hearing Axel''s words, Daphne''s heartbeat sped up for some reason, and her tears temporarily stopped, as she felt a burst of excitement in her heart for no apparent reason.

    But, as she tried to think why,

    her head began throbbing badly, and her thoughts were in aplete mess just looking at him.

    "Axel... Hunt... right. You''re that guy..." she murmured, but as she tried to recall, she began to feel that something was amiss. "What the¡ª"

    The pain in her head intensified, as she realized her head was filled with a lot of nks. Her memories... they were... fragmented... iplete... as if parts of it had just disappeared out of the blue. She felt as if something precious had just been ripped away from her, causing her an unbearable pain.

    Daphne''s confused face started to turn into one of pain and panic. "Mom? W-What happened to me?! Who is he? Why... can''t I remember?! And why the hell... does it hurt so much?" She asked, tears streaming down her cheeks as her breathing became uneven.

    "Daphi..." Astoria could no longer hold it in. She hugged her sister, as she began crying as well.

    "It''s alright, honey," said Evelyn, as she hugged her as well. "Everything''s fine. It''s just a memory loss..." Daphne was already quite shaken after losing finding gaps in a majority of her two years worth of memories. The Greengrass matriarch couldn''t bear to tell her that she had lost something she cherished the most at this moment.

    On the other hand, Axel''s fists clenched as he saw her situation bing unstable as soon as she saw him. ''System, what should I do?! How can I make her situation better?''

    [Axel, seeing you, or thinking about you stimtes her mind to search the freshly formed gaps in her memories, which used to be her memories with you, causing her mental pain and anguish at their sudden loss. For the moment, the only thing you can do is to stay away from her until her memories settle down. Getting close to her would only cause her more pain.]

    ''Fuck...'' Axel cursed, as what he feared became true. This is in line with what the healers had said. Daphne had just lost something precious from her memories, and her mind was protesting at the sudden loss.

    It''s not something new, since simr cases have happened when wizards have used obliviation spell to make a person forget all about a significant part of their lives.

    The solution the Healers had suggested, was to keep Axel out of her life for the time being until her mind gradually settles.

    Axel and the Greengrasses had, of course, held some hope that the healers were wrong, but seems like that was not the case.

    So, while hugging Daphne, Evelyn looked at Axel over her shoulder and gave him an apologetic nod, meaning they would be proceeding ording to how they had discussed.

    Axel looked at Daphne who was in an extremely bad state due to him, her beautiful but pale face contorting due to pain and panic and her nose red from crying, and his fists clenched.

    ''Damn it...'' he thought as he reached out his hand towards her.

    He wanted so much to just hug andfort her, to let her cry on his shoulder and say it''s alright, to tell her that he''s sorry for being such an insensitive fool. But...knowing that it was not an option, he sighed and withdrew his hand back to his side, lowering his presence instead.

    "Temporarily, you are free of me," he murmured silently to himself as he got up, his presence low enough to escape the women''s notice.

    From now on, Evelyn and Astoria are going to do their best to erase all traces of Axel from Daphne''s life. There''s no point of him staying here any longer. Sighing, he turned his back on her.

    "Wait... mom, where is that guy?! And what in Morgana''s name was he doing in my bedroom in the first ce?! argh! Son-of-a¡ª!"

    But, before he left the room, Daphne had already noticed his absence, frantically looking for him. But her condition only got worse at once again trying to remember him in vain.

    Feeling extremely stifled, Axel fled the Greengrass manor, only stopping after he was far, far into the wilderness.

    As soon as he stopped, he released his lumency, causing a magical shockwave to ripple throughout the surroundings with him as its center.

    Lightning crackled, and it started to rain, soaking through his skin which was practically blue at this point.

    Scenes of Daphne shed through his mind. Themughing together, training together, or just sitting together, in each other''spany. All that, was gone.

    "Fuck!" Axel punched the trunk of a big tree that was beside him, causing it to shake.

    *BOOM*

    He punched again, taking out his frustration and helplessness, and the tree shook even more violently due to the sheer physical force. He wasn''t holding back right now. Each of these punches could burst right through a human skull.

    *BOOM*

    *BOOM*

    *BOOM*

    Under the rain and thunder, he punched out again and again as the stiffling feeling inside him became unbearable. His insides felt hot, as if his blood was boiling.

    Another scene shed through Axel''s mind, this time of Daphne hugging him tightly. "Anything. I''ll do anything for you." she had said.

    *snap*

    Axel let out a roar, as his fist broke through the thick tree trunk which should have been impossible to do with his strength.

    ???

    Looking at his hand which he was expecting to be broken, he found it enveloped in a water thick coating of water, preventing it from any damage.

    [Congrattions, you have unlocked your Water Affinity]

    [Congrattions, you have unlocked the skill, water Bending]

    Notifications shed in front of Axel''s eyes, but he paid them no heed. At the moment, he couldn''t care less. But at least the stifling feeling he had been feeling was now gone, and he was now feeling... relieved... energized... and stable.

    ''System... how do I bring back her memories?'' He demanded.

    [Axel, it''s possible, but the information cannot be directly disclosed to you.]

    "CUT THE BULLSHIT, AND TELL ME!" he eximed. "Or Voldemort will not be the only Dark Lord you''ll need to worry about."

    Axel was not in the mood to mess around at the moment.

    [The mission. A chain quest of five tasks. You will have to ept it without choice in the future. The information can be given to you right now as one of the rewards.]

    Axel almostughed out loud. "Oh, you''re good¡­" he muttered. The system definitely knew how to take advantage of a situation.

    Daphne meant it when she said she''d do anything for him. Well, he now realized that he felt the same.

    "Fine. I ept."

    The information got transmitted to Axel''s head, and he slowly nodded in understanding, his expression changing to one of serious contemtion.

    "It''s troublesome, but at least it''s possible," he muttered, beginning to walk again, hope once again igniting inside him. The method was difficult to execute, but it was definitely possible. Thinking of his next destination, he prepared to use Apparition.

    He had already known how to do it, but had never tried before since he didn''t want to take the risk of flinching. But when he needed to go to Saint Mungo''s urgently to see Daphne, he had apparated there directly without much thought. It was a hospital anyway. They could have patched him up if he didn''t arrive in one piece.

    Thankfully, he had arrived smoothly and realized that it wasn''t much of a big deal. If you''re not a clumsy idiot you can do it in one try. So, he had learnt Apparition.

    With his destination pictured, Axel disappeared with a loud snap. He now already had a clear goal in his mind: To Bring back Daphne''s memories as soon as possible. And he knew what he had to do in order to achieve it.

    "Guess I have a lot of work to do, huh?" For what he was about to do, he would need a lot of money. And what better ce to get it than from the most from the people who had been umting an unimaginable amount of it through various crooked means? The Mikhailovs.

    It also happens that he has a small grudge to settle with them, for making his Iing days at Hogwarts much worse by revealing his past information to the world.

    "Thanks for your memories, Maksmilian," he muttered, feeling grateful for knowing exactly how to get the money.

    ¡­

    January 2nd, 1993.

    Kings Cross, tform 9 ?

    The familiar scarlet engine emitted steam as hundreds of students and parents passed through, carrying all sorts of trunks. The new year''s holidays were over today, and the students were catching the return train to Hogwarts in states of reluctance or excitement.

    At the barrier between the tform, a significant crowd was gathered, some reporter while some just students and parents. Surprising, all of them waiting for the arrival of one Axel Hunt.

    The reporters were already hounding him for his brilliant performance at the Quidditch match, but then in one night, he was dered the son-inw of the Valentino family and had beaten up the Heir of the Mikhailov family. If that wasn''t enough, it also turned out that he was actually, just an orphan with no family background, probably even a Muggleborn.

    Such a person, who used to live in a dpidated Muggle Orphanage being ostracized, had crawled his way to the top of the Wizarding world in just two years.

    Without a doubt, he was the hottest topic of discussion, debate, and controversies in the Wizarding World right now. His name was on top of the most searched list in 1993.

    The crowd had been waiting for a while, every time someone would step through, they''d be surprised by a gathering of so many people and cameras. Some partially famous people would put on a surprised expression, misunderstanding that the crowd was waiting for them, but their delusions would quickly get crushed when they would bepletely ignored.

    Standing not far away, Daphne Greengrass looked at the crowd with some puzzlement. Now she could bear the pain of trying to recall the memories enough that her mom had allowed her to rejoin school.

    "It''s all for him?" She muttered.

    She could hardly believe that the Hunt guy was actually her friend at some point. At least that''s what she had found out through her sources. She herself had no memories of the guy. From what she had gathered, they had stopped being friends after he had gotten famous, with him not even talking to her anymore.

    ''Typical celebrity behavior,'' she thought with some disgust. The fame most likely got to his head.

    ''Who wants to be friends with him anyways?'' She thought to herself, suppressing the unknown pang of sadness she felt at that.

    Her mother and sister had kept their quiet whenever his matter came, so she figured she was hurt by his actions. But so what? She had changed ever since the memory incident. Now she was no longer naive enough to want to be friends with such a person, was she?

    While she was lost in thought, the crowd began moring, making her pay attention. The reporters were shing their cameras, and the civilians had taken out their Magi-mirrors to record.

    ''Is he here?'' She thought, her heartbeat quickening for some reason.

    Sure enough, through the partition, a tall and extremely handsome boy stepped through. Looking at him, Daphne had to ept that he was somewhat good looking. His dark hair with Amber streaks, coupled with his Amber eyes and two light scars on his eyes and cheek only added to his charm. And she finally understood why she was probably friends with him.

    ''Was I this shallow?'' She thought. She would never give a second thought to anyone''s looks now. She scoffed. If that was it, then it''s no problem. The boy can go fuck himself for all she cared.

    Just as she was about to forcefully walk away, she heard the questions posed by the reporters, causing her to pause.

    "Axel, how is your Engaged life with Miss Valentino fairing for you?!"

    "Mr. Hunt, How does it feel to marry rich?!"

    "Is it true that you''re a Muggleborn?!"

    "How was your life after the Orphanage?!"

    At such rude questions, a small frown came onto Axel''s face. The attitude of the reporters had gotten much worsepared to thest time, most likely due to his background. ''Alright, if that''s how you wanna y...''

    "Axel, do you not feel shamed getting engaged to Miss Valentino with your background?"

    Axel looked at the reporter with a smirk. "Why? Are you jealous?"

    "Mr Hunt, do you think you deserve someone as beautiful and capable as Goddess Martina?"

    Axel cast a suspicious nce at the reporter. "You sound like a creep. She''s only 15, you pedo."

    "Mr. Hunt, what tricks did you use to get yourself engaged to Martina? Is she pregnant?"

    "No, not everyone got their wife like your father, you pitiful mistake." replied Axel.

    Boom. The questions lessened after that. The reporters weren''t too eager to get roasted on live tv in front of everyone. These clips often go viral, and the reporter in question is then forever disgraced.

    "Axel, have you kissed Martina yet?" Another one dared, but¡­ it might be the worst mistake of his life.

    "No, but I''ve definitely kissed your mother."

    BOOOOM. OOOOOHHHH...

    Axel looked around, daring the reporters to ask more questions, but after thest, the reporters were really scared.

    "Mr-Mr Hunt! W-Why are you being rude to us?" Asked one of them after gathering his courage.

    Axel nodded at the reporter understandingly. "Sucks to be on the receiving end, eh? Ask reasonable questions next time, I might be lenient and just ignore you."

    With that he walked out of the encirclement, forcefully pushing past the reporters in his way. No one had anything to ask anymore. The replies were getting more and more savage, and¡­ they really didn''t want to be at the receiving end.

    As he walked by, he paused a little when he was Daphne among the crowd, but activating his lumency, he looked away as he continued walking.

    "That was..." said someone as he had gone.

    "Savage?"

    "Yeah!"

    "It''s Savage Axel!"

    "Hey did you record it?!"

    "In 4k, mate."

    "Upload it now!"

    The crowd began mouring with excitement. Other than the reporters who had gotten their asses served, the rest of the crowd definitely had a st witnessing the spectacle.

    ...

    Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump

    Daphne looked at Axel with her heart beating like a drum. Pointing a hand to her chest, she tore her eyes away from him. So, it wasn''t only the looks.

    ''Alright... Now I understand why...'' she thought with some helplessness. She might have a real problem at hand.

    ....

    A.N.: Axel vs Hufflepuff in the next few chapters.

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 Chapter 104: Back to Hogwarts

    Chapter 104: Back to Hogwarts

    Chapter 104

    Walking through the crowd, Axel studied the gazes of the people looking at him. They varied greatly from hatred to going as far as worship.

    Of course, most were negative. There are several people in your life that you just get an unbearable urge to beat up. And... Axel had be that kind of person in many people''s eyes.

    Because despite his good qualities, Axel is still that muggelborn kid who grew up in a poor muggle Orphanage, while most here have some type of wizarding background. And more infuriating than that is somehow, with that kind of background, he (apparently) got engaged to Martina, while also having a close rtionship with many other girls.

    These are the two main reasons. Other than that, he also has cruel, violent and vindictive tendencies, which certainly don''t help his case.

    But, it is also true that he made history in Quidditch and got the favour of the Valentino Family, and thoroughly shamed the viinous Mikhailov Family and got away with it.

    That is why his name is now in the most searched list of this year, and countless debates and discussions concerning him are taking ce throughout the wizarding world, some criticizing him while the some in his defence.

    It would be safe to say that Axel is currently the most controversial person in the world.

    ''This... should be enough, right?'' He thought, heaving a weary sigh. His goal has always been to make his news reach the Organization without showing off too much of his real capabilities. And this should be enough to achieve that, right? He should be able to take a break and disappear now, right?

    "Axel!"

    At this moment, a familiar voice called out his name, interrupting his thoughts. Axel turned his head to find Patricia approaching him.

    "You nearly gave me a heart attack when I read the news about you!" She said, grabbing hold of his hands. She tried toe closer but Axel kept her at arms length.

    "What do you want, Patricia?" He asked in exasperation.

    Patricia flicked her raven hair back, looking at him with a faux hurt expression. "What I want, is an exnation. I proposed to you first, didn''t I? But you rejected me so cruelly. And now you''re engaged to Martina! You broke my heart!"

    Axel was quite annoyed with her fake acting. The one who truly had her heart broken was someone else. "Yeah, so leave me the hell alone now, will you?" he said, stepping past her.

    Patricia stopped him, not letting go. "Actually, not at all. You''re not getting rid of me now." she said, shaking her head.

    "Why the hell not?" He asked in bafflement. Patricia Afonso was a politician bitch who would only hang out with those with the highest status. He had thought that at least Patricia would stop bothering him now that she knew that he was just a Muggleborn with no family background.

    Patriciaughed. "You think I''m so shallow?"

    "Are you not?"

    "I thought I was too..."Patricia seemed to think about it, and Axel had some hopes that she would finally stop haunting him. Though, the Slytherin Captain shook her head as she looked at him.

    "But you have dug deep into me, you know."

    "What the¡ª"

    Patricia fixed him with an intense gaze. "With no background whatsoever, you have achieved so quickly what anyone can only dream of achieving. You won the favor of the "Valentino" family and took on the previously all-powerful "Mikhailov" family head on. This only makes me more interested, Axel Hunt," she said, her cheeks flushing red as her legs mped together.

    ''This crazy bitch¡­''

    Axel had a bad feeling about this. ncing back, sure enough, Daphne was looking at him with a scathing expression.

    ''Fuck¡­''

    "Stay the hell away from me Patricia, or we''re losing all of our next matches," he said, forcefully breaking away from the crazy girl.

    "Hey, wait! I had to discuss some things about our match against Hufflepuff," she called, but Axel had already disappeared. "Do you even know it''s this weekend?" She murmured to the empty air.

    ...

    "Cheater, bastard, Scum of the earth¡­" muttered Daphne, looking at Axel disappearing into the crowd. She had read several articles about him having rtions with several girls "including" herself, and those rumors seem to have some credibility.

    ''Did I not know better than to be involved with such a guy?'' she thought, trying to recall, but once again, an intense pain struck her, causing her to stagger.

    Her Magi-mirror rang at this moment as she picked it up.

    "Yeah?"

    "Daphi, where are you?! You said you''re going to the bathroom but you''re not in here! I checked!"

    "Tory, I¡ª" Daphne suppressed the groan that was going to escape her mouth due to pain, as she began rushing back. "I went to buy some good snacks. The trolleydy only sells a trolley full of unhealthiness," she said, patting her well-defined abs. This was true. She did actually go out for this purpose, but then she was drawn here by all the crowd andmotion.

    "Alright, then say so next time. You had us worried. We''re waiting at the original spot," said Astoria, hanging up.

    Daphne hung up the call, her hand still on her abs.

    "I don''t know why I even bother..." she muttered. She didn''t know how or why, but she had begun exercising and training these unknown exercises, and paying a lot of attention to her diet.

    She still sometimes has trouble recognising her body when she stands naked in front of the mirror. She now has the kind of body those other pureblood heiresses would kill to have.

    "Just what the hell happened?" She muttered, but she controlled her mind to not think about it to avoid pain using her lumency. Yeah, that''s another thing she has no idea how she has. This amazing lumency knowledge. It''s so detailed and advanced!

    The lumency knowledge of her family is nowhere near this perfect, nor is the lumency knowledge of other families for that matter. If she keeps practising this, she can even surpass her dad soon.

    Large chunks of her memories of thest two years of her life were gone. But somehow, in thesest two years, her life has changedpletely. Astoria had healed, her asshole dad was forever 6 feet underground, she had be a badass bitch rocking a killer body, and she had a ton of invaluable knowledge.

    It was as if, her life had be perfect. She has everything she had dreamt of having two years ago.

    "Then... why the hell...?" She murmured, putting a hand on her heart.

    Why the hell does she feel more miserable and hollow than she used to feel two years ago?

    ...

    Walking through the corridor between thepartments under Stealth, Axel opened a particr door in which his so-called "fiance¨¦" was sitting.

    "Axel?" Upon seeing him, Martina stood up immediately. "Are you really alright?"

    In the past few days, Martina had contacted him numerous times to ask about his emergency exit, but Axel didn''t really want to exin so he had just told her he was fine to stop her from worrying.

    Axel sighed as he sat down. "Didn''t I already say, it''s fine," he repeated yet again.

    But Martina wasn''t convinced. "You don''t look fine at all. You look like you haven''t rested in days. Axel, can you tell me what happened? Is there anything I can do to help?"

    Axel shook his head. "It''s nothing. How is the progress with the wand?"

    At his casual dismissal, Martina looked at him with a hint of helplessness. "It''s going well. Since the materials are far above the normal level, it''s taking longer, but mom said it will be done in a week. Its going to be really great, you know," she said, making Axel sigh in relief.

    But Martina was not relieved. "The Head of Mikhailov family is rumored to have copsed a few days ago," she mentioned, observing his reaction as she cast a noise cancetion spell around them for privacy.

    "Is that so?" Asked Axel casually, peering through the window.

    "Yes, it is also said that all the higher ups in the malicious faction were also killed and Sergio Mikhailov, Andrei''s brother who is much kinder, took over."

    "Oh," Axel nodded, still looking out of the window. "Good for you, I guess."

    Martina gripped both of Axel''s shoulders, shaking him to get his attention.

    "Axel, I am serious. Did you have anything to do with this?"

    Axel looked into Martina''s eyes. His eyes were soul-less, devoid of any fluctuations.

    "You already know," he said simply, but Martina knew that something was wrong with him.

    Just as she was about to inquire further, thepartment door was opened, making them both turn their heads in unison, to see a stunned Hermione Granger and clueless Luna Lovegood.

    "Oh! I''m so sorry! I didn''t know you two were¡ª I didn''t mean to interrupt¡ª"

    "No! It''s not like that!" said Martina, her face going red as she saw some other students also peeking in. Someone did a wolf whistle, and someone said something like "the Engaged couple" causing Martina to die out of embarrassment.

    Removing her hands from shoulders and distancing herself from him, she quickly dragged the two girls in as she shut the door and drew the blinds.

    "I''m really sorry to interrupt. You told me to bring Luna, and I didn''t know the blinds were drawn because you two were¡ª"

    "We weren''t doing anything!" Martina felt like her face would burst into mes any moment.

    Hermione nodded her head quickly. "Of course you weren''t. I saw nothing," she said reassuringly, making Martina sigh at her "understanding" look. "Anyways¡­ congrattions for your engagement. I''m happy for you guys¡­" she said, trying to change the subject.

    "You got engaged?" Asked Luna, looking between Axel and Martina. "Does that mean Martina''s stomach will get very big soon, and you will have a baby?" She asked with a smile with her usual dreamy expression, making all three people in thepartment sweat.

    Martina had had enough of the embarrassment. "We''re not engaged!" she dered. "It was a false announcement."

    "What?!" Asked Hermione, her eyes wide, causing Martina tounch into an exnation.

    "It''s all my parents fault..." said as she began her exination.

    ''At least she stopped hounding me,'' thought Axel, looking at thepletely distracted Martina. But Martina gave him a look that said ''it''s not over yet''.

    Axel sighed. But, a small smile came to his face, knowing that at least she was still with him.

    Axel sighed as he remembered his small adventure.

    ...

    Casually walking through the crowd at the airport, Axel looked around himself.

    Why was he here? To take a flight to Russia of course. Cross-country Apparition is not something he''s too keen on attempting when he''s recently learnt to apparate. The required degree of proficiency increases with the increase in distance. He''d rather spend a few hours in a flight rather than try to apparate over such a long distance and risk getting splinched.

    He still hasn''t been able to perfect his void travel, and Portkey is also not an option since he doesn''t know how to create one and he wants to keep his visit discreet so he can''t ask for help.

    In the end, Flight was the easiest option.

    Standing in the middle of the crowded terminal, he saw Non magical people bustling about, most of their problems being things as basic as aerophobia, missing their flights, and checking their passports and tickets.

    Not long ago, the two years younger version of himself would have been using the very watered down version of his Arcane Eyes, trying to pick out wealthy targets, figuring out the best way to keep himself inconspicuous and take away the target''s priced possessions.

    But now, he no longer bothered. It no longer brought him the thrill, the sense of aplishment, and the satisfaction that it used to. Walking among the crowd under stealth, Axel didn''t steal a single thing.

    After all, now he had set his sights on much bigger targets...

    The Mikhailov Family.

    This family is the biggest contributor to all the crimes and atrocities happening around the world.

    Why have they been able to do so? Because they have the resources to back up their wrongdoings. Just take for example how long it took for them to find out Axel''s past information. In barely a few hours, they found something the rest of the world had been unable to find until now.

    Now this, was what Axel considered a real target. This was someone Axel would now find consider worth stealing from.

    Axel suppressed his excitement. How long has it been since he felt this? With all the magic and training and all the problems, he had forgotten his real identity. Someone who steals from those who deserve it.

    Walking up to the counter, he read the receptionist''s mind, and found all the information he needed.

    Well, it was his first timeing at an airport but it really doesn''t matter with his high level Legilimency. He can get any information he wants without having to ask.

    Under his stealth, he made his way towards the security blocking the next flight to Russia. To his intrigue, he found quite a few measures installed in ce to prevent magical intruders. Things like wards, magical security devices and a few wizarding guards.

    "Shouldn''t be a surprise," he muttered, getting past them with some precaution. How easy it would be for a Death Eater or terrorist to make the flights crash or for wizards to travel without needing an identity. He was sure there was a department in ministry that dealt with all this stuff.

    But of course, these measures were for people who try to get through using trivial things like the disillusionment charm or invisibility cloak. Axel was far above these measly measures, having no trouble getting past the security to board the flight.

    Within a quarter of the day, Axel was in Moscow, Russia. The ce nearest to the main residence of the Mikhailov family which he remembered from Maksmilian''s memories.

    Apparating right in front of the residence, Axel looked in front of him. Though nothing was visible to the naked eye, his Arcane Eyes could see wards powerful and dangerous enough to make any intruder regret ever trying to breach them, if they managed to stay alive.

    Of course, they weren''t as good as the ones which surround the Valentino Residence, but they were still quite impressive and difficult to breach.

    There was a huge difference between breaking the wards and by-passing them without raising an rm. But thankfully, Axel had everything he needed. The knife, Maksmilian''s blood, and sufficient mastery. It took some time, but Axel was soon in.

    "As expected, they''re loaded as fuck," he muttered.

    As soon as the whole residence became fully visible to him, even though he had remembered it through the memories, he was still a bit dazed.

    In front of him was an extremely vast space that was the main headquarters of the Mikhailov Family. Golden sculptures, encrusted with gems adorned the estate, magical nts of all categories were nted throughout the ce, and far away, Axel could barely make out the silhouette of a giant pce painted in vibrant colours.

    That was the ce where the bastards who had leaked his information were located.

    "Well, let''s just get this over with," he murmured.

    He was aware that he had to do something about these new enemies soon, but he woulde back for that another day. His n for now was simple. Go in there, take as much as he can, ande out.

    But of course... things rarely go ording to n. There were some things that he just couldn''t handle.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Next chapter: Everyone: YAYYYY!!! Axel: Fuck...

    Next next: Sorry Hufflepuff

    Next next next: "Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch..."

    Next... next: A Reunion

    Why resist? Come join us at P¨¤treon ??

    Pa /Snollygoster

    POWERSTONES??

 Chapter 105: Everyone: YAYYYY!!! Axel: Fuck...

    Chapter 105: Everyone: YAYYYY!!! Axel: Fuck...

    Chapter 105

    In the Territory of the Mikhailovs, Axel looked at the ce from a distance. He wanted no extra trouble. He just wanted to loot as much as he could and leave.

    Of course, things didn''t go as he had nned. There are some things that you just can''t avoid.

    Axel made his way to the main castle at top speed. But on his way, when he looked at the situation around him, his footsteps unwittingly slowed down.

    There were people here. An awful lot of them.

    This ce was the ce of residence of the Mikhailovs. So, only the most important businesses were situated here.

    But then, why would they keep so many witches and wizards here? It didn''t make sense. So, Axel checks the memories, but even the part of the memories he had managed to get from Maksmilian didn''t have much information on this. Only when he read the minds of a few of them did it click to him.

    Muggles...

    Or more precisely, muggle ves...

    All these people. They had been kidnapped from the Muggle world and made into ves, forced to work here under horrible conditions. Looking at them, even Axel had to frown.

    But, this was just the beginning. As Axel began to make his way deeper and read a few more minds, things only got worse.

    Turns out, Mikhailovs were experts at acquiring and training ves. To the point that they were the world''s biggest ve trader. There were various categories avable here. Working ves, sex ves, warrior ves, wizards, healers, potioneers... you name it. And they weren''t only used here. They were traded all over the world.

    Not only that... there are children as well.

    Axel''s fists clenched.

    It''s not like he wanted to take down one of the biggest syndicates in the world. It''s just that he began to feel that, it would be nice if this stopped.

    Really. He really didn''t want to get involved...

    "¡ªel? Axel?"

    Axel came out of his shback when Martina was calling out his name.

    "Yeah?"

    "I''m sorry to wake you up, but we''re here," said Martina, pointing out of the window.

    Looking out, Axel observed that the sun had already set, and he could make the faint lights from buildings outside, meaning they had reached Hogsmeade.

    Axel took in a deep breath. He realized that he had dozed off at some point, because he was covered in a fluffy violet nket which smelled like lc.

    He hadn''t gotten a proper rest after using the Limit Break when saving Martina, and his exhaustion had finally caught up to him.

    "You seem much better now," observed Luna, waving her hand above his head while sitting beside him. "The nargles are less."

    "You do," agreed Martina. "You were looking awfully tired earlier."

    "I guess I was¡­"

    Axel agreed as he straightened, stretching his sore muscles. Taking off the nket, he cast a few cleaning spells and returned it to Martina after neatly folding it.

    "Thanks."

    Martina looked at him in confusion. "How do you know it''s mine?"

    "How can I not know?" Axel raised his eyebrows at her, asking why she was asking dumb questions. It was so obviously hers to the point she might as well have written her name on it.

    "Oh, of course," Martina also recalled how observant Axel was and looked embarrassed at her question.

    Though, Hermione, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold, was startled. ''How would it be obvious...? Did the two of them already... together... in the nket?!''

    Her face turned scarlet. Having a smart brain can be a problem sometimes. Hermione ended up drawing the most likely assumption based on the information presented to her.

    ¡­

    Alighting the Hogwarts Express, Axel separated from Martina. There are already enough rumors about the two of them. He didn''t want to increase them further.

    In the crowd, his eyes quickly found Daphne, who had been reunited with her old Ravenw friends, walking in the middle of them like a queen.

    Looking at her, Axel sighed. Even though he hated it, she was probably better off without him. Her life could have been in danger because of him. The Greengrass Family curse activated due to him after all.

    So, before he tries to bring back her memories, there was something else he had to do: Get rid of that curse once and for all. And that is the reason why he has been running aroundtely.

    The things needed to achieve that aren''t something he can get with resources he had.

    ''Not anymore though,'' he thought with a sigh, looking at his new storage space. He was now filthy rich right now.

    Axel reached the Great Hall seeing the usual bustling atmosphere. Students were reuniting with their housemates after the Christmas break, talking and gossiping freely. But, as soon as he arrived, the hall began to quieten down.

    Students began pointing at him, talking in hushed voices. Most of their expressions weren''t weing.

    "He''s here."

    "The lucky guy?"

    "Yeah, the chap who got engaged to Martina. I really wanna kill right now."

    "Darn it, why is the world so unfair? He''s just a Muggleborn orphan with no background."

    "Another mudblood."

    "The engagement needs to be broken or my heart will be broken."

    "Shh. Keep it low. You don''t know what he''ll do if he heard you. He didn''t even stop when the opponent was the Mikhailov Heir."

    "Yeah, he''s dead meat anyways, offending that family."

    These people thought Axel couldn''t hear them, but he could hear everything loud and clear. He just couldn''t be bothered to give enough fuck about their opinions. Axel sighed. It''s just for this one night that he''s going to be seen here anyway. He was only here to observe the general reactions of everyone and mark down those he might need to watch out for.

    He trudged over to the Slytherin table, only to find that most of them hadplicated or uninviting looks stered on their faces. The table was full since of the students had spread themselves, as if to not make room for him. Yep, that''s another problem.

    Now that it''s been revealed that he''s probably a mudblood with no family background who''s been fooling them, most of them are going to be like this, the ungrateful bigots. No matter he got them a historical victory over Gryffindor. Everything is null-and-void after his past has been revealed.

    But amidst the hostile gazes, he actually found a few people inviting him. Patricia, who was sitting with the rest of the Slytherin team, who were sitting together at the main seats, and others were two of his ssmates he had never exchanged any words with.

    Axel nced back at Daphne, who was looking at him from the Ravenw table and resolutely skipped Patricia, going over to the ssmates who were inviting him instead.

    Theodore Nott and Tracy Davis. These were the names of the two ssmates who had invited him to sit with. It''s not like Axel had ever paid any attention to them, but remembering their names was only after attending all the sses together for almost 2 years. But of course, he had exchanged nary a nce with these two, let alone words. He sat beside Theodore and nodded at the two of them, hoping it would not be too much of a drag to sit here.

    "Hi, I''m Theodore Nott. And this is my fiancee Tracy Davis," said Theodore, introducing themselves as Tracy waved at Axle from across the table.

    It''s not umon in Magical culture for children to get engaged for political reasons. Though the practice has lessened over the recent years, it''s still nothing special.

    Axel nodded. "Axel Hunt. Why did you invite me?" He asked straightforwardly.

    Nott shrugged. "I just want to be friends. I''ve been wanting to talk to you for a while," he admitted.

    "Then why only talk now?" Asked Axel.

    "Because he was too insecure back when you were not engaged. Now he''s sure you won''t try your scummy tricks on me," said Tracy with a grin, making Theodore re at her.

    "...."

    Axel didn''t know what to say. He didn''t know how he could stop people from having such an impression of him. But, he also didn''t know if he should tell these two that he''s not actually engaged yet.

    Dumbledore went to the podium like usual. "Wee, everyone. I trust you all had an explosive Christmas? He asked looking around, his gaze lingering on Axel for a moment longer.

    Axel sighed. He was now on the Headmaster''s radar. Just great.

    "I can already hear your tummies protesting so I shan''t take much of your time. There are a few announcements I need to make. First of all, the match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff that was supposed to happen on Saturday has been postponed to Sunday, please inform your parents as well, lest they arrive on Saturday, the notifications will also be sent to the Hogwarts group."

    There were a few protests at that, since the students would now have to wait more but it was alright since it was only one day. Many eyes strayed towards Axel, who was the main reason why the match was so much hyped up. Everyone wanted to see him y again.

    "As for the next announcement, it is about the final Quidditch match between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro. There''s a change in format. After much discussion, it has been decided that the match will be held in the...Diabolical, or the Unrestricted format¡ª"

    """""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""""""

    Surprised exmations filled the room before Dumbledore even finished speaking, after which, a huge cheer arose from the crowd, causing Axel a lower his senses of hearing due to annoyance.

    "Quiet¡­ Quiet, let me finish. Even though it''s a Diabolical format match, full attention will be given to the yers'' safety, and strict rules have to be followed. A regr match does not do justice to the two schools'' skillsets, hence this decision has been taken. But yes, you all do have the right to be excited!" he said, spreading his arms as the cheers arose once again.

    "The hell is Diabolical format?" After the noise subsided, Axel asked Theodore whose usually calm face was also excited. He needed to know since he might be ying that match. It sounded so cringe.

    ???

    "You don''t know?!"

    Those around him who heard him looked at him with shocked gazes.

    "You are being known to the world for quidditch and didn''t even know this?" Asked Tracy in bafflement.

    Axel looked at her in bewilderment. "So what?" He had already learnt about Quidditch''s existence not long ago, and he didn''t have too much interest in the sport since it was not a challenge at all.

    "They made this decision because of you and yet you are the only person who is clueless about it." Theodore shook his head in bemusement.

    "Anyways, the Unrestricted format, is the most exciting form of Quidditch, but it''s banned in most ces because it''s dangerous," he said seemingly happy to break the news to him.

    "In this format... yers will be allowed to use Magic in the match."

    !!!!

    Axel''s eyes widened at the implications.

    Magic... Is allowed?

    He recalled the powerful jutsus spammed by the monsters of Mahoutokoro.

    "Fuck..."

    If he ever faced off against their team in a match as important as Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro, as the star yer, he would definitely be the main target of all those jutsus. Even dodging should have a limit. It was fine untill it was just bludgers, but how can he face off against THAT while holding back?

    And then there''s the other thing. Axel nced at Akiko, whose serious face had a hint of amusement at this moment. He had pissed off almost all the students of Mahoutokoro due to having suspicious rtions with this Goddess of theirs.

    So, all those students were already looking for a chance have a go at him. The only thing stopping them was the diplomatic issues caused by severely beating up a student from Hogwarts. But... suppose if they get a free reign to do whatever they want against him for ninty minutes...

    ''Those guys must be scrambling to get in on the teams,'' he thought, looked at the gleeful face of the Mahoutokoro students as if Christmas hade again.

    At this moment, Akiko also happened to nce at him, and their eyes met. A hint of amusement passed through her eyes, as if she could already think of his predicament and was thoroughly enjoying the situation.

    ''How will you hold back now?'' Her eyes seemed to say.

    Axel gave her an annoyed look. It was better when her face was always serious.

    ....

    A.N.: Next : Sorry Hufflepuff

    Next next: "Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch..."

    Next... next: A Reunion

    Next..... next: New Wand....

    Read upto 10 chapters ahead and exclusive Backstories of characters on P¨¤treon!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    POWERSTONES ??????

 Chapter 106: Sorry Hufflepuff

    Chapter 106: Sorry Hufflepuff

    The rules for thest match had changed. And now magic was allowed to be used in the Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro match.

    Axel sighed. "Why did they have to change the format?" He grumbled, looking at the two Principals at the Head table having fun looking at the students'' reactions.

    Theodore gave him a look that seemed to say, ''Seriously?''

    "Mate, didn''t I already say? You are the reason they changed the format."

    "Why me?"

    Tracy gave him an amused look. "Well, there''s a very high chance that the team winning the House Cup will be Slytherin."

    Axel nodded at that. The Hogwarts Quidditch Cup is awarded to the team with the most number of total points. And since Axel had gone overboard in his vengeance in their match against Gryffindor, it was quite difficult for other teams to beat that score, even if the Slytherin team lost their next few matches.

    "So, there''s a high chance you''ll be the one ying against Mahoutokoro in the final match. And with your performance against Gryffindor, several issues cropped up," she said.

    Theodore took up from there. "The Mahoutokoro students imed this is unfair, and you wouldn''t stand a chance against them in the Unrestricted format. And well, the Hogwarts students denied it, saying their magic was more versatile, so they also have an advantage. Coupled with the skills you disyed, they imed Hogwarts had a high chance of winning as well."

    "It became a big topic of debate, on both the inte and the school, and now, the result is finally this," exined Nott, gesturing at the excited faces of the students of both schools.

    Axel red at the students of Hogwarts. Damn it, Who the fuck asked them to have so much confidence in him? They''re not the ones who have to put themselves in danger.

    Looking at the rest of his team, they all didn''t look so happy as well. Amidst the excited atmosphere, they all wore somber expressions, knowing that they would be putting themselves in a lot of danger.

    Quidditch is a dangerous sport as it is, with all the high speed flying, metal bludgers, loose rules and foul y. If you throw in the powerful variable called magic into the mix as well, even though the result is absolutely thrilling to watch, it''s definitely bad news for those who will actually be ying.

    That''s why it wasn''t a surprise that his team mates weren''t exactly thrilled with the news. From time to time, they''d throw all types of nces at him, ranging from sympathy to dependence and hope.

    Yep, they also know it. Even in this situation, they are not the ones who have it worse. After all, they just have to sit back and watch. Hogwarts won''t be expecting much from them aside from support. Because, the one who''d be the main focus. The one who''d have the most amount of burden. And...

    "The one getting screwed. . . It''s me again."

    ....

    The next morning, Axel went to his usual training spot in the forbidden forest where he and Akiko usually train.

    Since a lot of dangerous techniques are practiced here, the ce was covered in all types of seals. Shock absorbing, noise reducing, concealment, and intruder prevention seals were just a few of them.

    After all, what they do inside is basically illegal. Generally speaking, students of Mahoutokoro are forbidden from teaching what they are taught outside school. They even have to sign sealing contracts of secrecy for learning many of the Jutsus and techniques.

    It''s only because Akiko is a special existence that she didn''t have to sign many of these. Her grandfather can control everything inside Mahoutokoro. That''s why she could invite Axel to Mahoutokoro so confidently, even offering him many benefits.

    As Axel entered the area, out of nowhere, he was attacked by someone with an amazing swiftness.

    "Huh," Axel didn''t even bother dodging, he let the silhouette attack him, instead focusing on the right where the real danger wasing. A knife appeared in hand as he casually blocked the attack from a sword sparkling with thunder, causing a loud nging sound to reverberate in the clearing.

    "Are you done already?" He asked his attacker.

    "Got you." His attacker, Akiko, gave him a look of victory.

    It was only then did he realize the faint current running through his knife, which suddenly increased! To his surprise, he found that his knife was stuck to Akiko''s sword, along with his hand.

    "New trick?" Axel was impressed by this new jutsu of hers. Using her lightning Ninjutsu, she had somehow caused her sword to generate some kind of maic attraction, causing his knife to be stuck to her sword, and the electricity, under her masterful control caused his hand to be stuck to his knife handle as well. But, this wasn''t enough to faze him.

    "!"

    Though, before he could even react, Akiko had made another hand gesture, activating her trap.

    *swish swish swishswish¡­..*

    At once, thousands of Kunais wereunched at Axel from all directions, making it impossible for him to protect himself from all of them with his hand tied down by her new Jutsu.

    ''What?! Mutual destruction?'' Time slowed down for Axel as he saw the Kunais with his Arcane Eyes while he prepared his defense. At first, he thought they were going to hit both Axel and Akiko. But then he noticed a simr electric current flowing through Akiko''s body as well, only in the opposing manner, causing the knives to be deflected.

    A perfect trap. She first used deception, pretending to have only simple tricks up her sleeves, causing him to lower his guard. She then locked him down with her new Jutsu, and finally, she attacked him from all directions, because she knew Axel didn''t know any shielding charms that would protect him 360¡ã, at the same time making herself impervious to the iing danger.

    Only¡­

    ''You''re not the only one who''s learnt something new,'' thought Axel calmly, his wand already drawn and a spell already cast while he was analyzing whether Akiko was safe or not.

    And the spell he used was¡ª Aguamenti.

    The basic water summoning spell.

    But, instead of the small spurt of water that the spell is expected to release, a massive amount of water burst out his wand at once.

    [Water Bending]

    As soon as it came out, the water formed an extremelypact and condensed bubble around him, ready to protect him from the iing volley.

    ?!

    Akiko''s eyes widened as the victorious smirk vanished from her face, a nk expression settling on her cute face with her small mouth half open due to shock.

    The kunai struck the shields of water with a lot of destructive potential. But instead of the piercing through it like one would expect, the water was actually able to defend himself from this, causing the shock inside Akiko''s eyes to be increased by several times.

    "Nice try," said Axel, spraying from water on her shocked face, which was already wet due to the earlier volley.

    Akiko sputtered. "Wha¡ª? Did... did you just¡ª?!"

    Axel nodded. "I finally unlocked my water affinity."

    Until now, Axel had been only training his lightning Affinity, because his second affinity, the water affinity, wasn''t getting unlocked for some reason.

    It wasn''t a unique case by any means, since affinities stay dormant or inactive in quite some people, only activating in specific circumstances. Some people can even suddenly awaken an affinity that the Affinity Crystal had been unable to detect. So, Axel and Akiko didn''t rush it, only letting nature take its course. And now, it''s finally activated.

    Akiko''s shocked face still didn''t go away. "Congrattions, but¡­ the bubble¡­how in Momotaro''s name did you do THAT?" She asking in bafflement. "That''s element maniption!"

    Axel tilted his head slightly. "The hell''s that?"

    Akiko just sat down the wet ssh. The collision of the Kunais with the bubble had caused water to be water to be sprayed all over her, causing her clothes to stick to her voluptuous body, but she didn''t pay attention to anything.

    "Ninjutsu consists of twoponents: Nature Maniption, and Shape Maniption. Through nature maniption, you can summon the nature of magic want to summon, like fire, water, wind, of course using hand seals. Then you mould that magic using shape maniption, making it into a Jutsu which you can manipte ording to your will," said Akiko, repeating the world she had told him earlier. "But, there''s a thirdponent as well¡­"

    "Element Maniption?" Asked Axel.

    Akiko nodded. "It''s so advanced that I didn''t bother telling you. In this, you can directly use the existing element in nature to mold it into your Jutsu. This is something only true masters with an extremely high affinity with their element can do," she said, looking at Axel iprehension. "You didn''t even use Hand seals¡­" she added in wonder.

    She had a sneaking suspicion of why Axel was able to do what he did. Because only one very simr casees to her mind after seeing his ability. But, that is too unlikely a possibility, and she''s restricted by the seals of highest order to not be able to talk about it.

    ''Antian Royalty¡­. no chance, right?'' After all, she had only ever heard rumors, and currently no one in that family can do it anymore.

    Akiko kept the news to herself as she instead focused on starting to teach Axel water Ninjutsus. This level of water affinity would definitely be extremely helpful against the organization.

    Akiko''s gaze towards Axel became even more fervent. Yes, she could see it. Since the Kraken was themon enemy of the two of them, she could finally see some hope in taking on that giant with Axel''s help.

    After training, Akikoid down on the ground while Axel sat leaning against a tree trunk, both of them tired.

    While lying, Akiko raised her head to look at Axel. "Is something bothering you?" She asked while panting.

    Axel didn''t deny it. "How can you tell?" He asked, his breathing rough as well

    Akiko shrugged. "You just didn''t seem to be in the mood earlier. I didn''t enjoy it as it much I used to."

    Usually, teaching and training with him is quite fun, but not today. It seemed to her Axel has been suffering from something.

    Axel looked into the distance, his gaze pensive. "I kiilled a few dozen men a few days ago," he mentioned casually. That wasn''t really what was bothering him, but it should change the subject.

    Akiko sat up, looking at Axel with her full attention. "Was it unavoidable?"

    Axel thought about it. "Um¡­Sorta of?"

    Akiko nodded. "Then you shouldn''t waste your time mulling over it. Axel, I know what you are going through. The number of people I''ve killed is in three digits. And it doesn''t get easier. You just have to live with it," she said sympathetically.

    Axel just nodded.

    "Was it your first time killing someone?"

    "No, I think it was third. But I don''t really keep track."

    "Oh¡­. Then, do you regret it?" Akiko asked.

    Axel shook his head. "No, I don''t think I do. I''d do it again if I have to." Thinking about it, he didn''t regret doing it. He just hoped Martina hadn''t seen it. Those men were the killer unit of the enemy faction, and they tried to help in Martina''s suffering. They all had to die.

    Akiko was surprised by his question. "Then, do you feel guilty?"

    Axel once again shook his head after some thought. "No, not at all."

    "...."

    Akiko didn''t know what to say. Axel has always been different from others all aspects. But this¡­

    First there''s the godly stealth, then the skills and smart to use to use to its fullest extent, then all the killing techniques she had taught him. And then, this perfect mindset for a killer.

    Can''t this guy be the best assassin in the world?

    "Then, why is this bothering you?" She asked in frustration. She had thought that she could help since she had to go through a lot of mental difficulties and traumas when killing people. But, he doesn''t seem to need to it at all?

    Axel shrugged, getting up. "When did I say it bothered me?" He asked as he began to leave. "I was just checking your reaction to it."

    "...."

    Akiko realized that he was messing with her.

    "And to think I was feeling bad for you when they made the announcement about an unrestricted match format."

    Axel rolled his eyes. "You absolutely weren''t! You were thoroughly enjoying the situation."

    Akiko didn''t deny that,ying back on the ground. "What will you do, though? You have to hide your powers after all. And there''s only so much you can do with skills."

    Axel shrugged. "Well, if we lose the next two matches and other teams have high scores. Then I can avoid the ying that match altogether," he decided. It''s not like there''s no way to deal with Mahoutokoro even while holding back, but he''d rather just not y.

    "What?!" Akiko wasn''t at all happy with his decision. "But that would cause you a lot of bacsh from your house. And from others as well," she reminded.

    Not ying well after just one match? All of his admirers would be so disappointed! And his haters would happily im that the match against Gryffindor was either a coincidence or he had cheated, destroying all of his hard earned reputation.

    But Axel just shrugged. "I really couldn''t care less. The only reason I even decided to y was to get famous to attract the Organization''s attention. Now that the goal has been achieved, I don''t need to bother anymore."

    Akiko shook her head in frustration. At these times, she both respects and hates his ability of not giving a fuck.

    Leaving the forbidden forest, Axel sighed. Akiko was right. Something was indeed bothering him. Dragging his tired body, his feet involuntarily lead him towards the source of his trouble.

    ¡­.

    Inside Lockhart''s Defense Against the Dark Arts ss. Daphne walked into the sses looking around in confusion. For some reason, she had no memories of attending this ss.

    When she went to sit with her friends, they widened their eyes upon seeing her.

    "Daphne? You''re also attending this ss?" Asked Padma Patil.

    Daphne frowned. "Why? Is there a problem?"

    "No, it''s just that you always used to skip it along with Axel¡­" said Sue Li suggestively.

    Mandy Brocklehurst lightly shoved Sue Li, "Of course she''s not. Axel is engaged now." Even though she tried to hide it very well, there was an undeniable glee in her voice at Axel and Daphne''s rtion finally getting severed.

    Daphne gritted her teeth. "There''s nothing between Axel and me. He''s not even my friend. Don''t mention that guy in front of me."

    At this moment, Lockhart finally arrived in the arrived, fashionablyte as always. "Good morning, my students and dear fans. I hope everyone''s Christmas was great. Mine definitely was! I was invited to the Ve queen''s private party. She''s an old admirer of mine from back when I saved her from a bunch of kidnappers. The rest of the details are not suitable for you all to hear¡ª"

    "What a clown," muttered Daphne at once, but her voice must have been heard by Lockhart since he turned his attention to her.

    "Oh, who do we have here? Miss Greengrass, if I''m not mistaken. One of the main flunkers of my valuable lectures. I''ve read few articles about you," he said, his each word infuriating Daphne.

    "Anyways, now that you have finally realized your wrongs, please do bring yourpanion and amateur celebrity Mr. Hunt as well in the next ss. I have a some important business with him."

    Daphne''s friends rolled their eyes. Since they weren''t idiots, they could easily see that Lockhart just wanted to once again try to mooch off Axel''s fame. As if the past lesson wasn''t enough.

    Daphne, on the other hand, raised her hand. "I''m not very familiar with Mr. Hunt, sir. We''re not on speaking terms," she said, causing whispers among the crowd.

    The ss went as useless as ever, and Daphne realized why she used to skip them in the first ce. She was not in a good mood for the whole ss due to the repeated mentions of Axel.

    After the ss, Lisa Turpin held Daphne''s hand. "Daphne, it''s alright. We know he hurt you. You don''t need to hide it from us."

    "Yeah, he was definitely wrong in leading you along and then getting engaged." said Padma.

    "How many times do I have to say it? There''s nothing between us! There''s nothing about him that I like!" Eximed Daphne.

    "Well that is clearly wrong. You LOVE Quidditch. And Axel is undeniably a rising Quidditch star. And his physical appearance¡ª" Padma had began to point out the inconsistencies in Daphne''s statement, but Daphne cut her off.

    "Rising star? Excuse me! He only ever y one match. Nothing can be said about him based on just one match. It''s not clear if he can do the same in other matches," she said in denial.

    Daphne''s friends looked at her with sympathy. To think this is the same girl who punch Lord ck just to defend Axel at one point. Just how bad was she hurt by Axel''s betrayal?

    ¡­.

    Meanwhile, sitting not far away from Daphne under stealth, Axel heard her words. What would happen if he now loses the next week''s match or doesn''t perform well?

    Nope, that was no longer an option.

    Looks like he''ll HAVE to do well in the next match. To show her. So, sorry to Hufflepuff, but it''s going down.

    And, if that''s the case, then he would also have to find a way to win against Mahoutokoro without revealing any of his important cards.

    "Sigh... why can''t I ever take the easy way out?" he muttered.

    ....

    A.N.: POWESTONES!!!

    Next: ying for Daphne

    Next next: Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch (Savage action)

    Next... next: Axel: Turning on Rizz mode. Daphne: Falling again

    Next.... next: The headmaster has called for you

    Come read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon!

    Pa /Snollygoster

    vote??

 Chapter 107: Playing for Daphne

    Chapter 107: ying for Daphne

    In a few days, the day of the match finally arrived. Another day of the match. This day is also called a meeting day, as parents are able toe to and meet the students in the stadium.

    Usually, on the meeting day after Christmas, the stadium is the least crowded, since the parents had just met their children not even a week ago, resulting in many parents who are busy or far away, to not make an effort to make the trip. But today though, the scene was entirely different.

    "It''s his second match, right?"

    "Yeah, but if you look at him y, you''d think he was a veteran."

    "Best in the world, huh?"

    "I heard he broke 22 world records in one go."

    "But..."

    "Yeah, I know, right?"

    "Nothing can be confirmed with just one match."

    "Is he really that good?"

    "I think thest time was a fluke."

    "What if he can''t do much next time?"

    "Yeah, I have to see for myself."

    "Me too."

    These kinds of conversations were taking ce everywhere between the Quidditch fans all around. That''s why, even after extending the stadium to its limits, the tickets were sold out very early, leaving arge number of people disappointed.

    All the major Quidditch fans had recognised this as an important moment. They were about to confirm if the skills shown by Axel were actually real or not. That''s why, the broadcast range of this match was increased, and the viewer count had skyrocketed to an absurdly high number, making the game reach the poprity of a league match, which was leagues above even thest match which already had an incredibly high reception.

    In this hyped up atmosphere, Axel walked towards the stadium in stealth, passing through the crowd of students who were also headed there.

    Aside from Hufflepuff, all three other houses were excited for the match. The Hufflepuffs though¡­ the members of the house of loyalty and hard work looked like they were going to their funeral. But they couldn''t be med for their negative reactions, since now the whole world was going to watch them y, and if it went anything like thest time, their House would be humiliated in front of everyone.

    That''s why, for the past week, they had been looking at Axel withplicated looks, some even begging him to be lenient in the game. Though, maybe because of his savage reputation as or maybe because they were Hufflepuffs, he didn''t get any threats, nor did they try to sabotage him. After all, he wasn''t ying against the Slytherin team, he WAS, the Slytherin team.

    So, Axel really didn''t have anything against the house, but he would really have to destroy them a little for Daphne to see.

    He thought about the things she had said about him. ''She seems to really hate me right now,'' he concluded.

    ''Well, I really had iting.'' Looking back, while she had always tried her best to make him let her in, and had always been shown her passion, he had always taken her for granted. His attitude towards her was mostly cold and perfunctory, which was quite contrary to how he really felt.

    He had been just... too scared to admit it, afraid of getting hurt.

    But despite that, Daphne had never given up her affection towards him, even though any girl in right mind should have hated him.

    It made him wonder... did he really deserve her? Was the affection and attention he had been getting valid? Or was it given to him just because he had saved her sister and did her a few other favors?

    Had she begun to look at him through a jaded view? Always looking at him as the person who saved her sister from her suffering and made the biggest in her life go away? Had she started loving him due to the heavy debt of gratitude she felt towards him?

    If that was the case, then he didn''t want such affection. He wanted her to like him for who he was, not for what he had done. Because he hadn''t helped Astoria for Daphne. It was more for his personal satisfaction.

    That''s why, after she had lost her memories, he had asked Astoria and Evelyn to not tell her anything about him.

    "Because this time..."

    Because this time, he would win her over with his sincerity, instead of charity. He would be the person worthy of her affection.

    That''s why... even though he didn''t have anything against the Hufflepuffs, he wasn''t going to hold back.

    With determined footsteps, Axel marched towards the stadium. When he entered the changing room, he found the whole team waiting for him.

    "You''re here!"

    "Thank Merlin he''s here!"

    "We''re saved!"

    Patricia stood up as soon as she saw him. "Where did you disappear to again? I didn''t see you for the whole week!"

    "Busy."

    Patricia just sighed. "I have no control over you. You did thisst time as well. Anyways, quickly get changed. The match starts in 10 minutes!"

    "It''s plenty," muttered Axel, taking over his clothes from the locker.

    When he turned back, he found his team members giving him intense stares.

    !!

    Everyone quickly looked away, and the girls who their Magi-mirrors pointed at him quickly hid it with embarrassed faces.

    Shaking his head, he went to the changing room. This time, the guys didn''t dare to say anything.

    As the door to the changing room closed, the girls sighed in disappointment, and even Patricia looked disappointed.

    "What a pity..."

    "I wanted to record it this time."

    That sculpted body of absolute perfection, filled with numerous scars and imperfections which only served to make it more enthralling... they wanted to look at it again. They had only been able to catch a glimpsest time before he had changed. But, Axel simply decided to change from the changing room, much to their chagrin.

    What could they do? Stop him like thest time? They were dependent on him to get through the iing matches. They can''t afford to even look at him the wrong way.

    ¡­

    "WITCHES AND WIZARDS! IT IS HERE! MATCH YOU''VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! HUFFLEPUFF VERSUSSSS SSSSLYTHERIN!!!! BROUGHT TO YOU BY BIG OWL, BLUEBERRY MAGICAL APPLIANCES, AND UNICORN BEVERAGES!"

    *CHEEEERS*

    "This is Lee Jordan, Hogwarts'' Quidditch Commentator, and today, I have with me a very special guest as a comentator! Hogwarts, please wee the Pro Quidditch yer, professionalmentator, and the Legend, LUDO BAGMAN!"

    *CHEERS*

    "Thank you, everyone, for all the love. Blimey, it''s good to be back! It certainly brings back memories!" said Bagman, as the crowd cheered.

    "So, as can be seen by Mr. Bagman''s presence and the bigpanies as our sponsors, this match is no longer a simple school league match. Currently, the match is being telecasted live all over the world, and even the streaming servers are overcrowded with viewers from all developedmunities, meaning it''s poprity has escted far beyond the realm of school matches, reaching major league match levels! Mr. Ludo, what are your thoughts on this?"

    "Lee, I will not beat around the bush. There is only one reason why this has happened, and that is Axel Hunt, the boy we''re all here to see, no offense to all the other yers."

    "Of course, the Unseen Prodigy. There''s no denying your statement, and I don''t think the rest of the yers, mind since this match is currently being watched by the recruiters of all the team across the world!"

    "That''s right," Agreed Bagman. "And by arge audience as well. This is a golden opportunity for those yers. If they can perform well, not only will they get famous, they can also get great offers even from major leagues! No one should waste this chance,!"

    "Definitely, Mr. Ludo. And since we''ve already breached the topic, then what ARE your thoughts on Axel Hunt? Could you give us your take on the subject?"

    "Well, I don''t need to say anything about his talent and potential, since everyone already knows about it. But from what I see, the kid reminds me a lot of myself when I was young.

    Back in the days, I was a lot like him, full of potential, charming the witches, and doing whatever the hell I wanted without a care of the world. But this is where the real testes.

    Too many talented yers never actually rise to the top. It is the steady and hardworking ones who finally make it. Even if he was somehow cheating, no one can do what he did even if they are given full reign to cheat, so there''s no denying his talent and potential. But, it''s too early to tell if he can actually keep it up. The tricks he pulled in thest match? He may not be able to do them again, and countermeasures will soon be developed against him as well. As I said, it''s too early to tell."

    "...." It had only been a few seconds, but Axel, who was standing on pitch along with his team already didn''t like this Ludo Bagman, who is so full of himself.

    "You''ve put it very well, Mr. Bagman," said Lee. "Ipletely agree with your words, and those international viewers who didn''t understand everything, since they do not yet have the full context, here''s a recap of the whole situation!

    Axel sighed. ''Not again?''

    The big screens showed highlights of the events from the start and also, they didn''t forget to put ads of their sponsors in the corners. Jordon exined everything as the clips yed. The very first clip was of Axel and Rose facing each other seemingly in a confrontation.

    "It started with Axel Hunt, an unknown student, and Rose Potter, the then best and youngest seeker of Hogwarts having a conflict, due to Rose getting jealous about him hanging out with other girls. In response, Hunt proposed a bet, saying he would face her house in a Quidditch match, and the loser would have to do anything the winner asked."

    Then the screen showed scenes Axel getting sshed with paint. "Hunt, as an unknown yer, was ridiculed by the whole Gryffindor House for proposing the bet against Rose Potter, who was already good enough to be scouted directly to the major leagues. He even got sshed in Gryffindor colors the night before the match, but Hunt waited, biding his time."

    The screen then began showing the highlights of the match Gryffindor vs Slytherin, getting cheers from the audience.

    "And then, when the match started, he exploded, catching the snitch within seconds, and creating a world record! And that was just the start! He then proceeded to take full revenge on the Gryffindor House for every single thing by breaking 21 more records, and defeating Gryffindor with more than a 1000 point difference! And¡­ the match ended with this:" said Jordon, as the screen yed the clip on him catching and throwing the Bludger at the Weasley twin in slow motion, and the crowd gasped and cheered the stunt.

    "OOOHHH! It''s painful no matter how many times I see it..."

    Axel shook his head as he looked around at the crowd. They did all thisst time as well. Putting him on disy just to increase the interest of the crowd. It''s all business to them. He hoped it was over now so he could finish the game and leave.

    "You''d think this was it. But after this, Hunt made headlines again for several different reasons, bing the most searched person of the year 1993," said Lee Jordon, as the Clip showedrge headlines of about the Christmas party.

    ''Stop it already! It''s not even rted to Quidditch!'' Thought Axel, his face turning colder. But of course, the recap continued.

    "Axel Hunt got engaged to Martina Valentino, princess of one of the most wealthiest and most powerful families in the world, and then beat Maksmilian Mikhailov, the Heir to the dangerous and power Mikhailov family to a pulp right in front of the Godfather Mikhailov!" He said, as the clip showed Axel doing exactly that.

    "And then, the news about his past was leaked, something he had kept a secret all this while," said Jordon, as the headlines about him being a muggleborn orphan and images of child rough childhood began to be shown on the screen, for all the world to see.

    ''Damn it.''

    Axel no longer heard what Lee Jordon was saying. He didn''t feelfortable ying for people in this way. He felt exploited. Like a zoo animal on disy.

    Since the Valentinos had handled the situation, this news was gradually buried, and many people still hadn''t found out about it. But now, it was dug out once again, with such arge audience watching it.

    At this moment, the close up of Axel''s face appeared on the screen, showing his reaction to the current situation.

    "Sweet Merlin, Hunt looks absolutely livid. I have seen that look before... Maybe... um... maybe we went a bit overboard in sharing the details." Lee Jordon was regretting it a bit, but what could he do? The sponsors and broadcasters had asked for the recap to retain the viewership.

    Bagman just scoffed. "Ohe on, there''s nothing he can do about it. He should have thought it through before stepping into the spotlight. You just continue the recap," he said from experience. Once you be a celebrity, your life can no longer be private. The sooner the boy learnt of it, the better. Besides, what can he even do?

    Axel looked around at the crowd. The reaction of the people had changed. They were now looking at him with different gazes, some of them no longer cheering for him and while were openly looking at him with disdain and hostility. Because no matter what, his past and his background was something that many of the wizarding families find degrading.

    ''Well, fuck it then.''

    Axel didn''t like the fact that they were making money off of him like this. They thought they could make a show out of him, but, he is not going to just let them exploit him like that.

    "¡ªAND that''s why we''re all here, aren''t we?!" Lee was almost finished with the recap. "To See The Process! To find out, Is Axel Hunt a rising Star who would retain its shine, Or is he just a shooting star with a single moment of blinding brilliance?! So, Witches and Wizards, ARE YOU READY YET?!"

    """"YEEESSSS!!!!""""

    "THEN LET''S BEGIN THE MATCH!!!!!"

    Madam Hooch came to stand between the teams. "I want a fair and injury free match," she said, thest words directed at Axel.

    Her words were ignored, since Axel had already decided what he was going to do. Activating the Arcane Eyes on low intensity, he peered at the VIP box. ''Are you watching?'' He thought, and indeed he found the silhouette of Daphne there, sitting together with two other silhouettes, belonging to Evelyn and Astoria. ''You better watch this with your eyes wide open, you troublesome girl.'' he thought, as he waited for the match to start.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    next: Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch

    next next: A Talk with Daphne

    next next: The Headmaster has called for you

    next... next: Axel vs Ravenw

    Read ahead on P¨¤treon ??

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Vote ??

 Chapter 108: Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch

    Chapter 108: Axel Hunt... I think he broke Quidditch

    In the intense atmosphere, on the ground in the middle of therge stadium, the Team Slytherin faced against the Team Hufflepuff.

    Since they were being watched by the whole Wizarding world, everyone except a certain someone was under a lot of pressure.

    Standing casually with his broom in his hand, Axel looked at the solemn and nervous faces of the Hufflepuff team, who were all also looking at him.

    "It''s nothing personal," he told them in advance.

    "What do you mean?" Asked a tall guy standing in front of him. He was radiating some sort of main character energy, and the rest of the Hufflepuff team seemed to defer to him.

    "You are?"

    "I''m Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker."

    Axel nodded as he sighed. "Well, I meant what I meant. Just try stay out of my way and you''ll all be fine. Probably," he said, making the puffs more scared.

    *PTWEEEEEEEEEEE*

    At this moment, the whistle was blown, announcing the start of the match.

    Instantly, all the yers rushed at them. The snitch, while had been active and waiting to be released, instantly disappeared into thin air, the Quaffle was taken by the Hufflepuff team, and the Hufflepuff beaters quickly rush at the Bludger, sending it towards Axel, who had yet to move from his ce.

    *BOOM*

    "And there it is again! Theunching Boom! Look at how effortlessly he pulls that off!"

    But, instead of stopping to show off the Snitch, Axel didn''t decrease his speed at all. Taking a turn, he dumped the snitch at Madam Hooch, who had barely put the whistle away from her lips.

    !

    Madam Hooch was surprised when a green blur passed by her leaving a snitch on herp along with a rush of wind.

    *TWEEEE*

    She blew the whistle, giving 50 points to the Slytherin team, her eyes still wide due to the surprise.

    *CHEEEERS*

    "AND HE''S DONE IT AGAIN! 2.3 SECONDS! HE. BROKE. HIS. OWN. RECORD!!!"

    "INDEED! I COULDN''T BELIEVE IT WHEN I SAW THE CLIPS, BUT BY MERLIN, THIS BOY CAN REALLY DO IT!!!"

    "Mr. Ludo, as a seeker yourself, what do you think is the difficulty of sessfully pulling off what Axel just did?" Asked Lee, the Commentators werepletely ignoring the rest of the yers, because now that they had seen that Axel still had it, the presence of other yers wouldn''t really impact the game, at least if it''s not the Unrestricted format.

    "It''s tough, near impossible tough, Jordon. There''s a reason why the previous world record was miles away from Hunt''s. You''d have to first be able to see the Snitch when it''s at its fastest, which is an extremely difficult feat to achieve. Then you''d have to pull off theunching boom, which is a skill very few can pull off, and then you''d have to time it perfectly as well."

    "Blimey! That does sound impossible to me!"

    "Isn''t it? And when you do all this, you''d still have to have the reflexes allowing you to catch the snitch at that speed. If it ever happens in a game, it is usually considered a once in a lifetime coincidence. It''s definitely not something you can casually pull off like the boy."

    "Then, how do you think Axel does it? As you might already know, Hunt is quite elusive. We don''t have any chance of getting even a single answer from him."

    "Practice. An insane amount of it. Talent isn''t enough to cut it. I don''t know what kind of practice he has done, but I see some really hard work behind his every refined action. Though, it''s still too early to tell if he canpete in the major leagues. Launching boom is good, but if he''s so repetitive in using it, then it would only work on school level. He has to put in that hardwork in learning other skills as well."

    "Well, that is quite new since no one has ever seen him fly at Hogwarts before the match, let alone train. Anyways, where is Hunt? I can''t find him," Lee Jordon suddenly stoppedmentating when he realized that he couldn''t see Axel.

    "Hm?" Ludo Bagman also began searching for him.

    "TWEEEEEP*

    At this moment, Madam Hooch whistled for the second time as the Golden Snitch had been dumped into herp yet again, adding 50 more points to Slytherin.

    "WHAT?!"

    "WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!"

    Thementators were surprised and so was the audience. Looking at the time, 1 minute had already passed since the match since Axel hadst caught the snitch, meaning he was allowed to catch it again. But¡­

    "Where the hell IS he?! AND HOW DID HE CATCH IT SO QUICKLY?!"

    While everyone searched for Axel, the Slytherin team actually scored a goal, taking everyone''s attention back to the game.

    "Oh, and while everyone is searching for Axel, the Slytherin Captain Patricia Afonso has taken the opportunity to score a goal, making the score 110 to 0! But where is Hunt?!"

    At this moment, the big screen showed the Stadium from a bird''s eye view in slow motion. And if you looked closely, you could see it.

    "WHAT THE HELL?!"

    "Don''t tell me he¡­"

    If you looked closely, you could see, a green blur speeding along the boundaries!

    "HE DIDN''T SLOW DOWN!" Eximed Bagman as he understood. "Hunt hasn''t slowed down at all after the previousunching Boom! In fact, he''s still speeding! Merlin''s beard! Does this boy not fear death?!"

    That was right. After his initial boost, Axel did not stop speeding at all, to the point that he wasn''t even properly visible anymore, which was like suicide. It is very difficult to maneuver the broom at high speeds, and if you go even higher, you''re just inviting death. Just one crash and you''re finished.

    But due to this speed, no one could even think about trying to stop him. Not unless they could use magic. No Bludger could hit him, and if anyone tried to tackle and seeded, they would die.

    And at this speed, he was catching the snitch like at an interval barely a few seconds above one minute.

    "Holy Morgana... Should... should he be stopped? If a crash happened, it would be life threatening," asked Jordon.

    Bagman was also stumped. "Well, he''s not breaking any rules, so if we follow the rules, there''s nothing we can do..."

    Meanwhile, Axel, who wasn''t having any difficulty pulling this off, just scoffed. ''How''s this for a show?''

    They wanted to increase the traction by exploiting his controversies to increase their benefits? They were trying to sell his game y?

    "Well, too bad. You can''t even see me," he murmured, catching the snitch yet again and dropping it in Madam Hooch''sp.

    For the next 20 minutes, no one could do anything while Axel caught the snitch 19 more times, just for good measure. No one had anything to do. The game had be a one man show.

    The Commentators had run out of words.

    The yers had stopped moving because they would be scared to death whenever they''d feel that intense burst of wind rush by them along with a sharp sound. What if they moved unnecessarily and got in his way?

    Of course they didn''t know Axel could still avoid them at this speed.

    Even the audience had also gotten quiet, because there was nothing happening except for a whistle from Madam Hooch after every minute...

    Everything had gonepletely out of order, and no one could do anything.

    In the stillness, Bagman let out a hollowugh. "Axel Hunt... I think... I think he broke Quidditch," he muttered, and everyone had to agree. In this format, there''s nothing anyone can do except let him run the game since they can''t use magic. Even if he''s ying in a major League Match, the result would be the same. Truly, he had broken the game.

    Finally satisfied, Axel took out his wand for the finale. "Efficio Fumus." He chanted.

    It was one of the first spells he had learnt, the spell to produce smoke. But this time, he just tweaked a little to change the colour of the smoke.

    Then, in the middle of the stadium, everyone suddenly saw a giant figure made out of green smoke quickly being manifested in the air, as Axel flew in arcs, leaving smoke trails behind.

    "What in Merlin''s name..."

    "Damn...."

    Both Bagman and Lee Jordon were struck speechless after seeing what Axel had drawn.

    There was a moment of silence in the crowd, in which Axel appeared on the ground.

    Casually dumping the Hogwarts-provided broom, he began walking away, while the scoreboard read: 1160-0

    What was there to do? The match was already as good as over, and since he had used magic, he was off the game ording to rules anyway. Thus, while the dumbstruck crowd looked into the air, Axel walked out...

    Leaving a Giant Middle finger drawn out of green smoke hanging in the air.

    !!!!!!!!!

    The crowd went into an uproar.

    "Did he really...?!" Muttered Ludo as the crowd went wild.

    "Yeah..." agreed Lee. "I think he just flipped us off. In every sense," he muttered while watching the staff scrambling to erase the giant green middlefinger from the pitch.

    "That fucking brat!" cursed Bagman after turning off his mic as he began receiving calls on his Magi-mirror from the sponsors and broadcasters. "He can''t... He can''t leave the game just like that! We''ll lose all the money we were going to get from the sponsors. And it''s barely 25 minutes into the game! All the viewership ratings will drop without him on the pitch!"

    He turned on the mic. "Madam Hooch, could you please bring him back? He can''t leave like that after riling us up like that!" He said, as the crowd agreed with him.

    Lee Jordon sighed, turning on his own mic. "Actually, he can. Look at the scoreboard," he said as he broke down the situation for everyone. "1160-0 in Slytherin''s lead. The Hufflepuff is already finished since there''s no way they can make aeback from this. So he doesn''t need to y anymore. And even if we want to bring him back, we cannot, since he used magic, meaning he''s by default disqualified from the match."

    He knew he should have stopped when he had seen Axel''s pissed mood.

    But maybe he had been too confident after having all these wealthy backers directing him and having Ludo Bagman sitting right beside him. ''What could happen?'' He had thought.

    No matter what, he had never imagined he would face his retribution in the very same match. First Axel spat on Ludo Bagman''s face by going at top speed and making the whole game into a one man show.

    ''Keep your opinions to yourself,'' His gamey seemed to say. As if he was offended that a random nobody like Bagman dared topare his worthless self with Axel, iming Axel would face challenge at something as basic as this game of plebians.

    He showed off to the point that he broke the game itself. ''Try thinking of a countermeasure for this.'' he seemed to say, while catching snitches every minute. ''Try doubting me now.''

    He took apart everything interesting from the game, making it look something as basic as just one guy catching snitches.

    He then proceeded to prove just how wrong Bagman was to think he couldn''t do anything, by walking out after winning the thing, leaving everyone hanging, along with a giant middle finger in front of their faces.

    As far as vindictiveness goes, this was one of the most vindictive revenges in Quidditch history.

    Bagman was now losing it. He had put in a lot of money into this thing. If Axel doesn''t return then he would be losing out on a lot of money.

    "How arrogant can he be? Does he think any team will take him after showing this kind of attitude?!" He said into the mic.

    Actually, every single team will. And both Ludo and Lee knew it. Having Axel on their team would be like cheating. No, it would be even better than cheating. And all great yers are arrogant like this. They have seen them act more snobbish with not even a 10th of Axel''s skill. So, there''s no denying the fact that currently every team was scrambling their brains madly to think how to recruit Axel.

    But Bagman was just frustrated.

    "Axel Hunt, if you can hear me,e back now. You''re offending all the big sponsors who have invested in this game."

    Lee Jordon gave Bagman a look that said, ''Bruh. Seriously?!''

    "Mr. Bagman, he is the same guy who beat up the heir of the Mikhailov family and got away with it. I don''t think these idle threats are going to work. After all, we call him Savage Axel for a reason. We should have known better than to broadcast his story to the world without his consent." he said on the mic, publicly admitting his wrong.

    "I''m really sorry Axel. Mr. Bagman forced me." He said, resolutely sacrificing his idol to save himself from trouble with Axel. What kind of idol? He was nothing but a shit-stainpared to Axel.

    Bagman didn''t give up. If nothing, he was persistent like a cockroach. "Looks like the Hufflepuff is trying to make aeback! What would the Slytherin''s do?!" He eximed, and indeed, the Hufflepuffs were indeed trying to save some of their remaining trampled dignity by giving it their all. Even Cedric Diggory, their seeker who had been ignored until now, was trying his best to look for the snitch.

    It truly looked like the house of Hard workers.

    But it also looked a bit pathetic and overly desperate¡­

    Though Ludo Bagman had some hope. But, the Slytherin team was not in the mood to cooperate. In Patricia''s lead, they all just lined up in front of the goal posts.

    There''s no need to struggle when they already have the match in their bag. Let Diggory catch as many snitches as he wants. It won''t change anything. Because he can''t get the numbers to their level even in days, let alone in 60 minutes.

    Ludo Bagman finally gave up on the match as he saw the numbers slipping. So he decided totch back onto Axel.

    "What a day! Today we got to witness some things which we never even imagined being able to witness! I''m beginning to see a pattern here. No matter where Axel Hunt goes, unbelievable spectacles follow!" He eximed, and the crowd cheered. Whatever losses Ludo Bagman might have faced, everyone else had had their fun at seeing Axel defying Quidditch itself, and doing something which has never been done before. They were just no longer interested to watch anymore now that Axel was gone.

    "So, I''m very d to announce that you''ll be able to see him again in the Match, Slytherin Vs Ravenw!"

    *CHEERS*

    "But that''s not all! There''s also a twist in his next match! Because Axel''s fiancee happens to be in house Ravenw!"

    ""Oooooohhhhhh"""

    Bagman was back in his game. He knew he had the crowd''s attention. He didn''t even notice Lee Jordan putting down his headset and walking away from Bagman.

    "Yes, what would Axel choose between love and Quidditch? Would he humiliate his lover''s house like he did with all his other opponents?! We''ll have to find out in the match! The details are on your screen! Start booking the tickets and subscriptions from now, before it''s toote!" Bagman was apulsive gambler. The more he loses, the higher he''ll raise the stakes to recover his losses. And this time, he forgot just who he was dealing with.

    "And... WE HAVE ANOTHER BIG NEWS! With Axel performance in this match it has been decided that Team SLYTHERIN will be representing Hogwarts in their match against Mahoutokoro! And in that match, magic is allowed! Meaning Axel would be turned into meat paste if he tried using the same tricks again! What would happen in that match?! If I were to bet, I would definitely be betting all my money of Mahoutokoro!"

    Lee Jordan gave the guy onest look, like looking at a dead man talking, and walked out.

    ....

    A.N.: Do vote with POWERSTONES. It keeps my story high in the rankings so that more viewers can see it.

    next: A Talk with Daphne

    next next: The Headmaster has called for you

    next... next: Axel vs Ravenw

    next... next: "WOULD AXEL HUNT APOLOGISE?"

    next...next: Savage yet again

    Read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Thanks for support ??

    VOTE??

 Chapter 109: A Reunion

    Chapter 109: A Reunion

    "Honey, we could just go to Hogsmeade if you want. We don''t have to watch the match," said Evelyn to Daphne as they sat in the VIP box. She was just gauging her reaction.

    Daphne shook her head at her mother''s answer. "No, I think I''ll watch this one. I want to see how Slytherin fares." she said casually, though Astoria and Evelyn exchanged knowing nces.

    "Why?" Asked Astoria yfully. "Are you scared Ravenw would be beaten the same way as Gryffindor?"

    Daphne scoffed. "Our house team isn''t as stupid as others. They''ve alreadye up with various counter measures."

    *Cheers*

    At this moment, the crowd began hollering as the yers arrived into the pitch.

    Daphne looked at the guy who had just arrived in like he owned the stadium. With the broom in his hand and dressed in his Quidditch gear, he walked in like he owned the field.

    ''Arrogant.'' she thought while making a face, as she heard the audience reaction intensify at his entry. It didn''t go past her notice that the majority of the audience cheering for him were females. She had seen many yers like him, and she doesn''t like any of them. Putting their heads into the sky because they are a little good. She has yet to see anyone who truly has enough skills to back it up.

    When the recap began, Daphne winced in pain, as her mind once again tried to recall the past, giving her an intense sense of loss. She had to intensify her lumency in order to stop her mind from trying to think of the past.

    "Daphi?!"

    "Honey, are you alright?"

    "I''m fine." Daphne waved off their concern. Whoever taught this to her, her lumency was increasing at a dramatic rate due to them.

    ''Looks like she''s better now.'' Evelyn sighed in relief, a small smileing to her face. In the beginning, her pain would start whenever anything remotely rted to Axel was brought up. That''s why, Axel had be a forbidden topic at home. So she was really d that Daphne could now see him without much problem.

    On the other hand, looking at the recap, Daphne''s brows furrowed at the news about his engagement, even with her lumency on. "Why the hell did he say he''s single?" She muttered, recalling her very first memory after waking up. The guy was clearly engaged. With Martina Valentino at that. Yet, he still is¡­ scummy enough to flirt with her like that.

    "He really is single," said Evelyn.

    Daphne looked at her mother in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

    Evelyn sighed, recalling what Axel had told her. "The Valentinos used him as a shield to dodge the marriage alliance offer from the Mikhailov family. It was either that or war." She said, d to be finally able to talk about it now her daughter''s condition was better.

    "So, he really isn''t engaged¡­" muttered Daphne, as she watched Axel beating the Mikhailov heir into a pulp in the recap. This was big news, and she had so many questions! If he''s really not engaged, then why did he fight the heir to the one of the most dangerous wizarding families? Does he actually like Martina or did he just do all that for her even when they are just friends? And, about him being single¡­ why did he¡­ specifically tell her that?

    And most importantly¡­ why the hell is her heart beating so fast?!

    But, before she could give it much thought, she saw the picture of a young Axel appear on the screen, and the Commentators describing his Muggleborn Orphan past in detail.

    "What the heck? Why are they showing this?" She couldn''t help but murmur. Hunt was already facing enough problems at school as it was, and now this matter has been brought up again, and in front of the whole world at that. Blood supremacy is a problem in many wizardingmunities. It would definitely get him a lot of haters.

    Looking at Axel''s reaction which was disyed on the screen, sure enough, he looked quite annoyed about the whole thing as well.

    "Are they not going too far?" she asked.

    Evelyn patted her on the back. "Don''t worry, honey. He has a lot of backing," she said reassuringly. Not to mention the full support of the Valentino family and house Greengrass, he also has another powerful backer. That''s why, even though Evelyn was also angry, she could contain her fury. "He''ll be fine," she promised.

    Daphne paused as she realized something. "Wait. Who said I''m worried about him?! Why would you think that? I don''t like him at all! He''s so arrogant, and... scummy!" She eximed, embarrassed by her mother''s assumptions. "He was the one who was in my bedroom saying he was single! I didn''t do anything!"

    Daphne had read all the articles about him. He was such an arrogant, egoistic, self absorbed person. She has yet to see anything that justifies that amount of attitude.

    Just take this situation for example. For all his arrogance and bravado, he can''t do anything when his privacy was destroyed right in front of his eyes. He''ll still have to y the game and entertain the audience, just like the sponsors want him to.

    Astoria looked at her sister innocently. "But Daphi, when did mum say anything about you liking him? And why are you trying to exin yourself in such detail?"

    "I----" Daphne had no words to say to her sister, though at this moment, a sharp sound interrupted the silence, attracting everyone''s attention, and Daphne hid her face in her omni-ocrs, suddenly very interested in the game.

    Another whistle sounded, signifying that the snitch had already been caught.

    "!!!!!" Daphne''s jaw dropped. Right before the match started, she saw Axel look right into her eyes, as if he could see right through the lens of the omni-ocrs.

    And even after the whistle had been blown, she didn''t see him searching for the snitch at all, as he held eye-contact, seemingly in leisure. She felt as if he was telling her to watch the match, and daring her to question him again.

    And then he was gone, without even looking where he was going. Before she could even find him again, he had already caught the snitch.

    !!!

    Just... what the hell?! As some who''s had a huge interest in Quidditch from a childhood, Daphne still couldn''t understand how he managed it.

    She had already been thinking that the past performance was a one time thing. No, she had been trying to convince herself of that. But looking at what he just did, she really had to acknowledge him.

    Though... Axel didn''t seem to be satisfied doing just that.

    "He caught it again!" Astoria announced in triumph just a minuteter, raising both of her hands in celebration, as Madam Hooch blew the whistle again.

    "Really? But I can''t even see though?" Asked Evelyn, looking around.

    "...." Daphne looked at her mother and sister in bafflement. These two...

    "Since when have you started taking interest Quidditch?" She asked, feeling absurd. For the longest time, she had been the only Quidditch fanatic in the family despite all of her attempts at getting them hooked. It had made it very difficult for her to go watch specific matches. And now, looking at the two of them, you''d think they were a pair of fan girls gushing about the game.

    Evelyn and Astoria avoided her eyes at that question. "We just..." Evelyn was saying, but Astoria suddenly eximed while pointing at the screen, also sessfullying to her mother''s rescue as everyone turned their attention to it.

    They saw a green blurr speeding all around the stadium.

    "So fast!" Eximed Astoria.

    "By Merlin''s socks! Isn''t that dangerous...?" murmured Evelyn covering her mouth.

    As they saw the blurr fly around, they heard another whisle, meaning the snitch had been caught again.

    "He really is awesome!" Eximed Astoria with stars in her eyes, while Evelyn''s brows knitted due to the danger of the situation.

    They both even forgot Daphne, who had her eyes wide, as he looked Axel in pure amazement. Unlike Evelyn and Astoria, she knew the magnitude of what he was doing right now.

    "This guy..." She muttered, unconsciously leaning forward. She had never seen a guy as crazy as him. ''Is he really going to do it?''

    "He really is crazy," she said, shaking her head as her heartbeat kept increasing. She thought of her words just a while ago. When his privacy was vited, she had thought he wouldn''t be able to do anything about it. But this....

    ''Is he really going to go so far just to fuck with those who tried to advantage of him?''

    Daphne just kept looking at the scoreboard, her anxiousness rising right along with the score.

    The field becamepletely still, with no yers moving.

    "Why is no one moving?" Asked Astoria.

    "Because they''re afraid to die if Axel crashes into them," exined Evelyn.

    Astoria frowned. "Then, isn''t he in danger?"

    Daphne shook her head. "That''s the thing. He can either dodge those people at that speed, which is highly unlikely, or he simply doesn''t give a damn. Whatever the case, no one else has even tried doing what he''s doing right now. If they did, they''d already be in Saint Mungos or six feet under by now in this much time."

    Just handling the broom at this speed is already a challenge that no one has ever done before. And dodging someone who suddenlyes into your way¡­ it would be out of the realm of human possibility. That''s why she thought he was crazy. He''s simply betting on the fact that no one would be crazy enough toe in his way.

    "Sister, are you alright? Why are you biting your lip?"

    Daphne ignored Astoria, her eyes trained on Axel. She was feeling a mess of emotions right now. ''You''ve already made your point. Isn''t this enough?''

    ''How far are you willing to go?'' She thought, her hands unconsciously wringing the omni-ocrs she was holding.

    But Axel seemed to have no problem continuing. He flew like that for a total of 25 minutes,pletely destroying those who had doubted him.

    "WHAT THE¡ª"

    And, as if his message wasn''t clear enough, he raised a giant middle finger to everyone, just to say ,''I can, so I did it. So what?!''

    And then, he walked out of the stadium casually, like he hadn''t just pulled the most savage stunt in the Quidditch History.

    *!!!!!!*

    As soon as he walked out, the crowd came out of their stupor. And then, the biggest uproar arose into the stadium, with everyone going wild. Even the people sitting in the VIP box stood up, as they realised what had just happened.

    They had been on the edge of their seat from the moment the match started. But then, all of a sudden, Hunt walked out in the middle of the first half, while giving them the finger.

    His message was clear: "In this game, I can control everything. If I don''t want it, you guys can''t enjoy the match. So don''t piss me off."

    And he was indeed right. Everyone felt like they had been blue-balled. And it seemedpletely useless to watch the rest of the match after what they had just witnessed.

    "Yayyyy!!! Wohooo! Axel! Axel! Axel!" No matter what, Astoria was definitely enjoying herself.

    "Daphi, can your Ravenw teame with countermeasures for this?" She asked teasingly. But Daphne did not respond. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing uneven, but her face was ice cold.

    She got up from her seat. She was having trouble breathing. Without saying anything, she stalked out of the VIP box, her face expressionless.

    "Daphi?" Astoria got up to follow, but Evelyn stopped her, shaking her head.

    Out of the VIP box, Daphne''s stepped kept getting faster, until she found herself running.

    "That guy... does he not want to live?!" She fumed while running. "But what do I care?! Let him die."

    She had no purpose, no destination and no n in mind. She wasn''t even thinking. All she wanted to do was to get this stuffiness out of her system.

    Before long, she found herself right in front of the Slytherin Locker room, her fist raised knock on the door.

    ?!?

    Daphne paused as she realized where she was and what she was about to do. The Slytherin Locker room?! She didn''t know what she was thinking when her legs brought her to this ce. "What am I even doing here?"

    Confused, Daphne put a hand to her head. She had just watched a spectacle that would normally have her cheering even more than Astoria. If the past her had seen such a yer, she would definitely have be aplete fan of that yer.

    And this time, she did feel all of those emotions. But... everything was overpowered by the feeling of anxiety upon seeing him perform something so dangerous. What if he crashes? What if he dies or gets injured? These thoughts kepting to her head, causing her to bite her lip. That''s why, she didn''t know what to do right now.

    Before she could clear her head, though, the door of the changing room was opened, surprising the hell out of her.

    "!!!"

    "Are you alright?"

    When she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of a worried Axel, who had opened the door.

    And, more importantly, he was shirtless, a t-shirt hanging in his other hand. Apparently, he had been in the process of changing.

    !!!!

    Daphne''s eyes widened upon catching a glimpse of his physique, her eyes following the musclesced with all types of scars, the sight of all those injuries making her heart ache.

    If she had thought she might have been physically the fittest student at Hogwarts, that delusion was instantly removed from her head. She was so surprised that while backing away from him, she tripped on her own feet, causing her to fall backwards.

    "Watch out," Axel stepped forward to quickly catch her, his hand circling her waist, closing the distance between them.

    "What¡ª!!!!!!!!"

    Daphne went into shock, nkly looking up at Axel as her hands ended up on his bare shoulders for support. She was so surprised that her lumency slipped out of her control. An intense feeling overpowered her, which felt like a mixture of sweetness, loss, and hundreds of other emotions. Overwhelmed by emotions, her grip on his shoulders tightened, as she looked up at Axel in a daze.

    "Daphne?" Axel called out. "Are you alright?"

    Daphne blinked, her eyes slowlying into focus.

    *p*

    Her hands mmed against his shoulders, which only ended up hurting her hands more, as she moved away from him.

    "I don''t care!" She informed him, before she ran off, with twice the speed she hade.

    "????"

    Left standing in the corridor, Axel shook her head wryly. There''s definitely progress. But...

    ''As expected, it''s still too early,'' he thought. He has to bring back those memories fast.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Vote with Powerstones, to keep me at the top.

    Read Ahead and Support me on P¨¤treon.

    Pa /Snollygoster

    Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro phase going on there.

 Chapter 110: New Wand

    Chapter 110: New Wand

    When Axel had seen Daphne standing out of breath right outside the door using the Arcane Eyes, he was so surprised that he hadn''t even bothered changing properly before he had opened the door, which is probably why she had run away right now. As expected, this body is too ugly to look at.

    Looking at her retreating form, Axel''s hand was unconsciously raised, as if to stop her. But then, he lowered it, shaking his head.

    "Just wait for me," he muttered, renewing his determination.

    Going back into the changing room, Axel opened the system interface. Bringing back Daphne''s memories isn''t simple. After all, there''s a reason why the healers aren''t doing anything. First of all, it is almost impossible to reach the deepest parts of one''s mind without damaging it, since it''s quite sensitive and weak.

    And even if he did, the curse would interfere with the unlocking of her memories, giving her damage anyway.

    That''s why, in order to help her, he needs to do two things. First, he needs to lift off the curse. And second, he has to unlock the memories.

    For the first step, removing the curse, he needs to perform aplicated Ritual, which requires such ingredients that he doesn''t even know about them. This is the most difficult part. And then, for the second step, i.e., unlocking her memories, it''s something he has within his power to achieve.

    [Unshackle: Grants the ability to get rid of all kinds of shackles.

    Current progress: 4.4%]

    It''s this skill. He can unlock her memories using this skill. But to achieve that, he would need to take it to 35% progress, which is going to be tough. This skill is so fucking versatile that even after training it for the past week, he has only made this much progress.

    Along with this, he also has to train his other skills as well, since there''s no telling how dangerous the organization can be.

    And then there''s the matter about Quidditch. His next match was against Daphne''s house. He still hadn''t thought what he would do about that. Daphne''s love for Quidditch is unquestionable, and she is proud of her house as well, as evidenced by how often she praises her house while deriding the other Houses.

    So, even as someone who doesn''t give a fuck about the subject, Axel can still understand that the current Daphne might be pissed if he destroyed Ravenw, and she might also not like it if he goes easy on the buggers.

    And the match after that would be against the Mahoutokoro, in which magic would be allowed.

    If he could use his skills without holding back, he could crush them even without magic. But the problem is...

    "I have to stop showing off..." he murmured.

    He can''t kept showing himself as someone with limitless skill.

    ''System, it''s possible that the organization would research about me through the Magi-hive before trying to get to me, right?''

    [Affirmative. It is a given that they will.]

    ''Damn it.'' That''s the reason why he has to stop showing off. If the organization would see the clips of his gamey, he has to show that he has limits, and that his skills aren''t too useful inbat, lest the Organization decides to deploy their big guns to deals with him.

    And to do that, he can''t use the same trick he used today in a match against Mahoutokoro. The speed he was flying was even faster than the burst speed gained by theunching boom. Right now, everyone has the impression that he can''t dodge anything at that speed, and he was only doing this because he knew no one would try toe in his way.

    But, if the Mahoutokoro yers deploy Jutsus all around the stadium and he dodges and doesn''t die from them, it would reveal too much of his reaction speed. If the organization has to deal with such a target, they would try to catch himpletely unaware so that he can''t react, which is thest thing he wants.

    So, adding this issue, Axel checked his to-do list. Getting back Daphne¡ªstep-1, Getting back Daphne¡ªstep-2, Training all the skills, two matches, and always being on the look out for the organization''s attacks, and finally, getting information about the Pendant around his neck through the organization, since it''s supposedly the key to defeating Voldemort''s.

    "Sigh... Too much..."

    Axel muttered with a sigh. Lately, he has been having this weary feeling sometimes that forces him to sigh. It''s not like he''s working more than the amount of work he used to do a few months ago. But even when the amount of work he''s doing is simr, just until a few months ago, he used to be quite content and full of spirit. Now, though...

    "Sigh..." Axel sighed yet again. Closing the interface as he pulled on his T-shirt, he started making his way back to the castle, his shoulders slightly slumped. He was going to start training again.

    Though, at this moment, he heard a notification chimee from his Magi-mirror, causing him to check it out.

    As someone who had never used these devices, Axel had not bothered using these things before, considering them as a waste of his time. He hadn''t even properly learnt how to operate them. But after the incident with Daphne, he has decided to rectify his views on the matter.

    Checking the Magi-mirror, Axel realized that it was a call from Martina, so he picked it, immediately hearing her voice.

    "Yeah wait, I''m calling Axel right now, but don''t expect a response. He doesn''t use his phone at all. Hah... I wish I had his self control and discipline..." Martina was saying. Her voice was bright and excited, meaning she was about to talk about something positive.

    ''False rm,'' thought Axel, his shoulder slumping again as he continued to walk towards the castle.

    "What''s up?" He asked, but there was no response, as Martina suddenly stopped talking.

    There was a chuckling sound, most likely from Endo, before Martina spoke again. "Y-You actually picked up?! How?!"

    Axel frowned. "Should I not have?"

    "Nonono! It''s great that you picked up!" Eximed Martina in hurry.

    "Tell him he was totally whiz-bang in the game!" Came Alessandro''s voice.

    "Tell him I''m a fan as well!" Came Enzo''s voice.

    Martina ignored the two of them as them as she focused on the call, "Actually, I called to inform that your wand is now ready! I have it with me, so you cane take it any¡ª"

    *Boom*

    Axel was already off before Martina finished her words. His wand! It was something he had forcefully stopped his mind from even thinking about it, since it was something he couldn''t wait for. That''s how much he was looking forward to it. So when he heard Martina''s words, all his weariness vanished as he rushed towards the VVIP box.

    Axel tried to sense within himself, the connection which had been lying dormant all this while. It would barely respond to him. But this time, when he reached out, the connection thrummed to life, responding to him readily. Axel could feel it getting stronger as the distance lessen, causing him to increase his speed further.

    Inside the VVIP box.

    "So you cane and take it back anytime. I have to tell you, it''s really amazing! I¡ªhello? Axel? Are you listening?" Martina looked at the Magi-mirror in confusion.

    Shrugging, she looked back at her father and brother. "I think he''sing. You two better start preparing to apologize. You didn''t do it thest time."

    Alessandro rxed in his arm chair. "Let hime¡ª"

    ¡ªWhoosh¡ª

    At this moment, the door opened and closed and Axel stood face to face with Martina, who was standing behind Alessandro''s armchair.

    "The wand." He demanded.

    !!!!

    The door opened again, as rmed guards peeked in to investigate just how the locked and guarded door had opened and closed on its own in a brief second, only to see the silhouette of a person standing right behind their bosses'' chair with his back to them, not allowing them to see the intruder''s face.

    If that wasn''t rming enough, Princess Martina stood unprotected right in front of the intruder as well,pletely within arm''s reach.

    Just when they thought everything was over, thedy boss stood up, signaling them to leave as the door closed again with her magic.

    Francesca smiled at Axel, not as much surprised by his speedy appearance. "Ciao, Axel. Can I just say you did great in the match! Your wand is ready. It''s¡­ probably my best work by far."

    Martina nodded as well. "The materials used are absolutely the best. The dark crystal was so interesting! I haven''t worked on anything like that. And the wood. It was the most difficult thing to unseal," she gushed.

    Truely, she had never seen anything like the dark crystal before. It had so many mysterious properties! And the wood, if she didn''t have the [Linguist] ability granted by the ROB that enabled her to understand the symbols that were carved for sealing it, she wouldn''t have been able toe up with a way to open it all. She had never seen anything simr to them before.

    Axel waited impatiently as Martina slowly took out an ornate wooden box from her purse. But, as soon as it was out, a shockwave rippled through the room, as the lid of the box flew open, revealing a glowing wand. Its body was producing intense golden light, but the area around its core waspletely dark, as if sucking all the light in. Powerful fluctuations wereing from it, as if sensing that its master was near.

    Francesca was perturbed. "It has never responded like that before..." she murmured in amazement and caution, taking out her own wand as well.

    But Axel justughed. ''You''re impatient as well, huh?'' he thought, finally picking it up. And soon as he did, a blinding sh illuminated the room, and Axel felt the wand''s joy at reuniting with him. Suddenly, Axel felt that he had regained a part of himself which he had lost.

    The light finally subsided, and Axel finally saw the wand. The shape and size was still the same, but the wood had been changed, and a grip made of Basilisk skin was added to it as well. Axel nodded in satisfaction. Despite the enormous power it contained, it didn''t look superficial and shy. He liked it.

    "Axel, dad and Enzo have something to say." While Axel was examining his wand, Martina spoke up, staring pointedly at her father and brother.

    Enzo shrugged as he stood up. "Listen man, we shouldn''t have done what we did. It got you into a lot of trouble, and even the Mikhailovs targeted you. You didn''t deserve all that. You''re a good guy. So, as an apology, I¡ª" he paused. "I give you the permission to chase after my sister. Goddamnit, you''re at least better than others and you make her very happy, I won''t try to kill if you chase her," he said with difficulty, as if making a greatpromise.

    "ENZO, SHUT UP!" (Martina)

    Alessandro also stood up. "Son, we got you into trouble and you still saved Tina after that. You don''t know how big a favor that is. So, I''m telling you right now. Whatever you need, don''t hesitate to ask. If it doesn''t put my family in danger, I''ll have it done for you. So, we good?" He asked, offering his hand.

    Axel looked at the offered hand, as his his fists clenched. "You don''t know what you did has cost me," he said, shaking his head, as his wand produced an eerie atmosphere, sensing his emotions. He would rather have thousands of men die in war than have Daphne suffer.

    So, there''s no forgiving them. But Axel calmed himself. He won''t achieve anything by showing his anger.

    He raised his hand. But, instead of shaking hands, he put a slip of paper in Alessandro''s hand instead. "I can''t acquire the ingredients that are not crossed. Get as many of them as you can."

    Alessandro looked at the slip, and his eyes bulged. "All the ones I know are pretty darn tough to get and a few I haven''t even heard about. How the fuck did you get the ones that are crossed?"

    Axel raised his eyebrows at Alessandro, his face calm. "Very few things can stop me from getting what I want," he said matter of factly, before leaving the room. He had to try out his new wand.

    Getting out of the stadium, he went to his hideout in the Castle.

    It was the ce which the system had given him as the mission reward. Since it was hidden well and difficult to open, it waspletely forgotten by now, allowing Axel to have it all to himself.

    Unlocking all the extra spells and traps he had ced, he went straight to his training room, which currently had a lot of ingredients and loot piled up.

    Quickly putting away everything, he raiseded his wand.

    "Well, let''s see what you can do," he mutttered, alreadypletely discarding the stunts he had pulled in today''s match out of his mind.

    He had no idea how big amotion he had caused.

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones

    Next:Mr. Hunt: You''ve been called to the Headmaster''s office

    Read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 111: Meeting with Dumbledore

    Chapter 111: Meeting with Dumbledore

    Chapter 111

    Axel stood in the training room of his hideout. He hadpletely surrounded this ce inyers andyers of wards and enchantments for his practice so he wasn''t worried about damaging this ce.

    He finally drew his newly repaired and improved wand, which no longer felt the same.

    When he had bought it, he wasn''t expecting much from it. It was just a tool used for magic casting. But after using it for more than a year, he hade to realize that the wand had a degree of sentience, even if only a little.

    It had emotions and judgement of its own to only serve the master which it deems worthy and who treats it well. After he realized that and truly began to gain it''s loyalty, he had slowly stop seeing it as simply a tool. From then, until its destruction, it hadn''t disappointed him once, even damaging itself to fulfill hismand.

    Axel was not heartless enough to not get care for such a loyal helper. But he only found out when it was gone. Now that it was back, and much more powerful than he had imagined, Axel felt that his weariness had lessened quite a bit, and he no longer felt the urge to sigh. It was like a part of himself had been restored, and moving forward was no longer as difficult as it was just an hour ago. If only Daphne was cured, he felt like he could take over the world.

    "Let''s see what you can do," he murmured, and the wand glowed in response.

    Axel pointed it at the training dummy. "Reducto."

    *BOOM*

    !!??!!!

    The dummy was reduced into nothing, and most of theyers of protection he had installed on the walls were also gone.

    But... what was even more baffling was, Axel found himself falling to the floor right after,pletely powerless.

    "What... the fuck?? What the actual fuck?!" Eximed Axel, unable toprehend the situation at all. Alright, the spell was powerful, much much more powerful than what a simple reducto can ever be. But... how exactly did he end up falling?

    Thest time this happened, he had loaded Electrica Impulsa a frightening amount of time in limit break. At that time, if the spell hadn''t passed through the window, it could have destroyed anything in its way. So right now, he didn''t find it an equal exchange at all to lose all of his powers over something so weaker.

    ''System, what the heck?''

    [Axel, the materials used in your wand have extra ordinary origins, and theirbination makes the wand even more powerful. You currently don''t have the capability to draw magic with it. To use it, you must train with it first.]

    Axel frowned. ''What the hell are you talking about? I haven''t had any problems rted to my magical aptitude after getting healed. What''s so special about these materials?''

    [Your aptitude is not less, Axel. Other people will have an even harder time using it. The problem is, the wand is too powerful. Especially due to the wood, the dark crystal, the master level wand crafting skills, and your bond with the empowered cherub core. All thingsbined, it will be counted among the top magical conduits even in other worlds.]

    What? An absurdugh escaped Axel''s mouth. Too much information was revealed in thest statement. ''Why does it seem like the other worlds are much more powerful than this world?''

    [Because that is the case.]

    fuck...

    Axel decided to not think about the other worlds for now. And focus on the current world.

    ''What about the elder wand?'' Different from the noob he had been, Axel now knew what the Elder wand was. The most powerful wand in the world. ''Is it more powerful than that?''

    ''It is. The margin between the Elder wand and other well crafted wands with good owners is not that huge. This wand can be much more superior, if you can use it to that level.''

    Axel smiled. ''Now we''re talking.''

    Whipping out his wand again, Axel started to have fun with it again.

    ...

    Unbeknownst to Axel, the incident caused by him once again shook the inte, this time causing even bigger waves.

    The sight of a giant middle finger logo made out of green smoke could be seen in the news of all the major media outlets across the world the very same day.

    AXEL HUNT FLIPS OFF THE WORLD

    GIANT MIDDLE FINGER RAISED IN THE STADIUM

    AXEL HUNT BREAKS QUIDDITCH

    These types of articles and video clips were appearing all over.

    But that wasn''t enough. On the inte, a video edit blew up big time, gaining a lot of views with the title: THE MOST SAVAGE STUNT IN QUIDDITCH HISTORY

    It featured first Axel entering the stadium, and then cutting to the part where his past was shown on the screen, showing his annoyed reaction as many people in the crowd started booing and catcalling him.

    And then, a fast music starts booming in the background, as it shows Axel first destroying the opponent team, flying at a speed at which forced others to stop flying while catching the snitch in quick sessions.

    The scoreboard was shown going up one-sidedly by a multiple of 50 until 25 minutes, showing the crowd''s dumbfounded and spellbound reaction, after which Axel walked out mid-match like a gangster, leaving the middle finger in the air.

    This video blew up big time, getting popr even among people who don''t take active interest in Quidditch. And for a while, things like ''Axel Hunt'', ''Savage Hunt Latest Shenanigans'', What is the Savage Mark?'', ''How to create a middle finger logo with magic'' and ''How to create the Savage Mark?'' were on the top searches.

    Copying this, a few students made a video in which they went into Lockhart''s ssroom and said to his face that they would no longer be attending his sses, giving legit reasons like his sses are all about himself and useless nonsense, even adding a few small clips of his previous sses as proof.

    After saying their piece in front of the whole ss, the students walked out while leaving the middle finger sign to Lockhart.

    This video also went crazy viral, especially due to Lockhart''s already existing fame. And then, something amazing happened. It led to the start of a trend, in which people would post videos of them doing something savage and then leaving the symbol of a middle finger.

    And this middle finger symbol which Axel had created, began to be called ''The Savage Mark''.

    In just a few days, the Inte was filled with videos rted to this. The year had just begun, and Axel had be the most famous person of 1993. But of course, not everything was positive.

    Axel was heavily criticized for using an obscene gesture in public, and the opposition of these people only increased as the Savage Mark gained poprity. It came to the point that it was being demanded that he be banned from ying Quidditch in the future matches at Hogwarts, something which even the sponsors and Ludo Bagman protested against. After all, there was no money to be made without Axel.

    And, as the person in question here, Axel waspletely impervious to the whole situation. He continued his days as usual doing his own things, and attending only certain sses for appearance''s sake. Theodore and Tracy, who had recently be the only two people he''d hang out with, would tell him the bug waves he had caused from time to time, but Axel didn''t pay much attention to those things.

    Professor Mcgonagall was the only one among the professors who admonished him for his behavior. (I am most disappointed in you, Mr. Hunt. You brought down the school''s reputation with your rude gesture. That is not how a student of Hogwarts should behave. 50 points from Slytherin.) Like he gave a fuck.

    Other than that, everything was going the same. Until one day, something happened.

    "Mr. Hunt, you''ve been called to the Headmaster''s office," Professor Mcgonagall informed him one day as he was leaving her ssroom, making him stop in his tracks.

    "What?" Axel thought he might have heard it wrong due to all the students'' chattering.

    But, Mcgonagall destroyed his hope. "The Headmaster has called for you," she repeated patiently. "The entrance is on the seventh floor, guarded by a gargoyle. The password is Sherbet Lemon. Off you go now," she said, and Axel could almost hear a hint of gloating in her voice, but maybe it was just his imagination.

    "You''re in trouble, mate," said Theodore, as Axel walked out of the ssroom in a daze.

    "Heh, creating so many headlines and controversies, I''m not surprised this is happening? It was only a matter of time," said Tracy. "Though, for the awesome things you did, I''d say it''s totally worth it."

    Shaking his head, Axel separated from them at the stairs, going for the seventh floor. His head had hundreds of thoughts. What does the old fossil want from him?

    Now that he thought about it, there could be a lot of reasons. He had not been properly attending the sses, he had been in conflicts with various students, and when push came to shove, he had even gotten into many physical confrontations as well.

    Aside from this, there was his most recent deed of making the flip off gesture in front of an international audience as well. Not only had he affected Hogwarts'' image, he had also prevented the school from getting a generous amount of money in promotions, even though they were getting it by taking advantage of him in the first ce.

    And then there were his secret exploits as well, which could have been revealed even though he did make sure to always look out for House elves and portraits on system''s warning. So, in the end, Axel decided not to think too much about it. What will happen will happen. If Dumbledore wanted to pull some shady tricks he wouldn''t have called him so openly.

    Reaching the Gargoyle, Axel stared at it for a few moments using Arcane eyes, admiring the enchantments. "Password?" It asked irritably, as if it was used to people staring at it.

    "Sherbet Lemon?" Asked Axel, feeling quite doubtful himself. Surprisingly, it actually worked, as the staircase leading to the headmaster''s tower appeared in front of him. It made him wonder if Dumbledore was really a little barmy as he had suspected.

    When he knocked on the door, it swung open on its own. Shrugging, Axel walked in with his guard up, his Arcane Eyes subtly active. Though, what he saw inside was quite surprising.

    The walls were covered by portraits of various old people. On one side, weird silver instruments were put on small spindly legged tables. Low whirring noise wasing from the devices, which was strangely harmonious with the surroundings. In the second section,y a Mahogany desk with a grand chair, which was currently empty, and the third section had a small library of sorts with all types of antique books which Axel was sure would sell for a lot.

    Though, all this wasn''t what really surprised him. It was the presence of the old foggy standing behind the Library. Yes, Dumbledore was present in the office, but the problem was, he was under disillusionment. Axel had only noticed him because he was using the Arcane Eyes.

    "Excuse me? Professor Dumbledore?" He called out, but no response came.

    Axel had just pretended to nce past him in the beginning, but now it was getting difficult for him to pretend he couldn''t see the Headmaster, and it was starting to feel a bit awkward. Axel didn''t know what Dumbledore wanted from him, as the old man was just standing there, doing nothing.

    *Chirp*

    At this moment, a sound attracted Axel''s attention. Looking over, he found a small bird with scarlet plumage and golden tail feathers, sitting on a perch beside the table.

    As Axel watched, the bird flew up from its perch flying over to Axel.

    *Chirp*

    ??

    It came tond on his shoulder. Tilting its head to one side, it regarded him with one of its gleaming ck eyes.

    Since Axel was looking at it through Arcane Eyes, he had realized that the bird was magical. And now that it was sitting right on its shoulder, he could feel heat radiating off it, confirming its identity.

    "A fucking pheonix," Axel muttered in fascination. He had researched extensively on the creatures due to their fascinating abilities, especially the healing and teleportation, but it was his first time seeing one. He had heard the rumours about Dumbledore having one, but he didn''t know it was true.

    By now, the bird also seemed to have done with its evaluation of him. It made a screeching noise that hurt his ear drums badly, and flew away leaving a burst of mes that singed the tips of Axel''s hair.

    "What the¡ª" Axel almost smacked the bird into oblivion, but he controlled the urge since Dumbledore was right here, observing the show with his hands folded in front of him.

    Axel touched the tips of his hair which were emitting smoke.

    "Damned ming turkey," he cursed, making the bird squawk at him in indignation.

    A deep chuckle reverberated in the room, as Dumbledore walked out from behind the Library shelf with his disillusionment undone.

    "A ming turkey! Ho-ho, that''s indeed quite a thoughtfulparison, Mr. Hunt," said Dumbledore in amusement, who thought he had surprised Axel with his entry. "But his name is Fawkes. And he''s a phoenix."

    "Well, "Fawkes" doesn''t seem to like me much," said Axel ndly. He knew that Pheonix were light creatures and could judge a person''s character, so he had understood why Dumbledore pretended to be behind the Library before. The old man was testing him, checking out Fawkes'' reaction towards him.

    And it appears that he had failed the test spectacrly.

    Fawkes squawked at Axel once again before flying over to perch on Dumbledore''s shoulder. "Indeed. But don''t mind him. He can be a bit rude sometimes..." said Dumbledore as he went to sit behind his desk, but Axel was a bit confused whether the old man was replying to him or Fawkes.

    "Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall told me that you had sent summons for me..." said Axel, indirectly asking, ''why the fuck did you call me here?''

    "Indeed." Dumbledore nodded, adjusting his half moon spectacles. "You must be wondering why you were called here. Please have a seat."

    ''Well, Duh,'' thought Axel inwardly as he sat facing the headmaster.

    Dumbledore leisurely popped a candy into his mouth. "Lemon drops?" He asked, offering him some, which Axel denied impatiently.

    Dumbledore chortled. "Mr. Hunt, you don''t have to be so tense. Let me assure, you are not in any sort of trouble. I merely called upon you to have nice chat with you, as I am a bit.... concerned." he said, peering at Axel through his sses.

    "Concerned?"

    Dumbledore nodded calmly. "Yes, Mr. Hunt, concerned," he said, leaning forward. "Could you tell me what your ns are for the future? And if it''s not too personal, could you tell me, what is your aim? Your dream?"

    Axel thought about it. His ns for the future? First he has to make sure there is one, by defeating Voldemort. And his dream? Well, he hasn''t given it much thought yet. So, he just shook his head. "No, I haven''t thought of anything yet," he replied.

    Dumbledore''s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. "None? With your talents, I would have thought you would be interested in pursuing a career in Quidditch in future," he mused.

    "No, I don''t think I''ll be ying it much after this year." said Axel, shaking his head. To him, Quidditch has always been, overall, just a means to an end.

    This time, Dumbledore was genuinely mystified by Axel''s statement. "You have me at a loss here, Mr Hunt. Could I ask you why? You are extremely gifted for the sport. Surely you could gain boundless fame and wealth if you were to continue...?"

    "No, I''d rather not. I''m finding all the attention too annoying," said Axel uninterestedly. As for money? As long as there were people like the Mikhailovs to loot, he didn''t need to worry.

    Dumbledore sighed. "Then Mr. Hunt, what IS it that you want? As Slytherin, you can''t tell me you don''t have any ambitions?"

    ''I do. I just don''t feel any need to tell you,'' thought Axel inwardly, looking at Dumbledore. But as he was about to answer, he felt a slight Legilimency probe in his mind, making him baffled at the old man''s daring.

    !!!

    ''This wrinkly old foggy!'' Axel cursed.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

    Next:Axel vs Ravenw

    You can read ahead and support me at

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 112: Axel vs Ravenclaw

    Chapter 112: Axel vs Ravenw

    ?!

    ''This old fogey!''

    Axel quickly told the system to handle the situation. After all, the system always has been the one to deal with situations like these even before he had lumency. Why would he even bother dealing with this situation on his own and let this useless system be even morezy?

    He wasn''t quite confident if his own lumency skills could deceive Albus freaking Dumbledore yet. After all, he had no way of knowing just how skilled Dumbledore really was and he doesn''t want to risk revealing his own lumency skills to this man, or anyone for that matter.

    So, in the end, it''s best to just let the system handle the situation, while he prepares for alternatives in case the system bes useless at this critical moment.

    Thankfully, the system seems to be a pro at dealing with situations like these as a few memories began to surface to the forefront of his mind, making it appear as if he was thinking about them at the moment.

    Dirty and malnourished frowning at people who would look at him with disdain and scorn. Him looking at people eating food while he was starving on the streets. Him sleeping on the hard floor while dreaming about having a soft bed and solid roof over his head. Andstly, him looking at families enjoying themselves.

    Axel looked Dumbledore in the eye. "There are a few things I do want. But if I have topare, I''m already living most of my dreams," he said, looking genuine. He was at least not lying about having some of his dreams fulfilled. It''s just that he had no ns of stopping now.

    Dumbledore retracted his Legilimency probe as his gaze towards Axel turned softer. He nodded.

    Mr. Hunt, to be honest, I was concerned¡­ that you have too much inmon with someone I know. Immensely talented, charming, and simr tragic past. But now I realize, even if you have simrities, you are, in fact, very different."

    Axel frowned. "Why would it be a concern if we were simr?"

    Dumbledore took off his sses as he seemed to think about the past. For a few moments, it looked like he won''t reply. But then, he actually answered.

    "Well, Mr. Hunt, the person you share many simrities with, unfortunately ended up on the wrong path. And I live everyday with the regret of not being able to stop it from happening." said Dumbledore with a sigh.

    ''System, who the fuck is he talking about?''

    [Voldemort. He also grew up in a muggle orphanage and had immense talent.]

    ''Well, fuck me sideways¡­this old bat just thought I would be a Dark Lord,'' thought Axel, realizing he had just dodged the bullet. ''Thankfully, he doesn''t know just how right he was,''

    Axel could totally see himself getting branded a dark lord in the future.... Something he would have to do his best to avoid.

    "Well, Headmaster, I don''t think you need to worry about me straying to the wrong path," said Axel confidently. ''Because I have already strayed down the wrong path ages ago, and there isn''t jackshit you can do to stop me.'' he added inwardly.

    Dumbledore nodded as he chuckled light heartedly, "I will be holding you on to that, Axel. I have high expectations for you. I won''t keep you any longer," he said, calling him by his first name rather than his surname. And for some reason, it made Axel feel like he was being treated like a small boy.

    Looking at Dumbledore, Axel''s gaze deepened. Even though he was safe for now, he knew that the old man''s suspicions weren''t over yet. Axel would be on Dumbledore''s radar from now on. Well, touch¨¦. But Dumbledore is now on HIS radar as well. Axel will not forget the fact that Dumbledore first wasted his time calling him here for no reason, and then had the gall to test him and tried to tantly read his mind without permission.

    ¡­

    The news of Axel being called to Dumbledore''s office was spread throughout the school quickly, and many thought Axel had gotten punished for all of the shenanigans he had been pulling off.

    Being called to Dumbledore''s office was not a small matter. Among the thousands of students, the number of students who had gotten his attention could be counted on one hand.

    Everyone thought that Axel had been punished for his recent actions in the recent game which had resulted in students following his leading and doing crazy things throughout the school.

    The next morning, during breakfast in the great hall, Axel found himself in a somewhat bad mood. But not because of what people might think, but something else.

    He looked at the Ravenw table. Daphne was sitting there as always. But, sitting beside her was a boy constantly trying to talk to her.

    "How was the meeting with the Headmaster, Hunt? Is it true that you cried and almost peed your pants?" Asked Draco Malfoy.

    The boy had been keeping himself out of Axel''s way until now, but maybe because Axel''s background had been revealed now, or maybe because he thought that Axel won''t be aggressive anymore now that he had been disciplined by Dumbledore himself, but the boy had once again gotten the courage to run his mouth in front of Axel these days.

    "Don''t even start, Malfoy. Have you already forgotten thest time?" Asked Theodore in annoyance. Even he had gotten tired of watching Malfoy make a fool of himself again and again. It was shameful to watch.

    "So what? Last time didn''t know that he was a bloody mudblood. My father can get him kicked out of school anytime!"

    Axel, who had been looking at Daphne talking to her friends, didn''t even look at Draco. "Who is that guy?" He asked Theodore, pointing at the guy sitting beside Daphne.

    Theodore nced at Axel in puzzlement but still answered. "That''s Michael Corner, second year, half blood. His family is in the shipping business," he said, giving out more than Axel had asked for. "But, why do you ask?"

    Axel shrugged casually. "No reason."

    Michael Corner, who was trying to talk to the Greengrass Heiress, suddenly felt himself gripped with an uncontroble fear, as if someone was choking him. But looking around, he found that apparently he was the only one who felt it.

    Turning back to Daphne, he found her staring at Axel Hunt while frowning. Michael found an opening. "He''s a scumbag, isn''t he?" He asked.

    ?

    The ice princess, who had been ignoring him until now, finally nced at him for the first time, her delicate eyebrows raised. "What did you say?"

    ''She... she actually talked to me!''

    Michael Corner almost died from that one nce, as he found him stuttering. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. This was his chance!

    "I-I mean¡­ just look at him, always trying to be the center of attention. He just uses people with fame and then discards them when he''s done with them. You two were like best friends and he got you to do all of his homework. But after getting Martina, he doesn''t even talk to you," Michael got more and more confident as he spoke, but for some reason, he felt the temperature around him dropping, causing him to shiver.

    Before he knew, Daphne''s face had turned cold as she cast a freezing gaze at him. "Dumbass, don''t talk about things you don''t know about." said Daphne in annoyance before turning her attention back to her breakfast.

    That was it, as her friends politely asked Corner to sit somewhere else, causing his face to redden in shame.

    Daphne''s brows furrowed. She had no trouble bad-mouthing Axel herself. But... when she heard Corner doing the same, she felt quite irritated.

    ''What the hell?'' Daphne didn''t know what hade over her. Corner had not been wrong in what he said. But, after observing Axel for a few days, she felt that there might be more to the situation than what it appears.

    Either Hunt might be a bit better, or he might be an even bigger scumbag. Whatever the case, she didn''t like other people making assumptions.

    Back at the Slytherin table, Axel''s shoulders finally ckened as he turned his attention back to the situation around him. "You were saying something?" he asked, looking at Malfoy.

    Theodore cough, and a giggled escaped Tracy''s lips at Axel''s genuine nonchnce. Malfoy didn''t back down though.

    "Look around the table, Hunt.

    Just because you have won us a few matches doesn''t mean that the people here have epted you. No matter what you do, you''ll always be a mudblood," he said, loud enough to be heard by the whole table.

    There were more than a few people who seemed to agree with Draco while few people looked annoyed or disapproving gazes at him.

    Patricia, who heard it as well, couldn''t let it slide as she walked over. "Detention Mr. Malfoy. And 10 points from Slytherin. Discrimination is no longer allowed in house slytherin. And House Slytherin indeed fully epts Axel as one of its core members. And you as a nobody would do well to remember it," she said strictly, though a few people did not seem to agree.

    Patricia looked apologetically at Axel. "Don''t mind people like him. They''re a bunch of ungrateful psychopaths."

    Axel shrugged. He had been trying to remain lowkey now that he was on Dumbledore''s radar, but people like Malfoy and Michael were making it difficult for him to do so.

    Completely discarding what had happened out of his mind, Axel continued to attend the sses. Though, something happened after the history ss.

    "Mr. Hunt, a word with you," said Professor Narcissa, making him pause.

    Draco Malfoy looked puzzled at why his mother would be making Axel wait but he obediently walked out with the rest of the students.

    Axel looked at the blond woman in front of him. Aside from her blond hair, she resembled the other two ck sisters a lot. Though, if he had to put it, her features had a more snobbish feel to them.

    He was extremely alert right now, keeping his guard up. This woman was supposedly worse than the ck sisters, and even Draco was extremely scared of his mother.

    "Yes professor?"

    Instead of saying anything, first Professor Narcissa unexpectedly bowed slightly to him, making him take a step in surprise.

    "Mr. Hunt, I understand that you have a powerful backing, and my son has been quite a nuisance to you here. So I would like to apologise for my son''s behaviour," she said, straightening up again. "About Draco¡­ due to my busy schedule I haven''t been able to pay proper attention to his upbringing. I would be disciplining him severely after this so that he won''t vex you again."

    Axel looked at the woman, unimpressed. "Professor, why would you think I have a powerful backing?" He asked.

    Professor Narcissa raised her brows, as if she did not expect that response. She shook her head. "That''s not possible. A lot of things would be unexinable if you didn''t have a powerful background."

    Axel shrugged. "But, I really am a Muggleborn," he said, just to see her reaction. As expected, her nose wrinkled slightly, as if she was disgusted, but she quickly hid it.

    Axel sighed. This apology pissed him off more than it cated him. She is just like her sister Betrix. If she didn''t think he had a powerful background he would have been the one receiving the disciplining instead of her son.

    Narcissa had already understood that the boy had been testing her, and she had failed. ''To think he is the same age as Draco,'' shemented, once again, as dark anger shing in her mind towards her son.

    "I''ll take my leave then, Professor," said Axel, not really saying anything to the ck sister about her slip up just now.

    Not like he cares. If she can get Draco off his back, good. If not, well, he''ll have a much harsher and much more permanent lesson to teach Malfoy. Something along the lines of *cough* Damien *cough*

    ¡­

    Surprisingly, in the uing days, Draco Malfoy really did stop bothering Axel. Whenever Axel would be near him, the guy would back off 10 feet on his own while looking thoroughly ashamed.

    Axel didn''t know exactly what his mother had done to him, but it was definitely working.

    Though, even with Draco and Malcolm out of the picture, there were still a few people who could not ept his blood status.

    Other than that, there was something else that was bothering him.

    "AXEL HUNT VS RAVENCLAW!"

    "3rd May! Don''t miss it!"

    This type of promotions were spread everywhere. After his second match, his fame had taken a huge jump, increasing the number of people who were curious to see him y by a lot. Even those who were skeptical about it had to acknowledge his skills now and were eager to see more.

    And with the next matching, if these people are doing promotions like this¡­

    How to say it? It felt like he was being taken advantage of.

    After all, he didn''t even get a single penny from thest match, even though the clips were seen all over the world.

    Along with that, he didn''t like the attitude of Slytherins as well.

    Axel frowned. This won''t do. Something needs to be done.

    ¡­

    A.N.; POWESTONES

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 113: Would Axel Hunt Apologise?

    Chapter 113: Would Axel Hunt Apologise?

    Chapter 113

    The days passed, and the match against Ravenw drew nearer. And along with that, the hype of the match increased as well. It was because Axel''s fame was skyrocketing rapidly due to a variety of reasons.

    First of all, his skills. They were unquestionable, since catching the snitch is equally difficult whether it''s a league match or a school match. No one else had evere even close to the level of skills he had shown. Before this, no yer had the power to decide the oue of the match single handedly. Especially not after the rules had changed to make the snitch worth only 50 points.

    Quidditch was arguably the most popr sport among the wizards and even those who didn''t always watch it were still inevitably aware of the happenings of the sport. So, when Axel came along having such high skills, he was bound to cause massive waves.

    And then there is the way he used those skills. In the first match, he had yed with a vengeance against Gryffindor, thoroughly destroying them while breaking 22 world records. The whole match had so many wow moments that those who watched it live thoroughly enjoyed it as the best match they''ll ever get to watch, especially the moment when Axel fired the bludger back using his bare hands.

    And in the second match, he caused an even biggermotion, when he first yed in a way that made it also impossible for anyone else to even move, let alone y, showing absolute dominance on the field. And then he did the whole flipping off and walking out mid-game, something which was quickly bing iconic.

    Lastly, there were his quirks. Axel has a unique character. To put it in one word, it would be Savage. He hasn''t given any interviews and when the reporters tried to be forceful he has made them regret it without fail. He would achieve impossible feats and get away with them.

    Some examples would be, making a bet with Rose¡ªthe previous best yer, actually winning and making her his ve, getting revenge against the Weasleys, getting engaged with Martina Valentino and beating Maksmilian to a pulp, and finally giving the finger and getting away with it. Pulling these kinds of feats, it''s no wonder that people would be curious to find out about all of them after knowing a few.

    So, all these thingsbined make him have one of the fastest rises in Wizarding History. It was to the point that he had his own fanclub or cult called the Savage Hunters, whose member count was increasing at an rming rate everyday.

    But, this is where the problems began.

    If someone bes sessful, it is only human nature for others to try and bring him down. Especially if someone rises as quickly and effortlessly as Axel.

    It''s not a big deal if you were a small fish. But as you rise above a certain level, your every action is viewed under strict scrutiny. Everything you do will be observed and judged. And if you leave an opening, the sharks are always there to bite.

    The same thing happened with Axel. He rose up too quickly, and ruffled too many feathers. So, people began trying to bring him down.

    It started with a big mediapany publishing an aggressive Article on Axel, highlighting many of his actions and characteristics in a negative light. And before it could be taken down, it had already gone so viral that it had been shared many times, resulting in many more to appear in traction to take reference from it.

    "The article was titled: Axel Hunt: Ban Or Not?"

    "Recently, a boy named Axel Hunt has been enjoying a massive rise in poprity throughout the Wizarding world. It is to the point that he has surpassed many major celebrities in all fields, going on to be the most popr Wizard of the year at just the age of 12.

    And, we find this a bit concerning.

    If he is being discussed all over the world and influencing hundreds of thousands of lives, we have to question: Is it really okay to let this happen?

    Here are a few things about Hunt that we find concerning and are bound to have a negative influence on the wizarding poption:

    Hunt has grown up in a muggle orphanage among unruly children, and never really received any proper education on basic manners and etiquettes. Which might be the reason why his behavior is so questionable.

    Hunt has been known to be highly vindictive, violent and reckless. The cases include injuring one Draco Malfoy multiple times, giving a severe head trauma to the Gryffindor team beater, destroying the face of Mikhailov Heir, and putting his own and the other yers lives'' in danger by flying at unimaginable speeds during a game, just to name a few.

    From these actions, it can be seen that Hunt is a highly unstable individual who would resort to violence no matter who his opponents are.

    Maybe due to his rough childhood in the Muggle Orphanage, Hunt is also extremely wild and uwful. There are past cases of him being rude to his professors and reporters, tantly skipping sses, using crude words in his ssmates''pany, and showing the obscene gesture on an international broadcast.

    Aside from this, Hunt is also quite frivolous and avaricious, as exined by his close rtionships with many Heiresses, which include Martina Valentino, Rose Potter, Akiko Matsushima, Patricia Afonso, and Daphne Greengrass.

    And such a person is now being idolized by the Wizardfolks all around the world.

    Influenced by Hunt''s character, many impressionable witches and wizards, mostly young adults, have begun performing violent, reckless, and impertinent actions, thinking there will be no consequences. It has led to the formation of a group called the "Savage Hunters", who have begun filming themselves doing these actions in the name of being a "Savage" like Hunt.

    One of the victims of such attempts was the renowned Adventure and the current DADA Professor at Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart, when a few students left his ss after tantly disrespecting him. It has to be noted that Hunt has previously seriously injured Lockhart as well after a match, for which he has gone unpunished.

    Lockhart has posted a response to this in his Hoot on Hooter, saying, "When you are nice to the world, they forget who you are. But I shall not take the easy way and be uncouth and savage," Lockhart mention in his Hoot, which got a lot of traction, clearly referencing Axel Hunt and his behavior.

    Here''s what the all rounder Gottfried Duncan, the World''s current No. 1 yer on the International yer Rankings, had to say on the matter. "Axel Hunt has disrespected Quidditch itself by doing what he did. He has no respect for the sport. And that is something I can neither ept nor support."

    Lockhart and Duncan are not the only celebrities toment on the rising star''s fame. Many other high profile personages have also expressed their concerns on the younger geniuses'' rise.

    Thus, we return to our previous question: Is it really okay to let this happen?

    Clearly, it''s not. Such an individual is undoubtedly harmful to the Wizarding society. Fortunately, no serious damage has been caused yet, but it is apparent that Hunt needs to be stopped before he makes a major impact on our society and causes irreparable harm."

    This article went on the trending list for a while, and even after it was taken down quickly, the damage had been done. Many high profile individuals, most of whom were jealous of his quick sess, took the opportunity to take shots at Axel.

    Even though the Savage army and a lot of people did it''s best to defend Axel, s, many were inevitably swayed by the opinions of so many big shots and so many negativements.

    Petitions and demands asking for Axel to apologise for his rude gesture in thest match and to improve his conduct began to be issued all over the World, supported by many people.

    Even in the Muggle sports like NBA and football, doing what Axel did would definitelye with repercussions, so it was not really a surprise that this was happening. Some people were just too stuck in the mud and stickler for old traditions.

    Now the people had only one question: Would Axel apologize or not?

    ...

    Betrix finished reading all the current news on Axel and her brows furrowed.

    "Morgana''s stinky CUNT!" she cursed, throwing away the Magi-mirror. "I go away for a little while, and all this happens?!"

    "What happened?" Asked Jacob Gorski, Axel''s previous History professor who was secretly an Antian. He was still in chains, even though his prison cell had been updated to a rather spacious and luxurious living space with all facilities. If there was one thing topain, it would be the blockage of everything currently happening in the outside world.

    Betrix shook her head. "None of your business. How''s your ning along?"

    The Organization is usually cut out from the outside world, only checking the happenings once in a while. And with Gorski''s help, Betrix was nning to lure them out, to get started on her quest for their destruction.

    Gorski gave her a nod. "It''s going well. We will be able to lure them out soon enough."

    Betrix nodded, feeling a bit worn out. "Good."

    To be honest, it had been more than a decade since herst encounter with Tristan, and by now, she lost most of her anger towards this Organisation. But Life d

    Debts are what they are, and they must be paid back in full.

    ''Especially now,'' she thought, clenching her fist. If not for herself, she has to take down the organization to avenge the boy who had lost a bright childhood due to it. Ever since meeting Axel, her old resolutions had been awakened again, but this time not for herself, but for achieving justice for Axel Hunt, Tristan''sst vestige left in the World.

    "Are you sure this is going to work?" She asked yet again.

    Gorski sighed. "Even though I may not look it, my position in the organisation was not ordinary. Once I reveal my whereabouts, they''ll be on us like hungry wolves. Though..."

    "Though? Though what?"

    Gorski seemed to be deep in thought. "Just my intrusive thoughts, but there''s another way to lure them out, another person that the organization would love to get their hands on. He''s a much easier target, so the Organization won''t be sending as much fire as they will for me, and that way, I won''t be putting myself into danger. But..." he just shook her head, blinking his eyes, as ifing out of his thoughts.

    "No, never mind. We''re not doing that."

    Betrix HATES it when someone pulls this type of shit. "Who is it? Why not? And why, in Merlin''s name, are you only mentioning it now?!" She asked, pulling her wand.

    But Gorski just shook his firmly. "No. That is NOT an option. Don''t start torturing me again, for Poseiden''s sake..." he said in exasperation.

    Betrix''s wand glowed dangerously as she pointed it at Gorski''s head. "Gorski, if there are any tricks you''re ying..."

    Gorski was not intimidated at all. "Rx, minister. You and I have the same goals. And if you''re willing to use your entire country''s resources to help me, I''m not foolish enough to stab you in the back," he said calmly.

    "And besides, I''m already putting myself into danger. If the option was really viable, don''t you think I would have mentioned it sooner? Just forget. You might seed, but it won''t be worth it." He reasoned, causing Betrix to slowly move away her wand.

    Gorski sighed. Truly, using Axel as a bait would be so much easier... but he does not want to go there. He had taught him personally, and Gorski knew that he was a goodd.

    "I wonder how he''s doing now?" He wondered. While in captivity, he had been cut off from the outside world, so he had no way of knowing how Axel was doing.

    He just hoped the boy had taken his advice and kept a low profile. After all, once they start their n, the organization would at least do a general research on Britain. Though he didn''t think much of it. That boy, his existence is already difficult to notice as it is. What major could he have done in just a few months?

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 114: Savage Yet Again

    Chapter 114: Savage Yet Again

    Chapter 114

    Even with the topic of Axel Hunt getting more and more controversial, people like Ludo Bagman, the sponsors, investors, and the broadcasters were all ecstatic.

    Because the controversies and negative publicity about Axel was only going to increase the viewers in the next match.

    Even now, due to all themotion, new people were finding out about Axel everyday, getting interested in the matter no matter which side they joined. They wanted to find Axel''s response. Would he apologize or not?

    On the other hand, the situation with the Ravenw team waspletely different.

    ¡ªIn the Quidditch pitch¡ª

    "Come on! Let''s try the tactic 53 again! We still need some work on it," yelled the Captain, as he blew the whistle. Beads of sweat dripped from his chin from time to time, but his eyes were full of spirit.

    The same could not be said for every other member of the team though.

    "But Captain! We have already practiced that for around a hundred and thirty two times!"

    "Yeah! We need a break!"

    The other members lookedpletely knackered, as if they could fall off the broom any time. And why would they not? They had been training very hard ever since Axel''s first match against Gryffindor, devising tactics and countermeasures against him. And their training had only intensified after his match against Hufflepuff.

    The Captain red at his lethargic teammates. "Do you guys hear yourself?! We''re up against HUNT in the next match! And the whole wizarding world will be watching! Do you really want to be humiliated like Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors?!" He barked.

    "No¡­"

    "We can''t have that¡­*

    The yers unwillingly began to train again. They were the Ravenws. They could not afford to lose as badly as the others. Especially after they had so much time to prepare.

    "Sigh¡­ that Axel Hunt. I''ll take out all my frustration on him in the next match."

    "Yeah, I can''t wait for the match toe!"

    For their match against Axel, they had been working extremely hard. First they had studied Hunt''s moves thoroughly, to determine his limits. Even doing that was not easy at all. It''s as if he can adjust his skill level at will.

    At some times, they can estimate it, but there are a few instances in which he has surpassed them by a lot, like at that time when he dodged the Gryffindor beater while in midunching boom.

    They had no choice but to assume that those were flukes. After all, if he could really do things like that then he would have repeated them more often and it wouldn''t make sense.

    After determining his skill level, they had begun imagining various scenarios and developing tactics and countermeasures to stop Hunt.

    After that, they started to practice those tactics, the most difficult part. Hunt was good. Too good. There was no denying the fact. To defend against someone like him, Just tactics and strategies alone weren''t enough. They had to increase their skill levels, and execute everything they nned with perfect coordination and timing, which is something that needed an awful amount of practice.

    It''s safe to say that thest few months had been quite rough for the Raven yers. Never in their lives had they studied any yer to team so thoroughly.

    So, it is quite understandable that they are quite eager to actually face Hunt on the field. After all they have gone through due to the guy, it''s quite difficult to wait for the match to arrive. No matter if they win or lose, they really need to face the fucker in the field and test out all these tactics. Because no matter how many trials and simtions they run, the only way they can truly find out where they stand is through the real match.

    ¡­

    And during all this time, Axel Hunt, the reason for all the problems and controversies, didn''t even give a single thought to all that was happening in the outside world, as his days kept going ording to his usual routine.

    "Look at this. There''s another one. This one is about your scars," said Theodore, showing him another article.

    "From an insider source, we havee to find that aside from the popr scars on his face, which most people think are artificial, Hunt also has numerous scars of all kinds all over his torso. If true, then this is a matter of great concern, as it raises the question of how someone his age can have so many scars, and more importantly, how good his mental condition is, after going through all this. The insider source refused to share their memory as proof of this information with us for fear of revealing their identity to Hunt."

    Tracy scoffed, "They''ve just started posting nonsense at this point. You can easily prove this wrong by taking off your shirt in celebration of the next win."

    Axel just shrugged, getting back to his work. He didn''t bother telling them that at least for once, the article had gotten it right.

    At his lukewarm reaction, Theodore gave him a somewhat puzzled look. "Mate, do you seriously not care about all this? Don''t you feel angry at all?" He asked.

    Tracy nodded rapidly. "Yes, I was wondering the same thing! I''d be a mess if all this was happening to me!"

    These days, Theodore and Tracy would tell him about the happenings of the outside world from time to time, expressing their outrage at his plight. But, Axel just found the whole situation funny and ridiculous.

    Like what the fuck? First of all I y for free, even though I don''t want to. And then I also have to follow their will?

    Just what misunderstanding did these people get to think they had any control or power over his actions? In his perspective, there was only the Organisation and his name being famous enough to reach them, preferably as underrated as it could be.

    Quidditch, and all these people yapping away at him online, were mere tools to achieve his goals. He just needs these people to make him famous, and then they can fuck off for all he cares. As long as he isn''t branded a Dark Lord, it''s fine. And the way he can see it, he still has a bit of leeway before ites to that.

    Then, why would it matter at all if they don''t like him? Would it change anything? Not at all.

    If they really like him, then so be it. He had already decided what to do in the next match already. And with the way things were going...

    ''I think they''ll be satisfied,'' he thought, a smirking to his lips.

    Remembering the fact that he had yet to inform Patricia of his decision, he took out his magi-mirror.

    ...

    Patricia was a bit busy at the moment.

    "ForeverTeamAxel?? (@teamaxel300)

    Replying to @supawizard69

    Mr. Supawizard69, I see that your argument ispletely baseless and purely based on jealousy. You have a profile picture that is more offensive than Axel''s gesture. Do not be a hypocrite and stop trying to bring people down just because they are better than you."

    Patricia flexed her fingers after she had sessfully defended Axel against another brainless hater.

    She had recently picked up the new hobby of surfing the inte with her alternate ount and picking fights with those whomented negatively on Axel. Even without any profile picture or revealing her identity, she had already gotten quite a following on this ount, leading a team of Axel''s fans from the Savage Army. Needless to say, she was a core member of the Savage Army as well.

    But of course, she couldn''t do this kind of thing with her main Id since this is risky work and as someone who was new to this keyboard warrior profession, she would sometimes be mercilessly obliterated by veterans.

    Patricia sighed as she rubbed her eyes. She didn''t even know exactly why she was doing this anymore. It began with a sense of responsibility. As someone who dragged Axel into all this limelight and as someone whom he calls "Captain", she felt partly ountable in his setbacks, though also in his sess.

    But... there''s more. Patricia has to admit, she LOVES to see Axel y. It gets her blood pumping and her heart racing. Most of all, it makes her feel proud. If she hadn''t seen his talent and tenaciously begged him to join the team, only Merlin knows if that guy would have ever bothered ying.

    And... every time he does somethingpletely crazy and unexpected on the field...it... does things to her.

    The scene of Axel casually walking away while leaving the Middle Finger Symbol shed in her mind.

    A flush crept up on her face as she recalled at that moment how she had secretly begun grinding against her broomsti¡ª

    *Ring*

    *Ring-Ring*

    Suddenly, her Magi-mirror rang, bringing her out of her thoughts.

    !!!

    Looking at it, she almost jumped from her seat. It was from none other than Axel!

    Patricia quickly picked it up. "Axel? This is the first time I''m getting a call from my star yer! Tell me, what''s the asion?" She asked excitedly.

    Though, when she heard what he said, the smile disappeared from her face as her eyes widened.

    "Whut?!"

    ....

    "WELCOME, WIZARDING WORLD!!! THIS IS THE HOGWARTS HOUSE QUIDDITCH LEAGUE, BROUGHT TO YOU BY BIG OWL, BLUEBERRY MAGICAL APPLIANCES, UNICORN BEVERAGES, AND PHOENIX MAGICAL PHARMACEUTICALS!!!"

    """""""""CHEEEEEEERRRSSS""""""""

    There was a loud response to the introduction, which made Bagman grin from ear to ear.

    Looking at all the viewership ratings as well, he could already see the money rolling in.

    ''Just like I nned,'' he thought conceitedly. ''No, it''s even more!''

    He had already anticipated that there would be a massive audience for today''s work. Meaning that his cut would be even bigger. That''s why, he had already bet all of the money he was going to get after today''s match on credit.

    ''Hahaahhahahaa! I''m rich! I''m rich again!'' Bagman could already see the profits rolling in. Though he had made good earnings through various means, he had lost most of it in gambling. But now... now was the chance to turn everything around in one go!

    "Witches and Wizards! I am Ludowick Bagman, the head of the British Department of Magical Games and Sports, and the Commentator of today''s match!"

    Bagman relished the cheers of the crowd. Everything was going great today. It''s good that he had gotten rid of that kid Jordon as well. The scale of these matches is toorge for inexperienced kids to be ying around. Formentary, he alone was more than sufficient.

    ''Now, let''s get the ball rolling.''

    "Everyone! Since I''m not some supreme sorcerer, I can''t proim why all of you are watching this match. But, I can definitely predict why more than 99% of you are here!"

    Bagman once again brought up his main card right off the bat, as a clip of Axel flying appeared on the big screens.

    *CHEEEEEEEEEEERRRRSSSSSS*

    This time, an even louder hor of agreement came from the crowd, confirming his words.

    "Yes, Axel Hunt! Undoubtedly the most famous, AND, the most controversial person of the year! If anyone still hasn''t heard about this guy, then they must be living at the bottom of the ocean! But, before we start the match, let''s get a recap of the situation!" He said, not learning from his earlier mistake at all.

    The screen showed the highlights from thest match. "In thest match, when we showed the truth about Hunt''s background to satisfy our audience''s curiosity. But, Axel did somethingpletely unexpected in response!"

    "He first used a suicidal tactic to single-handedly make the game massively in own favour, and when the viewership was at its highest, he made a massive flipping off mark in the middle of the pitch, and left the game only after 25 minutes, causing the rest of the game to bepletely meaningless!" He said, as the screen briefly showed the slightly blurred image of the savage mark.

    "But, it would seem that Hunt went too far this time, as even though this publicity stunt of his exploded in poprity on the inte to the point of being called the Savage Mark, it also got him a massive bacsh due to the vulgarity of the gesture."

    "Various celebrities, and high profile individuals have expressed their disagreement over his actions, and many are pushing for him to apologize for his actions and to reign in his wild behavior."

    "So, today we''re here to see what Hunt will do, and to also see how far he will go against his opponent''s team, Team Ravenw this time, as it''s the House in which his fiance¨¦ belongs!" Bagman finished, feeling satisfied. He had tried to remain as neutral as possible. After all, he was a professional.

    Last time, he had pissed off Axel and lost a lot of money when the match had suddenly bepletely meaningless to watch after 25 minutes because he had provoked Axel. But this time, he still did not hesitate to use him.

    It''s not that he didn''t know there will be consequences. It''s because he knew there WILL be consequences. This massive increase in the poprity of this match is because of what Hunt did in thest match. If he had yed like usual, the difference wouldn''t have been this huge.

    So, Bagman WANTED Hunt to be pissed again, and throw another tantrum. With the level of skills the kid has, Bagman can safely assume that there are still quite a few things he can show.

    And this would also make sure that the Kid doesn''t go easy on the Ravenw team.

    "So, WITCHES AND WIZARDS, ALL OVER THE WORLD! ARE. YOU. READY?!!!"

    """"""""YYYYEEEEESSSSSSS"""""""""

    "Then, Without Further Ado, LET''S CALL THE TEAMS!" Bagman was feelingpletely ecstatic. Everything was going great.

    One by one, the yers began to enter from the opposite sides of the stadium. And as always, the noise of the crowd peaked when thest yer of the Slytherin team walked into the stadium.

    But cheering was soon reced by voices of confusion and exmation as everyone looked at the stadium in surprise.

    "Wait a moment, there¡­ there seems to be a slight miscement," said Bagman, suddenly having a sinking feeling upon looking at the situation.

    Turning off the mic, he picked the receiver with the direct line to the staff. "Where¡­ where the hell is Hunt?! Why don''t I see him?!"

    ...Yep, Axel Hunt was nowhere to be seen on the pitch.

    ...

    A.N. POWESTONES

    Come read ahead on P¨¤treon. It''s a new month!

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 115: Quidditch needs Axel Hunt not the other way around

    Chapter 115: Quidditch needs Axel Hunt not the other way around

    "Where... where the hell is Hunt?!"

    What the hell?!

    Bagman suddenly had trouble breathing properly as he began to realize what had happened.

    ''Don''t tell me¡­ he''s noting?'' He thought, feeling his world copsing around him. He couldn''t begin to imagine the consequences of him doing that.

    ''No! That can''t be possible!'' He denied vehemently. Hunt was called to Dumbledore''s office after hisst stunt of leaving the match and causing the school massive losses. How¡­ how can he do something like that again?! Does this guy not fear even Dumbledore?!

    Besides, the whole wizarding world had its eyes on Axel right now. This was the most critical time of the boy''s career! His response to all the controversies rted to him is really crucial, or his situation would only get worse if he runs away now.

    ''Then why did he leave?!'' Bagman couldn''t understand at all.

    Actually, Ludo Bagman had made a huge mistake. He had somehow gotten in his head that Hunt reminded him of his younger self, making him think he could understand and predict Axel''s every action.

    But he didn''t know. Axel was nothing like him. The difference in mindset of the two was likeparing a mortal trying to predict a god''s actions.

    "WHERE IS AXEL?!"

    "WHAT THE FUCK? I SPENT FIVE TIMES THE USUAL PRICE TO GET THIS TICKET!"

    "DON''T TELL ME HE''S NOT PLAYING?!"

    "NO WAY! HOW CAN HE JUST RUN AWAY FROM THE WHOLE SITUATION?!"

    "DOES HE NOT WANT THE CARRIER ANYMORE?!"

    ?!

    Bagman came out of his thoughts as the crowd began to express their outrage at the situation, causing him to hurriedly turn on his mic.

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, please calm down. We''re trying to get a handle on the situation¡­" he said, trying to appease the crowd, but¡­

    """"BOOOOOOOO!"""

    "NO WAY HE CAN RUN AWAY LIKE THAT!"

    "I WANT TO SEE HIM APOLOGIZE!"

    "YES! BRING HIM OUT!"

    ''"BRING OUT HUNT!"''

    ''''''''''''''BRING OUT HUNT!"''''''''''

    ''''''''''''''''''''"BRING OUT HUNT!"''''''''''''''''''

    The stadium was soon filled with this outcry, as everyone shouted in unity for Axel toe. They had worked hard to get these tickets, some even getting them at highly exorbitant prices from the ck market. There were many people who had priormitments of today as well which they had left as well.

    And why did they do all this?

    No matter what, the main reason was definitely Axel. Most of the people wanted to see his response to all the criticism he was put under. And they wanted to see him y again.

    And now, not seeing him among the yers ying in the match made them feel like they had been ripped off big time, causing such a reaction.

    "Everyone, calm down¡­ no need to yell¡­" Bagman began to sweat profusely, trying to think of what to do. But no matter how much he racked his brain, the only thing he could think of was that¡ªhe was in deep shit.

    *Knock knock*

    At this moment, Bagman turned his head to the knocking sound, only to be bewildered by whom he saw. It was Patricia Afonso, the Captain of the Slytherin Team entering through the door. Apparently, while everyone was looking for Hunt, the Captain had mounted her broom and flown up directly to thementary box.

    Bagman''s eyes widened as he saw a way out to get the crowd under control. Patricia was Axel''s captain! Of course she would know Axel''s whereabouts!

    "Everyone, we have Patricia Afonso, the captain of the Slytherin Team in thementary box. Let''s ask her where Axel''s situation," he announced hurriedly. In his eagerness, he didn''t even notice that currently, Patricia no longer looked like her usual charming confident self. There was still a smile on her face, but if you look closely, you would notice that the smile screamed bloody murder.

    Ignorant of his plight, Bagman quickly put away the mic and red at Patricia. "Where the hell is the boy?!" He demanded in a hushed voice.

    Patricia didn''t even bother answering Bagman''s question. Instead, she just smiled.

    "Mr. Bagman, I would need the mic for a moment," she said politely. But, her actions were anything but, as she directly yanked it off of Bagman''s hands. With her other hand, she drew her wand and cast a petrification charm on the man before the camera could turn towards them.

    "For once, keep your mouth shut and listen, you fool," she murmured faintly.

    As the camera turned towards her, Patricia finally began to speak.

    "Everyone, this is Patricia Afonso, the Slytherin Captain, and I am here to address all the issues rted to my teammate Axel Hunt," she said into the microphone.

    "Where is he?!"

    "Yeah! Bring him out already!"

    "Is he going to run away from all this?!"

    When they saw her on the big screens, though the crowd was no longer hollering like earlier, there were still several shouts from some of the members.

    Looking at these people, Patricia tried to control her anger. ''If only all these people had not been so edgy over everything and left Axel alone¡­''

    Patricia sighed as she finally answered.

    "Everyone, Axel is noting. He has already quit Quidditch," she said, getting the satisfaction of seeing the crowd''s reaction at the disastrous news she delivered.

    ¡ªSilence¡ª

    Following her words, there was a moment of absolute silence, as everyone was too stunned to even make sound.

    And then,

    BOOM

    Pandemonium started in the stadium, as everyone, even the professor stood up from their seats in surprise.

    The news had hit everyone like a sledgehammer. They could understand if Axel just ignored the issue and yed like usual, they could ept if Axel yed even better and broke a few more records, they could even ept Axel to make another Savage Mark in the stadium just to fuck with everyone.

    But¡­ quitting the game?

    They had never expected him to do something like that. He had special talent in Quidditch and he had the opportunity to reach to top and surpass even the current and all time Legends. How can he throw that all away and just quit?!

    "THE FUK?"

    "WHAT IN MERLIN''S VAGINA IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?!"

    "HOW THE FUCK IS THAT POSSIBLE?"

    "HE CAN''T QUIT! HOW CAN HE QUIT?!"

    "HEY! BRING HIM BACK!"

    "YEAH! WHAT KIND OF CAPTAIN ARE YOU?!"

    As the noise slowly subsided, Patricia sighed again as she shook her head. "You guys don''t understand him. No one does. Not even me. But, there are a few things I''vee to learn about him..." she said, as she began to exin.

    "Axel Hunt is a guy who likes to keep out of trouble and not attract attention, unless necessary. Even getting him to join the Slytherin team took me months!"

    "He didn''t want to y because he thought it would be troublesome. I had to go as far as begging to get him to y! And he had only joined saying he would quit as soon as it got annoying!" she said, her frustration leaking into her voice.

    The crowd had slowly gone quieter with Patricia''s every word. This... this was somethingpletely out of their expectations. Axel... never really wanted to y Quidditch? And he would quit as soon as it got annoying?

    Well, looking at the situation... they really had made it quite a bit annoying to him..

    "Months! It took me months of convincing to get him to consider joining! I had to try everything I could think of! And why wouldn''t I?! He had so much talent, so much potential that only I had the chance to see. I couldn''t see all that talent go to waste, could I? So I tried. Persistently. Even after he had rejected me multiple times," said Patricia, with everyone''s attention on the big screen where her tired and frustrated face could be seen. She was merely ranting at this point, but no one could say anything in her opposition. All they could do was listen.

    "Even after he agreed to y, it wasn''t easy. Everyone in school, including House Slytherin was skeptical about his skills and he refused to give any trials. So, I was the happiest person in the world when he finally yed the game and showed his talent to the world!

    But... as he had expected, it didn''tst. He rose up too fast and shined too bright. Too many people took him for granted. Too many cursed him based on rumours, and too many judged him on every step. It got to the point that people began demanding for him to apologise and change his behaviour," she said, making the crowd feel ashamed. If they look at it from that perspective, it''s no wonder he left.

    "From the beginning, we already had him on borrowed time. But no one understood that. Axel never really had anything to gain from ying Quidditch. It was just something he was trying out of curiosity. And what did he get in return? Nothing. Not a single dime. People started making hundreds of thousands of galleons off of his gamey, and everyone got to see things they never witnessed, and yet, he was offered nothing but a whole lot of unhealthy attention, having his past dug out, and getting criticized for his every action." Patricia sighed.

    "It''s no wonder he left the team. And now, Slytherins will have to represent Hogwarts against Mahoutokoro without him. And you all, might never see anyone with that level of skill y again, if Axel doesn''t change his mind."

    "To summarize, all I want to say is that Axel¡­ is not the someone who needs Quidditch. Not anymore. But¡­ Quidditch... needs Axel instead. That''s all," she finished, looking into the camera with a firm gaze.

    And yet, no one could im that her bold words were wrong. It was indeed the case. Axel Hunt was done with Quidditch. The question was, were they done with Axel Hunt? Were they ready to give up seeing those skills? Were they ready to give up seeing the miracles he could perform so casually? The stadium was filled with a deathly silence.

    "Oh, I also have a message from Axel as well in response to all the controversies going on about him. As can be expected from him, he isn''t the least bit affected by all this. His words are, "The only change would be saving 180 minutes which I was going to waste in the next two matches. And as for whatever they''re asking from me, I''m not apologizing for shit. Tomorrow you go and tell them to "f" off. I''m done with Quidditch. It''s not worth it."

    With those words, Patricia dropped the mic and walked out of thementary box after unfreezing Bagman.

    Only after she came out, she realized just what she had done. She had just ranted and dissed everyone opposing Axel on a live international broadcast. And, what was even more astonishing was¡­ she didn''t regret it at all. In fact, she felt quite refreshed right now.

    She had so much frustration piled up because of what was going on with Axel, and after he left the team, shepletely lost it. So, for once, she ditched all of the rules and courtesies and just did whatever she wanted, just like she had seen Axel do all the time. And it was absolutely amazing.

    "Is this why he does it¡­?" She wondered. If it is always this thrilling and satisfying then she might also join Axel in his savage way of living.

    Taking a deep breath of satisfaction, she went to y the match.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Patricia understood the assignment.

    Give Powerstones, it keeps me high in the rankings.

    Nex: Is Axel Hunt Scared?

    Come read ahead on P¨¤treon. This is an amazing arc ahead. it''s also the new month!

    Pa /Snollygoster

 Chapter 116: Im back

    Chapter 116: I''m back

    A.N.: Sorry for the disappearance. Things happened irl so I had to stop writing. If you want to know the whole reason you can read it P¨¤treon, it''s essibility is free, along with a few chapters of my new novel. The point is, I can start writing again. The update frequency might not be great but I''ll still post, so enjoy.

    Summary for those who have forgotten after a long break: Axel didn''t show up at the match against Ravenw, just to fuck with everyone. Patricia gave a wonderful speech whose key words are saying Axel does not need Quidditch, but the other way around. Now read ahead.

    ....

    Chapter 116

    While Patricia left thementary box with a light heart, the same was not the case for other people.

    If there was to be a list of people most outraged about his absence, a certain group of seven people woulde pretty high on that list.

    ¡ªThe Ravenw Team¡ª

    "That bastard¡­"

    "This is hippogriffshit!"

    "All¡­ all that nning and training¡­"

    "No way¡­"

    "Haha... I want to murder someone¡­"

    They had been preparing for a match against Axel for months. They had been racking their brains toe up with ways to counter his skills,ing up with various tactics and ns, and then practicing those tactics to perfection.

    And now¡­ they are finding out that they did all that they did grueling hard work¡­ for nothing?

    "Haah¡­ I don''t want to live anymore," murmured the Ravenw captain, searching for the meaning of life. Of all the times the guy could quit¡­ he really had to do it right before their match.

    Truly, this was much, much worse than thus losing to Hunt. Because now they would never be able to put all those strategies to use. And now they''d never know how well they worked against Hunt.

    "Axel Hunt... Fuck you!"

    ...

    But even higher on list than the poor Ravenw team... was someone else.

    Ludo Bagman.

    Or you could now call him, Ludo Deadman

    Even though he was finally free from his petrification, the man still sat frozen on his seat, unable to fully evenprehend what had just happened.

    The Captain of the Slytherin team had just waltz into hismentary box, petrified him, and shoved him into an even deeper shit than he was previously in.

    "I''m dead¡­"

    Overall, the girl had stated, in no uncertain terms, painted him as one of the main reasons why the boy had quit the sport.

    "Darn it!" If only the girl hadn''te, he could have still spun it at least in a way that did him minimal harm and painted Hunt in a bad light instead. But what could he do now?

    !!!!!

    With no conclusion to what was happening, the restless audience began to cause amotion. Everyone was yelling, talking or whispering, and some were even crying.

    Bagman stopped ruminating on how bad he fucked and decided to first do his job. "Ahem¡­ everyone, I don''t think what Miss Afonso just waspletely acu¡ª"

    Before he could even finish his sentence the door to thementary box burst open for the second time this day, as Professor Mcgonagall stormed in, looking absolutely furious.

    "I think that will be enough Ludo, you have done us enough harm already," she stated coldly, as the microphone shot out of his hand and came into hers.

    "Lee. do your job," she said, handing it to Lee Jordan, who had followed the Professor into the room.

    "At once, ma''am." Said Lee, taking the microphone.

    "Professor Mcgonagall?! What is the meaning of this?! I''m the head of the Department of Games and Sports. You can''t just¡ª"

    Do not Forget, Ludo, this is Hogwarts. Your authority can only get you so far. Once you make mistakes, I still hold the authority to give you punishment... just like the old days," she said strictly, making Bagman feel like a kid all over again.

    In the face of Mcgonagall''s fierce momentum, Bagman could do nothing but be thrown out of thementary box.

    "Hah... I''m back..."

    Jordan reimed his seat, looking a bit emotional. Taking a deep breath, he turned on the mic.

    "Witches and Wizards, this is Lee Jordan, the new host of the match Slytherin vs Ravenw."

    "A heartfelt apology and empathy to those who were here to see Hunt y. It would indeed be a great loss to the Quidditch world if someone of his caliber quits." he said solemnly.

    "But... I can''t really me Hunt for quitting. It is our fault for not seeing things through his perspective. He was just a reserved and guarded 13 year old, trying out a new thing. As far as he is concerned, he has only received disappointment from the sport." said Jordan sedately, making the audience feel regretful.

    It was indeed like this, wasn''t it? Hunt never really cared about the fame and the game. He had only wanted to try out the sport. And if he really quits, they''ll never get see those skills again. Then they have to question: Was it really worth it digging out his past and criticizing him on every minor action? Was it worth it seeing him as a source of entertainment and selling his gamey as a hotmodity to make money?

    "I agree with the Slytherin Captain''s words. Axel Hunt may not need Quidditch. But Quidditch definitely needs Axel Hunt. So, I hope I speak for the majority when I say, Axel, I''m deeply sorry for the past, but please don''t quit."

    "Those with me, let''s raise a wand to that," he said, raising his wand.

    In the ensuing silence, wands instantly began to be raised everywhere in the stadium as a signal of apology. Very soon, in the cloudy day, hundreds of thousands of glowing dots of light could be seen all around, produced from the raised wands.

    "Come back, Hunt!" Someone yelled, and everyone else joined as well.

    "COME BACK HUNT!"

    ""COME BACK HUNT!"""

    """""""COME BACK HUNT!""""""

    Soon each and every wand was raised, as the whole stadium was only filled with only one cry. Whether they liked him or not, no one wanted to see the prodigy quit.

    "Everyone, I''ll have to stop this here. After all, we have a match to start. Once again, we apologize for Hunt''s absence. But the game must go on. So, those who want to leave can leave now, or watch the match. It''s your choice."

    ¡­.

    Meanwhile, in the vip box, Rose sat with her family, watching the events unfold.

    "Guess you can rejoice now." said Sirius. "He''s gone. You are once again number one at Hogwarts."

    Rose shook her head, her face marred with a troubled frown. She recalled what had happened of their bet after she had lost. That guy¡­ he hadpletely ignored her existence. As if she didn''t even exist at all. She was then stuck between wanting to confront him and hoping that he never brings up the bet.

    But, as prideful as she was, she had been unable to take it and went to confront the guy on her own. But even that was difficult, as she found a line of witches wanting to meet him.

    Only after one week did she get the chance to actually meet the guy, and¡­ after doing that only made her wish she hadn''t¡­

    "Hey, Hunt! Wait!" She had called out directly after the ss. Everyone else had already left, and Hunt, who had been with Daphne at the time, had the nerve to look at her in puzzlement, as if wondering, ''What does she want?''

    "Sup?"

    He had asked casually.

    Rose was frozen for a few moments, unable to think how to actually broach the subject that had been bothering her for the rest of the week.

    "What about the bet?" She had asked atst.

    She had expected him to smirk, or to make fun of her, or react in a hundred other ways. But, out of her expectations, the guy had just tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What bet?"

    "....."

    Rose had no words to say to the guy anymore. That had somehow actually felt worse than him taking proper revenge on her and making her his ve. It made her realize how little her existence mattered in his perspective.

    Hunt then seemed to recall the bet he had made with her. "Oh¡­ that bet about the match."

    Rose nodded, gritting her teeth. "Yeah. That one. I don''t want it hanging over me forever, so ask what you want from me quickly," she said haughtily, trying to preserve her remaining dignity.

    But Hunt just frowned. "Well, just don''t bother me from now on. You''re annoying," with that, he was off, and Daphne followed him, after giving Rose a sympathetic nce at her destruction.

    From that day, Rose had made it a point to not speak to the guy at all, no matter how frustrated she was.

    Though, today, after witnessing all this, she really wanted to go bother him again.

    "That guy¡­ how can he just stop ying like this?!"

    So many people would kill to have what he already has. And that idiot¡­ how can he throw that all away so casually?!

    ¡­.

    The match on without Axel, and needless to say, the Ravenws crushed the Slytherin team without any problems.

    After all, the Slytherin team was already made out of amateurs to begin with. And after seeing Axel y, they hadpletely stopped training. As long as they had Axel on their team, they could literally win the game with their eyes closed.

    They had only begun practicing magic after knowing about the Unrestricted format, which was useless here. Hence, the match was going pretty one-sided, despite the Slytherin teams best attempts.

    Overall, it was a good match, something that''ll usually be very well received. But¡­

    "Hey... isn''t this...?"

    ¡ªYawn¡ª

    "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

    "It''s no fun at all..."

    After watching Axel y, all this seemed pretty basic inparison. It was not much different from a hole that has been pistoned by a superior rob, The smaller and weaker rods simply can''tpare.

    It seemed like... Axel had ruined Quidditch for them.

    ¡­

    In the VIP box, the Greengrasses.

    Daphne looked at the scoreboard, her brows furrowed.

    Astoria pouted. "I didn''t get to see him."

    Evelyn sighed, "Well, if he doesn''t want to y, then it can''t be helped."

    Daphne, who had been in a bad mood, looked at her mother and sister suspiciously. "Since when did you two begin caring so much whether he ys or not?"

    Astoria shrugged. "Why? Are you jealous?"

    "You¡ªWhy would I be jealous?!" Asked Daphne in annoyance. "I''m not even his friend! Everything was just rumors!"

    Astoria shook her head. "Daphi, you are once again exining too much."

    "...."

    Daphne red at Astoria. "That mouth of yours has been fapping too muchtely. Do you need a spanking?"

    Astoria shut up while pouting. Shaking her head, Daphne looked back at the scoreboard and clenched her fists. Even though her house had won, she didn''t feel like celebrating at all.

    ''He shouldn''t have quit.'' she thought, because no matter what, as a Quidditch enthusiast, she did enjoy seeing him y.

    And, after hearing Patricia, and getting a feel of things from his perspective. it did feel like he had it tough.

    So, Daphne really felt bad for him.

    ''Though, that''s it. It''s nothing more! I''m not some brainless fan girl like others!'' she thought. But still, for some reason, the scene of him holding her while being shirtless kept shing in her mind.

    ¡­..

    The news of Axel quitting raised an even bigger storm than his previous stunt of leaving a middle finger in the middle of the stadium. Those who had been criticizing him and forcing him to apologize were med for the loss of the Legendary Prodigy.

    The inte was once again brimming with videos, articles tweets, andments, all somehow rted to Axel.

    Though most were bemoaning his premature retirement anding up with ways to bring him back, there were also those who were happy about it as well.

    Basically, their argument was: Hunt is too good. He''s like a cheat existence in Quidditch. In a normal format, whichever team has him will be guaranteed a win.

    And of course, there was another category of people as well. Those iming Axel quit because he was afraid to lose against Mahoutokoro.

    A particr article had gotten especially viral.

    "AXEL HUNT, SCARED?"

    "Following the Quidditch prodigy Axel Hunt''s withdrawal from the team, people can''t help but specte that there might be more to the story than what''s upfront.

    And one of the viable spections is: He got scared. Yes, dear readers, Axel Hunt scared. It is a known fact that the team Slytherin is going to represent Hogwarts in the match against Mahoutokoro in an unrestricted format, meaning Magic would be allowed in the match. And as it is going to be an international event, with even more coverage than all previous matches, the yers of both the teams, as the representative of their school, would be under immense pressure.

    Though Hunt has a considerable amount of skills, but those are mostly feasible in the normal format. And since his next match was going to be an unrestricted format against the Mahoutokoro''s best, ording to most experts'' opinions, Hunt will face major difficulties in the next match if he were to y.

    So, his best option would be to withdraw from the team for now by mentioning his early retirement from the sport, dramatically increasing the values of the contracts he was offered, and then signing with the Major League team that gives him the best offer. This is apletely viable option, as Hunt can technically return any time he wants, and the Quidditch world will only thank him for it. Now all that''s left is to see if this spection is correct or not."

    ¡­.

    No matter who read the article, whether they were Axel''s supporters or haters, the amount of times it was shared only increased. Because even if it was not in praising Axel, it did give his supporters the hope that Axel hadn''t quit and he might actually return very soon, and as a Major League Team member at all.

    Despite everything, this was definitely a good news for them. And as for the fact that he might not be able to contend against Mahoutokoro, that became a major source of debate, only spreading his name further.

    And while the whole Wizarding world was busy thinking and talking about him, Axel himself was stillpletely unaffected by everything, keeping to himself. He had been a bit troubled because even after taking the Valentinos help, a few ingredients that were still left on the list of things he needed to get Daphne''s memories back.

    Axel looked at the names of the two ingredients.

    ''System?''

    [No.]

    Useless fucker.

    Axel sighed. Other than this like a problem with the ingredients, everything else was alright.

    Somehow, he now had a group of students at a distance from him, who called themselves the "Savage Army". These runts would always keep others from approaching and bothering him, which was quite helpful.

    "Haah¡­ Patricia definitely got a lot better, huh?" He murmured to himself. He had just asked her to deliver his message but with all the extra nonsense she added, no matter if it was true or false, it had definitely made people more epting of him, something which he could definitely appreciate, especially with all the trouble he had been having after his background was released.

    While previously, there were a variety of negative emotions directed at him on a daily basis, now, for some reason, people''s response towards him was highly positive, even though he had just blue-balled them by quitting.

    So he had to ept, Patricia had definitely improved. From someone who wanted to hand out punishment to him and tried using things like ckmail to get him to join her team, she had be someone who is very aware and mindful of what he wants and doesn''t want.

    He had even decided to forgive her earlier actions from when she was still just an ignorant Slytherin Leader drunk on her power.

    So, life was peaceful for Axel as he prepared for the Organization to arrive. Now his only problem was, from what he had shown, it was quite difficult to estimate his level, since he hadn''t exactly shown any exact limits or boundaries in his abilities. If those buggers get extra cautious and send out high-level individuals to handle him, it would make things troublesome for him.

    But whatever. Since he had been so high profile due to those skills, at least the Organization wouldn''t miss him now.

    Now all he had to do was train and wait. Though, the peace didn''tst long.

    "Mr. Hunt, you''ve been called to the Headmaster''s office."

    In the middle of the ss, Flitwick got the message of the summons. And Axel, who was lost in his own world, snapped back to reality.

    ''What is it now?'' He thought in exasperation. He hadn''t done anything Darklordishtely, and he had been living very peacefully as well. And as for quitting Quidditch, Dumbledore should be happy about it, right?

    Then what the hell?

    "Sherbet Lemon."

    Following his previous route, he climbed the stairs which led to the Headmaster''s tower, once again keeping his guard up.

    *Knock*

    Once again, the door swung open on its own, revealing the familiar interior. But this time, the Headmaster was sitting right behind his desk.

    And, sitting on the opposite side of the table, with his back to Axel was another person. All Axel could make out was a bald head, which was a good enough indicator of his identity.

    On his arrival, the person turned around, revealing his face, and confirmed Axel''s guess.

    Yamazaki fucking Hiroshi. The Headmaster of Mahoutokoro.

    Axel had to tone down his Arcane Eyes due to the sheer amount of brightness the two of these old fogies were emitting.

    "Come just us, Mr. Hunt. The two of us had something important to discuss with you about the uing match."

    Axel''s eyes twitched.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Powerstones, so that everyone knows I''m back.

 Chapter 117: One last match

    Chapter 117: Onest match

    Chapter 117

    "Come join us, Axel. The two of us had something important to discuss with you about the uing match."

    Axel''s eyes twitched. Great. Just great. A meeting with two of the strongest wizards in the world.

    If these two really try to take him down, he is a goner. And Axel didn''t feelfortable knowing that. But oh well, it''s not like it''s the first time he''s found himself in a weaker position. Back in the days, almost everyone used to be stronger than him.

    Yamazaki Yujiro looked at Axel with a scrutinizing gaze. "So, you are the boy who has managed to impress my granddaughter¡­"

    "I''m rather curious. How exactly did you manage that?" he asked.

    ''By first beating her into submission and then ckmailing her into being my ve.'' Thought Axel inwardly.

    If Yujiro was rather curious about how Axel did it, then Axel was also rather curious how the Mahoutokoro Headmaster would react if he told him the truth.

    But Axel just shrugged. "I thought I was called for something rted to the match?"

    Yamazaki Yujiro''s eyes, which always seem perpetually closed, opened a little as he looked at Axel. "I see¡­" he murmured, seemingly getting his answer.

    Dumbledore had an amused smile on his face as he exchanged a nce with Yujiro, before turning back to look at Axel.

    "Indeed, my boy, We''re all busy people here. So I''lle straight to the point," he said, leaning forward.

    "Axel, we were hoping for you to y in the match between the two schools," said Dumbledore with a grandfatherly smile.

    "y in Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro?" Axel shook his head. "I''m sorry, Professor. But I''ve already quit," he said without even thinking, trying not to scoff.

    Dumbledore nodded, as if expecting his response. "Axel, I understand that you have withdrawn from Quidditch. Though, we were hoping you could y onest match before that. It''ll greatly help the two schools."

    ''Well, looks like it''s important.'' Axel tilted his head in puzzlement. "Headmaster, I fail to understand why my participation can be so important. Is it really necessary?" He asked innocently, trying to probe further.

    It was understandable in the case of Hogwarts since the Slytherin would be totally crushed without him, but shouldn''t the Mahoutokoro be happy with his non-participation? He wanted to know the exact reason why they want him to y, to get a handle of just how far he can push.

    Dumbledore nodded. "Your participation is indeed highly consequential, Mr. Hunt. It signifies the cooperation andpetition between the two schools from different parts of the world. To promote such cooperation, we want the match to reach as many people as possible."

    "And that is something that''ll definitely be achieved with my participation," said Axel with a nod. Axel could feel that it''s wasn''t the whole reason, but it still a valid one.

    ''Let''s try then,'' he thought.

    "But¡­ I''m sorry, Headmaster. I really can''t bring myself to y anymore," he said, looking a bit forlorn. "I''m too traumatized with all the attention. I can''t throw that all over again," he said with a heavy sigh.

    Dumbledore and Yujiro were a bit irritated with Axel''s overtly fake acting, but Axel stuck to it.

    ''Well, I''m not an idiot to readily agree,'' he thought. He had already figured out the situation. These old fogies are the ones who need a favor. Not him. And they need it bad. Axel suppressed a grin. He''s not an absolute dumbass to simply agree to their request just like that.

    Yamazaki Yujiro shook his head slowly. "You are too lenient on your students, Arbus-san," hemented. Since he was speaking English, the trantion amulet on Axel didn''t convert his words. "If there was a student of Mahoutokoro in his ce, they would have gratefully agreed."

    Well, Yamazaki Yujiro wasn''t wrong. Meeting with these two men at once, most students would likely shit their pants. And it would be quite an honour for them to fullfill any of the requests of these two. But, Axel didn''t work like that. Sucking up to people is just not his thing.

    He shrugged. "That''s only valid for ordinary students. I believe special privileges are also given to the geniuses of Mahoutokoro. Or Headmaster Yamazaki, are you implying that I''m just an ordinary student?"

    Yujiro looked at Axel with some surprise. "You know about Special privilege Students? Did Akiko tell you this?"

    "...." Axel was a bit speechless. If Akiko telling him that has such great significance then he wondered how this man would react if he knew that his granddaughter had personally trained him using the secrets of Mahoutokoro and the two ns of her parents.

    He shrugged. "That''s unimportant. All I''m saying is that I''m literally a game changer, not some ordinary student. So I should be allowed a few privileges if I were to y.

    Besides, I can''t really find the motivation to go through another traumatizing match. Also, it''s an unrestricted format and I''m just a thirteen year old boy. I might get seriously injured. Headmasters, don''t you think your request is quite unreasonable?"

    "....."

    The Headmasters just looked at Axel for a few moments as silence reigned in the room for a few seconds.

    This boy... does he realize who he is talking to?

    They were the headmasters of two of the most prominent magical schools of the world. Even more prominent was their own influence. And if that was not enough, their own personal abilities were at a level that few mortals could ever achieve.

    And two individuals of such calibre... were currently being tantly extorted by this 13 year old...

    It was so absurd that it was crossing into the lines of amusing and infuriating. Which is why, Dumbledore was currently smiling while Yujiro had a vein popping on his forehead.

    But Axel was unfazed. These geezers might think he was being so daring out of ignorance. But that is not the case.

    Though he wascking in experience, but if talking about capabilities, Axel did qualify to negotiate with them. No matter how capable they think they are, they can''t force Axel to do anything. Mind magics don''t work on him and he can easily escape if they try using force.

    So, Axel currently wasn''t being so daring out of ignorance, but because he could afford to.

    "Alright, brat. We get it. Just tell us what you want," said Yujiro in irritation.

    ''Gotcha.''

    Axel had already thought about it. Though it could be a bit of a drag, he had no trouble ying in the next match if the return was good enough. There were a few things he currently needed which he couldn''t get from any of his sources. And with these old men''s experience and reach, he might actually get them.

    If that was possible, then why not y? He can also properly show his boundaries this time, so that the Organization doesn''t send out much of a fighting force for him.

    "A wood from the World Tree and a material called vatiqua amseria. I need these two." Thus, Axel called out the names of the two ingredients on his list.

    "Hm¡­ I''m afraid I haven''t heard of either of them. Is there anything else you wanted?" said Dumbledore with a pondering look.

    But Yujiro''s expression changed. "I haven''t heard about a world tree, it could be anything. But the second one... where did you hear about it? And why do you want it?"

    Axel shrugged. "I just know someone who wants it. Do you know what it is, sir?"

    Yujiro slowly stroked his beard. "It''s a rare flower that only blooms when certain conditions are naturally met. But it''s very rare and it has mysterious properties.

    Axel raised his eyebrows curiously. "Oh? Where is it found?"

    Yujiro shook his head. "That I can''t tell you. But I can get it delivered to you in a few months time when it blooms. That good enough for you?" He asked, looking positively peeved.

    Axel shook his head. "No, that''s only one ingredient. If you can''t provide the other one then I have another demand."

    Yamazaki lost his patience. "Ignorant child, do you have any idea about the value of a vatiqua amseria? It''s not something you can even buy with money."

    Axel shrugged. "You don''t have to look so offended, Headmaster Yamazaki. I can leave right now if you want. I''m not the one who called you here," he said, getting up to leave.

    "Now, I don''t think there''s a need for that, Axel. I''m sure we cane to an understanding." Dumbledore wasn''t willing to let it go just like that. He had bigger ns going on. Far bigger and far far more important than the demands of a thirteen year old.

    Axel held back a grin. He was right. Even though he didn''t know the real reason, they really do want it bad. Well, since they''re being so amodating, he''ll make sure to give them one hell of a show in the next match.

    "I need around 60% of the revenue generated from this," said Axel, putting forth his demand.

    While Dumbledore was once again calm, but Yamazaki instantly red at Axel, an aura rising from him that put pressure on Axel.

    "Listen to me, brat, just because we''re being nice doesn''t mean you can make just any demand."

    Even though Axel had to pretend to be ufortable under the pressure, but he did not back down. This is just ssic good cop bad cop bad cop trick. He knew he wasn''t asking much.

    "Please, you listen to me, Headmaster Yamazaki. Even though I might be a kid, but I do know my value.

    With my involvement, the 40% of the revenue generated would still be a lot greater than 100% of the revenue you would have got without my involvement. I am only asking less out of respect."

    Respect? Having to negotiate with a kid, do they still have any respect left here? Is this kid offering them crumbs out of respect? The boy is clearly taking advantage of them because they can''t negotiate without looking cheap.

    Yamazaki wasn''t satisfied, but Dumbledore just smiled. "Then we havee to an agreement, Mr. Hunt. We will pass on the word of your involvement. Please do not miss the match at any cost now."

    "Oh, Professor, I have something that can assure youpletely of my cooperation," said Axel as he took out a parchment filled with dense kanji.

    Yamazaki''s eyes widened upon seeing the paper. "That¡­"

    Axel nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it''s a sealing contract. I thought we might as well write everything down," he said with an innocent smile. "Your granddaughter wrote it for me. Didn''t know it woulde in handy today," said Axel, scratching the back of his head.

    "You¡­" The veins on Yamazaki''s forehead seemed ready to burst at any moment.

    First making outrageous demands from him, and then not trusting his, Yamazaki Yujiro''s, words and getting him to sign a seal contract. And if that wasn''t enough, the contract being used for this absurdity is made by his own precious granddaughter.

    This¡­ this really was some different level of gall.

    Dumbledore gave Yamazaki a look, as if reminding him not to totally lose it in front of a child. "We can agree to your demands. I just have a small request."

    "What is it?"

    Dumbledore smiled.

    ....

    Coming out of the Headmaster''s cabin, Axel stretched rxedly. That went as well as could be expected.

    "What happened?" Asked Akiko, who suddenly appeared before him.

    Axel shook his head. "Your Grandfather was in there. And he was not happy. But it''s fine now."

    When he had seen Yamazaki Yujiro in Dumbledore''s office, he had secretly called her outside as back up in case things really went south.

    "You angered my grandfather?" Akiko''s brows raised. She knew both Axel and her Grandfather very well. If sparks really fly, both of them aren''t the ones to back down.

    Grabbing Axel, she began checking his whole body for any signs of abnormalities.

    Axel looked at her in puzzlement. "Hey, stop it. I''m fine."

    But Akiko didn''t stop until she was satisfied. Finally done, she shook her head, looking relieved. "Sorry, I was checking for curses. If truly angered, my Grandfather can be quite.... extreme," she said with a sigh.

    Axel scoffed. "Don''t worry. I just called you as a precaution. Do you take me for someone who would pick a fight with someone as powerful as him?"

    Akiko looked at him for a moment, and then nodded seriously. "I do."

    "....Nonsense." Axel looked away. "I only annoyed him a bit."

    When Akiko kept looking at him seriously, Axel just sighed as he began walking away. "Alright. Just don''t worry. I won''t do anything to your Grandfather," he said as he left.

    Left standing in the corridor, Akiko shook her head. In the whole world, perhaps only Axel had the guts to say he will spare Yamazaki Yujiro, and not the other way around.

    And as someone who knew his potential, she was rather relieved when she heard him say that.

    Sighing, she waited for her Grandfather toe out. Now she has to make sure her Ojiichan doesn''t do anything stupid.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Alright, onest match.

    Powerstones

 Chapter 118: Decision

    Chapter 118: Decision

    Chapter 118

    "Then let''s settle this¡­" said Dumbledore, making Axel smile.

    "But, if we''re really doing this, then I need to add a small favor as well," he added, making Axel''s smile vanish.

    "What favour? Professor, isn''t everything already in your favour?" Asked Axel, looking as if he was being taken advantage of.

    "Don''t worry, my boy. The deal is already settled. This is a simple request outside of the contract," said Dumbledore, intertwining the fingers of his hands over the table as he leaned forward. "Axel, It would be greatly helpful if you decided to give a small interview."

    Axel frowned. "Professor, you know I don''t do all those things."

    "I''m not forcing you, my boy. It is just a suggestion. You need to rify your intentions of wanting peace yourself. For all you know, people might think you''ve made a permanenteback. As long as you don''t speak up for yourself, others will speak for you."

    Axel didn''t say anything to that. Even though he knew Dumbledore had a point, Axel knew that what the old man wanted most was for him to confirm his participation himself.

    Dumbledore just smiled. "Just think about it, my boy. It''s your choice. For now we can proceed with the original terms," he said, giving him a piece of parchment. "You can contact me directly in case you changed your mind."

    ''Wtf?'' Axel was a bit surprised. In the whole world, how many people could actually directly contact Dumbledore?

    "I''ll think about it." Axel pretended to agree. What''s the loss in saying it? It won''t be added to the contract anyway.

    ¡­

    After Axel had gone¡­

    *Crunch*

    Yamazaki crushed the arm of his chair with his bare hands. "Arbus-san, why did you let that child walk all over us?!"

    Dumbledore shook his head, smiling leisurely. "Yujiro, my friend, you are being impulsive. You have to understand that Axel Hunt is a special student. If he''s going to y, it is in our best interest to keep him happy."

    Yujiro shook his head. "I fail to understand why. In the end, isn''t he just a 13 year old child? There were ways we could just get him to agree."

    "You would be wrong to think that, Yujiro. You underestimate the boy too much. Did you know he had your Granddaughter waiting downstairs in case he needed protection from you?" Asked Dumbledore, making Yujiro''s perpetually closed eyes open wide.

    "What...? That brat¡ª"

    "Calm down, old friend. All I''m saying is, Axel Hunt is not any ordinary 13 year old. He has wits beyond his age, and he can hold a grudge. So, unless you are willing to go as far as using magic to influence him into doing your bidding, it was the best option to just give him the money and the flower instead of provoking him. We''re old men with plenty of money and resources. Why risk him ruining the event and our subsequent ns for so little?"

    Yujiro sighed, calming down. "You are right, of course, Arbus-san. Money and resources have little meaning to us at this point anyway. I shouldn''t lose my temper over such things."

    And even using magic will be a ticking time bomb, because the boy would definitely hold a grudge if he finds out even 20 yearster.

    Dumbledore smiled. "We both know the real reason why you lost your temper. But I can''t me you, old friend. Matters rted to family evoke far stronger emotions than slight irascibility," he said as he snapped his fingers, causing two cups of piping hot tea to appear in between them.

    Yujiro, who knew a little about Dumbledore''s past, nodded. "Of course, who would know it better than you, Arbus," he agreed, picking up the tea.

    "Though, do you think the boy will give the interview?"

    Dumbledore just smiled. "To be honest, I don''t. The boy simply doesn''t care," he said sipping his tea.

    "But, it would be good to have a close rtion with him. I see something special in the boy. It would be better to keep a close eye on him."

    Both the old men drank tea in silence. But then, Yujiro set his cup down as he got serious.

    "But Arbus-san, are you sure that increasing the viewers will help us in our ns?"

    There was no doubt that Axel''s involvement, and with it being an open format match, would massively boost the number of spectators. But there was no guarantee if it would help in further ns.

    Dumbledore sighed. "I know not, Yujiro. But we have to try. I showed you the memories and you have certified their authenticity yourself. We have to start preparing for the worst, and you are the only one I trust. This is just the start."

    ....

    The next day, something happened, and it was not the news of Axel''s participation.

    Even before that, the paparazzi had gotten their hands on a different video. It showed Axel, the retired genius, being touched all over by Akiko Matsushima.

    At this point, Axel''s rtionship with multiple women was already no secret. So, it did not cause much of a reaction on the inte.

    But inside Hogwarts, things werepletely different. Because all the Mahoutokoro students saw their goddess favouring Axel yet again. Thest time, they could still think it was a misunderstanding or a coincidence. But now? It was clear that their Miko Akiko was getting trapped by Hunt.

    It was made even worse by the fact that there was nothing they could do to Hunt. They were strictly forbidden from using violence against any Hogwarts student.

    ¡­.

    The next morning, the atmosphere during breakfast was volcanic. All the Mahoutokoro students were throwing murderous looks at Axel, who had actually showed up, boldly sitting at the Slytherin table as if nothing was wrong.

    Their rage fromst time had been renewed after knowing that the guy was still messing with Akiko ever after having a fiance¨¦.

    "Good that you got out of the team, mate," said Theodore, shaking slightly even though the looks weren''t directed at him.

    Tracy agreed. "You would have been in trouble if you had to y the next match."

    Axel, who had already agreed to y the next match, just shrugged. He was, of course, unaffected by everything that was going on. He had other things on his mind right now.

    He looked at Daphne, who was sitting at the Ravenw table. Usually, he would catch her looking at from time to time and their eyes would sometimes meet. But today, the girl seemed determined to look anywhere but in his direction.

    Axel frowned. This bothered him.

    ''Is it time yet?'' He thought.

    Ever since losing her memories, Daphne would feel pain whenever her mind tried to recall them. That''s why, he had been staying away from her until now so that she doesn''t experience the pain. But he felt more and more distant with her with the passage of time.

    He had nned on waiting a little more just for good measure, but he just couldn''t wait more.

    ''Her mind should have be stable by now.'' he thought. After all, she had the information of the System''s lumency in her mind. She should have reached a considerable level by now.

    *nnnnnn*

    At this moment, his wand hummed, making him frown. ''Shut up.'' he ordered.

    This thing had gained more sentience after the upgrade.

    ¡­

    After Daphne was finally free of sses, she began making her way over to the Greenhouses. She was tired. Even though she had forgot where she had gotten them from, but Daphne had still continued her training ording to the information in her head.

    What to say? She really liked how it improved her physical, mental, and magical abilities. And attending sses along with that? Yep, she was tired. Especially today.

    "Hey, did you hear anything about Hunt yet?"

    While walking, she couldn''t help but overhear the conversation of the students walking ahead of her.

    "No man, I heard the guy attended the sses like usual. Not a single Mahoutokoro student has confronted him yet. Not even a sneak attack."

    "Damn. Maybe they''re nning their moves right now. I''m sure they wouldn''t let him off this time."

    "Yeah. Going for Akiko Matsushima? The guy has guts. Especially when he already has Martina."

    "H-Hey¡­ d''you think it''s suddenly quite chilly here?"

    Daphne quickened her footsteps, leaving the gossiping students behind.

    ''That guy¡­ serves him right,'' she thought in irritation. He already has Martina, the dream girl of many. Then why the hell is he going for Akiko as well? Truly, men are all pigs.

    But the hell is he doing openly wandering around the school? Does he not fear retaliation?

    ''Though, what does it matter to me?'' She thought with the mental scoff, as she reached the Greenhouse.

    Daphne walked through the rows of nts, her hands running through the leaves and flowers, stopping all annoying thoughts. Breathing the air of the Greenhouse, she instantly felt much better as her tiredness washed away. Nature was the best.

    She sighed. Nothing can bother her here. "How peaceful," she murmured.

    "Isn''t it?" Someone asked, making her jump.

    Turning around, she found herself face to face with none other than Axel Hunt himself. "The fuck?!" She eximed, stepping away from him.

    Axel could help but smile hearing her curse. He knew he would find her here. The girl loves nature after all. Back when they were still friends, she would sometimes drag him here to apany her as well.

    Daphne realized that her word choice had slipped up due to how startled she was, and the guy had definitely noticed. But she still red at him. "What? Never heard a girl swear before?"

    Axel''s smile only turned into a grin of amusement as he just shook his head. "Oh, you have no idea," he replied.

    ''Girl, I was the one who taught you how to swear.''

    Daphne unconsciously crushed petals of the flower in her hand. Her peace had been ruined. Her thoughts were going haywire in his presence and her mood was getting progressively worse. This is NOT why she was here.

    She looked at the guy calmly admiring the nts and couldn''t help but slightly stomp her foot. "What are you even doing here?" She demanded.

    "Nothing." Axel shrugged. "I just¡­ really like nature," he said, looking into her eyes.

    Daphne looked at the guy with a somewhat surprised look. "Nature? You?" She couldn''t help but snicker. "Impossible."

    Axel sighed. "I never saw iting either. But, it is what it is," he said with a shrug.

    "Oh really?" Daphne raised her brows. "What nt is this then?" she asked, pointing at a particr nt.

    "Zingiber officinale," answered Axel without blinking. "Widely used as spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf des."

    Daphne wasn''t satisfied. "What''s that one?"

    "Epipremnum aureum. Also called Devil''s ivy. It''s a¡ª"

    "D''you know this one?"

    Axel sighed. ''Of course I know all of them. You told me yourself.''

    "Artocarpus integra. It''s a magical fruit with¡ª" But before Axel could even finish, Daphne was already walking away.

    "Hey, where are you going?" He called out after her.

    "I''m going somewhere where I can have peace," she said in irritation, not stopping her footsteps.

    "Hey, wait! Isn''t it peaceful here?" asked Axel, following her.

    Daphne turned around in irritation. "Is there something you want, Hunt?"

    Axel thought about it seriously. "Actually, there is." He answered, stepping forward.

    "W-What?" Asked Daphne, taking a step back. She didn''t expect this. "What do you want?"

    Axel looked at the girl in front of him. Even though they were standing so close, there was still a huge distance between them. And he did NOT like that.

    He recalled the words she had spoken to him a long time ago and knew what he wanted. "I¡­ want to be friends with you," he said, looking at her sincerely.

    These exact words¡­ She had said to him so many times in the past. Axel, who had finally agreed after the umpteenth time, didn''t think he would have to repeat the same words to her again.

    Even though she doesn''t have her memories, she''s still the Daphne he knows. And he doesn''t want to be distant with her.

    Daphne''s eyes widened at those words and looked at Axel in bafflement. She stood there, frozen for a long time. But then, her face turned cold. "No thank you," she said before she began walking away again.

    "What the¡ª?" Axel couldn''t help but frown. "Hey, why the hell not?" He asked, following her.

    Daphne turned to re up at him. "Because, you are a scumbag."

    Axel frowned. "Scumbag? How am I a scumbag?"

    "How are you not?" Daphne Stomped her foot. "You already have a fiance¨¦. And yet you are going after other girls! And what''s to say you only want to be friends with me? I don''t want to be involved with a scumbag who''s already dating multiple women!"

    "What the hell? Didn''t I already tell you I was single? Martina is not my fiancee. And I''m not involved with any of the other girls either. I''m not a scumbag!" Said Axel defensively.

    Daphne looked at the guy''s wronged look and almost gave in. Being in such close proximity with him, her heart was already beating very fast. At this point, she had to acknowledge it.

    She had a crush on Axel Hunt.

    But could she be med? She wakes up after ama, with arge chunk of her memories gone, and sees the absurdly handsome face of the guy smiling down at her saying he''s single. That was the start of it all. She researched the guy, of course, and waspletely impressed when she saw the clips of his match. Even more impressive was his attitude. But only after researching more had she found out that he was a scumbag with rtions with multiple women. That had crushed all thoughts in her mind.

    But of course, her heart had its own ns. No matter what, she always found her eyes drawn to him. She would feel disappointed whenever he wouldn''t show up for breakfast or dinner.

    She tried to deny it, multiple times. But today, she has to ept, she likes him. Even right now, her heart had already believed his words when he said he was not a scumbag.

    Which is exactly why she must stay away from him. She doesn''t want to end up as yet another one of his conquests.

    "Oh? You are not engaged with Martina?" She asked. "Mr. Hunt, your engagement is already announced to the world. Everyone knows you''re engaged. How am I supposed to believe you on that, let alone about your rtionships with other girls? And why have you never denied your rtionships with any of the girls? You think I''ll believe you when you just say it to me like that? So, I''m really sorry, I can''t really be friends with you." Saying her piece, Daphne left the greenhouse, practically running.

    And this time, Axel had no words to stop her. He actually was expecting her to believe him. Why had he not rified the world? Because he didn''t really care what others said of him. If he went about clearing every rumour, there will be no end to it. He thought that it would be fine as long as he told Daphne. And at that time, he didn''t know it would be so important to tell her.

    But before he could even clear it with her, she had already lost her memories, postponing the exnation. After that, there was no need to exin it to her anyways since they were strangers, and she would feel pain whenever he was even mentioned. So, the matter was just left hanging until now.

    But, if it really bothers her even after losing all her memories...

    Axel took out his Magi-mirror and dialled a number. He didn''t even need to think about it before making his decision.

    "Hello? Professor Dumbledore, this is Axel."

    "Yeah, I changed my mind. I''ll do the interview."

    "No, I also had a few things to rify."

    "Yeah, I''ll hang up now."

    *beep*

    Axel put away the Magi-mirror and looked in the direction where the girl had left.

    She wanted exnation? He''ll give her one hell of an exnation. And not only to her, but to the world. so that she has no doubts left. He''ll clear everything.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

 Chapter 119:

    Chapter 119:

    A.N.: Directly#1 in the rankings after a two months Hiatus. You guys really know how to say wee back, huh? Enjoy the chapter

    ...

    The next day, in the room of requirements. Martina looked around the ce. The room had been shifted to be a spacious hall, with all types of training equipment. Training dummies lines another section, most of them in various states of disrepair.

    "So, you wanted to meet?" She asked Axel, who was currently practicing his knife technique. The Room of Requirements can turn the way one wants. And this was, of course, how Axel usually pictures the room.

    Axel nodded, pausing his training as he wiped the sweat off his brows. "Oh, yeah. I need to clear up the misunderstanding about our engagement."

    Martina''s face nked for a moment as she processed the information. "Oh... " she said eloquently.

    "I¡­ I thought you didn''t care¡­?" she asked tentatively.

    Axel shrugged. "Well, it''s causing me problems now," he replied. If Daphne feels ufortable about his engagement, it''s going away.

    Martina hesitated. "But.... didn''t you say it''ll cause more problems if you try to clear it up?"

    That was true. Just imagine it. First Axel''s engagement with Margina was announced. And then, the details about his background and past were revealed. At that time, if he and the Valentinos had imed that the engagement was fake, everyone would think that the engagement was cancelled because of Axel''s lowly background. And that was just one of the problems.

    Axel shrugged. "It is indeed troublesome. But, I have to clear this. It''s important."

    Martina had a nk expression on her face. "Oh... okay... Well, it was always your choice."

    Martina was feeling was strange feeling right now. And she realized that, she did not like it.

    She had thought that she didn''t really care about all these things, but right now, she didn''t feel good.

    She couldn''t help but think that she was being dumped.

    ''Is this what it feels like?'' She wondered. Because even if it was fake, the two of them were indeed engaged. And she had had no problems with it.

    Seeing Martina''s strange expression, Axel frown. "What''s up with you? Are you not happy about no longer being engaged? You hate all these things, right?"

    Martina looked down. That was indeed the case. Both of them were people who cared little about these matters.

    But...

    "Actually, I was alright with it..." she murmured in a low voice. She really did hate the idea of the being engaged. But with Axel, strangely enough, she was alright with it.

    "What?" Axel didn''t quite catch what she said.

    Martina just smiled. "I said, I didn''t really hate it. After all, it did drastically decrease the number of suitors bothering me."

    "Oh," Axel shook his head helplessly. "Nothing I can do about that."

    "Anyways, how are you going to clear it up?" She asked, hastily changing the subject.

    Axel recalled what Dumbledore had in mind and couldn''t help with sigh at the chaos he was going to cause. "Well, there''s this event..."

    ....

    In the outside world, the news of Axel''s participation had yet to be known. The Match between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro had been advertised heavily. It being an unrestricted format, and a match between two great schools, there was no doubt that it was going to be watched by many.

    But, it was clear that the viewership was still going to be considerably less than Axel Hunt''s matches.

    That''s because even if unrestricted matches were rare, they still happen from time to time. And yers have already used all types of magic there. So, even though it was going to be fun, there wasn''t going to be anything new.

    With Axel Hunt''s matches on the other hand, things werepletely different. He was not simply a breath of fresh air, he was like a hailstorm of fresh winds in the Quidditch World. Everyone knows¡­ that what Axel is doing, they''ll never see anyone else replicate on the pitch.

    The same could not be said about this match, which had a lot of precedents.

    All the forums rted to Quidditch also held the same discussion.

    "Anyone going to watch the match between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro?"

    "Well, I don''t really want to anymore. Hunt won''t be there."

    "I''ll check it out if I have the time. Not really that much of a thrill to watch school matches."

    "It is an unrestricted format though¡­"

    "Yeah, that''s why I''m even bothering to check. But how much would school kids even do with magic? I bet most things would be banned for "safety concerns". The brutality of usual unrestricted matches won''t be there."

    "Yeah man, wish Hunt was ying."

    "Don''t we all?"

    "The guy was already so brutal in normal format. Just imagine what he''d do in the unrestricted format."

    "Well, he''s only in his second year, so I don''t think he''d be able to cast the real spells yet."

    "Maybe that''s the reason he quit, didn''t he? It would be a pain in the ass to deal with the magic of Mahoutokoro, even with his skills. Especially since he''s only in his second year."

    "Of course he quit. You might not know this, but the Mahoutokoro students are currently out for Axel''s blood. Because the guy has some sort of rtionship with their best student and school belle. Before Hunt, no one had even been able to exchange a few words with her, let alone wooing her. So, if Hunt had yed, he was dead for sure."

    "Yeah. Though no one can me him for not being able to fight with magic. He''s only in his second year after all. I could barely do first year charms in my second year."

    "Ignorant people, he''s Savage Axel! Mere mortals like you can''t predict how he''ll fare against his opponents."

    "Yeah, with all these people calling him a coward, I half expect Savage Axel toe back just to shut everyone up lol."

    "Well, the savage army is trying it''s best to bring him back."

    ¡­

    Such types of discussions were going on everywhere.

    Petitions to bring Axel back were being issued all over the world. Many videos and articles were made on how big of a loss it was to the Quidditch world that a person with such skills was not ying quidditch.

    During this time, many big shots once again stepped forward to speak on the matter, but this time, they were speaking in Axel''s favor. Even some of the sensible ones who had previously thoughtlessly spoken against him had issued their apology.

    But due to the circumstances of the next match, people were now even more doubtful about his return. With his rtionship with Akiko, Hunt already had a huge target on his back. Why the hell would he even bother going to his own funeral by ying in the next match?

    So, most people had already given up hope of seeing Hunt in the near future.

    At this time though, a simple and unassuming post quietly appeared on all Hogwarts'' official handles and websites. On the surface, there wasn''t anything special about the post. It was just a list of the yers who will be representing their respective schools in the Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro match. So the post was ignored by almost everyone for a while.

    Until, someone noticed it.

    ¡ªHogwarts forum¡ª

    Psychowiz111 (@psychowiz111)

    "Just saw the Hogwarts official list of yers representing the schools. Look at the ss. Lol, they forgot to remove Hunt''s name from the list xD."

    This guy only thought that management had made a mistake in their post and was trolling them.

    But, it was enough to bring other people''s attention to it.

    "What the¡­?"

    "Hey, am¡­ am I seeing this right?"

    "Yep, it''s definitely there."

    "Does this mean¡­ what I think it means?"

    "What else could it mean?"

    "FUCK!!!"

    "IS THIS REAL?!"

    "That madman... He actually returns when no one expects him to!"

    "HOLY SHIT! I''M DANCING RIGHT NOW!"

    Psychowiz111 (@psychowiz111)

    "Hey, wtf are you guys talking about?"

    "@psychowiz111, these are official posts. They are reviewed a hundred times before being posted, meaning there can''t be a mistake. So, if Hunt''s name is in the yer list, then, in the next match... WE MIGHT SEE HUNT!"

    Psychowiz111 (@psychowiz111)

    "F"

    "Damn, everyone was saying he quit because of this match and boom! He is suddenly on the list."

    "Yeah, it''s like he came just to show that he can lol."

    "Damn, that''s Savage Hunt for you. He doesn''t fear shit."

    "Hahahaha you can never be sure about anything with this guy. Now I just hope that Hogwarts is not ying some sick joke with us."

    And that was it. Within the next few minutes, the yer list posted by Hogwarts was already shared thousands of times, as the whole Wizarding world once again experienced the Hunt effect.

    All forms of media began reporting news about Axel''s return and many people were already celebrating.

    And just when they thought things couldn''t blow up any further, something else happened.

    A new post appeared on Hogwarts'' Official handle. And unlike thest time, this one was fancy. The same post was shared by Mahoutokoro as well.

    It was an announcement in Bold Cursive.

    "HOGWARTS AND MAHOUTOKORO PRESENTS"

    "THE MEETING CEREMONY"

    Below were the pictures of Patricia and Axel from Hogwarts, and two of the yers of Mahoutokoro.

    "ON MAY 1st 1993!"

    That was it. The post was like a teaser, with no extra details.

    But still, the post rose up like a tsunami wave, taking over the inte in a matter of minutes. Because... in the Wizarding world, a Meeting Ceremony is like a press conference that''s usually held before important matches.

    In these ceremonies, the representative yers meet up and exchange a few words, sometimes ending up in heated back and forths, after which the reporters can ask them inquisitive questions to provocative ones.

    And... in such a press conference, there was a picture of Axel Hunt attached¡­ what could it mean besides the obvious?

    Axel Hunt... in an interview? Did the all-reclusive Hunt actually agree to finally speak in public? And that too... in the most exciting and exclusive type of interview?

    Everyone had an unquenchable amount of curiosity towards Axel. The more information they get about him, the more curious they get about his life. How did he end up in a muggle orphanage? Were his parents really muggles? What did he do after running away from the orphanage? How did he get his scars? The list went on and on and on.

    But Axel was an extremely private person. And the guy wouldn''t give any reporter or tv show the time of the day. He had already rejected so many offers for interviews until now that it would be difficult to count them. Which was why, everyone was quite frustrated with him. But now, the guy is finally speaking?

    This was atomic news. People were having difficulty even believing such a thing. As a result, the news was also received with a healthy amount of skepticism.

    "AXEL HUNT: BACK?"

    "Lately, the Quidditch world has been mourning the unexpected withdrawal of Axel Hunt from Quidditch. But, like a small spark in the absolute darkness, a new hope has been ignited that perhaps, we might get to see the unseen Quidditch Prodigy y again.

    Yes, dear readers, Axel Hunt''s previous iconic match might not be thest time we see him y Quidditch. And that''s because his name has been included among the list of yers representing Hogwarts in the uing match between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro. Here is the picture of the post shared by the Hogwarts official website. Hunt''s name can be clearly seen among the list of yers ying in the match.

    And to take the matters further, the school has also announced a Meeting Ceremony concerning the match which, surprisingly, Hunt is also going to attend. It has to be noted that Hunt has never given any sort of interview, always either ignoring any questions asked or, if the questionnaire is rude, punishing them with a brutal response. Thus, the whole world has been thirsty for any more information on the most famous person of the year.

    And the school has imed that such a person is going to be attending the Meeting Ceremony, it can be understood how big a im this is.

    The management has yet to take down the post, meaning that we can be assured that it is not an error by the administration.

    However, does this really mean that Axel Hunt will y? Not necessarily. Hunt''s name carries a huge influence. So there is a chance that this is just all a ruse to create hype for the match and get free publicity by borrowing his name. They canter give out a simple excuse about his non-participation like an injury, sessfully increasing their viewership by multiple folds. Thus, it is too early to be counting our dragon eggs and it''s better to take this news with a grain of pixie dust.

    ¡­

    Articles and videos like this were trending everywhere. Yes, even though Axel''s name was in the list of yers, it doesn''t mean that he would be ying in the match. But even with all that, the hype for the event was huge.

    Whether Axel will be returning or not will be cleared at the Meeting Ceremony press conference. So no matter what, everyone will be tuning in to the broadcast.

    On the other hand, Axel himself once again became a rare sight at Hogwarts. You would only see him at sses, and with the savage army directed by Patricia, no one would be able to bother him.

    Everyone wanted to know whether the news about him ying in the next match was true or not but few people could actually get the opportunity to ask him. And Axel would simply ignore every question since he didn''t care enough to answer, unwittingly keeping everyone in mystery. His participation was only confirmed with a select few people.

    One of them was, of course, his team Captain Patricia Afonso.

    In an empty ssroom room, the Slytherin Captain stood stiffly with her arms folded. She had aplicated expression on her face.

    "Are you really sure about this?" She asked yet again.

    Casually leaning against the door frame, Axel shrugged. "Of course. Though, I thought you would be happy about my return," hemented.

    "Oh believe me, no one would be happier than me. But... can you not see the situation? The Mahoutokoro wille at you with everything they''ve got," said Patricia, unconsciously running her fingers through her long onyx hair, something she does whenever she''s worried.

    Patricia sighed. On one hand, she was ecstatic to know that Axel would be ying again. But the new match was in an unrestricted format, and with the Mahoutokoro being out for Axel''s blood, she couldn''t help but think that this was not the right time.

    Axel looked at her quizzically. "This is not like you. Shouldn''t you be looking at the benefits? Or do you not want me toe back?" He asked. No offense, but inside the charismatic and charming exterior, Patricia Afonso was actually a cold hearted ambitious bitch. She wouldn''t care about minor stuff if things benefit her overall.

    Patricia took a long moment to think, after which, she shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts. "Just forget it," she said as she smiled.

    "My star yer, I wee you back to the team," she said, spreading her hands.

    "Though, I do hope you attend the training sessions this time. We''ll be practicing magical tactics, so it might be beneficial to you."

    Axel tilted his head, looking at Patricia with his one eyebrow raised. "Captain, you doubting my abilities again?" He asked, and Patricia was once again reminded of the time when he showed her levels in this very same ssroom in their very first meeting, when he had caught one snitch and hit the other one with it.

    Patricia shivered, shifting her legs. That was a memory she could never forget.

    Looking at the slight smirk of confidence tugging at the corner of his lips, she realized that she might actually have nothing to worry about.

    ¡­

    A.N.: The next chapter: Interview

    Powerstones!

    If you want to read ahead and support me  / Snollygoster

 Chapter 120: Axel Hunt, the seeker of Hogwarts

    Chapter 120: Axel Hunt, the seeker of Hogwarts

    Chapter 120

    Patricia sighed, taking out her Magi-mirror and pulling up the file and the Mahoutokoro team. "Alright, I won''t doubt you again. But, you still need to know about the information on the opponents you are going to be facing."

    Axel furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that necessary?"

    Patricia nodded her head sombrely. "It is. The yers this time are extremely tough to deal with. And they have skillsets that can make things difficult even for you."

    Axel didn''t reject her this time, "Alright, tell me then."

    It might be helpful to know about his opponents beforehand. Not because it could help him y better, but because It could help him hold back better.

    ....

    In the iing days, Axel had still not confirmed his participation, causing the hype to only rise.

    People were dying to know whether he would be ying or not. But what could they do? They always only ever see the guy at public ces, where they can''t force him to talk, and even if they ask straightforwardly, they''ll be ignored like pebbles on the sidewalk.

    In fact, Axel had no problems confirming his participation to those people. But he didn''t do so because it would give out the impression that it is possible to get answers by asking him upfront. Then it''s only a matter of time before everyone is asking him hundreds of questions.

    And it looked like his trick indeed worked, as he was bothered less and less as the days passed. People knew it was useless to even try talking to him, unless they had a neglection fetish. And trying to use other tricks was not an option as he only ever appeared at ces where there were a lot of eyes watching and a professor nearby.

    Though, just when he thought he had achieved peace, something happened.

    A few days after the news, a tall and burly guy approached him. It was outside the great hall, just when Axel was about to go for his sses.

    Usually, it wouldn''t have been anything new. But the guy was actually in ninja attire, meaning he was from Mahoutokoro. This was the first time someone from Mahoutokoro had actually approached him.

    Axel gave the guy a second look. He had an extremely aggressive face, and his dark hair was tied in a long knot.

    ''Azuma Takeshi.'' His name surfaced into Axel''s mind. This is the captain of Mahoutokoro''s team. Patricia had warmed him about this guy.

    "You''re Axel Hunt, right?" He asked, looking down at Axel.

    Axel frowned. What kind of dumb question is that? At this point, someone would have to be blind if they stay at Hogwarts and not recognise Axel. It''s not a brag, but a sad reality.

    The guy was just trying to show that Axel was so insignificant in front of him that he doesn''t even recognize him.

    But of course, the Captain didn''t know that his existence was even less important to Axel.

    ¡ªStep¡ª

    Straight up ignoring Takeshi, Axel walked right past him, leaving the Mahoutokoro captain standing dumbly in the middle of the corridor with a lot of eyes watching.

    Takeshi''s face hardened. "Wait!" Turning around, he tried to grab Axel''s shoulder, in which he failed as Axel somehow avoided it without even looking back. It was almost as if his hand passed right through Axel.

    "Listen, you lowly trash," Takeshi called out to Axel. "Whether or not you y in the match, you stay away from Akiko."

    ''Right, there was that.'' Thought Axel, pausing his footsteps.

    Azuma Takeshi. The Captain of the Mahoutokoro Quidditch Team. He''s the only other known lightning user. The guy mostly likes to keep a low profile... unless the matter is rted to Akiko.

    "Hey, are you listening?! Stay away from Akiko," said Takeshi, as a crowd began gathering. "She and I, we have a destiny. And someone like you doesn''t deserve being close to her."

    Yep, as the only other known lightning Affinity user, the guy thinks he and Akiko are destined or something.

    Hearing the bullshit that came out of Taskeshi''s mouth, Axel didn''t wait longer. It wasn''t something that deserved even a reply from him. Ignoring the guy, Axel walked away without giving him a second nce.

    Takeshi''s anger red, but as he tried to move forward, a hand was put on his shoulder. Looking back, the person who stopped him was Endo Yuji, the seeker of the Mahoutokoro team.

    "Don''t go after him yet. You might scare him away from ying the next match," he said, also looking at Axel''s back with resentment. He also had a score to settle with Axel. He had been trying to pursue Martina Valentino from day one, and then this guy shows up out of nowhere and gets engaged to her.

    Takeshi clenched his fists. "I''ve been trying for 5 years. But she won''t even talk to me. And for him she''s ready to go against even her grandfather," he murmured, ring balefully at Axel''s back.

    "I just hope he has balls enough to y in the next match."

    He was from the Noble Takeshi n, a n known to be on equal status as the Matsushima n. And he is one of the very few known Lightning Element users in the world.

    Lightning element is not an ordinary affinity. It''s considered the most powerful and extremely difficult to master. It''s very rare for two lightning users to be of the same generation, and the offspring is guaranteed a very high chance of having an extremely powerful Lightning Affinity as well. Then, isn''t it quite apparent? The two of them were destined to be together.

    ¡­

    Days went by until the day of revtion finally arrived. In the end, Axel''s involvement was never confirmed, so everyone was going to have their eyes on this Meeting Ceremony.

    At Hogwarts¡ª

    The exams were approaching. Usually, the students are under a lot of stress these days. The professors increase the pace of the studies in order toplete the sybus, and the need for the revision of the whole year along with increased assignments made sure that students couldn''t think about anything but studies.

    But right now, the atmosphere at Hogwarts waspletely different. Aside from a few nerds, no one could give a shit about the exams. Everyone was more concerned about the two events, the Interview and the match which were going to take ce at the school.

    And after a lot of wait, the day finally arrived.

    ¡ªMay 1st¡ª

    The Great Hall had beenpletely changed. The House tables had been put away to create space, and the area had also been expanded. The ce had been decorated with various Posters. Some had the words MEETING CEREMONY, containing photos of the yer of the two teams, while some had pictures of the two headmasters, promoting international unity.

    Cameras were set up everywhere, with big screens disying the happenings of the great hall.

    *Click* *Click*

    In ce of the staff table, a stage had been set up, in front of which the reporters were gathered.

    In the back, all the students of Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro were also present. While the rest of the world could only watch the live broadcast and recordings, the students of Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro had the perk of being able to see everything in person.

    "Wizarding world, I am James Jones, reporting live from Hogwarts¡ª"

    "¡ªThe day has finally arrived when we would know, whether Axel Hunt is participating or not!"

    "An interview with Axel Hunt! Can it actually be possible?!"

    All the reporters were enthusiastically covering the event, and many were even asking some lucky students for their opinions.

    "So students, what do you think? Will Hunte or not?" Asked one of the reporters to a group of students.

    "Well, Um¡­ I dunno. It''s sort of tough to tell. It''s his funeral if he ys, but he''s Hunt, isn''t he? So I reckon he might actuallye."

    "I don''t think he''lle."

    "HE WILL COME! GO SAVAGE HUNT!"

    "Hey, kids. are you excited about the meeting ceremony?"

    "Meeting ceremony? I only came to see if Hunt wille or not."

    Such types of discussion were going on everywhere. No matter what, there was one thing everyone had inmon: They all wanted Hunt toe.

    At this moment, the lights shed as the Headmasters of both the school walked into the great hall, followed by the staff.

    The stage had two tables, each with three seats. Each of seats had a mic set up in front of it. Dumbledore sat on the table with Hogwarts symbol while Yamazaki Yujiro took the other one which had the Mahoutokoro symbol on it.

    "Good evening, everyone. And wee to the Meeting Ceremony for the Match between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro." said Dumbledore from his seat as he leaned towards the mic.

    There was an apuse from the students, after which, the reporters got down to business.

    "Professor Dumbledore, can you confirm if Hunt is actuallying?"

    "Professor Dumbledore, is true that Axel Hunt is¡ª"

    "Professor Dumbledore!¡ª"

    "Professor¡ª"

    The reporters began moring for answers, to which, Dumbledore only raised a hand to silence them, smiling slightly.

    "Everyone, all of your questions are soon going to be answered. But first, I need to speak a few words," he said, causing many voices of disappointment to emerge from the crowd.

    Dumbledore remained unaffected though. This was the most opportune moment to talk, as the whole was had their eyes on Hogwarts right now, even though most of the attention is due to Axel. Dumblemdore was just milking the situation for all it''s worth.

    "As everyone knows, Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro have been under cooperation for a year now," began Dumblemdore. "Due to this, both the schools have gotten an indispensable learning opportunity. Students of one school got the chance to learn the unique education of the other school. They got to experience the difference in culture and educational practices, and more importantly, they got the chance to make new bonds.

    But, not only the school, both the nations as a whole have also tremendously benefited from this exchange. The diplomatic rtions between Britain and Japan are stronger than ever, and talks of cooperation in various fields have been going on between the two countries."

    "So, it is with immense delight that I announce: the exchange program between Hogwarts and Mahoutokoro, has been a huge sess!" Said Dumbledore, spreading his arms, as a huge apuse rang out in the Great Hall.

    "But that is not all. With such positive results, it is now very much possible that we will be seeing more such cooperations between different schools in the future!"

    Cheers!

    There was an even bigger apuse to that.

    "Professor Dumbledore, you said there is a possibility for more cooperations. Does that mean we would also be seeing other schools?"

    "Professor Dumbledore, which school will be next?"

    "Professor Dumbledore, what exactly did you mean by further cooperation?"

    "Professor Dumbledore ¡ª"

    "Professor Dumbledore ¡ª"

    Dumbledore shook his head. "I can notment any further on the matter," he said, smiling with his eyes twinkling. "Though, there is something else I can share. Please do not forget the main purpose of why we are gathered here."

    "Everyone, please wee the yers representing their schools in the meeting ceremony," he announced, as the door to the adjoining room behind the stage opened.

    First came Takeshi Azuma, the Captain of Mahoutokoro team, as the students from Mahoutokoro began apuding.

    Then came Endo Yuji, the seeker of Team Mahoutokoro. Yuji being a popr student, also got a significant apuse from Mahoutokoro.

    The third was Patricia Afonso, the Captain of Team Hogwarts.

    Hogwarts burst into apuse as soon as Patricia stepped in, waving and smiling at the cameras. But then, she nced behind.

    Lastly, the fourth person walked in. But this time, the reaction of the crowd waspletely different.

    Thest person was none other than, Axel Hunt... the seeker of Hogwarts.

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    Next chapter: Chaos at the interview

    read ahead and support me: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 121: Chaos at the Interview

    Chapter 121: Chaos at the Interview

    Chapter 121

    "What the¡ª?"

    "He really is here!"

    "IT''S HUNT!"

    "Holy shit!¡ª"

    Shocked exmations rang out, before a tremendous cheer arose from the crowd gathered behind.

    "Witches and Wizards, Axel Hunt is here! I repeat, Axel Hunt is here!"

    "I can''t believe it! Despite all odds, Axel Hunt has actually walked into the Meeting Ceremony! Does this mean that he is back?! We''re going to find out now!"

    "Everyone, it seems that Axel Hunt''s participation is confirmed!"

    "Breaking News! Is this the return of the Unseen Prodigy?!"

    Amidst the exmation and celebration of the crowd, the reporters began announcing the shocking news of Axel''s return, and numerous questions were suddenly thrown at him.

    "Axel, are you really going to be ying the match?"

    "Mr. Hunt, you''re here! Does this mean that you''re back to ying Quidditch?!"

    "Axel! You announced your retirement not long ago. Can we assume that those words were just a farce?"

    "Mr. Axel, is your participation in the next match confirmed or is this just a way to get more traction for the event?"

    All types of Questions were being asked from Axel. Meanwhile, the rest of the participants werepletely ignored. Everyone could see it. The moment Axel walked in, the meeting ceremony had be a one man show.

    And it wasn''t a surprise. Axel Hunt is currently the most popr person in the whole Wizarding world, and anything rted to him has a very high chance of going viral.

    And right now, it''s the first, and probably thest time they actually have him at a meeting ceremony. Right now, they have a chance to actually interview the all-reclusive Axel Hunt. The implications ran far deeper than what they appear.

    Until now, Axel has been agonizingly quiet about himself. The Whole world is hungry for any drop of news rted to him. And at this moment, he is at the meeting ceremony, meaning they can actually ask him any question they want.

    This was definitely a once in a lifetime scoop. No matter what, everyone was thrilled to see him there.

    Well, ''almost'' everyone.

    "What the HELL is he doing?!"

    Standing in the middle of the crowd that was going bonkers over Axel''s participation, Daphne red at the guy who had casually walked into the stage with his hands in his pockets. His whole vibe was justpletely different.

    The rest of the participants looked like they were honored to be there. Their faces indicated they knew how big a deal it was to be able to participate in such an event. Axel on the other hand¡­ he still had the same bored expression on his face as he came to take his seat beside Dumbledore at the table. ''Feel honored to be in my presence instead.'' That''s what his casual look seemed to say.

    "Why?!" Muttered Daphne, her nails digging into her palms. She couldn''t understand why the guy would risking back for this match. Right now, the Mahoutokoro team was out for his blood. And what does he do? He participates in the match against their team that is set in the most Quidditch Format, all but giving them a perfect opportunity to freely take revenge. She could already see the Captain of the Mahoutokoro team giving Axel a death stare.

    "What was he thinking?!" Daphne sighed, recalling her encounter with him yesterday.

    She had been on her way to attend her next ss, trying not to think about Axel Hunt, when, out of nowhere, she was suddenly dragged into a broom closet. Her instinct had kicked in as she was about tounch a kick into her assant''s balls while drawing her wand.

    But....

    "It''s me."

    The low voice made her freezepletely. There was no way she couldn''t recognise it.

    The tip of a wand lit up the dark room, and she found herself face to face with the guy who was the centre of discussion everywhere, Axel Hunt.

    "What do you want?!" She demanded, drawing her wand as she backed up against the door. She was suddenly feeling iprehensibly flustered.

    "What I want?" Axel stepped closer, ignoring her wand. "I want a lot of things. But right now, I''m just here to invite you," he said, looking into her eyes.

    ''In-Invite me?! W-Where?!"

    asked Daphne as she brandished her wand, causing it to poking right into Axel''s gut.

    ''Right where he has those abs...'' Daphne''s thoughts weren''t helping her at all.

    Axel shrugged. "Meeting Ceremony. Don''t miss it," he spoke, his face umonly close to hers.

    "Wa-Wa-Wait, the meeting ceremony? Why do I need to go? Hey!"

    Daphne tried to get more information, but Axel was already gone, leaving her in the dark room with her heart racing.

    ...

    So of course, after that incident, she couldn''t really miss this event, could she? After all, it was all she could think about since their meeting.

    She wondered why he''d invite her to the event. And she''d hoped it didn''t mean what she thought it meant. But, what she had feared did end up happening. Hunt... he was Indeed participating in this match.

    "What the fuck are you thinking?" She murmured, looking at the guy who was currently being asked hundreds of questions by the reporters.

    ...

    Axel''s eyes met Daphne''s, who was currently ring at him, and a small smile surfaced his face.

    ''You''re here,'' he thought. That means he can now get on with it.

    "Axel, please answer!"

    "Axel, the whole Wizarding World wants to know! Are you back?!"

    "Mr. Hunt¡ª"

    "Axel¡ª"

    "Axel¡ª"

    Axel raised his hand, and as if he had cast a spell, the wild and rowdy crowd actually did go silent.

    In the ensuing silence, Axel slowly leaned forward to speak into the mic.

    "Well..." he said, looking at everyone nonchntly. "I''ll be ying the next match."

    BOOM

    That''s all he said, before the crowd burst into a thunderous cheer.

    "Breaking News! Axel Hunt just confirmed his return, I repeat, Axel Hunt had just confirmed his return!"

    "Everyone, He has returned! Axel Hunt will be ying the next match!"

    "I cannot believe it! We will see the prodigy ying once again!"

    "Everyone, please calm down." Dumbledore spoke up at this moment, causing the noise to lessen. "Please ask the question in the designated order of the participants'' arrival. And only ask one question at a time."

    There was a designated order in which the reporters were supposed to ask questions. They were supposed to individually question each participant, so that no one is left out.

    ording to the order, the person they were supposed to ask the questions first was Azuma Takeshi, the captain of the Mahoutokoro team and, Axel was supposed to be thest. But after Axel''s arrival, all that had gone to shit. But now that Axel''s participation had been confirmed, they were willing to wait and save Axel forst.

    "Mr. Takeshi, what are your thoughts on Axel''s participation in the next match?" Asked one of the reporters to Azuma Takeshi, who was sitting at the Mahoutokoro table with his arms folded.

    "That low-life? I just hope he doesn''t go back on his word," said Takeshi, looking at Axel with a vicious smirk on his face.

    "Are you not intimidated by his skills and talent?"

    Takeshi looked surprised. "Of course not. His skills can only take him so far. In the unrestricted format, We''re going to destroy him."

    "Mr. Takeshi, is it true that you have a grudge against Axel due to his involvement with Akiko Matsushima?"

    Takeshi''s face hardened. "No, it''s not really a grudge, it''s more of a conflict. Given his reputation, it is clear that Axel Hunt is a scum who tries to go after girls with powerful backgrounds. This, it''s not eptable for such a person to associate with our best student. I''ve tried warning him straightforwardly but it did not work. So, I''ve decided to solve this with Quidditch," he said as he looked at Axel.

    "Axel Hunt, I challenge you. If we win the next game, you will no longer attempt to have any contact with Akiko Matsushima," he said, causing amotion in the crowd.

    "ept it!" Someone yelled.

    ""Yeah!""

    """ept it!"""

    """"ept it!""""

    """""ept it!""""

    The cameras all turned to Axel, to capture his reaction, but Axel only sat in his seat, not even sparing a nce to Takeshi. He looked bored.

    The reporters asked Takeshi a few more questions before it was Endo Yuji''s turn.

    "Mr Yuji, as the seeker of Mahoutokoro, you''re going to be facing Axel Hunt, the so-called best seeker in normal format. Do you feel pressured?"

    Yuji smiled his charming smile. "Not at all. I''ll acknowledge that Axel is skilled at normal Quidditch. But, we''re allowed to use magic. And that, changes everything," he said, as a gust of wind blew across the hall with a seal of his hands.

    ""Endo!""

    ""Endo!""

    """Endo!"""

    The Mahoutokoro students cheered for Endo who waved his hand at them in acknowledgment.

    "Endo, the word out there is that you''re very fast. How would youpare yourself with Axel?"

    Endoughed. "You''ll see on the day of the match." Endo appeared quiteposed as he answered every question professionally in the iing minute. Until...

    "Mr. Endo. You had not been shy about your crush on Martina Valentino. What would you say to her recent engagement with your opponent?"

    The smile on Endo Yuji''s face vanished. This had actually hit a nerve. Yuji''s eyes strayed towards the beautiful Martina Valentino, and found her looking at Axel even now.

    "Well, I don''t think he deserves her." That''s all Yuji said.

    Next was Patricia''s turn.

    "Miss Afonso, how do you feel about the return of your star yer?"

    Patricia smiled. "Of course I''m thrilled to have Axel back, but please do not misunderstand. He''s only back for one match," she said, surprising everyone.

    "Miss Afonso, as the captain of team Hogwarts, how are your preparations for the match?"

    Patricia smiled. "We''re giving it our all. It''s been a great learning opportunity."

    "But Patricia, is it true that Axel Hunt never trains with the rest of the team?"

    Patricia cast a faux annoyed look at Axel. "Axel? He has always done his own thing. This person only calls me Captain to mock me," she said, yfully pping Axel''s shoulder.

    "Miss Afonso, you and Axel are quite close, as evidenced by your big speech in his defense in the previous match. Is there a romantic rtionship between you two?"

    Patricia paused at that one. Even though Axel sat casually beside her, she could feel her body tense up in warning. She knew that she couldn''t y around on this, so she just smiled. "pH, I wish. Too bad he''s already engaged," she said, looking at Axel with a pout. "I''d say Martina is one lucky girl," shemented, making the crowd to hor.

    "Patricia, since Mahoutokoro''s magic is more oriented towards magic, they have the advantage. Knowing that, how confident are you about this match?"

    Patricia looked at Axel. "I trust my teammates. And I believe we will win," she said, causing the Hogwarts students to burst into cheers.

    After a few more questions, it was finally Axel''s turn. Something everyone had been waiting for.

    "Mr. Hunt, is it true that you''ve only returned for one match?"

    "Axel, what made you change your mind about your withdrawal?"

    "Axel, you didn''t used to like giving interviews, so why are you here now?"

    "Axel ¡ª"

    "Mr. Hunt ¡ª"

    On Axel''s turn, the reporters once again forgot all the rules and began bombarding him with questions.

    Axel looked at the huge crowd, and the hundreds of cameras currently pointed at him with an apathetically rxed expression. You could never tell from his casual demeanor that the whole Wizarding world was currently watching him. Raising his hand, he once again silenced the crowd.

    "One question at a time," he spoke.

    Dumbledore nodded at that. "Mr Hunt is right. Please follow the order in asking questions. Mr. Hunt is not going to disappear," he said mirthfully.

    Axel answered the very first question he was asked.

    "First of all, I haven''t ''returned'' or anything. I''m only ying the next match due to personal reasons," he spoke, causing disappointed murmurs to spread across the hall.

    "And what are these personal reasons? Would you please share with us? The Wizarding world would like to know." Someone asked.

    Axel looked at the reporter in a deadpan. "No I won''t. Those reasons are called personal for a reason, you moron," he replied, causingughter to erupt in the hall. Everyone was once again reminded: Savage Hunt doesn''t forgive wrong questions.

    "Axel, you''re known to be quite a private person. You''ve never opened up to the reporters before. Then why did you agree to attend this interview?" Someone asked, causing the noise to subside.

    Axel leaned forward to answer this one. "Due to my silence, the world has invented false information about me ording to its own convenience. I''ve never really cared about what others say about me, but now it''s causing me trouble."

    "Mr. Hunt, what are your thoughts about the challenge that was just issued by the captain of the Mahoutokoro team?"

    "Well, I''m not epting it," said Axel simply.

    "But why is that, Mr. Hunt? ording to public knowledge, you''re not intimidated to receive a challenge even from someone like the Heir to the Mikhailov family. Then why are you denying now?"

    Axel rolled his eyes as he pointed one finger at Takeshi. "Because, this guy has nothing I would want in return. It''s useless even if I win. He''s simply not worth my attention."

    Boom

    """Ooohhhhhhh""""

    Even the audience felt that burn. Takeshi''s face turned red from anger. As a direct descendant of the Great Takeshi n and wielder of Lightning Affinity, he has never suffered such humiliation before.

    "And Mr. Hunt, what would you say to Endo Yuji''s im that you do not deserve to be engaged to Martina?"

    Axel shrugged. "Well, I wouldn''t know. After all¡­ I was never engaged to her in the first ce," he said, causing the start of the chaos.

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Next: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 122: Axel Hunt: The unsung Hero

    Chapter 122: Axel Hunt: The unsung Hero

    "Well, I wouldn''t know. After all¡­ I was never engaged to Martina in the first ce," said Axel, causing chaos to suddenly erupt in the hall.

    !!!!!!

    "Wait WHAT?!"

    "Did I hear that right?!"

    "What the fuck does he mean by that?!"

    "Never engaged with Martina? Is he under a spell or something?"

    "How can he not be engaged?!"

    Everyone was absolutely bbergasted by this piece of news that came out of the left field. What was Axel saying? That he was never engaged?! It was so absurd that most of the people thought that he was on dope or something.

    "He¡­ he''s actually doing it¡­" Daphne could not believe it. She wondered if he had gone mad or something. She had wanted to believe him of course, when he said he wasn''t engaged but she didn''t to raise her hopes for nothing. But right now, he''s actually announcing it to the world. Could there still be any doubt?

    ''But¡­ why?'' That''s all she could wonder. Why was someone like Hunt going so far? Why would he renounce the engagement with a girl like Martina? And why would he invite her personally? Why would he go so far for someone like her?

    And¡­ why¡­ why was she feeling such overwhelming relief right now? Daphne didn''t know why, but a crystal clear tear slipped out of her eyes, appearing quite contrasting at her cold face. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, the reporters once again couldn''t wait for their turn as they began firing questions once again, only increasing the chaos. Patricia had a nk look on her face, as if trying to ascertain whether she heard what she heard. Even Dumbledore also turned to regard Axel with some astonishment.

    "Mr. Hunt, what did you mean by that? Can you please borate?!" Asked one of reporters.

    "Axel, the whole world knows that you''re engaged to Martina Valentino. Why are you denying it now?" Fired another.

    "Mr. Hunt, did you perhaps mean that you are no longer engaged to Martina? Does that mean that your engagement is broken?!"

    "Axel¡ª"

    "Mr. Hunt¡ª"

    And amidst all this chaos, Axel sat nonchntly in his seat. "No, you heard it right. I was never engaged to Martina. I was just used as a shield to block off the proposal of the Mikhailov Family," he exined to the staggered crowd, causing more mayhem.

    "Breaking News! Axel Hunt has just imed that his engagement with Martina was false! I repeat¡ª"

    "Witches and wizards, we have another shocking revtion¡ª"

    "What am I hearing?! Axel Hunt is actually not engaged to Martina¡ª"

    "Mr. Hunt, is your im really true? If yes, then why are you only revealing it now?"

    "Axel, is it possible that you were threatened into silence by the Valentino Family?"

    "Mr. Hunt¡ª"

    "Axel¡ª"

    The hall was once again plunged into chaos. Dumbledore had to step in yet again to calm the crowd.

    "Everyone, please calm down. Reporters, it would be much appreciated if you follow the rules," he said into the mic. Only then did some semnce of order return to the ce.

    Axel shook his head as he answered the questions. "I was not threatened into silence. I just didn''t really care at that time. But as I said, it''s causing me problems now, so I''m clearing things up. That''s all," he said with a shrug. "Oh, while I''m at it, I''d also like to make it clear that I don''t have romantic rtions with any of the girls who''ve been mentioned with me. I don''t really care about my image, but don''t damage their reputations just for petty gossip," he said, surprising everyone once again.

    What the hell? Axel Hunt, who has been known to have rtions with several high profile girls is actually iming that all that news was false? It wouldpletely change a lot of things.

    "Mr. Hunt, does that include Miss Akiko Matsushima?! If yes, then does that mean that the students of Mahoutokoro have been angry at you for no reason?!"

    Axel rolled his eyes. "Of course. But I would still crush some annoying bugs for her at the match," he said, ncing at Takeshi. "She doesn''t appreciate delusional weaklings bothering her."

    """"Ooooooooohhhh!""""

    The students of Hogwarts cheered while the students of Mahoutokoro got even more angry at Axel.

    Asuma Takeshi got so angry that he stood up from his chair. "You scum! Who are you calling delusional?!"

    Axel looked at Takeshi in confusion. "Who were you again?" He asked, causing an eruption ofughter from Hogwarts students. From beginning to end, Axel has treated Takeshi like air, and it was absolutely hrious.

    The veins on Takeshi''s forehead bulged due to extreme anger. "You''re done for," he dered, before he began forming handseals. But before he could seed, he fell unconscious, courtesy of Principal Yamazaki, who was sitting right beside him. "You are an embarrassment," said Yamazaki, shaking his head. The questioning continued while Takeshi was escorted out.

    "Mr. Hunt, but why did you go along with it?"

    Axel looked at the reporter. "You want a war between the Valentino family and Mikhailov Family?" he asked, causing the reporter to quickly shake his head in denial.

    "Me neither. That''s why I went along with it. Besides, Martina is my friend and I was also appropriatelypensated. Can we talk about something else now?"

    That was an unintentional bomb, but a bomb still. To avoid the war?! The reporters were quick to realise the implications.

    "Mr. Hunt, are you saying that you were used as a fake fiancee in order to avoid the proposal from the Mikhailov family?"

    Axel clicked his tongue. It''s really difficult. No matter what answer he gives, they will only interpret it however they like. So he just shrugged. "Noment."

    "One more question Mr. Hunt. Are you not disappointed that the engagement is not real?" Asked a daring reporter. Axel''s fake engagement was too big a topic to be glossed over just like that.

    "No, I haven''t thought about it. I''m thirteen. Let me live a little," said Axel with some annoyance.

    The reporters hesitated to ask the next question. Because none of them wanted to let this topic go, but they were afraid to anger savage Hunt.

    Though, one of the reporters seemed to have a lot of courage, or foolishness, as he asked the question in the rudest way possible.

    "But Axel, as you just said, you were used as a shield to block off potential suitors. You even fought off the heir to the Mikhailov Family for Martina. Then why is it that the engagement between the two of you can''t be real and you are just a shield?" He asked, causing murmurs to spread into the crowd.

    Axel frowned. This was getting annoying. "As I said, Martina is a friend. I was just helping her. It is also none of your business. Next." he said, skimming over the question. He would have done more, of course, but he was sitting right beside Dumbledore right now, representing Hogwarts to the whole world. Some restraint has to be exercised.

    But, before the next reporter could ask his question, the same reporter spoke up again.

    "But Mr. Hunt, my question is, why are you guys only friends? Is it because of your low background, or is it because you already have someone else you like?" He asked, causing everyone to be rmed by his question. Discussion spread everywhere, and everyone watched with bated breath what would happen next. The reporter even had the nerve to smirk at Axel, knowing that the question would be difficult to answer.

    Axel''s face went nk for a moment as he looked at the reporter with a neutral expression. His expression literally seemed to say, ''You actually wanna die? Fine, I''ll help you.''

    ''Screw restraint,'' thought Axel. The man was clearly trying to mess with him. And if Axel let him get away with it, it would only cause more reporters to get adventurous.

    The hall suddenly went quiet as everyone looked at Axel. At this moment, everyone at the Hall just knew, the reporter fucked up.

    "You wanna know about my love life?" Asked Axel, looking at the reporter with a raised eyebrow. He leaned forward to speak into the mic. "Then go ask your wife. I''m sure she knows."

    "''"""OOOOOOOOOHH!!!!"""""

    The students began making noise and all the cameras suddenly pointed at the victim reporter, who looked like he had just licked a sour lemon.

    "Savage Hunt! Hahaahahah"

    "He really destroyed the guy."

    "Damn, this guy is not scared of anything! Dumbledore is sitting right there!"

    "Yeah, even after getting canceled, he still doesn''t give a damn to the rules."

    Meanwhile, the victim reporter, who realized that he had forever be the butt of a never-ending joke, couldn''t control his anger. Especially because¡­ his wife was actually a crazy fan of Hunt. That''s the reason he was harsh in his questions. He wanted to embarrass Hunt in front of his wife.

    "You little bastard¡ª!" The reporter murmured in a low voice, drawing his wand. "Bombarda!"

    He actually fired a sting spell straight at Axel!

    Boom!

    A shield appeared in front of Axel, blocking the spell, but the pandemonium spread into the hall.

    "Oh Merlin! Witches and Wizards, a destructive spell was just fired in the Meeting Ceremony¡ª"

    "Did you guys see that?! That''s the second time Hunt angered someone to the point of hexing!"

    "Audience, it was to be said that Savage Hunt has one bloody poisonous mouth on him, and he has the balls of dragon hide. Saying what he said in front of the whole world, the controversies rted to this are going to be endless ¡ª"

    "Viewers, there it is, the Controversial Hunt! In the Meeting Ceremony, representing Hogwarts in front of the whole wizarding world, Axel Hunt has destroyed the rude reporter. But, the true savagery lies in the fact that, he can actually get away with it! If people made a fuss, Hunt might just withdraw from the next and leave us blue-balled yet again!"

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, what an amazing event this has been! In just a few minutes, Hunt managed to provoke people to the point of using magic, rejected a serious challenge, and nonchntly made jaw-dropping revaluations that we are still having difficultyprehending. Truly,ing all the way here has been absolutely worth it!"

    Overall, the ce was a mess. The reporters were speaking non-stop, the assailing reporter was being apprehended, and the students had gottenpletely rowdy. Fights were breaking out here and there.

    In such an out of control situation, Dumbledore stood up, looking as if everything was under control.

    "Everyone, I think that concludes the Meeting Ceremony. It was definitely¡­ eventful. Thank you all for joining, and I hope you are eager for the match." he said jovially.

    And like that, the meeting ceremony came to an end.

    ¡­.

    Though... even if the event had ended, but the implications had only just begun.

    Axel Hunt had gone and done so much in a single Meeting Ceremony. And now, the world had to slowly process it.

    First of all, he was actually going to be ying the next match. Only this confirmation was enough to cause massive waves in the Wizarding World. People all over the world were now looking forward to the Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro match to see Axel y.

    But that was not all. The news about Axel''s fake engagement came out as an even bigger surprise to the world. It had be a topic of massive debate and discussion, with various people putting forward their own views on the matter. And this article was the most viral.

    "AXEL HUNT: THE SHIELD"

    "Dear readers, as everyone is aware, Axel Hunt''s engagement with the Princess of the Valentino Empire has been a controversial subject. The beautiful and rich Martina Valentino has been considered the dream girl among young men all over the world. And when such a girl was engaged to someone like Axel Hunt with no family background, it seemed like an event straight out of a fairy tale. Due to this, Hunt has had to face the jealousy and hatred of the whole young wizarding poption.

    And now, it has been revealed, that the engagement was actually fake all along! Axel Hunt was just used as a shield by the Valentino Family to ward off the engagement offer from the Mikhailov family and also prevent a war.

    While the young men all over the world are celebrating the single of their dream girl Martina Valentino, we try to look at things from Hunt''s perspective. There''s no question that being engaged to Martina is like a dreame true. But Axel had to go through that dream, while knowing that it would never actuallye true.

    The ideal girl was so close to him, and yet so far. He silently took the jealousy and hatred of young men all over the world while knowing that revealing the truth might actually start a war. And that, would have been disastrous.

    The Valentino Family and Mikhailov Family... There are very few superpowers in the world that match the might to these two behemoths. And a sh between these two would have been absolutely cmitous. Thankfully, during this time, due to some mysterious circumstances, there has been a change in the leadership of the Mikhailov family, and the new leader is actually much better. Thus, a full on war has been avoided.

    It has to be noted that this might not be possible without Hunt''s contribution. So, while the young men all over the world are celebrating his loss and gloating over his misfortune, we would like to celebrate the unsung hero who prevented what could have been the biggest Wizarding War of the century."

    ¡ªThe Next Morning¡ª

    Sitting at the breakfast table, Axel blinked his eyes in bewilderment as he read this absurd article.

    "The fuck is this bullshit?" He asked.

    Theodore looked at him in confusion. "You don''t know? You''ve be the tragic hero who prevented a war. Articles and Videos like this are currently trending everywhere. The Valentino Family has confirmed what you said yesterday and thanked you for your help."

    "Really?"

    Theodore deadpanned. "Mate, look around you."

    Axel looked around. As always, people were looking at him. But this time, he noticed a difference. Everyone''s gaze was a lot friendlier, and for some reason, most of the girls were looking at him with this dreamy look mixed with pity that gave him goosebumps.

    Tracy looked at him with sympathy. "Are you alright? You kept such a secret to yourself all this time. You could have atleast told us."

    Axel raised an eyebrow. "I don''t understand. Why is everyone making a big deal out of this?"

    Theodore shrugged. "Well mate, you did fake your engagement. And the war didn''t happen. Of course everyone would be grateful."

    ''Damn¡­'' Axel bit his tongue. In the interview, when asked why he had faked the engagement, giving the real reason, which was his wand, was not an option. So he had just lied that it was to prevent the war.

    That was all bullshit.

    Actually, he didn''t give a shit whether the world was at war or not. He had just said it to dodge the question.

    In actuality, the war did not stop because of his engagement. The war actually stopped because... Axel had killed the Head of Mikhailov Family.

    ¡­

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    How did Axel end up Killing the head of Mikhailov family? Find out in the next chapter

    It''s a new month, read ahead on p¨¤treon. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 123:

    Chapter 123:

    ¡ªThe Morning After Axel''s Interview ¡ª

    Sitting at the breakfast table, Axel blinked his eyes in bewilderment as he read this absurd article.

    "The fuck is this bullshit?" He asked.

    Theodore looked at him in confusion. "You don''t know? You''ve be the tragic hero who prevented a war. Articles and Videos like this are currently trending everywhere. The Valentino Family has confirmed what you said yesterday and thanked you for your help."

    "Really?"

    Theodore deadpanned. "Mate, look around you."

    Axel looked around. As always, people were looking at him. But this time, he noticed a difference. Everyone''s gaze was a lot friendlier, and for some reason, most of the girls were looking at him with this dreamy look mixed with pity that gave him goosebumps.

    Axel raised an eyebrow. "I don''t understand. Why are they making a big deal out of this?"

    Theodore shrugged. "Well, you fake your engagement. And the war didn''t happen. Of course everyone would be grateful."

    ''Damn¡­'' Axel bit his tongue. In the interview, when asked why he had faked the engagement, giving the real reason, which was his wand, was not an option. So he had just lied that it was to prevent the war. In fact, he actually didn''t give a shit whether the world was at war or not. He had just said it to dodge the question.

    They war did not stop because of his engagement. The war actually stopped¡­ because Axel had killed the Head of Mikhailov Family.

    Sitting in the great hall, Axel was at a loss of words. Should he be clearing this misunderstanding? He felt like it would be worth it just to get rid of the weird looks he was getting from the girls. It was starting to creep him out.

    Tracy had a worried look on her face. "Though, now that it''s been revealed that Axel had been fooling the Mikhailov family, wouldn''t they try to get even?" She asked.

    Theodore shook his head. "The new leader is much more easy-going. So it''s safe to reveal it now."

    Tracy was confused. "But how did this happen? Aren''t leadership changes like this quite bloody and violent? Howe we never heard of it?"

    Theodore was also at a loss. "It''s quite a mystery. No one knows what actually happened, but one day the previous leader just died and it was announced that his brother had overtaken the position. From then on, the Mikhailov Family slowly started shutting down all of their shady businesses and started new ones."

    "Axel, you''re involved in all this, right? Do you happen to know how this happened?" Asked Tracy, turning to Axel.

    ??

    For a moment, Axel was at a loss of words. But then he just shook his head innocently. "I have no idea."

    He lied. Of course, he had a pretty good idea what had happened. After all, he was the main cause of all the changes. Though it wasn''t something he could say openly, could he? In the first ce, he hadn''t even intended to interfere more between the Valentinos and the Mikhailovs. But the extenuating circumstances forced him to step in.

    Axel recalled what had happened...

    ¡ªshback¡ª

    In the Territory of the Mikhailovs, Axel looked at the ce from a distance. He wanted no extra trouble. He just wanted to loot as much as the could and leave. He just wanted to get the resources to bring Daphne''s memories back and also dish out a little payback while at it for revealing his identity to the world.

    Of course, things didn''t go as he had nned. There are some things that you just can''t avoid.

    Axel made his way to the main castle at top speed. But on his way, when he looked at the situation around him, his footsteps unwittingly slowed down.

    There were people here. An awful lot of them.

    This ce was the ce of residence of the Mikhailovs. So, only the most important businesses were situated here.

    But then, why would they keep so many witches and wizards here? It didn''t make sense. So, Axel checked the memories he got from Maksmilian. But the part of the memories he had managed to get from Maksmilian didn''t have much information on this.

    Only when he read the minds of a few of the people here did he understand.

    Muggles...

    Or more precisely, muggle ves...

    All these people. They had been kidnapped from the Muggle world and made into ves, forced to work here under horrible conditions. Looking at their conditions, even Axel had to frown.

    But, this was just the beginning. As Axel began to make his way deeper into the Mikhailov territory and read a few more minds, things only got worse.

    Turns out, the Mikhailovs were experts at acquiring and training ves. To the point that they were the world''s biggest ve trader. There were various categories avable here. Working ves, sex ves, warrior ves, wizards, healers, potioneers... you name it. And they weren''t only used here. They were traded all over the world.

    Not only that... there are children as well.

    Axel''s fists clenched.

    It''s not like he wanted to take down one of the biggest syndicates in the world. It''s just that he began to feel that, it would be nice if this stopped.

    Really. He really didn''t want to get involved.

    Shaking his head, he made his way deeper into the ce. The Pce was quite huge and grandiose, which was not a surprise, but it did make it more difficult for Axel to maneuver around the ce. His current thoughts were to find the people at high positions as he would be able to extract the desired Intel from them.

    Reading the minds of some of the ve-drivers, he understood the gist of the situation. Currently, all this hubbub is because the Mikhailov Family is in a state of war. Due to that, the security has been tightened and preparations are being made for a war against the Valentino family. Hence the huge amount of ves.

    Nothing affected Axel though. He only needed to look for Andrei Mikhailov, the head of the Mikhailov family and read his mind to get the location of the treasury.

    But thinking is easier than implementing. The ce was huge and Axel ended up wandering around without finding any higher ups in the ce.

    Only after a while did he find out that the higher ups of the family are currently in a meeting rted to war ns.

    ....

    In a room with an extremely luxurious interior, around a dozen men and women were present, in the middle of an extremely serious discussion. This is the High Table of the Mikhailov family, the leader of the Russian syndicate, and only the most important members were allowed to attend this meeting.

    "Damn these Antians! Hiding this kind of technology¡­" muttered one of the members. The rest seemed to agree with the sentiment.

    "Well, it''s alright as long as we are allied, isn''t it?" said another person.

    "It is decided then. We will proceed with this n," dered Andrei Mikhailov, the head of the Mikhailov family. "Contact Kraken."

    And with that, the Mikhailov Family had finalized their n to deal with the Valentinos.

    But, not everyone was satisfied with the decision.

    "Wait a minute, brother." interrupted Sergei, Andrei''s brother. "Is this your n?! Blowing up the whole Valentino Territory with an Antean bomb?!" He asked incredulously.

    Andrei looked askance at his brother. "Yeah. That sums it up," he answered casually.

    "Andrei! This is beyond sinister! Even for you! I will not support this n!" Eximed Sergie, banging his fists on the table as he stood up.

    Andrei rolled his eyes at his brother. "Come on, my bratan. It''s a small price to pay if we can get rid of the Valentino Family. This is a one time opportunity."

    Sergie immediately shook his head inplete denial. "Killing so many just to get to the Valentino Family? Have you gone mad? Not to mention the price we''ll have to pay for it! Andrei, I''ve been letting you do as you please for so long. But I can''t let you do this," said Sergie resolutely. His brother was once again crossing all boundaries this time.

    Andrei scoffed. "Oh? Listening to you, people would almost believe you had a say in the matter," said Andrei, drawing a few chuckles from around the table.

    At that, Sergei pressed his lips into a line, but couldn''t refute. That was true. His influence in this family has already fallen quite low and rarely anyone ever opposes Andrei.

    "This is madness. Why doesn''t anyone say something?" Demanded Sergei, looking around the table. The gazes that were returned to him varied from contempt and mockery to empathy and even sympathy. But as expected, no one spoke anything. Because everyone at this table was either on Andrei''s side, or didn''t want to be on his opposing side.

    Even though he already didn''t expect much, Sergei was quite disappointed with the response of certain people. "Bogdan? Anton? Anatoly? Say something. Nina? You too?" He said, looking at his wife.

    Bogdan and Anton were good people, but with little power, so they only gave Sergei helpless looks.

    His wife, Nina, held significant power here,ing from an influential Russian Family herself. So he expected a bit more support from her. But his wife only shook her head, as if tired. "Stop it already, Sergie. You''re embarrassing yourself."

    Sergie looked at his wife, hurt. Granted they weren''t too close since their marriage was political, but they had still treated each other with courtesy until now.

    Sergei''s anger surged. "This is not happening on my watch."

    Andrei got serious, dropping his yful demeanor. The air around him changed as he leaned forward. "Are you rebelling? You ungrateful fucker, do you realize that you have no power here? I can kick you out of the family right now."

    Sergei paused at that, but then made his resolution.

    "Then do it. Kick me out of the family, Andrei. I can''t be a part of this anymore."

    It''s not like he hadn''t already thought about leaving a hundred times. But he had held himself back because he had been trying his best to somewhat reduce the amount of evil the Mikhailov family had been doing. But what''s the point of staying now? After today, he''s going to have no say in any matter.

    Andrei red at his brother, finally showing his anger for the first time. "You wanna leave? Then leave! No one wants you here anyway. I have tolerated your whining, I tolerated your weak minded behavior, I was even generous enough to make the conditions of the ves better on your behalf. I let you be a part of this family, even though everyone knows you don''t belong. Just because you are my brother, do you think you can do anything?!"

    Andrei leaned forward. "Let me make it clear. You are nothing without me, Sergie. We''ve thoroughly pissed the Valentinos. Erasing them is important now. And if you really want to betray the family, and oppose my decision, then fuck off. You''re no longer a part of this family!"

    Sergie didn''t say anything. He only looked at his wife. "Nina, get Lev. We''re leaving," he said, moving towards the exit. Lev was the name of their only son. He felt sorry for dragging his wife and son into this but he couldn''t bear to be a part of this evil family anymore.

    Sergie had already reached the door. Though, his wife Nina didn''t budge from her seat.

    "Nina?" He asked, feeling something amiss.

    Nina still didn''t move, only looking at him with contempt. A strange atmosphere settled into the meeting room.

    Andrei began to chuckle. "It has alreadye to this, huh?" He muttered, shaking his head. "Brother, looks like your wife won''t be leaving with you," he said, and many of the members around the table began to smirk at him.

    Sergie looked at his wife iprehensibly. "Nina?! You..." Sergei sputtered. He couldn''t understand why his wife would stay with the family if he was not going to be there.

    Andrei got up from his chair and walked behind Nina''s chair. "It''s alright, Ni. You can tell him everything," he said, putting his hands over Nina''s chair.

    Nina looked back at her husband. "I''m not going, Sergei."

    Sergei looked stunned. "What?! Why?!"

    Nina looked away from him, but her resolve was still firm. "I''m staying because¡­ Lev is the next sessor of this family." she said, drawing exmations from everyone in the room.

    But Andrei merely nodded to affirm Nina''s outrageous im. "You heard her. Lev is now my sessor."

    Sergei was stunned to hear that. He couldn''t understand what was going on. He could no longer process what was going on here. "H-How?" He stammered. Andrie was the head of the family. So of course, the sessor was also going to be his direct descendant. How can Andrei dere Sergei''s son the sessor?

    Andrei nodded at his Sergie.

    "Well brother, you''ve raised Lev well. He''s far more capable than my other sons. So, I''m thinking of making him my sessor. It''s not official yet since everyone thinks you''re the father, but I''ll make it official soon."

    "What did you say?!" Suddenly, Sergie got a very bad premonition.

    But Andrei just chuckled as he nodded. "Yep, you''re not Lev''s father, Sergie. You''re actually his uncle," he said with a benign smile as he kissed Nina in front of everyone.

    ¡­.

    "Well, what a mess¡­" muttered Axel, skulking through the cloisters of the huge castle. He had been spying on the meeting, and, putting aside all the messy drama that took ce, the things he learnt definitely made him serious.

    ''Things are real here,'' he thought, his ns shifting drastically.

    The Valentino Family and the Mikhailov Family.

    The two are one of the most powerful forces of the world. Both are giants who have had ns to swallow each other for a long time. But they have always avoided confrontation because both are equally matched and one side can''t win without getting equal damage from the other. That''s why Axel wasn''t much concerned about the whole war thingy. Even if a war starts, nothing major would happen immediately. It would be more on the level of small skirmishes and political warfare.

    But¡­

    If through some supernatural power, one can directly erase the other in one fell swoop... that is like a delicious pie that fell from the sky for the Mikhailovs.

    Axel, along with the Valentinos had never considered that possibility, and that''s why he wasn''t particrly concerned about the matters between the two families. But it seems that this unrealistic case is actually going to happen. The Kraken is going to provide the Mikhailovs with a technology that could make that possible.

    That''s why Axel can no longer be a bystander. He has changed his ns ording to the situation.

    Reaching his destination, Axel looked at a particrly eye-catching pair of gilded double doors. These actually led to the room of the owner of this ce, Andrei Mikhailov.

    But unfortunately, the door was guarded by Andrei''s men, preventing ess. Without any dy, Axel got into action.

    In front of the fancy doors, a silencing ward spread out in the area, after which the guards quickly fell one after another. Only after that did Axel be visible, covered from head to toe in a dark attire. Raising his hand, he casually knocked on the doors.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

    Read ahead and support me on P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124

    Raising his hand, he casually knocked on the doors.

    "Fuck off!" Was all heard from inside, spoken in Russian.

    "Well, I tried to be civil¡­" shrugging, Axel broke through the enchantments and kicked the door open. This is not too much for a master thief.

    Entering the door, his eyes zeroed in to Andrei Mikhailov, who was sitting on the edge of a particrly huge bed while the Sergie''s bitchy wife was kneeling on the floor, sucking his member.

    !!!

    The adulterous couple were, no doubt, shocked to see the masked Axel enter the room covered in his dark attire. Nina screamed while Andrei tried to reach for his wand while cursing.

    Though, Axel only tilted his head. "You''re a small man, Andrei." He couldn''t help butment before he stunned the pair before they could put up any resistance.

    Walking over, Axel grabbed Andrei''s head and used Legilimency. This bastard has had contacts with the Kraken. Axel prioritised finding about that above finding the resources he came here to find.

    The mind of the Leader of a syndicate as big as the Mikhailov Family was a surprisingly difficult thing to do. The amount of protection this guy had on his head was nothing to scoff at, even ording to the system''s standards. Still, Axel managed to seed after putting in some serious effort.

    As soon as Axel got into the man''s head, he knew where his son Maksmilian got all his craziness from. The things this guy has done and his thoughts are so twisted that Axel immediately wanted to get out. But of course, Axel still ruthlessly dug deeper, not caring if he damaged the guy''s head in the process.

    While searching, Axel came to realize that, even though he had always been evil, Andrei still used to be a lot more restrained in the past. Wielding too much power has caused him to slowly push past all the boundaries and unleash his true nature after realizing that he can get away with it. Now it has gotten to the point that he has so many illegal businesses and no one can actually stop him anymore.

    Finally getting to the part about the Kraken, Axel found himself majorly disappointed. There was nothing useful. All he found out was that the Kraken was nning a major move soon and they''re recruiting manpower for that.

    The guy has basically zero information on them. All contacts were initiated in a way that the Organisation didn''t reveal anything useful about themselves.

    In the end, Axel just decided to be content with the fact that his thieving mission was still a sess as he got information on all the assets of the Mikhailov family and how to steal them.

    Quickly taking out his wand, Axel did something he had wanted to try out in a while. He put the wand on Andrei''s temple and pulled, extracting a silvery white tendril of memory. But, he didn''t stop there. Controlling the link, he started to roll the wand in his hand, causing the thread of memories to be pulled non-stop from Andrei''s head and wrap around his wand. silvery white cotton candy. Soon, all the memories were extracted and the memories wrapped around his wand looked like a shining silver cotton candy which Axel secured in a jar.

    With that done, he looked down at Russia''s biggest mafia boss, thinking.

    ''What to do with him?'' he wondered.

    "Ah, fuck it," his knife shed, and Andrei''s head separated from his body, causing a fountain of blood to spread out everywhere on the bed.

    He decided to kill the bastard here and now. Can anyone me him? This guy is a certified psycho with too much power at his fingertips. He is hell bent on destroying Martina''s family, not to mention that Axel has thoroughly pissed him off by beating the shit out of his son at the Christmas party. Yep, Andrei Mikhailov is better off dead, consequences be damned. If allowed to live, this madman would definitely end up doing something that will make Axel regret letting him live.

    And thus, Andrei Mikhailov, the leader of the Russian Mafia died. Just like that.

    ¡­

    Sergie Mikhailov currentlyid in a dirty cell with a lost look on his face. He had been kicked out of his family, then thrown into prison for "betraying the family". His wife had cheated on him with his brother and the son he had been raising for ten years was not his son, but his nephew.

    He only reason he wasn''tmitting suicide was because he didn''t want die such a pathetic death. Soid there, wondering what to do now.

    But as he stared into the space, all sound suddenly ceased, followed by the guards quickly dropping one after another. The silencing ward was lifted and a figure d in ck appeared in front of Sergie.

    !

    Focus returned to Sergei''s dead eyes as he looked up at the figure. "Who¡­ are you?" He asked while sitting up.

    Ignoring the question, Axel crouched down to Sergei''s eye level.

    ''Legilimens.''

    Sergei''s mind went nk for a moment as a foreign force suddenly tore through his defences without any warnings. By the time he came to, the dark figure in front of him was already standing up again.

    Axel nodded his head to himself. "You''ll do. Here, sign this," said Axel, throwing down a piece of parchment.

    Sergei read the contents and balked. "What¡ª is this?!"

    It was detailed contract, with many uses, but it basically went like this:

    "Party A will free party B and make him the new head of the Mikhailov family. In return, party B will try their best to fulfill whatever demands party A has."

    Sergei was quite gobsmacked by the ridiculous conditions written on the contract.

    "It''s a simple contract. Just sign it and I''ll make you ruler of this ce. Make your decision quick. I don''t have time."

    Sergei began shaking his head. "This is like a ve contract. I cannot sign it without knowing you. Not to mention I don''t believe you can even make me the ruler of this ce." Saying so, he tried to return the contract back to Axel.

    "I''m sorry, but you shouldn''t be wasting your time here. I appreciate your efforts but please leave. The guards would be arriving soon."

    Axel was a bit exasperated by Sergei''s words. He didn''t have time for this. A severed head appeared in his hand. "Still don''t believe me?"

    Sergei fell back on his butt as he stared at the head of his brother in horror. "You¡­ this¡­ is that real?!"

    Undoing all the enchantments, Axel cut down the bars and let the head roll in. "Check for yourself. And now listen to your options. Sign the contract or die."

    "If sign the contract, I''ll kill all of Andrei''s supporters and make you the de facto ruler and leave you to your job. Even if you''re my ve, you can still do everything you''ve always wanted. You can free the ves, stop all bad businesses, whatever. My demands won''t be much, as my main goal was to kill that psycho before he destroyed half of Italy."

    "On the other hand, if you do not ept the contract, well, I''ll still get what I want and leave. When everyone realizes Andrei is dead, chaos will ensue as everyone fights to be the leader. You''ll, of course, be killed by them since you are powerless and next in session."

    "So, what will be your choice?"

    ¡­

    ¡ªshback end¡ª

    So, this is what happened in Russia. Currently, Sergie Mikhailov is ruling the Mikhailov Family. No doubt, signing the contract had been the best decision he has ever made in his life. He has been making subtle changes in every field of the family business, gradually shifting the Mikhailov family away from crime while also retaining it''s power so that other forces do not take over. Of course, peace had already been made with the Valentinos and two families won''t be fighting any time soon. After all, the Mikhailov Godfather was Axel''s ve.

    "Axel? AXEL?"

    Axel realized that he had phased out for a moment, thinking about the events. "Yeah? What were you saying?" He asked Theodore, who shook him out of his reverie.

    "I asked if you were not bothered by all the attention you''re getting tonight. You look a bit out of it."

    Axel just shook his head. "Nah, I''m fine." He looked over at the Ravenw table, searching for Daphne. He found her sitting among a group of girls, both older and younger, all who quickly perked up upon seeing him looking over. But Daphne, on the other hand, seemed determined not to look at him.

    ''What''s up with her?''

    After losing all of her memories of him, through thebination of media gossips and rumors, she had gotten the impression that he was some womanizer having rtions with multiple women. He had hoped he''d finally be able to be close to her now that he had cleared everything up to her but clearly that did not seem to be the case right now.

    As he ate his breakfast, Axel realized that Daphne seemed to be getting really annoyed with something after which, she just got up and stormed out of the great hall.

    ¡­

    Daphne Greengrass was feeling downright awful right now.

    First of all, she had no idea that the real reason for Axel''s silence would be soplicated. She had simply thought that Axel was lying to her about his engagement being fake. Why else would he keep his silence to the whole world? But, she had no idea just how wrong she had been.

    His engagement with Martina was indeed fake. And the reason he had been silent about it was because it could have started a war. Now Daphne felt absolutely mortified to think he was just a scumbag who would go after rich girls.

    Though, that wasn''t the only reason for her bad mood.

    "Hey! I think he just looked here!"

    "Really?! Oh no! Is my make up alright?"

    "Get lost! As if he would be swayed by looks."

    "That''s true¡­"

    "Hey, Daphne, you used to be quite close to him, right? Any clue about what kind of girl he likes?" Asked Cho Chang, bringing Daphne out of her brooding thoughts.

    Daphne frowned. This was the other thing that was bothering her. She''s currently sitting among a group of Ravenw girls, both older and younger, and all of them can''t stop talking about Axel.

    Ever since the interview, the amount of annoying flies targeting Axel had suddenly increased. It''s not like he didn''t use to attract a fair share of female attention before this, but now, the situation is worse.

    "What in Merlin''s name is up with you guys? Why are you all suddenly so interested in him?" Daphne couldn''t help but grumble.

    "What''s wrong with that? He''s no longer engaged, isn''t he? That means he''s fair game," said one of the older girls, throwing a predatory look at Axel.

    "I think it''s understandable," said Penelope Clearwater, a fifth year girl, analyzing the situation neutrally. "Axel Hunt has always been popr among girls due to his looks and unique bad-boy attitude. Also, being an athlete, he looks quite older for his age due to his physique. The only reason the girls had been keeping their distance from him was due his bad reputation and existing rtionship with multiple high profile girls. But now it''s been revealed all of that were just rumors," she summarized. "Though, even I don''t understand why the difference is so huge," she said thoughtfully.

    "Clearwater, not everything is numbers and logic," said one of the girls disdainfully.

    "Yes, just think about it. We thought he was some womanizer who already has a fiance¨¦. But turns out, he was only being used as a shield to block off another proposal. How tragic is that?"

    "It is, isn''t it? He even went so far as to duel the heir of the Mikhailov family and yet, he was only used as a shield. He didn''t even tell anyone about it, even though he got the hatred of so many people."

    "Such a guy¡­ He''s a keeper, isn''t he?"

    "Yeah! He might be broken, and damaged, but I''m sure I could fix him."

    "Exactly!"

    That was it. Daphne couldn''t take it anymore. Getting up, she walked out of the Great Hall in a hurry. If she stayed any longer she might actually kill someone.

    Feeling incredibly gloomy, she was no longer in the mood to attend any sses. With nowhere to go, her feet ended up taking her to the only ce she could find peace, the Greenhouse.

    "Those bitches!" She fumed to herself. Daphne didn''t know why, but she felt extremely ufortable when she heard those girls talking about Axel like that. It felt as if she had lost something that only belonged to her until now.

    "Those bitches!" She fumed to herself. Daphne didn''t know why, but she felt extremely ufortable when she heard those girls talking about Axel like that. It felt as if she had lost something that only belonged to her until now.

    Distressed, she once again went to the same ce she always goes. The Greenhouse. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the air of the greenhouse, mixed with the fragrance of different species of magical flora and instantly felt much calmer.

    At this moment, the sound of a second pair of footsteps echoed in the greenhouse, causing her to look over. Her eyes widened as she involuntarily stepped back. "What are you doing here?!"

    ....

 Chapter 125:

    Chapter 125:

    Raising his hand, he casually knocked on the doors.

    "Fuck off!" Was all heard from inside, spoken in Russian.

    "Well, I tried to be civil¡­" shrugging, Axel broke through the enchantments and kicked the door open. This is not too much for a master thief.

    Entering the door, his eyes zeroed in to Andrei Mikhailov, who was sitting on the edge of a particrly huge bed while the Sergie''s bitchy wife was kneeling on the floor, sucking his member.

    !!!

    The adulterous couple were, no doubt, shocked to see the masked Axel enter the room covered in his dark attire. Nina screamed while Andrei tried to reach for his wand while cursing.

    Though, Axel only tilted his head. "You''re a small man, Andrei." He couldn''t help butment before he stunned the pair before they could put up any resistance.

    Walking over, Axel grabbed Andrei''s head and used Legilimency. This bastard has had contacts with the Kraken. Axel prioritised finding about that above finding the resources he came here to find.

    The mind of the Leader of a syndicate as big as the Mikhailov Family was a surprisingly difficult thing to do. The amount of protection this guy had on his head was nothing to scoff at, even ording to the system''s standards. Still, Axel managed to seed after putting in some serious effort.

    As soon as Axel got into the man''s head, he knew where his son Maksmilian got all his craziness from. The things this guy has done and his thoughts are so twisted that Axel immediately wanted to get out. But of course, Axel still ruthlessly dug deeper, not caring if he damaged the guy''s head in the process.

    While searching, Axel came to realize that, even though he had always been evil, Andrei still used to be a lot more restrained in the past. Wielding too much power has caused him to slowly push past all the boundaries and unleash his true nature after realizing that he can get away with it. Now it has gotten to the point that he has so many illegal businesses and no one can actually stop him anymore.

    Finally getting to the part about the Kraken, Axel found himself majorly disappointed. There was nothing useful. All he found out was that the Kraken was nning a major move soon and they''re recruiting manpower for that.

    The guy has basically zero information on them. All contacts were initiated in a way that the Organisation didn''t reveal anything useful about themselves.

    In the end, Axel just decided to be content with the fact that his thieving mission was still a sess as he got information on all the assets of the Mikhailov family and how to steal them.

    Quickly taking out his wand, Axel did something he had wanted to try out in a while. He put the wand on Andrei''s temple and pulled, extracting a silvery white tendril of memory. But, he didn''t stop there. Controlling the link, he started to roll the wand in his hand, causing the thread of memories to be pulled non-stop from Andrei''s head and wrap around his wand. silvery white cotton candy. Soon, all the memories were extracted and the memories wrapped around his wand looked like a shining silver cotton candy which Axel secured in a jar.

    With that done, he looked down at Russia''s biggest mafia boss, thinking.

    ''What to do with him?'' he wondered.

    "Ah, fuck it," his knife shed, and Andrei''s head separated from his body, causing a fountain of blood to spread out everywhere on the bed.

    He decided to kill the bastard here and now. Can anyone me him? This guy is a certified psycho with too much power at his fingertips. He is hell bent on destroying Martina''s family, not to mention that Axel has thoroughly pissed him off by beating the shit out of his son at the Christmas party. Yep, Andrei Mikhailov is better off dead, consequences be damned. If allowed to live, this madman would definitely end up doing something that will make Axel regret letting him live.

    And thus, Andrei Mikhailov, the leader of the Russian Mafia died. Just like that.

    ¡­

    Sergie Mikhailov currentlyid in a dirty cell with a lost look on his face. He had been kicked out of his family, then thrown into prison for "betraying the family". His wife had cheated on him with his brother and the son he had been raising for ten years was not his son, but his nephew.

    He only reason he wasn''tmitting suicide was because he didn''t want die such a pathetic death. Soid there, wondering what to do now.

    But as he stared into the space, all sound suddenly ceased, followed by the guards quickly dropping one after another. The silencing ward was lifted and a figure d in ck appeared in front of Sergie.

    !

    Focus returned to Sergei''s dead eyes as he looked up at the figure. "Who¡­ are you?" He asked while sitting up.

    Ignoring the question, Axel crouched down to Sergei''s eye level.

    ''Legilimens.''

    Sergei''s mind went nk for a moment as a foreign force suddenly tore through his defences without any warnings. By the time he came to, the dark figure in front of him was already standing up again.

    Axel nodded his head to himself. "You''ll do. Here, sign this," said Axel, throwing down a piece of parchment.

    Sergei read the contents and balked. "What¡ª is this?!"

    It was detailed contract, with many uses, but it basically went like this:

    "Party A will free party B and make him the new head of the Mikhailov family. In return, party B will try their best to fulfill whatever demands party A has."

    Sergei was quite gobsmacked by the ridiculous conditions written on the contract.

    "It''s a simple contract. Just sign it and I''ll make you ruler of this ce. Make your decision quick. I don''t have time."

    Sergei began shaking his head. "This is like a ve contract. I cannot sign it without knowing you. Not to mention I don''t believe you can even make me the ruler of this ce." Saying so, he tried to return the contract back to Axel.

    "I''m sorry, but you shouldn''t be wasting your time here. I appreciate your efforts but please leave. The guards would be arriving soon."

    Axel was a bit exasperated by Sergei''s words. He didn''t have time for this. A severed head appeared in his hand. "Still don''t believe me?"

    Sergei fell back on his butt as he stared at the head of his brother in horror. "You¡­ this¡­ is that real?!"

    Undoing all the enchantments, Axel cut down the bars and let the head roll in. "Check for yourself. And now listen to your options. Sign the contract or die."

    "If sign the contract, I''ll kill all of Andrei''s supporters and make you the de facto ruler and leave you to your job. Even if you''re my ve, you can still do everything you''ve always wanted. You can free the ves, stop all bad businesses, whatever. My demands won''t be much, as my main goal was to kill that psycho before he destroyed half of Italy."

    "On the other hand, if you do not ept the contract, well, I''ll still get what I want and leave. When everyone realizes Andrei is dead, chaos will ensue as everyone fights to be the leader. You''ll, of course, be killed by them since you are powerless and next in session."

    "So, what will be your choice?"

    ¡­

    ¡ªshback end¡ª

    So, this is what happened in Russia. Currently, Sergie Mikhailov is ruling the Mikhailov Family. No doubt, signing the contract had been the best decision he has ever made in his life. He has been making subtle changes in every field of the family business, gradually shifting the Mikhailov family away from crime while also retaining it''s power so that other forces do not take over. Of course, peace had already been made with the Valentinos and two families won''t be fighting any time soon. After all, the Mikhailov Godfather was Axel''s ve.

    "Axel? AXEL?"

    Axel realized that he had phased out for a moment, thinking about the events. "Yeah? What were you saying?" He asked Theodore, who shook him out of his reverie.

    "I asked if you were not bothered by all the attention you''re getting tonight. You look a bit out of it."

    Axel just shook his head. "Nah, I''m fine." He looked over at the Ravenw table, searching for Daphne. He found her sitting among a group of girls, both older and younger, all who quickly perked up upon seeing him looking over. But Daphne, on the other hand, seemed determined not to look at him.

    ''What''s up with her?''

    After losing all of her memories of him, through thebination of media gossips and rumors, she had gotten the impression that he was some womanizer having rtions with multiple women. He had hoped he''d finally be able to be close to her now that he had cleared everything up to her but clearly that did not seem to be the case right now.

    As he ate his breakfast, Axel realized that Daphne seemed to be getting really annoyed with something after which, she just got up and stormed out of the great hall.

    ¡­

    Daphne Greengrass was feeling downright awful right now.

    First of all, she had no idea that the real reason for Axel''s silence would be soplicated. She had simply thought that Axel was lying to her about his engagement being fake. Why else would he keep his silence to the whole world? But, she had no idea just how wrong she had been.

    His engagement with Martina was indeed fake. And the reason he had been silent about it was because it could have started a war. Now Daphne felt absolutely mortified to think he was just a scumbag who would go after rich girls.

    Though, that wasn''t the only reason for her bad mood.

    "Hey! I think he just looked here!"

    "Really?! Oh no! Is my make up alright?"

    "Get lost! As if he would be swayed by looks."

    "That''s true¡­"

    "Hey, Daphne, you used to be quite close to him, right? Any clue about what kind of girl he likes?" Asked Cho Chang, bringing Daphne out of her brooding thoughts.

    Daphne frowned. This was the other thing that was bothering her. She''s currently sitting among a group of Ravenw girls, both older and younger, and all of them can''t stop talking about Axel.

    Ever since the interview, the amount of annoying flies targeting Axel had suddenly increased. It''s not like he didn''t use to attract a fair share of female attention before this, but now, the situation is worse.

    "What in Merlin''s name is up with you guys? Why are you all suddenly so interested in him?" Daphne couldn''t help but grumble.

    "What''s wrong with that? He''s no longer engaged, isn''t he? That means he''s fair game," said one of the older girls, throwing a predatory look at Axel.

    "I think it''s understandable," said Penelope Clearwater, a fifth year girl, analyzing the situation neutrally. "Axel Hunt has always been popr among girls due to his looks and unique bad-boy attitude. Also, being an athlete, he looks quite older for his age due to his physique. The only reason the girls had been keeping their distance from him was due his bad reputation and existing rtionship with multiple high profile girls. But now it''s been revealed all of that were just rumors," she summarized. "Though, even I don''t understand why the difference is so huge," she said thoughtfully.

    "Clearwater, not everything is numbers and logic," said one of the girls disdainfully.

    "Yes, just think about it. We thought he was some womanizer who already has a fiance¨¦. But turns out, he was only being used as a shield to block off another proposal. How tragic is that?"

    "It is, isn''t it? He even went so far as to duel the heir of the Mikhailov family and yet, he was only used as a shield. He didn''t even tell anyone about it, even though he got the hatred of so many people."

    "Such a guy¡­ He''s a keeper, isn''t he?"

    "Yeah! He might be broken, and damaged, but I''m sure I could fix him."

    "Exactly!"

    That was it. Daphne couldn''t take it anymore. Getting up, she walked out of the Great Hall in a hurry. If she stayed any longer she might actually kill someone.

    Feeling incredibly gloomy, she was no longer in the mood to attend any sses. With nowhere to go, her feet ended up taking her to the only ce she could find peace, the Greenhouse.

    "Those bitches!" She fumed to herself. Daphne didn''t know why, but she felt extremely ufortable when she heard those girls talking about Axel like that. It felt as if she had lost something that only belonged to her until now.

    Distressed, she once again went to the same ce she always goes. The Greenhouse. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the air of the greenhouse, mixed with the fragrance of different species of magical flora and instantly felt much calmer.

    At this moment, the sound of a second pair of footsteps echoed in the greenhouse, causing her to look over. Her eyes widened as she involuntarily stepped back. "What are you doing here?!"

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

    Read ahead on P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

 Chapter 126: Match Begins

    Chapter 126: Match Begins

    Daphne looked at Axel, who suddenly appeared in front of her in rm. This was the second time they had met like this out of nowhere, and the second time had nearly had her heart jump out of her throat.

    "What are you doing here?!" She had blurted out in surprise.

    Daphne considered running away. She was in a bad mood right now. She was angry, mostly with herself. And confused. She had always considered Axel a scumbag and womanizer. But it turned out that she had only been making wrong assumptions.

    "What I''m doing here?"

    Axel looked at her with his hands inside pockets. "Just¡­ enjoying the Greenery?"

    "?!"

    ''What''s that supposed to mean when you''re only looking at me?!'' Eximed Daphne in her mind.

    "You saw the interview?" Asked Axel, making Daphne roll her eyes.

    "Is there anyone who didn''t? Of course I saw it."

    "Well?" Axel looked at her intently, as if expecting something.

    Daphne started. What does he want?

    Axel rolled his eyes. "Do you still remember thest time we were here?"

    Daphne''s eyes widened. Thest time they were here, Axel had actually asked her to be his friend. But the stupid her, who still thought he was a scumbag going after multiple women, had rudely rejected him in a moment of fluster. She had even called him a scumbag to his face and ran.

    Now that she recalled the event, Daphne wanted to nt herself in the soil and die. She didn''t think Axel would keep it in mind and even mention it now.

    "That... I am really sorry. I waspletely wrong about you. I feel terribly ashamed of myself ¡ª" Daphne began apologizing but Axel raised his hand with a frown, stopping her.

    "The fuck are you doing? Daphne Greengrass is apologizing? Something is really wrong with you."

    ?

    Daphne looked at the guy in front of her in bewilderment. If he didn''t want an apology then why did he even mention it in the first ce?

    Seeing her bewildered look, Axel sighed in annoyance. "I just want to know if doing that was enough to clear away all your misunderstandings. Just to make it clear to you, I don''t have that kind of rtionship with any girl. And neither will I be free enough to have one in the foreseeable future," he said straightforwardly, putting his hands on her shoulders for emphasis.

    It was pretty important for Axel to clear things now. Or this girl might once again get needlessly hurt after misunderstanding she hears more rumors.

    "Daphne. Do youpletely believe it now? Or do I need to have the girls talk to you? Martina, Akiko, Patricia, and others, whoever they are. They''d say the same. Get it?"

    Daphne''s eyes were shaking. Inexplicable emotions were running through her when she heard him say all that. She really hadn''t been able to believe it. Even after the interview. She just didn''t want to have hope, only to see it dashed when he ended up with someone elseter.

    But right now, when she looked into his eyes, somehow, she could tell. That whatever he was saying, it was all true. "I believe it," she said in a small, shaky voice.

    "But¡­ why?" She asked. Now, only one thing clouded her mind. Why? Why did it matter to her so much? Why was she so relieved right now? Why were tears running down her eyes, and¡­ why¡­ why the hell did he care enough to go so far for her?

    But when she tried to remember why, all she could get in return was emptiness and pain.

    Looking at the confused and crying Daphne who had finally believed in him, for a moment, for the first time in a long while, Axel''s face softened. He stepped closer and wrapped her in a hug. "Why?" He mumbled, his mouth very close to her ear. "Because I don''t want you to suffer because of me again. Just¡­ don''t try to think about it," that was all he could say for now.

    It was rare for Axel to even initiate physical contact, andpletely inconceivable to actually hug someone on his own initiative. But this time, he did. He just felt really bad seeing her struggling with her memories and feelings all because of him.

    And somehow, it actually helped. As soon as she was embraced, Daphne froze. The pain and confusion she was feeling was suddenly gone, only leaving an incredible feeling of warmth and safety. Daphne felt blissful. Her body, which was all tense, slowly rxed into Axel''s embrace.

    "Are you alright now?" Asked Axel after a while.

    ??? Daphne came to her senses as she realized that she was tightly hugging Axel right now with her face buried in his chest. And she barely knew him!

    Daphne panicked.

    "I¡­ I need to leave," she said, separating from him with extreme effort and hurrying to leave the ce.

    "Oi!" Axel called out to her, making her stop.

    "Can we be friends already?" He asked in exasperation. "I did a whole fucking interview for you."

    Even with her face burning, a smile came to her face as she shook her head. But then turned around and looked at the guy. Even though she couldn''t remember it, she had heard that they used to be close. He''s currently the most popr guy at Hogwarts while she''s just another witch. Merlin knows what he even sees in her. But if that''s what he wants, then. "Fine, I''ll be your friend."

    Saying so, she ran away.

    Axel watched her go, but did not stop her. He had made progress. He had cleared up all future misunderstandings with her. He shouldn''t be too greedy. He can''t just instantly have their old rtion back.

    Besides, what can he even do after getting their friendship back? He can''t really be seen together with her, not with the Kraken as his enemy.

    ¡­.

    Days passed uneventfully at Hogwarts. But the atmosphere was volcanic. The anticipation for the Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro match was almost palpable throughout the castle. And Axel couldn''t go anywhere without having students of Hogwarts cheering for him left and right.

    The magi-hive was also filled with discussion and spections about the match, with each side having a lot of support.

    Axel was currently the most skilled Quidditch yer in the world. He was skilled to the point that he could decide the oue of the match by himself, no matter what. That is to say, if he were to y the Quidditch World Cup, he would win the Quidditch World Cup.

    And such a yer had dered that this would be hisst match.

    That''s why, people from all over the world were eager to watch thisst match.

    ¡ªThe day of the match¡ª

    ¡ªSlytherin Changing room¡ª

    The atmosphere in the room was quite heavy. The whole world was going to have their eyes on this match, and they were going to represent Hogwarts. The cheering of the audience was so loud that they could hear it even from the changing room.

    With such a situation, there was no way they wouldn''t feel pressured. Everyone appeared nervous. Even Patricia didn''t seem her usual confident self. Well, everyone except for a certain indifferent guy.

    "Aren''t you nervous?" Asked one of his teammates, attracting everyone''s attention.

    Axel shrugged. "What''s there to be nervous about? Why do you guys look so edgy?" He asked casually, putting on his gear. If they went out looking like this they would make him look bad.

    His teammates looked at him incredulously.

    "You¡ª"

    "You''re asking us that after getting us into all this?"

    They were all speechless. Axel was the main reason they were all nervous.

    He was the one who won all the matches with overwhelming scores, causing them to have a match against another school.

    He is the one who disyed overwhelming skills, causing the schools to change the format to [Unrestricted] so that Mahoutokoro would stand a chance against them.

    Then he pissed off more than half the students of Mahoutokoro, causing them to put together their most offensive team for the match.

    And, he is also the reason why such a huge number of audience is going to watch their match.

    And now, the guy himself, lookingpletely unconcerned, had the gall to ask why they were all nervous.

    Patricia raised her hand, calming down her teammates who were about to erupt. She just looked at Axel. "How confident are you?" That''s all she inquired.

    Axelughed as he took off his tshirt in order to change into his Jersey. His sculpted muscles were revealed, covered with various types of scars. It showed that he had been through far more than they could imagine.

    "I just need to think how much I have to hold back," he said, putting out his jersey which read

    "Hogwarts"

    "7"

    "Hunt"

    Tension drained from Patricia''s shoulders. She trusted himpletely. If he said he was confident, then they were winning. She nodded at him. "We''ll help you hold back as much as we can."

    Patricia turned to look at her teammates. "Alright, you heard him. Leave the points to him. We would just handle the spell casting. We will be Axel''s shield. I know I might not have picked up the best Quidditch yers, but each of you are a capable witch or wizard! Let''s show them that Hogwarts Magic is not inferior to Mahoutokoro''s magic!"

    """Yes!"""

    With that the whole team was fired up.

    ....

    "WITCHES AND WIZARDS WATCHING FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD¡­ THE DAY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! WELCOME¡­ TO THE MOST AWAITED MATCH OF THE YEAR!!!

    *CHEEEERSS*

    "I am internationalmentator Lee Jordan, and I have with me, The Captains of English and Japanese Quidditch teams, Travis Davison and Jin Dai, who have graciously epted our offer tomentate on this match!"

    There was another apuse for the two captains of the two international teams. The presence of the two yers was a testament to the level of attention this match was garnering.

    "Thanks, Lee," said Travis. "But I have to say, it is instead our fortune to get the opportunity to spectate this match from here and express our views, right Jin?" Said Travis enthusiastically.

    Jin, who had a dignified look and shaved head, nodded seriously. "You are right, Travis san. I need to see him y in person.

    "Of course, witches and wizards, the one Jin is referring to is none other than Hogwarts'' seeker, Axel Hunt!" Said Lee, drawing another, bigger cheer from the crowd. "Travis, I have to ask, and the viewers want to know, what are your thoughts about Hunt? He is currently being termed as the best seeker in the world. What do you have to say about that?"

    Travis chuckled. "Well, let me tell you Lee, the skills are very much real. You have to give credit where it is due. And in my whole professional Quidditch career, I have never seen anyone even remotely close to the boy''s level. So, I don''t care whether he is actually the best in the world or not. I only have this to say: Axel Hunt, the English team is going to Hunt for you until you join us!"

    "OH! So that is what Mr. Davison has to say about Hunt. Axel, you better watch out! You might not be able to retire just yet!"

    "What do you guys think the oue of today''s match will be? Who will win?"

    "Well, this is where things get interesting," said Travis. "In a normal format, my money would have definitely been on Hunt. But since this is the unrestricted format, that changes things. Hunt is in his second year, so we can''t expect much magic from him. And to outfly Mahoutokoro while defending against their magic¡­ the result is unpredictable."

    "Axer Hunt can not win. We have powerfur magic," said Jin.

    "So, those were the opinions of our two experts. But we can find out the result for ourselves! Let''s call out the teams!"

    "First, representing Mahoutokoro School of Ninshu and Ninjutsu, under the leadership of captain Asuma Takeshi, Team Mahoutokoro!"

    Under intense cheers, Team Mahoutokoro flew out from one corner, looking quite intimidating, which was not surprising since they were all ninjas. They all flew in a formation, with Takeshi in the middle, performing stunts for the audience.

    "And now, the home team, representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under the Leadership of Captain Patricia Afonso, Team Slytherin!"

    !!!!!

    This time, the cheers were deafening. Everyone''s eyes were transfixed on the entrance as one by one, the Slytherin yers flew out, led by Patricia and performed the tricks they had prepared. Too bad, the apuse slowly died down. They couldn''t see Axel among the yers!

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Next: High Mobility Duel

    read ahead: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 127: High Mobility Duel

    Chapter 127: High Mobility Duel

    "Nope. Not doing it." Axel tly rejected Patricia''s request for making a showy entrance with everyone. Again. For the love of magic, why would the girl even think that Axel would take part in something like that?

    Patricia sighed, seeming not expecting much. "Well, one can at least hope. You know, our fans would have been thrilled to see you make a shy entrance, or show off some tricks."

    Axel deadpanned. "Do I look like I care? Besides, they''ll get plenty to watch when I destroy Mahoutokoro."

    At this moment, thementators made the announcement, which was the cue for them to enter. Patricia pped her hands.

    "Alright, everyone. Do the entrance as we nned. Axel... do whatever you want." With that they were off, wands in hands, with Patricia in leader.

    Axel shrugged, also about to enter, but he nced behind and stopped. "Why are you here?"

    The one who revealed herself from the invisibility cloak was none other than Rose Potter, who was startled upon being discovered. "H-How did you detect me?"

    Axel clicked his tongue. "You''re too sloppy, that''s how. And you still haven''t answered why you''re here," he reminded her, starting to walk out. It was time.

    "Wait!" Rose followed him. "You... are you sure you will be alright?" Rose couldn''t wrap her head around why Axel was ying this match. He was in second year for Merlin''s sake. Even she, as a Gryffindor wouldn''t y in a match like this where those dangerous and angry ninjas are allowed magic.

    Axel smirked. "So, you''re worried about me? Is that it?"

    Veins popped on Rose''s forehead. "You... who''s worried about you?! I... fine! Go ahead! Why did I even bother?!" She eximed, stomping away.

    Axel nodded his head. This was a bit fun. "Hey," he called out, making her stop. "Just watch. I''ll show you how to truly ''fly''," he said, making her widen her eyes. With that, he was off.

    ...

    Outside, the stadium, which had been extended to International standards was fully packed. A mix of Wizards and Shinobis had filled the ce till thest person. Various banners could be seen waving in the stands in support of both teams.

    Right now, whether it was Mahoutokoro supporters or Hogwarts supporters, both were making amotion since they couldn''t see Axel among the Hogwarts yers.

    Just when everyone was getting worried, a silver-green blur shot out from the Slytherin Entrance, making everyone stand up and yell like crazy.

    "AND HE''S HERE! WITCHES AND WIZARDS, THE GAME IS ONNN!!!"

    "SAVAGE HUNT!"

    "SAVAGE HUNT!"

    "SAVAGE HUNT!"

    The crowd made so much noise that it couldn''t be matched by the entrance of both the teambined.

    Axel came to a halt in the middle of the pitch, hovering in the air, surrounded by his teammates. Facing him was the Mahoutokoro team, all of their eyes focused specifically on him.

    Patricia breathed a sigh of relief upon his arrival. "You had me panicked for a moment," she whispered.

    "Well, I can''t bail on this match even if I want to," he answered back.

    Asuma Takeshi, the captain of Mahoutokoro, red at him from the other side. "You should have stayed inside, Hunt," he said dangerously.

    Axel nced at him. "Oh, you''re here? Your Headmaster called you an embarrassment after you feinted at the interview. Thought you should know..." he informed helpfully.

    Takeshi almost rushed Axel again, but Enzo stopped him. "Just let the match start. Then we''ll answer."

    Madam Hooch flew out of both the teams'' firing range. "This is madness," she muttered, imagining the fight that would start as soon as she blew the whistle.

    "This is the unrestricted format," she announced in a sonorous voice. "The only rule is that life threatening spells are forbidden. There will be no substitution. If your teammate is down, you y with the ones you have. Am I clear?" She asked, getting nods from both sides. "Get ready!"

    "Everyone, prepare the spells!" said Takeshi as lightning shed in his hands which were already forming hand seals. Everyone else in the team Mahoutokoro also readied their magic.

    ''Damn...'' Axel was a bit rmed. These guys meant business. They were loading up the hand seals so that it''s instant casting as soon as the match starts.

    "Everyone, prepare the shields," said Patricia, raising her wand as well.

    Axel sighed, looking at the two sides ring at each other. As someone who had already killed many, all this intensity. "Guys, can we not do this more peacefully?" He asked.

    "What? Are you scared of us now?" provoked Takeshi, who had a serious grudge with him due to what happened at the interview. Axel had made him so mad that he had ended up making a fool of himself.

    Axel just shrugged. "Well, I''m just saying that I, for one, don''t need to use such methods. I have better ways to win this match."

    This only fired them up further, with both sides ring at each other more.

    "Woah, look at the aggression! Is this really a Quidditch match or a duel?" Asked Jordan from thementary box looking at the situation.

    Travisughed. "Unrestricted format Quidditch is nothing but a vicious fight disguised as a Quidditch match. That''s what makes it so interesting. We also call it a high mobility duel."

    "Ohhhh! The fight while flying at that speed... I can''t wait for it to start!"

    At this moment, Madam Hooch blew the whistle, starting the match. And.... chaos began.

    At least that''s what it looked like. Team Mahoutokoro fired their best magic straight at Axel, and Team Hogwarts put out the best shields they had practiced in front of them. Fire, water, lightning, rocks, wind, everything was used.

    *BOOM*

    The resultant impact blew both the team backwards out of sheer force.

    "WHAT THE HELL AM I SEEING?! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT AN EXPLOSIVE START TO THE MATCH!!!! I can feel the impact even from here in thementary box! eximed Jordan.

    "Mahoutokoro is Hunting for Hunt while Hogwarts is shielding him to the best of their ability. They didn''t even pay any attention to the Bludger, Quaffle or snitch," said Travis

    "Hunt is the main piece in the game. Once he''s taken out, it''s a win for Mahoutokoro." said Jin.

    Everyone had their eyes glued on the site, trying to see what happened. As the magic cleared, they saw that the Hogwarts students had somehow withstood the impact, though they didn''te out unscathed.

    But...

    Something wasn''t right.

    "Where''s Hunt?!"

    Yep, the centre of the storm, the main target of attack and defence, Axel... was nowhere to be seen.

    Everyone started looking around. Even the cameras which were supposed to be projecting were frantically moving left and right. Hell, even his teammates who were protecting him didn''t see what happened due to the blinding spellworks.

    """...."""

    Both the team paused. Axel had disappeared. The Slytherins didn''t know what to do without him, and the ninjas only had Axel as their threat. There was a moment of awkwardness between the two who looked at each other.

    The stalemate was finally broken when Madam Hooch blew the whistle, attracting everyone''s attention.

    "What the¡ª?!"

    "H-How...?"

    Exmations were made all around at that moment.

    Hovering right beside Madam Hooch, was Axel... With the golden snitch in his hand...

    "WHAT AM I SEEING?! HUNT HAS ALREADY CAUGHT THE SNITCH! MERLIN! DID ANYONE SEE HOW HE DID IT?!"

    "This... " Jin was even more stunned than most people. Because he couldprehend more precisely what had happened. ''But how?!.'' He thought.

    While the whole Mahoutokoro team was hell bent on taking out Hunt, he was actually able to rather focus on the snitch.

    Travis was also simrly shocked.

    "Damn it.... while other seekers can''t even catch the snitch under normal circumstances..." he didn''t need to finish his sentence.

    While others can''t catch the snitch even under normal circumstances, Hunt was somehow able to catch it WHILE he was facing an all out barrage like that.

    At this moment, something else happened.

    "Oh no, oh no, and Patricia has taken this moment to pick up the Quaffle! Mahoutokoro yers try to stop her... but it''s toote! PATRICIA SCORES!!! Hogwarts in lead 60 to 0!"

    Patricia had once again taken the opportunity to score while everyone''s attention was focused on Axel. The Hogwarts'' supporters were cheering like mad while there was aplete silence at the Mahoutokoro supporters'' side.

    The members of the Team Mahoutokoro were currently at a loss. This... was not how they had thought the match would go. Considering that this was an international broadcast, this situation put a lot of pressure on them.

    Takeshi gritted his teeth as he red at Axel.

    ''It''s all because of that guy!'' He thought in fury.

    "Everyone! On to him!" Said Takeshi, forming handseals.

    Instantly, all the Mahoutokoro yers flew towards Axel from all directions, sealing his escape.

    The first one to reach him was the seeker Endo, who had used wind to enhance his speed. He cast a massive barrage of wind des at Axel at very close proximity, making it impossible to fly out of range.

    Axel didn''t shy away. He also flew towards Endo.

    "What''s Axel doing?!'' Yelled Jordon. It seemed like Axel was going to be hit. Just when the des reach him, Axel twisted him at an odd angle.

    *znnnnn*

    When he emerged from within the des, part of his fluttering robes was cut off, left flying behind him, but Axel was unscathed.

    Endo, who hadn''t expected Axel to dodge everything, was surprised when he came face to face with Axel, who had already taken out his wand.

    "Flippendo," he said, almost as a greeting.

    !!!!

    The spell hit Endo at point nk range, with no time to shield. Due to his forward momentum, the guy was flipped off his broom as he began to freefall.

    Endo was temporarily down. But... at this moment, the rest of the yers had also begun catching up.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    Next chapter: A sudden twist

    Next next: Interference

    next.... next: A Savage Reawakens

    Read ahead at: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 128: A sudden twist

    Chapter 128: A sudden twist

    "WOAH! DID YOU SEE THAT?! FLIPENDO?! DID HE JUST TOOK DOWN MAHOUTOKORO''S MOST POPULAR SEEKER WITH A FLIPENDO?!"

    Travisughed, "Axel has really Mastered the art of flipping someone off!"

    Jin was rather serious. "He isn''t as helpless as everyone thought. Dodging those wind des is no easy feat."

    Axel couldn''t rx after dealing with Enzo. He had to quickly plunge low. In the next second, a bolt of lightning whizzed by him, courtesy of Takeshi.

    By then, his teammates began blocking the Mahoutokoro yers with spells of their own.

    Patricia cast a disarming charm on a girl who was just about to cast a [Heatst] on Axel.

    Another teammate directly bumped into a Wind affinity ninja, steering him in another direction. He was, in the end, a Slytherin. Being annoying came to him naturally.

    Looking at all teammates rushing protect him, Axel was a bit surprised. ''They''re actually decent,'' he realized.

    For this important match, Patricia had chosen the best witches and wizards House Slytherin had to offer. All seventh year students who are about to graduate. Hogwarts'' standards have gone up a lot in thest decade. They''re talented students with prominent family backgrounds from all over the world, who''ve had external training along with Hogwarts curriculum. They can already qualify as trainee Aurors.

    Axel clicked his tongue. This won''t do. If it kept going like this, his teammates would only end up taken down in order to protect him. Usually, others are holding him back, but this time, due to all the handicaps he has put on himself, he¡­ might actually be holding them back.

    ''Alright, let''s try this.''

    Stopping in mid air, he waved his wand.

    "Efficio Fumus... Maxima!"

    This was a modified version of one of the very first spells he had learnt, [Efficio Fumus] (produce smoke). Back then, he was only able to learn the most simple of spells due to his damaged nerves. Needless to say, even the modified version wasn''t that difficult to cast so he wasn''t exposing anything major.

    Dense smoke rapidly began spewing out of his wand, quickly spreading out in a 2 meter diameter. Axel had once again disappeared from everyone''s vision. But this time, he was covered under dense smoke.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    With his Arcane eyes activated, he could see everything clearly even in this condition.

    A barrage of stones hit the area where he was before, but he had already moved aside under the cover of the fog.

    The smoke began spreading rapidly, making Mahoutokoro yers stop their attacks.

    "Akira! Clear it quickly!"

    Akira, the wind affinity ninja who had been dyed due to being steered off the course, cursed as he flew back after leaving behind Axel''s teammate. By the time he reached the ce, the smoke had already covered a 10 meter area. He quickly made hand seals.

    "Windstorm!"

    Axel shook his head. He just continued spewing smoke out of his wand in all directions.

    A storm of wind was created. But...

    "What the¡ª"

    The yers panicked. Instead of being cleared up, the smoke only ended up spreading even further.

    Axel smirked.

    ''It''s not ordinary smoke, you idiots,'' he thought, looking at the smoke that was still continuing toe out his wand.

    "Akira! What the hell are you doing?!" Takeshi was furious at Akira, who couldn''t even aplish a simple task.

    "It''s not my fault. This smoke... it''s too dense!" Yelled back the Wind Mage.

    Takeshi gritted his teeth. "Everyone! Fire everywhere in the area! If we can''t see him, he can''t see us either!"

    Takeshi got it right. That was what the weakness of this spell was. Even if you block your enemy''s sight, so what? You can''t see anything either.

    Thus, random Jutsus wereunched into the smoke in hopes of hitting the target. The Hogwarts yers tried their best to stop them, but it was a bit difficult since there was no target to protect.

    Takeshi alsounched a stream of lightning in the area, just for good measure.

    "No!" Yelled Patricia, rushing into the smoke to find Axel. Rest of the Hogwarts yers followed.

    "Did we get him?" Asked Enzo, who had returned after being humiliated by Axel.

    "The smoke has stopped spreading," someone observed.

    "The lightning stream must have parallelized him. He''ll fall any time," said Takeshi, panting due to the difficult Lightning spell.

    Though, even after a few seconds, they didn''t see Axel falling down at all.

    "Enzo, Akira, clear the smoke! Don''t let the bastard recover!" Ordered Takeshi, gritting his teeth. And thus, a strange situation followed where both the teams were searching for Axel together.

    "Uh¡­ it seems that the teams have temporarily entered an unspoken truce in order to find Axel. Such a thing¡­ I don''t think it has ever happened in Quidditch history!" said Travis.

    "But the question is, can he continue ying the match or not?" Asked Lee.

    "It''ll be difficult," said Jin. "The lightning stream is a wide area spell that also inflicts heavy damage. If he is hit, he will be down."

    Travis was amazed. "It''s good that Lightning Affinity users are so rare."

    Since the smoke had already stopped increasing, Enzo and Akira were slowly able to clear it after a few continuous tries. But the sight that greeted them was quite shocking.

    "Where is he?!"

    "Merlin''s broomstick! Axel is nowhere to be seen in the whole pitch!" Eximed Jordan.

    "Damn it! Not again!" Takeshi was pissed. "Continue the game. We need to get back the points. The rat wille out sooner orter!" He yelled.

    "AND THE GAME IS BACK ON! Mahoutokoro has suddenly started their counter! Kyoichi passes to Shin... and Shinunches the Quaffle from a great distance! He''s now forming handseals, wow! HE STEERS THE BALL INTO THE GOAL WITH GREAT WIND CONTROL!"

    "Mahoutokoro gains ten points, bringing the score to 60-10, with Hogwarts still in the lead!"

    "Captain, what do we do now?!" Asked Diana, one of Hogwarts'' chasers to Patricia, who was still worrying for Axel.

    Patricia snapped out of her daze as she looked at the Mahoutokoro yers starting to y. A glint appeared in her eyes. She was furious. Furious at the Mahoutokoro yers for targeting Axel like that. "Now...? We fight!" She dered. She hoped Axel was alright. But right now, it was time for some payback.

    "Don''t forget. This isn''t Quidditch. This is magicalbat and dirty y. Their incredible mobility advantage is gone. We all have the same speed. Our spell casting is much faster than their handseals, so we''re at an advantage, you all understand?"

    ""Yes!"""

    Alright, then let''s go get them!"

    "Oh! And it looks like the Hogwarts yers are back in the game! Patricia fires a disarming charm, snapping the Quaffle AND Broomstick right out of Megumi''s hands¡­ OUCH! And she also hits her with an Expulso just for good measure! Patricia passes to Anderson... OH! Anderson is attacked by Kyoichi''s needle rain... He casts a shield, passes to Diana. Akira making hand seals... but Diana gets him first with a stunning spell which manages to hit his leg! He''s going down!"

    "Diana sts the Bludger to Patricia, and whoa! WOAH! PATRICIA SOMEHOW ENCHANTED THE BLUDGER TO GO AROUND THE KEEPER''S EARTH WALL! IT''S A GOOOAAAALLLL!!!! What an amazing match this is turning out to be! Hogwarts yers are going toe to toe with the Mahoutokoro yers!" Said Lee.

    "Hm... much better," muttered Axel, who was leisurely sitting in the stands, watching the match. If he had just stayed in the match, his teammates would have simply been taken out protecting him while he would have had to run around the whole ce. This is much better. He''ll just wait here for while.

    "The Hogwarts yers seem really determined for revenge after Mahoutokoro''s relentless pursuit of their seeker," said Travis.

    "I didn''t give the Hogwarts yers enough credit. I didn''t think they''d be able to put up a fight since Mahoutokoro had dominated the friendly duels that had happened between the students," said Jin, voicing many people''s opinions.

    Everyone was so focused on Axel that they ignored the fact that the school he represented had the reputation of being at least the top 5 magical schools in the world. They can''t be that helpless.

    "That''s understandable." Travis analysed. "The ninjas are train with exceptionally high agilitypared to wizards who duel while being mostly stationary. That''s why ninjas have an advantage when fighting at ground. But this fight is in the air. Everyone has almost the same mobility, so that advantage is gone. Plus, most spells have shorter casting time than jutsus, even though thetter packs more power. So I''d say, the field has been evened out."

    "Damn it, I''m excited! Let''s see how Mahoutokoro responds to this attack by Hogwarts!" said Lee.

    Takeshi, who was rxing after taking out Axel stopped his break as he gathered his teammates. After giving out instructions, Mahoutokoro started their y again.

    "The game resumes with Mahoutokoro in possession! Megumi has the Quaffle, and she''s racing straight towards the goal posts. OH! She is hit by a vicious bludgeoning hex thates out of nowhere! Patricia was under disillusionment! What a Slytherin move!"

    "The Quaffle drops! Picked up by Anderson... and what?! Dropped again! Anderson is in a lot of pain!"

    "Megumi seems to have heated the Quaffle, burning his hand! Amaya, the rare ice affinity user catches Quaffle! Of course it doesn''t affect her! She passes to Akira instantly! Akira is attacked¡­ a great block by Amaya''s ice walls! Akira has suddenly sped up! That wind affinity in air is really a cheat! AND... HE SCORES!!!! TEN MORE POINTS TO MAHOUTOKORO! WHAT A MATCH THIS TURNING OUT TO BE!"

    The match was extremely intense. Slytherin was ying with a lot of tricks but Mahoutokoro yers had Quidditch skills and experience. Spells and Jutsus were fired everywhere. The best healer of both the cultures were working nonstop to patch up the yer and send them back to fly.

    Overall, the store after 44 minutes since the start of the match ended up being a massive 220-230, with Mahoutokoro in the lead. That''s because Endo had managed to catch the snitch once. Both the teams lost a yer each, unable to continue ying due to a serious injury.

    Both the teams were ying exceptionally well. But right now, everyone had only one question¡­

    "Where the fuck is he?!" Shouted Anderson while panting.

    Yep, where is Axel Hunt? And is he alright? The guy had simply disappeared at the start of the match and hadn''t evene to the healers. Where did he disappear to.

    "WE WANT HUNT!"

    "WE WANT HUNT!"

    "WE WANT HUNT!"

    Even though the match was very interesting, things just weren''t the same without Axel. That''s why, a majority of the audience were mouring for Axel to be brought back.

    "Well¡­" Looking at the stubborn audience calling him out, Axel slowly got up and stretchedzily.

    ying the match with so many bugs trying to sting him was annoying. He couldn''t be bothered to keep dodging them for so long. And he couldn''t just finish them one-sidedly within a few minutes either. The whole ninja world would have been his enemy if he just annihted Mahoutokoro within the first few minutes since the start of the match, not to mention both the Principal''s would have been dissatisfied too. So, he had decided to wait it out. Give both teams the chance to show off. Of course, anhtion is still a must, not matter what.

    Right now, the match was at a critical moment. Endo was about to get the snitch again. Axel decided to get up. It was his time now. It was time to show those bugs just who they were targeting.

    "And it seems that Endo has spotted the snitch again! If he catches it, Hogwarts will be in trouble! Oh! The Slytherins are all going after Endo now and Mahoutokoro is protecting him! It''s exactly what happened in the beginning with Axel! Enzo stretches out his hand¡ª"

    *BOOM*

    At this moment, everyone heard a familiar explosion.

    "WHAT?!!!"

    The sound. It was unmistakably¡­ aunching boom.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Next: Interference

    Also,e read ahead here: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 129: Chapter incoming

Chapter 129: Chapter iing

    Guys, there will be a chapter today. I''ll post as soon as I''m done with the p¨¤treon one. So, hold on to those Powerstones for me. It would take 3 hours at max.

 Chapter 130: Interference

    Chapter 130: Interference

    Members of Team Mahoutokoro

    Enzo: Wind, Seeker

    Takeshi: Lightning, Beater

    Uyeda Koichi:, Water (Beater)

    Muto Akira: wind (Chaser

    Namba Saburo: Earth (keeper)

    Shibuya Amaya: Water female (Chaser)

    Suko Megumi: Fire female (Chaser)

    Team Hogwarts

    Aston Anderson: Chaser

    Diana Hudson: Chaser

    Regan Newman: Keeper

    Patricia Afonso Chaser

    Bruno Owens: Beater

    Elijah Roberts: Beater

    Axel Hunt: Seeker

    Here''s the chapter:

    ¡­.

    "IT''S¡­ IT''S HUNT! AXEL HUNT HAS SUDDENLY REAPPEARED IN THE GAME! AND HE HAS THE SNITCH! SWEET SWEET MERLIN! I AM JUMPING UP AND DOWN IN MY SEAT RIGHT NOW! HE''S BACK! AXEL HUNT, IS BACK IN THE GAME!" Eximed Jordan.

    The audience went totally bonkers. Some were jumping up and down, some were throwing whatever they had into the air, some were screaming their lungs out.

    Patricia crashed into him,ughing and crying at the same time. "Thank Merlin you''re alright! You had me worried the whole time!"

    His teammates had back as well, all colliding into him, celebrating his return. 40 minutes is not a long. But they felt like they had died a hundred times in that period of time. They were nning on relying on Axel, but then they were suddenly left to shoulder all the hopes, expectations and pressure by themselves. It was nerve-wracking, not to mention extremely difficult and painful. Now seeing Axel back, they were simply overwhelmed with relief.

    Though, amidst the festive atmosphere, the Mahoutokoro were dealt a huge blow upon Axel''s return. Things weren''t going ording to the n. Team Hogwarts turned out to be much more difficult to beat than they had thought, Or simply said, they were so focused on dealing with Axel that they didn''t give much thought to the rest.

    But even so, they had still managed to bring the situation under control. They had covered the gap, and they were finally in the lead, with the Slytherins finally running out of their tricks. But now, Axel Fucking Hunt was actually back, suddenly destroying everything.

    The guy simply should not be allowed to y. First of all, he has an uncanny ability to spot the snitch. Something that''s the most difficult thing for a seeker. Then he has the ability to perfectly use theunching boom, one of the most difficult tricks, like it''s nothing. And he times it so well that he can even catch the snitch while doing it. Andstly, his ability to survive. The guy is an unkible cockroach. So many have tried so many things. It''s like he can survive everything.

    The rest of the Hogwarts team, even though surprisingly skilled, was still within their grasp. They were within bounds of reality. But Axel¡­ his mere presence evoked a sense of hopelessness into their hearts¡­. as if facing an unbeatable adversary.

    Before the game could resume, Madam Hooch blew the whistle, signalling a half-time, much to the audience''s disappointment.

    "Fuck!"

    "Halftime?! Now?! Are you kidding me?!"

    "Damn it! Just when it was getting interesting¡­"

    The audience was understandably pissed at the timing.

    "Oooooh, it''s half time! I know, I know it sucks, especially at a moment like this, but it''s also true that both the teams are in a dire need of a break. Especially with so many things broken in their bodies. I doubt even Hunt managed toe outpletely unscathed," said Jordan.

    ¡ªHogwarts Changing Room¡ª

    "Quickly! Show me where you''re hurt! Diana, where is madam Pomfrey?! Call her already!"

    No sooner had Axel entered that changing room, Patricia had stripped off his t-shirt to check his injuries. The rest of the team also surrounded him, apparently also worried.

    "Jeez, who told you I''m injured?" Asked Axel in exasperation, stopping her in the process.

    Patricia paused in her actions. "Wait, you''re¡­ you''re really not injured?" She asked in confusion, looking at his uninjured upper body. "H-how? I mean why?"

    Axel frowned. "What do you mean how or why? I told you Mahoutokoro can''t beat me," he said. It was as simple as that.

    "Mate, if you''re not injured¡­ then what were you doing this whole time?" One of his teammates, Elijah Roberts, finally asked the question everyone was curious about.

    Axel shrugged. "Me? You know, I was sitting in the stands, watching the match, eating popcorn."

    Teammates: "....."

    "So¡­ while we were putting our lives on the line, fighting against Mahoutokoro with everything we had, you were just... chilling in the stands? Watching the match?" Asked Anderson, the chaser.

    "That''s pretty much it," said Axel with a nod, but then frowned at the outrageous expressions of hid teams. "What are you getting angry for? I also did it for you guys."

    "For us?"

    "How is it for us?"

    "Bullshit."

    Axel rolled his eyes. "I see. You guys are okay with just being my cronies who won because of me."

    "What did you just¡ª"

    "Guys, stop!" The teammates were about to burst out but Patricia stopped them, raising her hand. "He''s right."

    "Patricia, you¡ª"

    "Think about it. What would have happened if Axel had just done his thing? Sure, we would have won by a massive lead, and sure, we might not have had to work so hard. But what would we have been in the end? Just some unimportant teammates who relied on Axel to win the match," she said, making them fall into contemtion.

    "But now? What are we? Now we''re the team Hogwarts. Team Hogwarts, who fought tooth and nail against Mahoutokoro to keep the match even while Axel Hunt was absent. Each of you did something out there that everyone will always remember you for. For a little while, you had the attention of the whole world on you. Tell me, would that have been possible with Axel''s presence on the pitch?"

    Everyone was silent, their expressions easing up. They now looked at Axel in a different light. That''s right, wouldn''t they have been just a bunch of nobodies if Axel had just cruised through the match like he always does? Now, even if he''s back, and they can''t have the spotlight anymore, they were at least able to give their contributions in the match.

    Realizing this, they genuinely felt thankful to Axel, who had given them this chance.

    Patricia turned to Axel. "Axel, I would really like to thank you for what you did and I think the rest of them also feel the same way."

    "Uh¡­" Axel just looked at his teammates, who were all looking at him like they were indebted, and felt a bit stumped. This wasn''t quite what he was trying to convey. He wasn''t doing anyone any favours here. Sure he gave them their spotlight, but that was only because he was feeling toozy to y on his own. This was just mutual benefit.

    But oh well, if they are feeling grateful, who is he to stop them?

    So he shrugged, waving his hand. "Well, now that I''m back, you guys can rx now. Just focus on not getting more banged up than you already are."

    That concluded the meeting. The Hogwarts yers began getting treatment for their injuries. Axel just chilled, ready to y the next round.

    While on the Mahoutokoro side, things weren''t so peaceful. Quite unexpectedly, in their changing room, the Team Mahoutokoro was graced with the presence of Headmaster Yujiro himself, surprising the hell out of them.

    "Headmaster?"

    "Master Yujiro?"

    "Headmaster!"

    The injured yers and the Medical Nins who were healing them altogether hastily bowed their heads to the Yujiro.

    Unlike Hogwarts, rank mattered a lot at Mahoutokoro. Someone like Yujiro was an existence who would rarely give them a nce.

    Yujiro''s eyes, which always seem close, opened. "You all¡­ have disappointed me today."

    !!!

    It was just a few words. Buting from him, it made the whole Mahoutokoro team kneel on one knee in shame.

    "We are extremely sorry, Headmaster. We just¡ª" tried Takeshi, but he was cut off.

    "I do not want to hear any excuses. Now, listen up. Due to some¡­ circumstances, it is imperative that you win this match."

    Takeshi bowed his, "I assure you Headmaster¡ª"

    Yujiro shook his head. "Save it. I don''t need to hear your meaningless assurances. Even though it is unfair to interfere, I will teach you one move. You had better not fail me."

    """We will not disappoint you, Headmaster!"""

    Team Maoutokoro were overjoyed. Any guidance from the Headmaster himself is something any ninja would kill to have. And they were getting it just to win this match.

    ¡­.

    Coming out of the Mahoutokoro changing room, Yujiro pondered how low he had fallen. Interfering between a small match between kids.

    But what could he do? He didn''t have a choice.

    Yujiro remembered the conversation he had with his granddaughter right after he and Dumbledore had convinced him to y the match.

    "Grandpa, I do hope you did not antagonize my friend in any way just now," she had said, taking the brat''s side without even trying to know the whole situation.

    That had already set Yujiro off. How did he antagonize that brat? If anything, Hunt was one who antagonized him and Dumbledore.

    "Aki, are you trying to protect that brat without even knowing the situation?" He had asked in irritation.

    But his granddaughter had the nerve to look amused at that. "I''m not trying to protect him, jiji. I''m trying to protect you."

    That was the breaking point. After that, they had ended up with a bet that if Axel loses the match, Akiko would stay away from him, and if he wins, well he won''t win. How can he win? He''s just a 13 year old brat.

    ¡­

    "And Ladies and Gentlemen, the match resumes! The atmosphere of both the teams ispletely differentpared to how it was at the start. Team Hogwarts has gotten their seeker back! Let''s see what happens next!

    "Hogwarts is in possession, and what... what is happening? Mahoutokoro isn''t defending! They''re flying in the centre. Have they already given up on the match?!"

    Something peculiar was happening in the pitch. While the team Hogwarts was trying to score, Mahoutokoro hadn''t moved at all, making the Hogwarts yers fly right past them.

    A gust of wind picked up, causing everyone''s cloaks to flutter and there was a light drizzle of rain. The Hogwarts yers didn''t see anything wrong, so they decided to take the opportunity to score.

    "AND THERE IT IS! AXEL HUNT HAS THE SNITCH AGAIN! HOW CAN HE MAKE IT LOOK SO SIMPLE AND CASUAL?!" Eximed Jordan.

    "If someone can catch the snitch with such ease, the mahoutokoro were absolutely right to target him." said Jin.

    "But... what are the yers of Mahoutokoro doing?" Asked Travis, drawing attention to the Mahoutokoro yers, who still hadn''t moved from the centre.

    Everyone found that out soon enough. Because very soon, the wind had turned into a storm that covered the whole pitch, and the rain had be a stream of water, pouring non stop. The two wind affinity ninjas and the two water affinity ninjas had exhausted all of their magic on it.

    Even though the rain was annoying and the storm was making it a bit difficult to fly, the Hogwarts yers still weren''t getting any damage from this. So they simply continued.

    "Hogwarts scores again! Merlin''s sweaty pants! What is going on with this match?!"

    On the other hand, Axel had already stopped flying. Something just didn''t feel right. The only area where the wind and rain was reaching was the centre, where the Mahoutokoro yers were gathered. It was really difficult to see them in all the rain.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Axel activated Arcane Eyes to see what was up. And inside, he saw Takeshi making hand seals. Axel''s eyes widened as he realized just what was about to happen. "Fuck."

    "HEY! STOP THEM!" He yelled to his teammates, who were too busy scoring goals. Though surprised at his out of character reaction, his teammates didn''t waste their time dallying. With Patricia in lead, theyunched spells toward Mahoutokoro.

    But, too bad, it was already toote. Takeshi had finished his hand seals. Dense Lightning covered his hand as Takeshi grinned.

    "Damn it," Axel raised his hand, and the storm halted for a brief moment as his eyes glowed. But he closed his eyes, stopping himself from using his power, feeling extremely vexed. He could, but he didn''t stop what happened next.

    "LIGHTNING BARRAGE!"

    Everything seemed to happen in slow motion to Axel. Takeshiunched his most powerful Jutsu, and his teammates'' screams sounded in his ears as Lightning ran through his body, which had travelled throughout the pitch due to the ess stream of water that was pelting him and his teammates.

    When the spell stopped, team Hogwarts all fell to ground, like flies who had just been electrocuted, smoke still emitting from them.

    "WHAT... WHAT THE FUCK?!" (Jordan)

    ¡­.

    To be continued.

    Next Chapter title: "A Savage Reawakens" or "One vs all"

    A.N.: It''s not that I end at Cliffhangers. Anywhere I end will be a cliffhanger. It''s just that good ??

    Read ahead on /Snollygoster

 Chapter 131: A Savage Reawakens

    Chapter 131: A Savage Reawakens

    "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

    What happened was so surprising that Lee Jordan couldn''t care how big a mistake it was to curse at an international game like this. Even Professor Mcgonagall, who was nearby to keep an eye on him for situations like these, couldn''t do anything.

    Well, they couldn''t be med for their reactions. The whole Hogwarts team¡­ taken out in an instant.

    All of the audience stood up in their seats, mouths agape as they stared at the scene in horror. The medics rushed in to check the conditions of the yers. It wasn''t until it was announced that everyone was fine, just knocked unconscious that thementators were able to resume.

    "Ah¡­Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems that the whole Hogwarts team has been totaled by that surprising move of Mahoutokoro. They have suffered serious injuries and won''t be able to continue the match. Though I''m still a bit unclear as to exactly how it happened¡­" announced Travis.

    Jin had an awed expression on his face as he exined the whole process. "That was, truly a masterful technique. It used the full potential of the whole team. The two wind mages had to create a storm strong enough to cover the whole field. The water affinity ninjas had to summon enough water that it produced a stream, connecting them to all parts of the stadium. Then Takeshi, the key to the n, the extremely rare lightning affinity ninja produced an electric discharge strong enough to incapacitate all the yers, which reached them conducted by water. Finally, the remaining members were tasked to defend the team while they were making preparations, which they did sessfully."

    "Merlin''s socks! It''s no wonder that the Hogwarts yers were taken by surprise. Even I didn''t anticipate it until thest moment," said Travis in amazement. "But... why have I not seen something like this happen before?"

    Jin scoffed. "That''s because you won''t find Lightning Affinity ninja ying Quidditch. There were very few of them, and all of them have far more important jobs than Quidditch."

    At this moment, team Mahoutokoro, who had somewhat recovered, finally began to move.

    "And it seems that Team Mahoutokoro is back in the game. With Team Hogwarts no longer able to continue the match, they only need to score a few more points to win." Said Travis.

    "Yeah, this match is over," said Jin.

    "And what an exciting match this was! Despite having the odds stacked up against them, Team Mahoutokoro was able to take down the formidable team Hogwarts and even defeat the Prodigy Axel with their incredible teamwork! What a match! I say, this match is definitely going down to the annals of history. What do you think, Lee?"" Asked Travis, elbowing Jordan to break him out of his trance.

    Since the take down of Team Hogwarts, Lee had simply stoppedmentating, making Travis and Jin to cover for his absence. That''s why Travis directly called him out this time. This wasn''t an ordinary school match. Lee wasmentating at a professional stage right now. Granted that he was good, but if he can''t handle his team losing, then he is not fit for the job.

    Though, even after being called out, Lee didn''t immediately react. Thementators box could ess all the cameras in the stadium, and Lee''s eyes were still fixed on the camera showing the ground, where Team Hogwarts was being treated right now.

    "It''s not over yet, look¡­ at the ground!" said Lee, finally breaking his silence. Because, something unbelievable was happening on the ground right now.

    ¡­

    Axel went down like the rest of his teammates. SInce Lightning and water were both his affinities, he hadn''t taken any physical damage, but his mind was still reeling with various thoughts. He really hadn''t anticipated for such a thing to happen. Or more like, he hadn''t bothered. In his mind, there was only one fact: Mahoutokoro can''t really do anything to him. And observing them in the first half, he really didn''t think he had anything to worry about. Even his teammates could handle them on their own, and he had countermeasures for everything they had shown in the first half. Then why bother?

    That''s why, when he realized what was going on, it was already toote. So, Axel currently wasn''t falling because he was injured. But he was falling because he thought he deserved it. Axel looked at his teammates, who were being rushed by Healers and Medics. Their skin had charred marks, none of them conscious. From time to time, their bodies would jerk from the residual electricity.

    Before today, he hadn''t even bothered remembering their names. But, now he did. He also remembered how they had given their all to protect him, how concerned they were about his injuries they had reached the changing room, and how much trust they had put in him. And what had he done in return? He had held back from showing off, prolonged the match, and gotten them badly injured.

    Axel''s eyes opened fully and he slowly sat up, scaring the hell out of the Healers who were checking his condition. He was incredibly mad right now. Mostly at himself. But because he was so mad, his face was a mask of calm right now.

    "What...? Axel Hunt... he''s is still conscious after that move!" eximed Travis. "He has risen up like a dead man back to life!"

    Jin stood up in his seat. "H-How... is that possible?"

    "I have no idea!" Yelled Travis.

    Lee Jordan had a maniacal grin on his face. "You guys haven''t done your research. Axel Hunt has the Lightning Affinity."

    "What?! Really? Well, I think that should exin it," muttered Travis.

    But Jin shook his head. "No, having Lightning Affinity doesn''t give you total immunity from Lightning. Even if he''s not unconscious, he shouldn''t be able to move through all the pain!"

    "Well, he obviously IS able to move!" Said Travis. "The question is: Can he continue to y?!"

    Everyone had eyes on Axel who was sitting on the ground, nkly staring at his unconscious teammates.

    "COME ON AXEL!" Someone yelled.

    "YEAH! YOU CAN DO IT!"

    "AXEL!"

    ""AXEL!""

    """AXEL!"""

    """""""AXEL!""""""

    Soon, the whole ground was chanting Axel''s name.

    Axel sighed. Grabbing his broom, he slowly got up, smoke still emitting from his charred clothes.

    """""""""YYEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!"""""""""

    And the biggest cheer in history arose as the people saw the unbelievable scene.

    "Just¡­ why won''t he go down?!" On the other hand, team Mahoutokoro looked at Axel and felt like he was a monster rising from hell, hell bent on taking them down.

    "What are you gawking for?! Don''t let him recover! Take him down now!" Takeshi ordered, heading straight for Axel.

    Axel mounted his broom and kicked off, rising up to meet them head on.

    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS HAPPENING! I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! THIS MATCH IS NOW AXEL VS MAHOUTOKORO, ONE VS ALL!" Yelled Jordan.

    Team Mahoutokoro prepared their jutsus, and Axel prepared his magic.

    "Fire!" Yelled Takeshi, firing his Jutsu, the rest of the team following his lead. In the face of such fire power, Axel didn''t bother defending himself. He pointed his wand to his left, "Launching Boom."

    This was the magic he had learnt when he was rushing to save Martina when she was kidnapped. It involves building up magic in his hands or feet and thenunching it all once, giving him a forward boost in the opposite direction. This time, Axel decided to reveal this magic after careful consideration, Only, he is using his wand and the chant to deploy, neither of which he actually needs.

    At once, Axel was pushed sharply to the right due to his spell, making the Jutsus pass by him harmlessly.

    "Son of a¡ª" Takeshi cursed when he saw Axel pull off somethingpletely new, making them waste their best chance at taking him down. To think the fucker was holding back all this time.

    "Electrica Impulsa" x 5

    Axel didn''t waste his time. While the Mahoutokoro yers were still preparing the hand seals for their next attacks, he had already plunged in their midst.

    "Scatter!" Takeshi realized the danger when he saw Axel''s wand, which was shinning with high voltage Electricity, but he was already quitete.

    *ZAP*

    One teammate, the girl with Fire affinity, was already down, having tasted the power of his signature spell which had been charged five times. By this time, their next Jutsu was prepared.

    ''One down. Five to go.''

    "You''re dead this time! Fire!"

    "Launching boom." Axel quicklyunched himself at the next teammate, the kyoichi guy with water affinity. Before he couldplete his hand seals, Axel had already socked him in the face using his force of his momentum, stopping him in the process. Then he gripped the handle of kyoichi''s broom and hid behind him.

    "Matte¡ª" Koichi was only able to say that before the friendly fire hit him,ing from two of his teammates who were only focused on Axel and couldn''t stop themselves in time. Kyoichi was very much done for, but, Axel still didn''t let the poord rest just yet. Gripping his broom, Axel led him to the next target, using him as a shield to deter the two yers who still hadn''t fired their Jutsus.

    "Petrificus Totalus,"

    While taking cover behind the unconscious kyoichi, Axel unexpectedlyunched a simple spell at one of the yers who was hesitating to use his Jutsu. It was the Earth affinity ninja, the keeper. The guy didn''t expect a range attack from Axel at all. It caught him in the leg and he got paralyzed, making him fall.

    Axel crashed Kyoichi in the other yer. While the yer tried to dodge, he got a face full of Launching Boom, which Axel used to change direction.

    Only two yers left now. Takeshi and Endo. The problem was, the two of them had big jutsus ready for him. Endo: Great Wind Storm, Takeshi: Lightning Stream.

    The wind storm struck him, obstructing his mobility. At the same moment, Takeshi had prepared his Lightning attack. Axel tried controlling his broom to escape, but he realized the storm was slowing his broom enough that he wouldn''t make it in time.

    "Die already!" Yelled Takeshi,unching his attack while grinning. He knew he had him this time.

    At this moment, Axel unexpectedly kicked off his broom, plunging straight down. "Launching Boom." Then he used aunching boom to further increase his momentum, getting him out of the range of the wind storm and Takeshi''s Lightning Stream. When everyone was too surprised to react, he summoned his broomstick back in his hand and flew straight back up to greet the two who had thought that they already had the victory.

    "Damn it! Get him this time!" Yelled Takeshi, seeing Axeling for them again. But this time, instead of confidence, his eyes were filled with horror. Just why won''t he go down?!

    "Petrificus Totalus!" While flying at his fastest speed, Axel fired a body binding charm at Takeshi. Takeshi wasn''t struck like the previous yer, but his Jutsu casting was still stalled.

    "Electrica Impulsa," x5

    Axel took this time to Head was Endo, who had towards windstorm prepared for him. Due to his close proximity this time, Endo, who was about tounch the windstorm, couldn''tplete it in time. The same time heunched his Jutsu, Axel''s wand also touched him. Endo was brutally put down, and receiving the [Wind Storm] at point nk range, Axel also took damage. But¡­

    "It''s set."

    Even though he was injured, he was alsounched in the opposite direction at an incredible momentum due to the force of the spell. The direction he had set was¡ª

    "Fuck!"

    Takeshi freaked out upon seeing Axel headed towards him like a missile. He hastened his Jutsu casting.

    ''Can''t let you do that," thought Axel. Without any hesitation, he threw his broomstick at the guy which managed to take himpletely by surprise, hitting him smack dab in the face!

    "Launching Boom," Axel covered the remaining distance through theunching boom and directly kicked Takeshi off his broom, taking his ce.

    "Not done yet." Looking at the arrogant guy falling to the ground, Axel dived straight down using Takeshi''s broom. The handle of broom made contact with Takeshi and Axel only increased his speed, plunging straight towards the ground.

    At thest second, he pulled back, letting Takeshi hit the ground at that speed.

    *THUMP*

    "Six down."

    ....

    A.N.: Just give me my Powerstones

    Also read ahead and support me here: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 132: Kraken Arrives

    Chapter 132: Kraken Arrives

    Only after he had the whole Mahoutokoro team lying on the ground did Axel came out of his zone of extreme focus.

    !!!!!!!

    And he nearly covered his ears when he heard the extreme chaos that had spread around the stadium. The crowd had achieved a new level of loudness right now. It seemed that without the presence of wards, people would have simply rushed into the ground to get him.

    "I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! I¡ªCAN''T¡ªBELIEVE¡ªIT!!" Lee Jordan was screaming lungs out.

    "THIS... THIS IS BEYOND HUMAN!" Eximed Travis, banging the table.

    Right now, everyone who was watching the match live, whether they were in the stadium or anywhere in the world, all were left with goosebumps upon watching the epic showdown just now.

    "HUNT¡­. HUNT HAS SINGLE-HANDEDLY TAKEN OUT THE WHOLE TEAM MAHOUTOKORO! WHATEVER THE HELL JUST HAPPENED, I DID NOT WATCH IT ENOUGH!" Yelled Jordan.

    "Me neither! And I couldn''t understand how he pulled it off either!" admited Travis, watching the rey that showed him avoiding the first volley of Jutsus. "Just what was that spell he was using to pull off those sharp maneuvers?! Holy Morgana did he use it well!!

    "I have no idea! It''s something like a dispulso, but he blew himself back with it. But what about the other spell?! The Lightning one!"

    "Whatever spells he used, they were used to perfection. And that broom throw in the end?! He was like a Wizard Ninja out there! I am still getting goosebumps remembering it!"

    Thementators couldn''t stop gushing over the moves Axel used just now. The scene had been recorded, and it was definitely to be yed many, many times over. Experts would analyse it, Quidditch geeks would specte and argue over it, and fans would just watch it because it was too cool.

    ¡­.

    *Ba dump*

    *Ba dump*

    *Ba dump*

    Rose Potter watched Axel''s performance with widened eyes. Being a skilled yer of Quidditch herself, she felt her blood boiling and her breathingboured upon seeing amazing amalgamation of skills, timing, nning and execution . It was like watching art.

    She recalled what he had told her. ''I''ll show you how to really ''fly''.''

    Rose understood what he meant now. Thispletely changed her understanding of flying. Axel just now was not just a wizard. He was like an unstoppable force of nature, ready to punish whoeveres in his way.

    "Rose, are you okay?" Asked Jamie, her younger brother, who was sitting beside her in the vip box.

    Rose jerked,ing out of her thoughts. She touched her cheeks which still felt hot and calmed her breathing. "I''m fine," she answered, looking at Axel flying.

    ''Will I ever be able to reach that level?''

    Rose Potter now had a new goal in mind.

    ¡­.

    With his ears still ringing with the cheering of the audience, Axel looked down at the yers of Team Mahoutokoro lying on the grounds, looking for ''survivors''.

    Out of the six yers who were left, Takeshi got a clean hit to the face by his broomstick and a fall at a tremendous speed. Even though the ground was enchanted to lessen the impact, it is safe to say that Takeshi is going to be out of Quidditch for a long time.

    As for the rest, two yers (Fire affinity ninja and Endo, the seeker), got the special treatment of Electrica Impulsa charged 5 times. Even though Axel didn''t put much power in each charge, the lightning stacked up was still powerful enough to leave the yers in no condition to y for at least for a while.

    About the rest, one had been severely injured due to friendly fire when Axel used him as a shield. With the power the Mahotokoro yers were using, the guy is probably worse off than even his teammates. That leaves two yers: Keeper whom he put under body bind, and the water affinity ninja, who was hit in the face with aunching boom.

    Axelnded in front of the girl who had been hit by the Launching Boom. Megumi was her name, a water affinity ninja. Megumi was lying on the ground, trying to y dead. But Axel knew she couldn''t be out yet. Launching Boom didn''t have much offensive power, and falling to ground is also nothing, what with the ground being enchanted to lessen the impact.

    !!

    Sure enough, when Axelnded in front of her, she suddenly swept her foot across the ground, trying to trip him while her hands made hand seals.

    Axel pinned her leg down with the broomstick in his hand. Her hand seals were almostplete, but Axel only looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. The girl theunched Jutsu, and¡ª

    Nothing happened.

    Axel shook his head in disappointment. Trying water magic on HIM? If lightning is his bitch, then water is like his personal sex ve. It''s like trying to use dark magic on Voldemort.

    *smack*

    Axel casually swung the broom, hitting her across the cheek.

    "Stay down this time," he muttered, also giving her the shock treatment of Electrica Impulsa. He then walked over to the keeper under body bind and did the same. No discrimination.

    Madam Hooch gave him a look which bordered between proud and disapproval. She checked the yers condition and consulted the healer, after which she blew the whistle, signaling the end of the match.

    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER! THIS EPIC MATCH FULL OF UPS AND DOWNS IS FINALLY OVER! TEAM HOGWARTS WINS THE MATCH BY THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION!" (Jordan)

    *CHEERS*

    "What a phenomenal match this has been. I am sure I have never seen what I saw today in my whole career!" (Travis)

    "It was¡­ an eye opening experience. I am grateful for having the opportunity tomentate on it." (Jin)

    Fireworks wereunched into the sky, as the Hogwarts students celebrated their victory. But actually, even the Mahoutokoro yers were low key impressed upon watching the showdown just now. What Axel did just now, it was too awe-spiring for them to feel anything else. And it''s not like their side performed bad either. They had almost won¡­ if that monster wasn''t ying.

    That is why, Axel found himself receiving a thunderous apuse by the whole stadium as he discarded the broom. Looking at their fervor, Axel felt like if the wards weren''t present, he might have had to worry about being mobbed.

    Thementators came down to the pitch to greet him, mics in hand.

    Travis and Jin shook hands with him while Jordan tackled into a bear hug.

    "Congrattions on your victory, Axel. How do you feel right now?" Asked Travis, offering him another mic.

    Axel shook his head. "Just tired. I''m never ying this format again."

    Thementatorsughed it off, thinking of it as a joke.

    "How were you able to continue after the Lightning Spell?" Asked Jin. "Even if you had resistance due to your affinity, you shouldn''t have been able to move."

    "Well, I don''t like losing so¡­" he shrugged.

    Thementators were a bit speechless at that answer. You don''t like losing so you were able to move? If only it were that easy!

    "We saw you using some unique spells out there. Can you tell us anything about them? I could have sworn I saw you chant "Launching Boom."

    "Well, "Launching Boom" IS the incantation. It''s a custom spell," he answered, making their eyes widen.

    "Custom spell?! How can you get a custom spel¡ª Oh, of course." Lee Jordan was baffled at first but then nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

    Custom spells are spells that are designed by an expert to specifically suit a particr individual''s casting. For that individual, these spells will be easy to cast and will bring maximum results. Others might or might not be able to imitate it, but the effectiveness will never be on par with the owner''s.

    Just now, Lee Jordan was so surprised because custom spells are just a fantasy for most people. They are awfully difficult to make. Even more difficult than making normal spells. Only after a lot of time, effort, and luck is a spellmaker able to make a custom spell, so it''s not something even money can buy. You need connections too.

    That''s why everyone who knew about the matter was surprised to find that Axel had one. But, it was momentary. Because Axel had a genius fake fiancee who is known for having hundreds of custom spells, and who also happens to owe him a lot.

    "So, looks like everyone underestimated you, Axel. But I still can''t understand. You went up against the whole team alone, and still managed to win. How were you able to fight like that? How did you train for it?"

    Axel paused as that. He knew had shown a bit much. So, he tried to downy it.

    "Well, it was mostly luck. Team Mahoutokoro was pretty tired due to my team''s effort, and they also underestimated me. But yes, I received some training from Akiko and Martina which helped out a lot. I just tried to give it my all and thankfully seeded."

    "You received training from Akiko Matsushima and Martina Valentino?!" Asked Lee, unable to hide his awe.

    Axel nodded humbly. "Yeah, just some tips and tricks. You know how talented they are. I am far toockingpared to them."

    Lee Jordan nodded. "That, I can''t disagree with. You must feel extremely lucky to be well acquainted with them."

    Axel grinned. "Oh, you have no idea."

    With this, he had sessfully shifted most of the attention to those two. Anyone would think he did exactly what the girls had taught him and that''s why he won.

    Meanwhile, Akiko and Martina: "....."

    Both the girls happened to be sitting near each other in the VIP box. Exchanging nces, they saw the irony in the other''s eyes.

    Axel Hunt, you bloody liar!

    You say you gave it your all in the match just now?! If you really gave it your all, the yers would have been six feet under before anyone could even notice.

    You arecking?! If you arecking, then all the other wizards are muggles!

    You feel grateful to have met us?! Is it not the other way around?

    The guy is simply using them as shields after showing off a bit too much.

    "Axel, our questions are endless, but we understand that you must be tired after your game. So, let''s get you the trophy already so that you can rest!" Said Jordan, as the Trophy arrived, being carried by witches in Hogwarts uniform.

    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT''S TIME TO AWARD THE WINNER! LET''S INVITE THE HEADMASTERS OF BOTH THE SCHOOLS HERE!"

    Apuse rained down from everywhere, as the Headmasters Dumbledore and Yujiro arrived on the pitch.

    ¡­.

    During this time, two individuals, who were currently under disguise, looked at Axel with close scrutiny. One was short and bulky, while the other was tall, with a slender build.

    "Are you sure it''s him?" Asked the bulky guy.

    The other person nodded as he began to chuckle. "There''s no mistake. His surname is Hunt. And he looks just like Tristan. It has to be him."

    "Well, we did hear that the princess was pregnant when she ran away. What do we do now? We came here for Gorski."

    The tall guy scoffed. "Forget Gorski. Tristan hid the second key before he died. The kid is more important if we can get any clues."

    The objective Axel had so desperately tried to get, had finally been achieved. The Organisation, had finally noticed him.

    The question is, is he ready for it?

    ¡­.

    A.N. Powerstones! Just tap/click vote option below.

    Read ahead and Support me here: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 133: Injured Axel

    Chapter 133: Injured Axel

    A shining Trophy, almost the size of his torso, was brought into the pitch. And under the thundering apuse, Headmaster Dumbledore and Yujiro presented him with the trophy.

    "You surprised me, Mr. Hunt," said Dumbledore, handing him the trophy. "I have never seen anyone fly like that."

    Axel shrugged, "Really? Then, I take it my end of the deal considered fulfilled?" Asked, taking the trophy and shaking the offered hand.

    Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Of course. Right, Yujiro?

    Yujiro, who didn''t seem to be in the best of moods right now, merely grunted, trying not to look annoyed. "Here," he said, giving him a box.

    Axel''s eyes widened. ''System, is this the real thing?'' he asked, confirming with the system.

    [Affirmative]

    Axel looked at the Headmasters in surprise. He wasn''t really expecting them to keep their promise so readily. Even with the contract in ce. But, oh well, it makes things much easier. He was now one step closer to bringing Daphne''s memories back.

    "Axel, you won the match AND had the honor of receiving the trophy directly from two living legends! What would you like to say?!" Asked Travis, offering him the mic.

    Axel was just about to give a perfunctory response, but something made him pause. Just a few years ago, he was just a nobody. A street thief doing petty crimes to make a living, sleeping in the back alleys, and receiving the contempt of anyone whoid eyes on him. Axel looked around. He didn''t quite realize, but everything had changed. He was no longer just a small fry who would die alone in the back of an alley.

    Thinking that, a genuine smile came to his always expressionless face. "I guess¡­ it''s good to be acknowledged."

    That''s all he said, but it was enough. His smile, which was broadcasted on the big screen, was enough to express his thoughts. Especially since few had ever seen him smile. Screams of girls came from all sides, followed by a hearty apuse. There were even a few people who cried.

    Axel sighed. He used to hate drawing attention to himself and being in the spotlight. In the past, he had a scarred face, tattered clothes, a weak and scrawny body. That''s the reason why he started hiding himself. He came to takefort in darkness, staying hidden from the judgmental gaze of the world. But that was no longer the case. As his powers grew, so did his confidence. Thus, he no longer minded attention.

    With the trophy in hand, and the crowd''s farewell, Axel left the stadium, medics alreadying to check his condition halfway.

    After Axel''s departure, Dumbledore put his wand to his throat. "Good afternoon everyone. I hope you all enjoyed yourself," he said, getting an overwhelming affirmation from the audience.

    The Headmaster smiled slightly. "I would like to congratte team Hogwarts, for putting forward their best efforts and bringing honor to the school. But more importantly, I wouldmend both the teams on learning so much from each other in such a short term."

    "Which brings us to the main goal of this tournament: To show just how much you improve bybining the methods of both the schools," said Yujiro.

    Dumbledore nodded. "Axel Hunt was a perfect example of that. By using a Wizard''s spellcasting and a ninja''s agility and toughness, he was able to bring forth results that shocked us all. And this is just one of the multiple benefits that the cooperation between the schools has brought us."

    "Indeed. The Trade between both Magical and Muggle sides of the countries has observed an astonishing 18% increase. The deplomatic rtions between the two countries have strengthened further. The ministries of two countries have agreed to help each other on various aspects," said Yujiro , purposefully being vague on the details of cooperation.

    Dumbledore spread his hands wide. "And due to these overwhelming benefits.... you will be seeing more of such exchange programs in the future!" He said, making everyone cheer.

    Dumbledore nodded to himself. As he had expected, Mr. Hunt did an excellent job of getting viewers from the whole world. And the match couldn''t have gone better. With this, the whole program can be called a huge sess.

    Inspired by the results, talks of more such exchange programs are already ongoing between the schools all around the world. The magical world is slowlying together, as it should be, in order for his ns to seed.

    ...

    Sometimeter. In front of the Hospital Wing¡ª

    "Will he be okay?"

    "¡ªAnd he still didn''t give up..."

    "I just hope it''s nothing serious."

    "But Holy Morgana! How the hell did he pull that off!"

    "The way he crashed Takeshi to the ground... I''m still getting the chills."

    "Look at this! He purposefully took the "Windstorm" Jutsu point nk in exchange for taking down Endo with his lightning wand AND getting sted in Takeshi''s direction. Takeshi never saw himing!"

    A huge crowd was currently gathered in front of the Hospital wing. Students pushed each other, some peaking around, some talking in hushed voices, and most of them still watching the clips of the match earlier.

    All of this was because the yers of both the teams were currently admitted here, including one Axel Hunt, the man of the match.

    The match was just too exciting. It had gotten the students'' blood boiling and adrenaline pumping. They simply couldn''t sit still after watching such a great showdown. A party, a celebration was needed.

    But what good would be the party without the yers? And when they had heard that Axel was also injured and admitted, many rushed here for further news and many others followed. That''s how the situation turned into this, where the students are just staking it out outside the Hospital wing, waiting for the team to be released so that they can celebrate.

    Inside¡ª

    Axelid in the bed of one of the private rooms. He wasn''t really injured, just some minor bruises, but he had to pretend to be. The lightning did not do any damage, considering that his affinity was quite strong and he has been training under Akiko, the best teacher. So how could Takeshi''s little Jutsu hurt him?

    As for the Wind Jutsu of Endo, well, that one did deal some damage. The Windstorm is powerful enough to seriously injure any normal student. But Axel has been training his body and following a strict diet, all under the System''s instructions for two years. Needless to say, his body is far from normal. He can shrug off jutsus like without a frown.

    But still, he must pretend, He has already exposed a bit too much. It''s better to let his enemies underestimate him as much as possible until he is strong enough. Which is why, Axel was now stuck in this room, waiting to be released.

    But, he didn''t waste his time. Having the peaceful and quiet room to himself, he began practicing Legilimency. It''s been almost a year since he began training this art, and he hase to realize that Legilimency, like lumency, is quite diverse. People can have different types of defenses set up in their mind, and breaking through them can be quite tricky sometimes. The first thing you need is an excellent concentration.

    *Knock* *Knock*

    Which, was promptly broken with the abrupt knocks on his door.

    "Who the fuck is it?" He asked with minor annoyance. He was already tired of telling the fangirling nurses he was alright. And he had already told them not to allow visitors.

    The door opened slightly, and Martina''s face peeked in through the gap. "Um, Hi¡­ can wee in? It''s me and¡ª"

    The door was opened fully by someone else, pushing Martina in, and Akiko invited herself in as she closed the door behind her.

    "Figures." Muttered Axel, realizing why visitors were suddenly allowed. If these two are standing together, few people in the world can say no. "What are you guys doing here?"

    Not that he didn''t appreciate it, but theiring here would draw a lot of attention, and gossip. Not to mention a certain Greengrass would mind it very much.

    "Well, are you alright? I heard you were injured," said Martina, she asked, magic already reaching out to diagnose his condition.

    Axel rolled his eyes at her.. "I''m just pretending. Come on, Martina. You really think those kids could hurt me? After what you saw at Christmas?"

    Martina sighed in relief. "Well, I had guessed as much. But I was still worried."

    "Well, I''ll message you as well next time," he said, putting her in the same ''slightly unstable'' category as Daphne. The first thing he had done was answer Daphne''s call and reassure her multiple times he was alright.

    He looked at Akiko. "Don''t tell me you came for the same reason."

    He had trained a lot with Akiko. And that included a lot of sparring. And in those spars, Akiko had used much, much stronger Jutsus on him. There''s no way this girl would be worried.

    Akiko''s face was still stoic as usual, but Axel could tell through minor differences that she was very happy. "I bet with my Grandfather that you would win."

    "Really?" Axel had to sit up upon hearing that. "That exins why he looked like he wanted to kill me, other than the fact that I defeated his team. What did you win?"

    Akiko took out a scroll. "This. And a few more things," she said. It didn''t quite show on her face, but Axel could tell she was quite pleased with herself.

    Axel opened the scroll. "Fuck¡­"

    ¡­

    It was night. But someone was sneaking through the corridors under an invisibility cloak. The figure finally reached it''s destination: the Room of Requirements. A door appeared, and the figure entered.

    Daphne pulled off the cloak and looked around. Seeing no one, an anxious look crossed her face.

    But in the moment, another figure materialized right in front of her, making her sigh in relief. It was Axel.

    "How is your condition?" She asked urgently, dragging him to the couch. She tore open his t-shirt to check the ce where he had been hit by the Wind spell. Only when she found nothing but old scars did she finally breathe.

    Daphne put her chin on his shoulder, finally rxing. "Please¡­ Please don''t y like that again. It was so dangerous," she whispered.

    Axel sighed. Among the list of things that were considered ''dangerous'' in his life, that game¡­ it would not even make it to the list. And that list is pretty long.

    "Daphne, didn''t I already tell you I''m fine. Have some faith in me, will you?"

    Daphne suddenly realized that she was behaving like a worried wife just now, while she was only a friend. "I¡­ I''m sorry. I don''t know why I even care so much."

    Axel looked at her with some incredulity as he realized she had gotten the wrong meaning. "Are you apologizing for worrying about me? Hey, let me make it clear: I really cherish it," he said genuinely. He really did cherish the fact that there were people who cared about him. It''s just that, his life is pretty dangerous, and won''t stop being so any time soon. So he hated to make them worry again and again.

    "As for why you care, it''s because we were just that close. I''d also worry if you were in danger."

    "We were?" Asked Daphne, looking doubtful. "Why would someone like you even be close to me?"

    Axel chuckled, remembering the past. "Someone like me? You would be surprised to know about my condition when we first met."

    "What condition?" Daphne suddenly clutched her head in pain, making Axel hold her again. "Hey, don''t try to remember it."

    Daphne shook her head. "But, I really want to. I¡­ I feel this horrible emptiness without those memories."

    Axel clenched his fists. "Don''t worry. I''ll bring them back soon. I''m working on it."

    Just one ingredient left. Then he will be able to bring it back.

    "Anyways, don''t think too much about it. It''s just one and a half years of memories. We can cover it again."

    That brightened her up somewhat. "Alright. Then, tell me about our first meeting."

    Axel winced. "Well, those days aren''t weren''t very good. Not for me at least. I was kinda crippled. Badly."

    That already made her frown. "You were what?! How?!"

    ''Your father.''

    ¡­.

    In the forbidden forest, there was a strange bubble in a clearing. The bubble itself was invisible, but inside it, apletely furnished living space was present, installed with space expansion charm.

    This was a space bubble, an Antean Technology, in which, the members of the Organization were currently staying.

    The tall guy entered the bubble to find the short guy surfing through a magimirror. Both the men had taking off their disguises revealing their original appearance. They looked like ordinary humans, except they had blue tattoos, or markings all over their bodies.

    "What did you find?" Asked the tall one. His name was Theron.

    The short one grinned. His was Nerio. "Well, first of all, the confirmation that it really is him. No parents, lived in an orphanage, the dates match, and the face also has an uncanny resemnce. It''s that traitor''s son alright."

    "Other than that, he''s quite something. Sports star, top of the ss, good at all dueling for his age, and... quite the luck with thedies."

    "That''s Tristan''s son alright," Said Theronughing contemptuously. "I found something too. He''s currently in the Hospital wing. Seriously injured."

    "Figures. But he''s still quite something, isn''t he? He didn''t use powerful magic but that fighting sense..." Nerio narrowed his eyes. "We can''t let him live longer."

    Theron was surprised. "You think he might have that power?"

    Nerio shook his head. "I don''t know. He couldn''t have awakened it without proper training and guidance. But he does have the royal bloodline. Don''t forget the troubles his mother gave us." Nerio had an angry look on his face when saying this.

    Theron shivered, remember. "That bitch and that traitor. d they''re gone. Their son definitely can''t be a good news."

    ...

    A.N. POWERSTONES!

    Read Ahead on P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

    Next: Celebration

    Next... next: Hogwarts Under Attack

 Chapter 134: Celebration

    Chapter 134: Celebration

    Daphne gripped Axel''s hand in worry. "How did you get crippled? And are you fine now?"

    Looking at her fussing over him, a smile came to his face. This is just one of the reasons why she is different from anyone else in his life.

    She was interested in knowing about their first meeting. But as soon as he told her about his condition at that time, she immediately focused more on his well being rather than their fateful meeting.

    ''And then she wonders why I would try to be friends with someone like. She''s really precious.'' thought Axel and he really wanted her to know this too.

    "Oi! I am asking something serious here!" said Daphne, annoyed at his smile.

    Axel sighed. "Well, if you must know, some nutjob thought it would be fun to torture me endlessly. Well, that doesn''t matter. The point is, my nerves werepletely damaged. I couldn''t do magic at all, I couldn''t use a quill to write, hell, even walking used to be difficult back in the days. I was in that condition when I first met you. That''s what I''m trying to say. I wasn''t Axel Hunt the Quidditch star back then. I was Axel Hunt, the cripple. You can imagine how anyone would treat me when I''m like that."

    Axel''s face clouded over when he recalled the time. "Those days¡­ they were not good. Due to some reasons, I had stopped trusting anyone. I would push everyone away, no matter if they treated me good or bad. But you¡­" a helpless smile crossed his face.

    "You never seemed to give up on me, no matter how much I tried to push you away. So, the one who doesn''t deserve this friendship is me, not you."

    "I..."

    Daphne was so touched that she didn''t know what to say. But, at the same time, Axel''s previous state deeply concerned her. Something he said had triggered the memories she had rted to it. Her eyes widened as she looked at Axel in shock..

    "C-Cruciatus? You were tortured by the Cruciatus, were you?"

    She didn''t have the memories of Axel, but she did have an incredible amount of information on the cruciatus curse and how to treat its after effects which she had desperately researched for some unknown reason. Now that she connected the dots, she realized she must have researched them for him.

    "Are you alright now?" She asked, holding his hands tightly.

    "Hey, calm down. I''mpletely healed," said Axel, clenching and unclenching his hand to show her as if to demonstrate. "In fact, I''m better than ever."

    Though Daphne was relieved, her concern didn''t lessen.

    She looked at his hands. They seemed to be functioning alright, but, his palms were filled with calluses and the rest of the hand had various scars scattered across the toughened skin. Her heart ached for him just by imagining the hardships he must have had to face in his past.

    Daphne gently ran her fingers over the past injuries. "Who was it?" That was all she asked. And even though there were no fluctuations in her voice, Axel could tell she was angry.

    "Who... was the fucker who tortured you?"

    Axel hesitated. What could he say? It was her father.

    "Do you really want to know?"

    Daphne nodded her head firmly. And for a moment, it felt like her eyes were glowing.

    Axel recalled why he hadn''t already told her yet. In the beginning, he hadn''t because he didn''t trust her. It was murder, after all. He would essentially be giving her the power to make him a fugitive on the charge of murdering a Lord. After that, he began to trust her enough to tell her but the matter was never brought up.

    Though, now that she was asking him herself, and he trusted her, Axel still hesitated to tell her. Cyrus Greengrass was Daphne''s dad. And Daphne had been wanting to kill her father for a long time. But she had either failed or couldn''t be decisive enough. In the end the guy ended up being killed by Axel, but only after he had put Axel through a hellish torture first.

    That''s why Axel felt that it would not be good to tell her. At least for now. Daphne already had enough on her te already right now, what the losing her memories and all. He didn''t want to add this to the list of her burdens as well.

    In the end, he looked into her eyes.

    "Fine. I''ll tell you¡­ but only after I''ve brought your memories back. It''s a promise."

    ¡­.

    Patricia PoV:

    When she woke up, she cried.

    Yesterday, they had given it their all in the match. And in their own sleazy and tricky way, they were actually going Toe to Toe with Mahoutokoro without Axel''s help, even though they weren''t that good at Quidditch.

    So, when they were suddenly hit by Takeshi''s Jutsu, Patricia, along with the rest of the team got a huge shock¡­ literally and figuratively. In extreme pain and helplessness, she realized that they had beenpletely outyed by Mahoutokoro''s strategy, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

    She had tried to move. She really did. But the pain was just too much. It was at an intensity that someone like her had never experienced before. Realizing that they had lost, Patricia fell unconscious.

    That''s why, when she woke up, she cried. She had let her team down. She had let the school down. And, she had let down those numerous fans who had especially tuned in to see Axel y properly for onest time.

    It was her fault. If only she had been morepetent, if only she had researched more, if only she had been paying more attention, she might have been able to figure out what Mahoutokoro was nning and stop them beforehand.

    But instead, it was Axel who did. And by the time she led the team to take action, it was already toote.

    Tears poured out of her eyes, soaking the pillow as she silently sobbed in frustration. It would have still been eptable if they were defeated with a few point difference. But a total take down? It was humiliating.

    The effects of the dreamless sleep potion that the team had been given had worn off, and the whole team was awake now. Each and every one had tears in their eyes. And what hurt them more than losing was seeing the strong and charismatic captain they had always looked up to crying too. It really made them realize just how badly they had messed up.

    "Captain¡­ it''s not your fault," Patricia heard someone say. It was Diana. She was crying too.

    Patricia realized that her team had also woken up. It wouldn''t do to behave like this, especially right now, when her team needs her the most. Wiping her tears, she sat up on her bed and drew the curtains.

    "Let''s quit moping around. We have to face it. We lost. Let''s receive it gracefully and learn from it. " she said to her teammates, and to herself.

    Her teammates slowly emerged from the canopies of their own beds. All of them had reddened eyes, The defeat against Mahoutokoro had been a big blow to them.

    Patricia looked around. The Slytherin team was admitted in a separate ward. Hundreds of gifts were piled up in one corner, as constion gifts to the team. But Patricia was searching for something else. "Where''s Axel?"

    The teammates, who were distracted by the gifts, also realized this. There were only six beds in the room. Axel was nowhere to be found.

    Patricia decided that she would handle her star seeker separately. He must have been the one to take this defeat the hardest. After all, she knew he had the power to have defeated the Mahoutokoro easily had it not been for thatst attack.

    "Well, gather around, everyone. We need to see this." She said, picking up her magimirror from the table. Running away won''t change anything. They need to face the reality. And it would be best to do it when they are together.

    The teammates all reluctantly gathered around. Patricia looked at everyone. "Ready?" She asked.

    She was going to open the magihive, And she had an idea of what they were going to face. They had been taken down in the middle of the match. The magihive right now would be filled with curses and criticism from their fans, memes from antifans, expert''s opinions of where they had gone wrong, and much more.

    Knowing it was going to be painful, Patricia opened the Magihive. And¡ª

    "AXEL "HUNTS" MAHOUTOKORO!"

    "HOGWARTS WINS!"

    "AXEL HUNT: ONE VS ALL!"

    "EXPERT''S OPINION ON THE MATCH"

    "HUNT BREAKS MORE RECORDS"

    "JOHN SANDERSON CALLS AXEL HUNT THE BEST QUIDDITCH PLAYER IN THE WORLD"

    "TEAM HOGWARTS PULL AND UNEXPECTED WIN!"

    "HUNT''S EXPLOSIVE LAST MATCH"

    !!!

    The team stared at the top posts in a stunned silence, Hogwarts¡­ won? No one seemed to be criticizing them?

    It was like suddenly being able to breathe while on the verge of drowning.

    "H-How¡­?" Patricia couldn''t understand. How the hell did he do it?

    "Is this¡­ a dream?" Anderson murmured.

    With shaking fingers, Patricia quickly opened the video feed with the heading, "Hunt avenges his teammates: The Epic Showdown"

    The video started with Team Hogwarts getting by Mahotokoro''sbo attack and falling to the ground. The members all winced upon recalling the particr moment. They could still feel the after effects of that shock,

    But then, they saw the camera focusing on Axel, who had pushed himself back into a sitting position.

    "Damn¡­"

    The teammates stared at the video, transfixed. They knew first hand how painful it must have been for Axel and yet, he had sat up.

    The team saw Axel looking at the rest of them, and then at the scoreboard. Seemingly having made his resolve, he slowly stood up.

    "He¡­ He is really following through his words," said Elijah, the beater.

    They recalled what Axel had told them. At that moment, his words might have sounded arrogant. But looking at him actually having the grit to follow through, they felt goosebumps rippling on their arms.

    "But¡­ how did he take on the whole team?" Asked Diana.

    That was the question. They knew how bad his condition must have been. And they couldn''t imagine him being able to win. Right now, being the only man standing, all the fire power would be focused on Axel.

    "Did he use some tricks? Like the fog?" Suggested Anderson, but even that didn''t seem viable. The fog could be cleared if they once again created a storm.

    The video gave them the answer.

    "Direct confrontation?!"

    What they saw next, made them lose their minds.

    ¡­.

    Later at night after meeting Daphne, Axel returned to his hospital room. He wasn''t really discharged yet, as he was rmended mandatory rest by the Healers. Well, the actual injuries he had sustained were as severe as a normal human would suffer when they are tickled.

    But he couldn''t let that go in his medical record, could he? After all, everyone had seen him getting hit. If he came out unscathed, it would raise eyebrows.

    So, Axel had simply manufactured a few injuries by himself in order to show the healers.

    After Akiko and Martina, no one came to disturb him. Well, no one was allowed to. So Axel was able to sneak in and out conveniently. Axel returnedte at night and fell asleep without much thought. It was just another day passed for him.

    But, not for everyone else.

    You can''t just casually shock the whole world and simply wash your hands of the matter. You simply don''t. The ramifications of what he had done began to appear the very next day.

    Axel felt like he had barely slept but he was already woken up by urgent knocking on his door.

    "Excuse me, for Merlin''s sake! I told you he needs rest!"

    "Sorry nurse! It really can''t wait!"

    "YEAH!"

    "OPEN THE BLOODY DOOR!"

    Recognising the voices to be his teammates, Axel undid the privacy locks he had ced on the door, and the door burst open as his teammates rushed in.

    "What the¡ª"

    Axel wasn''t given a chance to express his bewilderment on the situation. Seemingly out of their minds, his teammates jumped him like madmen.

    "YOU BLOODY GENIUS YOU¡ª"

    "WE ACTUALLY WON!"

    "THANKYOUTHABKYOUTHANKYOU!"

    "YOU DID IT!"

    Axel: "...."

    Axel hated physical contact with people he wasn''t close with. He considered giving them another jolt of electricity, but in the end, decided against it. They were simply too happy right now.

    Perhaps the him of the past might have actually done it, but Axel simply found that even more bothersome now.

    "Fuck! I''m supposed to be injured, damn it!" He protested.

    Only then did Patricia, who was the first to stick to him, regained some reason. "Hey! Take it easy. He''s injured!"

    The team''s excitement was inordinately high, so it took a long time for them to calm down and let Axel go.

    After that, the team together together with their heads down while Axel red at them, still sitting on his bed with his arms crossed. His clothes and hair were disheveled after allegedly being attacked by his team mates.

    "What the fuck was that for?" Asked Axel, trying very hard not to get them admitted into the hospital wing again.

    The team actually had the decency to look embarrassed. But when Patricia exined the situation, Axel had to reluctantly let them go.

    They had thought they had lost and when they saw the video of Axel taking them to victory and avenging them, they were simply ovee with emotions.

    Of course, that wasn''t the end of the consequences. It was only the beginning.

    """"CONGRATULATIONS!""""

    When Axel and the team went to the Great Hall for breakfast, they found the whole school waiting for them.

    As soon as they entered, confetti rained down on them and everyone yelled in celebration. The team was lifted into the air by the human wave and carried to the middle of the hall.

    It was a full on party. The long tables were nowhere to be seen, switched by smaller tables which were arranged at the sides. The enchanted ceiling had been set to show fireworks and disco lights. Weird sisters music red from the singing speakers.

    Still getting bounced by the wave of super excited students, Axel looked at the ceiling with half closed eyes. "Can I at least have breakfast?"

    As soon as he was let down, Patricia kissed his cheek in front of everyone, making the crowd erupt into cheers, catcalls, and wolf whistles.

    "IT''S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" She said, looking the happiest person alive.

    "Me too!" Said Diana, kissing his other cheek.

    But that was not good for Axel. Because in the next moment, he had been surrounded by a huge number of senior girls trying to kiss him.

    Axel took advantage of the chaos to slip out of the crowd unnoticed.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    He searched for Daphne. He founded sitting at a corner, looking at the horde of girls wanting to kiss him with cold eyes. Axel sighed. Due to the issue with the organization, Axel had told her not to be seen together in public. He simply didn''t want to risk the organization using her to get to him.

    "Hey! He''s here!"

    While he was still looking at Daphne, he was once again found out, causing him to be surrounded again. Some students wanted pictures,some wanted autographs, some bold girls wanted him to sign on¡­ specific parts of their bodies.

    Axel sighed. This is harassment. Just when he was about to do something about it, the girls had to separate on their own, because Professor Mcgonagall had arrived to mediate.

    "Mr. Hunt and the rest of the team are still recovering from their injuries. Please make some distance. Let them at least have breakfast for Merlin''s sake!"

    Mcgonagall looked at the team and smiled. Yes, actually smiled. "Good work, students. 100 points to Slytherin."

    """"WOOOAAAHHHH""""

    Looking at the uncontrolled atmosphere, Axel had to wonder if he had gone too far this time.

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    Read ahead here: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 135: Rose Redemption

    Chapter 135: Rose Redemption

    The team was led to one the small tables, where a meal for them was already arranged where their Slytherin friends joined them.

    "Great match, Hunt!"

    "You brought glory to the house."

    "If you want to go pro, I can get you a great contract!"

    "If you''re looking to make a quick earning, you can promote ourpany."

    "Axel, I can make you very rich!"

    ''Slytherins will be Slytherins,'' thought Axel. To them, Axel was like a golden goose full of profit right now. Of course they would try everything to win him over now.

    There was a time when he was treated like air in this house. And when he was nominated as the seeker, he was treated worse.

    But ever since he started to show off some of his talents, people have started approaching him. Though, he had to admit, it was never this tant.

    Rolling his eyes, Axel signalled Patricia.

    Patricia understood the assignment immediately. She pped her hands to gather everyone''s attention. "Everyone, Axel is still recovering from yesterday''s exertions. No one is allowed to bother him," she announced.

    Though with great reluctance, the Slytherins left him on Patricia''s orders. Two bulky Slytherins were allocated to him with the task of fending off anyone who approaches him.

    After everything was cleared up, Patricia took her seat beside him.

    "Don''t mind them. They''re all under strict instructions from their families to make contact with you, or they wouldn''t be so¡­ crude," she said, regarding the people who tried to make offers to him with a disdainful look.

    Axel gave her a nce, "Oh? Look who''s talking."

    He could easily recall a certain captain harassing him non-stop to join her team. Talk about hypocrisy.

    Patricia blushed, "That is a different matter! I... I was very desperate back then! And I could not let all that talent of yours go to waste!" She defended.

    "Besides, I don''t regret it. Just look around. Right now, you have so much power and influence at your hands that you could achieve things that others can only dream of." Patricia''s eyes were glimmering by just imagining it. "Isn''t it¡­ invigorating?"

    "... Not really." Axel sighed.

    Under different circumstances, he might have enjoyed the current scenario. After all, he now had power, acknowledgment, and a wealth of opportunities waiting to be explored.

    But s, things areplicated. Him having a system is the proof of that.

    Axel gripped the pendant around his neck. Very soon, the world would be filled with chaos and destruction. And the future is so bad that the Akashic records had to go as far as choosing someone from the mortal world to mediate the situation.

    That''s why, he has to hide his real powers and do what needs to be done in order to avoid future troubles. He cannot live in blissful ignorance like other people. The power he has¡­es with heavy burdens.

    "No? Why not?" Patricia looked at him in puzzlement.

    Axel shook his head. "Can''t tell you," he told her, but what he meant was, ''None of your business.''

    Patricia looked at him deeply. "I can never figure you out, Axel." she admitted. "But, that only makes you so much more interesting. Well, I''ll go enjoy our victory. Someone must take the main ce after all," with that, the power hungry girl finally departed.

    Axel rolled his eyes. Patricia might be the most materialistic, ambitious, and calcting girl he has ever seen. She might have even sat beside him and bantered just now only to show her close rtion with him.

    In short, she was not the kind of girl he could trust, even if she might genuinely support him. But Axel didn''t mind. He would let her y her little games as long as she doesn''t go overboard. After all, she IS useful. With her, he can practically rule the Slytherin house without actually having to go through the troubles thate along with it.

    As soon as Patricia was gone, a few students started to try getting a seat near him. Axel spotted Theodore and Tracy looking at him from afar, so he called them over. They''ve been having breakfast together for a while so Axel preferred them over the other Slytherins.

    "Mate, you were amazing yesterday! But¡­ you already know that," said Theodore, sitting beside him.

    "Yeah. But are you alright now? We were worried," asked Tracy.

    Axel nodded, "Still healing. It''ll be alright in a few days."

    As mentioned, you shouldn''te out of a confrontation like that unscathed. Having some injuries would make him more human. Axel looked around at the grand party. "How did the students arrange for all this so quickly?"

    "Oh, it wasn''t just the students. Professor Mcgonagall was the one who got most of the things arranged. And the funding came from the school." Tracy informed him.

    "Mcgonagall?" Axel raised his eyebrows.

    Tracy nodded excitedly. "Yes, just look at her! I''ve never seen her so¡­ less scary before."

    "Well, as you know, she''s quite the Quidditch enthusiast. This match was actually her idea. Of course she''s happy our school won," said Theodore.

    That exined it. Axel looked at the Scottish professor who was sitting at the Head table with the rest of the professors, sipping her wine. She did have a giddy vibe today. She was talking to Professor Narcissa, the History Professor, who has been bing quite popr with the studentstely.

    But then, Axel unexpectedly spotted Lockhart, sitting just a few spaces away from Mcgonagall. What drew his attention was the fact that Gilderoy looked none of his usual self today. His always awfully styled hair was in a mess, his clothes unkempt, and his face gaunt. Also, there was no dimpled smile on his face.

    "Wait, Lockhart is actually here?" Apparently, Theodore also saw him, as he eximed in surprise. "Blimey! What''s up with his appearance?"

    "Hm? Lockhart?" Tracy also looked over. "Oh, he''s actually here! It''s been a while since I''ve seen him."

    Axel was a bit surprised, "A while? Have you guys started skipping his sses as well?"

    Tracy shook her head straight away. "Of course not. Lockhart''s the one who''s not been taking his lecturestely. He rarely appears these days."

    Theodore snorted. "He must have been still sore from the time you beat him up in front of everyone."

    Axel recalled the incident. Lockhart was really out of line that time. Axel had not been in the best of the states, having used [limit break] the previous night, and having yed an intense Quidditch game the very next day without rest. And while he was in that state, Lockhart hade and tried to take credit for teaching Axel how to y Quidditch.

    Well, as a result, Lockhart was humiliated badly in public.

    "Is that really it?" Asked Axel. Was that really the reason why Lockhart has been so elusive and shabbytely?

    Theodore shrugged. "Well, it must definitely have a huge impact. He''s be a meme now. Studentsugh at him all the time."

    Well, Axel still did not regret teaching him a lesson. The guy had iting.

    While Axel was thinking about that, the surrounding conversation slowly started to halt, as eyes began gathering in his direction.

    "?" Axel looked over and realized the cause. For some reason, Rose Potter was standing behind, being blocked by his bodyguards.

    Axel inwardly heaved a sigh. The previous star seeker against the current star seeker. Such a situation would of course garner everyone''s attention.

    "What''s up?" Axel asked, turning in his seat to face her.

    Rose wasn''t intimidated by the attention gathered on them. She had a look of resolve on her face.

    "I''vee... to apologize, I''m¡­ I''m sorry," She stated with much difficulty, as if doing something extremely difficult.

    Axel was puzzled. "What for?"

    "...."

    Rose looked stunned. It seemed like she was not prepared for this. "What¡­ what do you mean what for?"

    "I mean what are you apologizing for?"

    Rose red at him. "Don''t you know already? I''m sorry for misunderstanding you! I mistook you for some phnderer who has rtions with multiple girls. I''m sorry you had to rify it through the interview."

    Axel blinked. ''Wtf?''

    He had already forgotten Rose''s usation as ''just another Rose thing'' and move on, but thisdy here thought he actually gave a flying fuck about how she thought of him, or what she said about him.

    ''Come to think of it, she''s been acting weirdtely.'' He thought. Ever since the interview, Rose has been acting differently. Well, less bitchy. She even came to wish him luck before the match.

    Axel nodded. "Well, if you say so," he said, before starting to eat again.

    Rose was once again triggered. "That''s it? I apologise to you in front of the whole school and you only say "if you say so"?! You could at least try being a bit moved!"

    Axel was a bit irritated to hear that. "But you could have just done it when we''re alone. Why did you have to do it in front of everyone?"

    Everyone was just starting to forget about his presence and enjoy the party, giving him some relief. And she just had toe right now and bring everyone''s attention back to him. Couldn''t she have just apologised in private.

    Rose stomped her feet.

    "Do you think I''m enjoying this?! I had used you in front of everyone! Everyone thought my words were right. Of course I have to apologize in front of everyone! No matter how embarrassing it is!" She yelled, before running away, tears glistening at the corner of her eyes.

    !?

    Axel was left sitting on his seat, stunned. So¡­ that was the reason.

    Damn it, just how self centered was he? The girl was actually making an effort here. Not only for him, but also for herself. His image had gotten so bad that he had toe forward and rify it himself. And she genuinely felt at least partially responsible for that.

    That''s why she came to apologize. And her sincerity could be seen just by the fact that she had put aside her pride and apologized in front of everyone.

    And he had just been too self centred to care. Now seeing the crying girl exiting the great hall, Axel felt like shit.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, sitting at the head table, Gilderoy Lockhart looked at his target. He clenched the fingers of his hands. ''Just wait, just wait a little longer,'' he thought.

    Lockhart has been miserable these days.

    Not many people know this, but he has an Obsessive Recognition disorder. It is an extreme and unhealthy obsession with achieving fame, recognition, and admiration from others. Individuals with ORD are driven by an insatiable need for attention and will go to great lengths, including engaging in morally reprehensible actions, to achieve their desired level of recognition.

    That''s why he''s always been trying to get recognized for more and more achievements, even if those achievements aren''t his. That''s why, when he saw Axel ying like he did in his very first match against Gryffindor, Lockhart couldn''t help himself from acting.

    He thought it would be an easy matter. The boy was just 13 years old. A few well-cedpulsion and memory modification charms would have been enough to convince him that Lockhart really was his teacher.

    But the boy unexpectedly humiliated him instead. Very badly. Unfortunately for Lockhart, that clip became a meme and got hugely viral on the Magi-hive, making Lockhart the joke of Hogwarts.

    But, no more of that. Thankfully, Lockhart is not alone. He has help.

    ''Right?'' He thought, caressing the small diary in his pocket.

    Lockhart has long given up getting the recognition of the whole world.

    That no longer matters to him.

    Now, his goal is getting the recognition of a certain someone instead.

    To do that, Lockhart has been preparing something for a long while now. And soon, he will be able to execute it.

    ...

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Next: Hogwarts under Attack

    Read ahead on P¨¤treon /Snollygoster

 Chapter 136:

    Chapter 136:

    Chapter 134

    The day after the Match was dered a rest day, on which students celebrated and yed around the whole time. After all, it wasn''t a small matter. The game, due to abination of factors, was one of the most watched events of the year.

    This was just a school level match, even smaller than the minor leagues. And yet, the viewership wasparable to an actual world cup match. And then, in such a match, Axel did something so legendary that made even more of the wizarding poption watch it, including those who had absolutely no interest in Quidditch. That''s why, the clips of Axel''s small but explosive showdown were circting on all tforms around the world.

    This ultimately benefited Hogwarts big time, considering the fact that Axel was a student of Hogwarts. So of course, the school would let the students celebrate.

    But too bad, good times neverst. The date of annual exams was announced the very next day, forcing the students toe out of their fantasy worlds and start focusing on the sad and boring reality: That they were going to have to study their asses out and cut down their hobbies and other activities.

    For most of the students, Grades actually matter a lot. Higher grades allows them certain perks which provide inducement for everyone to try.

    Of course, there are always a few students who simply don''t give a damn, but these are few in number.

    And, of course, there are always some students with no actual life and studying as their only activity, but these are ultra rare. Unlike most students who only start studying a few days before the exams, these students have spent the whole semester preparing for the exams and are determined to get perfect grades in all subjects.

    One such student was currently sitting in the library, trying to study.

    ''There''s still so much sybus to cover.'' Thought Hermione Granger. The second year Ravenw was trying very hard to concentrate, but, her presentpany was making it very difficult for her to do so.

    "But you have to understand, he''s different but he has a good heart," Daphne was saying.

    Rose almost banged the table. "Good heart?! He humiliated me in front of the whole school! And others are still just cheering for him, saying he did great! They''re treating me like a viin!"

    Hermione sighed. "Can you guys try to be a bit quiet? ''Some'' peoplee to the library to actually study!"

    "Oh¡­ but I see a lot of students doing mating activities between the bookshelves," said Luna Lovegood. She had a book about magical creatures lying open in front of her.

    Daphne looked scandalized. "Luna, you aren''t supposed to see those things! You''re still too young," she chided.

    "Daphne, are you even listening? I am venting here!" Rose protested.

    Daphne as she nodded. "Of course, of course. I am listening. I know Axel is a big baddie. But, can you get over it? We need to study."

    Hermione looked like she wanted to pull her hair out. "I am going to sit somewhere else," she said, gathering her things.

    "Hey, you''re not going anywhere." Daphne stopped her. "You agreed to help us study."

    Hermione sighed for the nth time. "How did I end up here?"

    Hermione, Daphne, Rose, and Luna. Quite an odd group that had formed here. How did ite to be? Well, it all started with Daphne.

    Due to their fickle and superficial nature, Daphne had stopped associating with her previous friends, because all they could do these days was fangirling Axel, and it made her nauseous. She had instead started hanging out with Hermione, a fellow Ravenw who is a study freak.

    And Daphne felt that it had been good for her. No toxicity, no gossip, no talk about boys. She had been able to focus more on her studies. And most importantly, she could keep her attention away from HIM.

    Axel Hunt. The boy of mysteries. They''re friends now, but Daphne can''t even be seen with him in public. It distresses her greatly that he has enemies out there and he has to protect her from them. And then there''s the thing with his past. He had been tortured with the Crutiatus. Badly enough that it crippled him. And yet, not one person seems to even know about it, let alone care for him.

    She had once seen him shirtless, and no matter how much she admired the view, her prevailing thoughts were of concern for him. He had so many scars! How did he get them? What happened to the ones who gave them to him? Are they still roaming free?

    But no matter how much she distresses over it, there is nothing she can actually do about it. She is powerless, and useless. The best she can do is to enjoy the little time they do spend together.

    That''s why, she tries to think as little about Axel Hunt as possible, which, it must be mentioned, is extremely difficult if you hang out with his fangirls. That''s why Daphne thinks Hermione is a perfect friend. All she talks about is studies. Just seeing her schedule packed full of assignments, research, and ''light reading'' would make you feel pressured to study as well.

    As for Luna? Well, Martina is close with Hermione, seeing that they''re both magic geeks. So Martina has tasked Hermione to take care of the girl. Of course, neither Hermione nor Daphne minded.

    Luna was like a cute pet. She''s so innocent and pure that you can''t help but want to protect her. She''s an endangered species. And the fact that she''s been dumped into the den of snakes called the House Slytherin, the Hat must be getting barmy. Just thinking about how those snakes would treat the innocent girl strokes their maternal instincts. That''s why Daphne and Hermione are more than happy to include her into their group.

    But Rose, well she is a different case. She doesn''t get along with Neville anymore. And since she has been friends with both Daphne and Hermione, and she is especially good at DADA, so of course the girls didn''t mind inviting her. But now, things have changed. Rose has been¡­ distracted as ofte.

    She doesn''t pay attention of studies and keeps talking about Axel. All she does isin: How much of an idiot is for having such great skills and not using them, how full of himself he is, How she had been training very hard to catch up to him, how insensitive he is for not epting her apology, etc etc.

    This is getting on both Daphne''s and Hermione''s nerves. Whether it''s an Axel fangirl or Axel hater, both are bad for Daphne, who wants to stop thinking about him. And Hermione, who is only interested in studies, is also finding it hard to concentrate with Rose constantly distracting everyone.

    "Rose, can you just¡­ stop talking about him? Please?" Said Daphne after getting tired.

    "Daphne?! Is this because of the crush you have on him? Fine. Don''t bother listening. At least Hermione would support me. She also hates Axel," said Rose, turning to Hermione.

    "Why do you hate Axel?" Asked Luna. "He is kind. And he flies very well," she proimed, nodding to herself.

    Rose snorted. Axel Hunt, kind? Only Luna would say something like that.

    "Luna, you won''t understand why I hate him." Hermione sighed. It has to be mentioned, Hermione also hates Axel with a passion.

    Firstly, there''s the fact that he somehow came first in ss, even after skipping sses, and getting all the assignments done by Daphne. And then there''s his rtion with Martina. Hermione is simply jealous of that. Martina is her idol and she really cherishes every moment she spends with her genius senior. But Axel¡­ he''s always treating Martina as if they''re equals! And instead, Martina is the one who appears subservient to him. It makes her wonder if the guy is ckmailing her or something.

    Hermione sighed. "Rose, while I''m not particrly fond of Axel Hunt, that doesn''t change anything. The point is, exams are drawing nearer and you are always distracting us. Can you please just stop talking in general?"

    "What?" Rose looked at her two friends. She had be a social outcast, people were making fun of her on the inte, students also see her as the viin. And now, even her friends won''t support her anymore.

    "Fine. I won''t bother you guys anymore." Feeling betrayed, she got up and started gathering her things.

    "Wait Rose¡ª"

    "Hey, that''s not what I meant¡ª"

    Rose didn''t listen to their lousy attempts to stop her. After she left, Daphne and Hermione looked at each other with troubled and helpless expressions. The one they med was the oblivious Axel, for different reasons.

    "Go console her¡ª"

    "Go bring her back¡ª"

    They both said to each other at the same time and both sighed at the same time. Rose is like this. She gets angry easily and is difficult to coax.

    ¡­.

    Rose walked alone through the corridors. Students would point at her from time to time but she tried her best to ignore it. Despite the dawn of summer, the castle felt quite explicably chilly today and there seemed an air of depression in the corridors.

    Ignoring the deste feeling Rose walked on. She was going towards the Quidditch pitch.

    "Rose? Fancy seeing you here! I was only looking for you!" Said Lockhart cheerfully, walking towards her in big strides.

    Rose raised her eyebrows. "Professor Lockhart?" She involuntarily took a step back. Because right now, Lockhart was looking like a madman. His condition is worse than ever. And he stank! Rose covered her nose.

    "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. I''ve been looking for you everywhere!" Said Lockhart,ing closer. "Would you minding to the forbidden forest with me? It''s quite urgent."

    Rose took one more step backwards. Her intuition was telling her that something was wrong. "I¡­ I'' m sorry Professor, I have something I need to do," she said, trying to get away, but Lockhart had already drawn his wand.

    "Stupify."

    !! Rose knew something was off with the man, but she surely didn''t expect the man to directly attack him. She tried getting away, but it was already toote..

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a house in an unknown location, Betrix ck kicked the furniture in annoyance.

    "It''s already past the time limit, Gorski!" She yelled, ring at the former History professor.

    Jacob Gorski, who always appeared to be in control of the situation, actually looked distressed as well. His thick eyebrows were knotted in a frown.

    "Minister, this is really an unpredicted development. They should have been here by now."

    Betrix sted the furniture with her wand this time. "Then why aren''t they here?! You have had me set so many wards, and station some of the most powerful wizards in the world right in the middle of nowhere, for what?! Do you think it costs me nothing?! Is this even necessary?!"

    "It IS necessary," Gorski had a severe expression on his face. "I''ve told you. I''m not considered weak, and they want me alive. To get me, they would send some of the best they have. The force we''ve prepared is absolutely necessary. But¡­ as for why they''re not here yet¡­ there could be several reasons."

    "Oh? Like what?!" Asked Betrix, crossing her arms.

    "Like the conflict with the Royal Family might have gotten at a crucial point, making them unable to spare forces to Hunt me. Or¡­"

    "Or?"

    "Or maybe something more important has distracted them. I won''t know unless you let me check what''s happening in the outside world!" Said Gorski in protest. This minister had caught him unprepared and hasn''t allowed him any leeway ever since. She doesn''t even let him near a newspaper.

    "No! Forget it!" Btrix rejected him immediately. "You''re a prisoner, don''t forget."

    Gorski sighed. "Even prisoners of Azkaban are allowed newspapers. What can I even do with it? Cut you?"

    Betrix clicked her tongue. She wasn''t allowing him because information is power. And she doesn''t know anything about Anteans. That''s why she''s been taking every precaution. But now, what choice did she have? She was running out of time. She threw him a copy of the daily prophet.

    Gorski slowly began browsing through the news with a calm look. But, as soon as he saw the very first news, his eyes almost popped out.

    "Fuck!" An uncharacteristic exmation came out of his mouth.

    "What is it?" Asked Betrix, also surprised, but Gorski was too damn stunned to respond.

    "The more important thing¡­" He murmured. Gorski understood at once why they hadn''te for him.

    But what the hell?! He was just an injured little boy thest time he had seen him. AND he had strictly told him to keep a low profile!

    Then, WHY AND HOW THE HELL IS AXEL HUNT ALL OVER THE NEWS?!

    ¡­

    A.N.: POWERSTONES ???? /Snollygoster

 Chapter 137: Hogwarts under Attack

    Chapter 137: Hogwarts under Attack

    Around the same time as Rose was attacked, the Aurors and Ninjas stationed at Hogwarts were dealing with something else.

    A creeping chill had spread everywhere in the astronomy tower, and an eerie sense of despair hung in the air.

    "What the¡­"

    "Just how many are there?!"

    "We''re getting overwhelmed!"

    Dementors. Hundreds of them had suddenly appeared at the top of the astronomy tower, causing the Auror and Ninja guards stationed at all parts of the school to be directly summoned here.

    "Expecto Patronum!"

    "Holy me!"

    The wizards and ninjas were trying their best to stop the dementors from advancing, but¡­

    "W-Why¡­?"

    "Why aren''t the spells working?!"

    "Damn it, is it just me or have the dementors always been this big?!"

    "This is not working!"

    That was the problem. Usually this much force should have been enough to enough the Dementors, but for some reason, their spells weren''t properly effective against the dementors. Despite their best efforts, the Dementors were somehow still advancing through forward.

    During this time, the Professor stood at the backlines, each of them having severe expressions on their faces. Their patronuses were also engaged in stopping the dementors. But powerful as they were, theirbined might was stilling short in front of the absurdly powerful army of the dark creatures.

    "This¡­ is an unprecedented situation!" said Professor Sprout.

    "Any update on how they got here?" Flitwick asked Alice Longbottom, the former Auror and now the dueling professor.

    "None." Alice shook her head. She had a frustrated expression on her face. "This is a nned attack. The minister pulled out most of her forces for some unknown reason, and Headmaster Dumbledore and Yujiro are not present. They''ve literally caught us with our pants down."

    "But something else is wrong. The amount of power we have is enough to hold down any horde of dementors," said Sayako Sensei, the Ninjutsu Professor of Mahoutokoro. And she was right. Thebined might of the Senseis and Professors alone was nothing to scoff at, not to mention the Aurors and Ninja Guardians also fighting right now.

    "Something is wrong with these Dementors alright. They''re awfully resistant," said Yamamoto Sensei, the Physical Training or the Taijutsu Teacher.

    That was the thing. It was as if these dementors were¡­ different. More powerful.

    "They''re overwhelming us. We need to evacuate the students," said Professor Narcissa.

    "We can''t. It''ll cause panic among the students! As we discussed, we have to keep this matter contained. If the news spreads to the media, there will be ramifications."

    That was the thing. Right now, they were trying to end this matter here without letting the news spread. Because if it did, Hogwarts Security will be severely criticized, not to mention the big blow it will give to the school''s reputation.

    Looking at the situation, Professor Mcgonagall hardened her resolve. "Make the announcement," she dered. Even if the matter could be contained, the safety of the students should be the first priority.

    "But the students shouldn''t know the cause. Tell all the deputy professors and prefects to escort every student to their dorms."

    ¡­.

    In the entire Hogwarts, the temperature had already dropped for some reason, and students were all feeling rather down right now. Most of them had already attributed it to the iing exams, but some had begun to suspect something.

    While the students were going about their usual business, a school wide announcement was made, rming everyone.

    "Attention all students, this is an emergency. Everyone, please calmly make your way towards your dorms right now."

    "Attention all students¡­"

    The students who had been studying or chilling on this fine Sunday afternoon were rmed!

    "What happened?"

    "Damn, has something like this happened before?!"

    "Hey, how about we try and find out?"

    "Yeah, couldn''t they have been more specific?"

    "Whatever it is, I hope it''s serious enough to cancel the exams."

    In Hogwarts students, Curiosity and excitement ran among the students rather than concern for their own well being. Hogwarts was not a military school. Of course students won''t be very disciplined.

    But the Mahoutokoro students, on the other hand, werepletely different. They all rushed to the dorms at once without any fanfare, following the orders to a T.

    Martina, who had been locked away in her portable space-extentionedboratory, came out of her concentrated state as a bell rang inside herb. It warned her when someone knocked on her room.

    Martina frowned. She had been busy doing an important project. She didn''t want to be disturbed. But, the knocking was incessant.

    It has to be said, there are very few people who have the guts, or the status to knock on Martina''s door. "This better be good," she muttered, getting up.

    When she came out of her suitcase, the first thing she noticed was the low temperature. It was summer, and yet, the temperature was so cold! Rubbing her arms, she opened the door. Only to see Akiko Matsushima of all people standing in front of her door.

    Akiko still had a calm, expressionless look on her face. But to those who knew her, the knot between her eyebrows was enough to signify that something was wrong right now.

    "Akiko¡­? Why are you here?"

    Akiko simply grabbed Martina''s hand. "Let''s go."

    ??

    Before she knew it, Martina was dragged outside the Ravenw Tower. "Hey, at least tell me where we''re going. Is it about Axel?"

    Martina was resistant at first, but then she finally heard the repeat of the announcement and seriousness dawned on her face.

    "Let''s go." She agreed they both began rushing to the cause.

    As they approached the Astronomy tower, Martina''s eyes grew unfocused as she felt the vast amounts of magic being used up ahead. As they drew nearer, the temperature dropped enough to condense their breaths into wisps of mist. A feeling of destion began to affect them, but both the witches'' minds were strong enough to not be influenced.

    When they finally reached the ce, both held their breaths.

    "Dementors," said Martina, merely confirming her conjecture.

    Akiko nodded. They both stopped at a distance where they could see from afar the backs of Professors, Senseis, Aurors, and Ninja Guardians,unching patronuses and keeping the huge horde of Dementors at bay.

    They didn''t go further for now. After all, they were just students. And they didn''t even know the situation yet. It would be foolish to rush in now and get scolded for no reason.

    "You''re here."

    At this moment, the girls heard a casual voice orginate from right beside them, making them jump.

    !!?!

    "Axel!" Said Martina, her voice containing equal amounts of surprise, relief, and annoyance.

    Yep, standing beside with his back leaning against the wall, was Axel, looking ahead at the situation as if he had been standing here the whole time.

    ¡­.

    When Rose came out, she found herself unable to move.

    "Hmmm! Mmmmph!" And neither could she speak. She was bound to the ground with chains, and her mouth was gagged with a cloth to prevent her from screaming.

    Fear and Panic gripped her heart. How the hell did she get here?! Yes, Lockhart stunned her. Is this a prank?! If this is, she''s going to murder that professor!

    She scoured her surroundings. It seemed like she was in the forbidden forest. There were trees everywhere. And... she was bound in the middle of what seemed like a huge ritual circle. This seemed like a horrible nightmare!

    "Hmmmph! MMPH!!" She struggled to get out of the ropes, and she tried to scream for help, but to no avail. Alright, Rose was scared for real now. What the hell is going on?!

    At this moment, she heard someone chuckle. Gilderoy Lockhart came into her vision.

    "Rosie, Rosie, Oh Rosie! You seem scared. And why would you not be? After all, you were kidnapped in broad daylight!" He said, looking rather jolly.

    Rose red at Lockhart. She tried to speak, but she couldn''t due to the gag.

    "Don''t try to scream. And don''t try to break free either. It''s useless, Rose. This ce is covered with wards I can''t evenprehend, including the silencing ones. Your voice won''t reach anyone. In fact," Lockhart down and took the gag off her. "This is useless. Sorry, I just put it for the dramatics," he said, scratching his head sheepishly.

    Rose red at Lockhart murderously but didn''t try to scream for help. "Why am I here?! Do you know who my god Aunt is?! She''ll have you locked in Azkaban for this!"

    Lockhartughed as if he''d heard a joke. "Azkaban? Rosie, Rosie, Rosie, you have no idea who you''re trying to threaten. The entity I work for is far more intimidating than a mere Minister of Magic. Of course, you would know a lot about them!" He said, bringing out a small diary from his pocket. "Behold!"

    "...."

    Rose furrowed her eyebrows looking at the rather unassuming diary. This was supposed to be the reason? She had finally confirmed.

    ''He really is nuts.''

    But, in the next moment, a sudden pressure descended upon the surroundings. Darkness began radiating off the diary, making the surroundings chilly.

    And then, a pair of scarlet eyes appeared on Diary''s surface.

    ""We meet again, Rose Potter."" A creepy voice echoed in the surroundings.

    Rose''s eyes widened. "Y-You!" Horror descended upon her as she realized just who it was. Voldemort!

    In theirst encounter, he had tried to steal the Philosopher''s stone and had failed due to her and Daphne. She hadn''t expected to see him again so soon. But yet, here he was. It was the same foul, palpitating presence. There was no doubt. It really was Voldemort himself. Rose was definitely intimidated. But she won''t let the fear consume her.

    "Voldemort! What do you want?! Dumbledore has already destroyed the Philosopher''s stone! You''re toote!"

    Voldemort chuckled sinisterly. "''The stone? It was merely a tool to allow my return, Rose Potter. But, I do not need it anymore. After all, I have found a much better alternative!""

    ?!

    Rose didn''t like the sound of that. She didn''t like it at all. This monster has another way to return? That would cause another war, wouldn''t it?

    "What do you want from me?!" She couldn''t help but ask. Was this guy so petty that he''de to get revenge for thest time?

    ""Have you not figured it out yet? You''re the key.."" said Voldemort, a hint of amusement in his voice.

    "What?!"

    "Yes, Rose Potter. You are going to be the alternative. Did you forget what happened thest time we met? You were... able to connect the two worlds!"

    Rose paled as realization dawned upon her.

    In theirst encounter, when Voldemort tried to enter Rose''s mind, an explosive reaction took ce. Voldemort was brutally forced back, and a rift opened up in space, dragging him, and Umbridge in. Rose was still confused about exactly what happened that night. Only now did she realize¡­

    Voldemort chuckled upon seeing her palingplexion. "You finally understand. You, Rose Potter, have a direct connection with the Netherworld! I have been struggling to find ways to return for years in vain. All I have been able to aplish is to allow creatures as tangible as mere Dementors to travel between the worlds. Philosopher''s Stone was just another unsessful attempt. But thanks to that, I was able to witness that phenomenon. It made me realize that the solution had always been obvious."

    "Me?" Rose still couldn''t believe it.

    There was obviously glee in Voldemort''s voice. "Yes, You. But I wasn''t the only one who realized that. Dumbledore did as well. That''s why he has increased the security at Hogwarts. And you, especially, were guarded by aurors at all times. I had to go to quite the lengths to bring you here today."

    ''Damn it, it was for this!'' Rose finally understood the reason why there were Aurors guarding her at all times this year. She had thought it was just her Aunt being overprotective, but apparently, the reality was somethingpletely out of expectations.

    Rose struggled to break free again. "It doesn''t matter! The Aurors would soon realize my absence! You won''t seed in whatever you''re nning!"

    Lockhart, who had been kneeling in Voldemort''s presence this whole time, smiled upon hearing that. "I''m afraid that won''t be possible, Rosie. You see, your school is currently under attack from powerful Dementors summoned straight from my Lord''s forces. So, no one ising to save you. They''re too busy protecting the school without realizing that it was just a distraction. That''s why it was so easy to Kidnap you," exined Lockhart, making Rose even more panicked.

    "Now," said Voldemort. "Get ready. We''re about tounch the real attack at your school."

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!

    Action packed Chapters ahead, subscribe to P¨¤treon to get instant ess: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 138: Guardian Angel

    Chapter 138: Guardian Angel

    "You''re finally here," said a voice from right beside them, making Martina and Akiko jump in surprise.

    "Axel?!"

    Martina was both surprised and relieved to see the guy. Dementors are creatures that have always got on her nerves. Even when she used to watch them in the movies as a kid. Unfortunately, they''re very real in this world, and she has had multiple encounters with them too.

    The good thing is, Axel has always been present with her every time it has happened, so his presence felt quite reassuring to her.

    "Since when have you been here? How''s the situation?" Asked Akiko. Both the girls are already aware of his stealth abilities, so no onemented on the tiny jump scare he just gave them, or maybe they were just too embarrassed to mention it.

    "I''ve been here for a while. And it''s not looking good. Axel looked at the chaos up ahead as he gave out a detailed analysis of the situation. "Their numbers are increasing, god knows how, and containment is difficult since there are just too many windows, passageways and doors in this damn corridor. Also, these Dementors are kinda powerful. Patronuses don''tst long in front of them. The manpower is spread too thin trying to guard each and every exit. A few Dementors might get past them at this rate before they canpletely seal this ce."

    Axel had been doing his usual training when he had noticed that something was wrong when he had seen Auror and Ninja Guardian from all over the castle being called here. He had simply followed to see what the fuss was about. After arriving he was just watching them struggle while eating popcorn.

    "What took you so long?" He asked Akiko. "You should have noticed all this earlier," he said, alluding to her secret darkness affinity.

    Akiko nodded. "I did. But I can''t really do much in this case due to the circumstances. So I''ve been trying to find Martina," she exined. FInding Axel was as good as impossible, so she thought it would be easier to find Martina. "But no one could tell me where she was "she said, a hint ofint in her voice.

    Akiko''s Darkness Affinity could help mediate this situation, using it in public was out of question since it was taboo, just like the Dark Arts. That''s why she had decided to find Martina.

    Martina looked apologetic. "Actually, I have been inside myboratory for a few days. I''ve been working on something new," she exined. The incident at Christmas was a kind of wake up call for her. She been kidnapped from her own home and almost raped. If it wasn''t for Axel. she was a goner.

    It made her realize that this wasn''t a fantasy world. Everything here was very real. She had been taking her life for granted.

    She was given such a great opportunity. A life that anyone would kill for, Gifts that anyone would kill for, a family that anyone would kill for. And she had been wasting it all away in simply goofing around and following her hobbies.

    Just take Axel for example. Two years ago, she had seen him having difficulties even walking. She had seen him struggle to even cast basic spells properly. And today, he could take her down before she would have the time to blink. That''s someone who''s properly using everything he has.

    Observing Axel made her realize who she could have been, if she sharpened every weapon in her arsenal. And it also made her realize WHY she was still weak. It was because she was scared of her own potential. It was only until she saw Axel did she realize, she could still be who is, even if she is a lot more powerful.

    "So, what do we do?" Akiko asked Axel. She seemed to trust in Axel''s judgment.

    Martina stepped forward at this moment. "Guys, I would like to handle this one alone please," she requested.

    Axel studied her, noticing something different about her. A small smirk came to his face. "You''re embracing it, huh?"

    Martina was surprised at first, but then just sighed. "Am I that easy to figure out?"

    "At least to me."

    "Only to him," said Akiko, a bit peeved for not knowing what the fuck these two were talking about.

    Axel put a hand on her shoulder. "Just let her do her thing."

    They watched as Martina took out her staff. The one she uses when handling heavy magic.

    First she cast a vision blocking screen around the three of them, making them invisible to others, followed by a silencing charm in order to make sure they wouldn''t be noticed when she casts her magic.

    Then, she made a wide circr arc with her staff. Powerful magic surged out of her, blowing their hair back due to the sheer amount. She nced back at Axel with a smile, before facing forward again.

    "Custos¡ªAngelorum!"

    And with that, the world seemed to have turned white. The magical circle she had drawn in the air glowed, before a figure burst out of it.

    It was a fully corporeal silhouette of a cloaked warrior, wielding a dagger and a wand in his gloved hands. The sheer light radiating from it was so intense that it illuminated the entire hallway end to end, causing everyone''s attention to be focused on it.

    "What¡­?"

    "What is that?!"

    "Look! The Dementors are backing away!"

    Indeed. The Dementors, which could not be stopped even by the numerous patronuses and Jutusus of the Ninjas and Guardians, had stopped advancing, and were instead backing away on their own now.

    Martina pointed her staff at the army of Dementors.

    "Go."

    Though, the Corporeal Figure seemed to have an attitude of its own. It didn''t rush in right way. It looked at Martina with a tilted head, as if still deciding whether to do what she asked. Martina blinked her eyes. "Please?" She added.

    The figure shrugged as it beganzily floating towards the Dementors, and then suddenly, it disappeared, reappearing directly in the midst of the cowering dementors. The wand and dagger in his hands shed, and Dementors were literally cut apart, disappearing from existence.

    "Damn¡­" Axel was awed by the sheer power of the spell. But, for some reason, the corporeal silhouette looked quite familiar to him.

    The wizards and ninjas were all left dumbfounded when the Corporeal figure began wiping the Dementors. They had been trying so hard just to hold the Dementors back, and somehow, this corporeal figure simply eradicated the Dementors so easily.

    "By Merlin¡­" squeaked Flitwick.

    "How,,, is that even possible?" Murmured Mcgonagall

    "Is this a dream?"

    They could not believe it. Dementors had been termed as amortal creatures, meaning they couldn''t be killed. And yet, here they were, witnessing hundreds of them being wiped right in front of their eyes.

    "...What is that spell?" Asked Akiko in fascination. "Is it a patronus?"

    Martina shook her head, watching the figure cut apart dementors. "That''s not a patronus. That''s my Guardian Angel," she said as she looked at Axel with a smile.

    Akiko looked at the corporeal figure, and then at Axel, and her eyes widened. Now that she paid more attention, the movements and attitude of the Guardian Angel were awfully simr to a certain someone she knew.

    Akiko gripped Martina''s hand, looking at her intensely. "Can you please teach me the spell? I''llpensate you appropriately."

    Martina was surprised, but then she shook her head, looking sheepish. "Um, sorry, but I can''t. It''s a custom spell. It''ll only work for me. You need to project an¡­ overwhelming feeling of being protected for the spell to manifest," she exined, ncing at Axel.

    Like how Patronuses are cast using the positive feelings of happy memories, Martina created this guardian angel using the intense feelings she had felt when Axel had protected from from being kidnapped at Christmas.

    But Axel wasn''t paying attention. Because right now, he had something elsee up, taking his attention entirely. He looked into empty space with furrowed eyebrows.

    [Main Quest: Protect Hogwarts]

    [Objective: The Dementors were just a distraction. The main attack will beunched from the Forbidden Forest. Your mission, if you choose to ept it, is to stop the attack and recover the asset Rose Potter alive.]

    "Damn it."

    Axel sighed. Of course it wasn''t that easy.

    "What is it?" Asked Akiko, noticing his reaction.

    Axel had a troubled expression on his face. "Well, this was just a distraction. The main attack ising from elsewhere," he told them.

    "Where is it?"

    "Let''s go."

    Axel hesitated. He was debating whether to ask for their help. Last time, he knew what they were up against. But this time, very little information was provided. "You guys stay. It would be dangerous," he told them.

    Both the girls looked offended at that for some reason.

    "Are you trying to be my Grandfather?" Asked Akiko, looking irked. She was really tired of her Grandfather''s overprotectiveness. She couldn''t handle Axel doing the same.

    "I am not letting you go alone," said Martina, looking determined.

    None of them even thought of asking for outside help. They didn''t want anyone else other than the three of them. As it stood, the three of them were more effective than any other force at Hogwarts due to their specialties. And they couldn''t use those specialties in an outsider''s presence.

    "Sigh... let''s go."

    Just as they were about to leave, Akiko suddenly let out a muffled groan, as she fell to the floor.

    "What the¡ª" Axel quickly caught her before she hit her head.

    "Akiko!" Martina was also taken aback, as she panicked a little.

    "What happened?!" Asked Axel.

    Akiko was panting right now, and her eyes were wide open. "Something terrible. We need to go, Now!" She urged, already running towards the nearest window to jump out.

    "Wait! It''ll take too long," said Axel, stopping her. He already had the location in his head. "It''s still not perfect, but we don''t have a choice," he said, offering a hand to each of them as he began concentrating. He was nning on flying there on broom, but if Akiko''s senses can be trusted, they don''t have time for that.

    Akiko and Martina didn''t question what Axel was doing. They just grabbed onto his hand, letting him do whatever he was suggesting.

    [lumency Max]

    [Magic Hands]

    Axel closed his eyes and entered into a state of extreme concentration.

    "[Arcane Travel]"

    !!!

    Martina and Akiko were rmed as they saw their bodies gradually fading into space.

    ¡­.

    ""Now, get ready. We''re about tounch the real attack on your school,"'' said Voldemort, as Lockhart began to move.

    "H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Rose struggled even more, She wished she had her wand with her right now. Or she wished she could do wand magic! But s, if only it were that easy.

    "Your vain attempts amuse me, Rose Potter. So I will satiate your curiosity. Until now, I have only been able to send creatures as tangible as mere Dementors, into your world. But now with your connection, I can do much more! Right now, I am about to send an army of Demogorgons into your world "said Voldemort,ughing evilly.

    "Demogorgon?" Rose had never heard the word until now, But it did sound ominous.

    Lockhart grinned malevolently. "One Demogorgon is powerful enough to destroy Hogwarts. And earlier this Halloween, we were even able to summon one by paying a huge price. Too bad Dumbledore somehow prevented the catastrophe, But now, using you, we can summon a whole army. Even conquering the whole of Britain won''t be difficult now," he exined, preparing the ritual.

    Lockhart muttered strange incantations in an unknownnguage before drawing Rose''s blood. Despite her desperate struggle, the ritual was still activated.

    !!!!!!!!!!!

    Rose''s eyes opened wide. But she couldn''t see. Her eyes had be pitch ck, with no whites. Unknown power surged through her, but it was used by the ritual circle instead, She screamed. Piercing pain cursed through her scar, which was oozing with ck luster. Her consciousness faded as her connection with Netherworld was used to activate the magic circle, creating a rift in space.

    "IT''S WORKING! HAHAHAHA¡­."

    A direct connection with the Netherworld had been established. One strong enough to transfer much more than just dementors. A huge amount of darkness began pouring out of the ck rift that had been created in the ritual circle.

    A huge ck, skeletal hand emerged, with long, pointy fingers, followed by the rest of the body of the Demogorgon. Instantly, the surrounding vegetation began withering, visible to the naked eyes. Birds, animals, and insects in the vicinity began falling down, their weak mind unable to handle the presence of this entity which could be rated above XXXXX.

    Even though he had the powers of Darkness, and a degree of immunity granted by Voldemort, Lockhart still found it difficult to breathe. His knees were shaking.

    But, it wasn''t enough. Another Demogorgon gradually began emerging right after the first. As soon as the second Demorgon entered, the atmosphere became twice more deadly, the presence of two Demogorgons stacking together. But, even that wasn''t enough! Another Demogorgon began emerging from the rift!

    "HAHAHAHA¡­."

    Voldemort was exhrated. Once he has an army of Demogorgons here, even that fossil Dumbledore would be unable to stop him! And this was just the beginning! Now that he had Rose Potter, he might even be able to enter the world himself with enough research. And the main benefit: He now had that woman''s daughter as his hostage. She would finally have toe out now!

    Thus.

    "No one can stop me now," he proimed. An immortal and invincible army, a the way to enter this world, and a way to finally get rid of his sworn enemy Lily Potter. Really, no one could stop him now.

    "Think again." At this moment, a voice sounded not far from them.

    ...

    A.N.: Vote for me with Powerstones.

    It''s a new month! Subscribe to P¨¤treon and get instant ess to the next few action-packed chapters!

    Next: Axel Hunt: Missing

    Next next: Axel vs Voldemort

 Chapter 139: Attack on Hogwarts ll

    Chapter 139: Attack on Hogwarts ll

    Axel, Akiko and Martina appeared a short distance away from the designated area.

    "We''re here."

    Martina looked around. "Is this really the forbidden forest?" She asked. The trees here were muchrger and denser than usual, making the surroundings dark. The Forbidden Forest didn''t look this... forbidden.

    "Yes. It''s way deeper though," said Axel. The Forbidden forest is humongous. And the ce Axel and Akiko train is in the very outeryer of the forest, so Axel had never ventured this far into the ce. You could simply say he cherished his life and had somemon sense.

    Akiko closed her eyes. "We need to hurry!" She urged.

    "Wait." Axel put a hand on her shoulder. He knew they didn''t have time, but precautions were a must. "Before we go in, I want you guys to know, we''re probably up against Voldemort. And he has Rose Potter hostage."

    "What?! Ohnono No! All the more reason we should hurry!" Said Martina. Of course! How could she forget?! Rose Potter was the girl who lived! Of course Voldemort would try to get her every year! The massive changes in the canon had given her the misconception that she didn''t have to worry about the canon events repeating. But even if they didn''t happen, she had forgotten that Rose Potter and Voldemort were still each other''s nemesis!

    Akiko on the other hand was even more surprised. "Vold¡­mort? As in your previous darklord? Isn''t he gone?"

    Axel shook his head. "No, he''s not. So, we need to disguise your appearances before we go."

    They were up against Voldemort. The most dangerous entity in two worlds. It''s already assumed that they weren''t going to be able to kill the guy. Then it is imperative that they hide their identities, lest they be targeted by the madman for trying to interfere with his ns.

    Upon his reminder, their faces were covered with masks and they donned their hoods over their heads. Last Halloween, Martina had designed special clothing for them. Its base material was Basilisk skin, which could give a great defense against both physical and magical attack. But that was just one of its many features. Some other features would be that they were self-cleaning, and they could be changed into any attire you want.

    All three of them were currently decked in theirbat attire. Axel in a ck hoodie, ck jeans, ck boots, fingerless gloves, and a mask that covered his face till his eyes. Martina was in a purple cloak, and Akiko was outfitted in standard ninja attire that clung to her voluptuous body.

    Both the girls looked like they had more questions, like for example, ''how the fuck he knew all the information he just mentioned?'' But they held it in for now, since they had more urgent matters at hand like maybe saving Rose, Hogwarts, Brittain, and World.

    Not wasting any more time, Axel led them towards the disaster site. In front of them was just another part of the forest, appearing quite normal. Axel could not detect any abnormalities inside. Wards were blocking detection ahead.

    This is one of the reasons why Voldemort is a fearsome entity. Even though he can''t do anything directly, he can still instruct his followers on how to create wards of this caliber. Akiko was only able to sense the abnormalities because she had trained herself to be attuned to the basic yin element of nature, something no other ninja is known to match.

    Martina had a troubled look on her face. "There are some obscure wards ahead. It might take me some time to decipher them."

    "No need." said Axel.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    [Magic Hands]

    [Ward Breaking]

    [Traceless]

    These wards might be tricky for Martina to break through due to their unfamiliar nature, but the wards themselves weren''t too strong since the one who set them up isn''t that skilled.

    *Swoosh*

    As soon as they entered, they realized just how serious the matter was.

    Martina gasped, her knees buckling. But even before she saw the creatures, She felt a severe depression hit her mind, and her very essence, her soul, seemed to be slipping out of her.

    Akiko gripped her head in pain due to the huge disturbance in the element. She wasn''t affected by the Demogorgons presence, since Darkness was her affinity, but she was attuned to the Darkness and the yin element of this ce was simply too chaotic.

    There was a ghastly atmosphere inside the wards. Even from a distance they could see three giant silhouettes. 15 feet tall Skeletal creatures, wrapped in ragged and wispy cloaks made out of darkness. Their gray, translucent bones covered with rotten flesh visible at the uncovered parts.

    [Light Infusion]

    "Fumus Netorem"

    Axel produced smoke infused with light element magic. Once it surrounded them, the horrific side effects of the Demogorgon''s presence subsided somewhat, allowing the girls a chance to adjust their mental state.

    They were really caught off guard by thebined effect of three demogorgons.

    "T-There are three of them!" whispered Martina in shock. They had almost died handling just one. Now she was seeing three of them in front of her eyes.

    "More areing!" Said Akiko in urgency. "Too many of them!"

    They quickened their footsteps. Soon the dense trees parted to make way for a huge clearing,

    "Rose!" Martina almost rushed forward, but Axel dragged her back.

    But he couldn''t really me her for her reckless behavior. Because in the middle of the clearing, there was a huge ritual circle, in whichid Rose Potter. Her eyes were wide open, but all you could see inside them was darkness. Veins were visible on her face and neck, and almost palpable darkness seemed to be oozing out of her. Kneeling just outside the circle was Gilderoy Lockhart, with a small book perched atop his hands,

    Seeing such a situation, of course Martina would want to rush in and save Rose. But they also had to consider the existence of the three creatures who were guarding that circle, and the fourth one which was stilling out, not to mention lockhart. They couldn''t act recklessly . Things are actually life threatening right now.

    Axel quickly gave them specific instructions.

    [True Invisibility]

    [Soundless]

    [Presence Reduction]

    Axel did not only cast these spells on himself, but on Martina too, before heading towards Rose. They could hear a terrifying voiceing from inside the diary, where two red eyes were visible. Even from a distance, they could feel the eerie and malicious presence which could be none other than Voldemort.

    ''What''s with this man? First a locket and then a diary?'' Despite the intimidation, Axel had to question the dark lord''s choice of possession.

    Voldemortughed. "No one can stop me now!" He proimed.

    At this moment, Akiko appeared some distance away from Voldemort. "Think again."

    But her appearance right now waspletely different. She had ayer of darkness surrounding her, preventing her from the influence of Demogorgons. This was a new Jutsu she had developed specially for these creatures.

    Since Darkness was Akiko''s affinity, she was the least prone to the Demogorgons attacks. That''s why she was the one creating the distraction.

    Lockhart stood up abruptly. "Who are you?!"

    "A Shinobi?" Voldemort understood that the person in front of him was a Shinobi. But even he didn''t expect his n to be discovered so soon. And what was more peculiar was the fact that this Shinobi did not seem to be affected by the presence of the Demogorgon.

    "Ah¡­ you surprise me, Shinobi. Darkness affinity. One not too inferior to mine," he said with interest. "Rare. Too rare. You were able to feel the disturbance, weren''t you? What is your name?"

    Akiko shook her head. "I''m not telling," she said simply.

    Eeven her voice was disguised. She could be any of the hundreds of female ninjas present right now at Hogwarts.

    Voldemortughed. "Fair enough. Then yin Shinobi, I''ll tell you mine. I''m Lord Voldemort. And since you have such a rare talent, I will give you two options: Join me or die."

    Akiko shook her head again.

    "I will do neither."

    Voldemort, who was still expecting a dramatic response from her upon hearing his name, was enraged. "Kill!" He ordered the three Demogorgons, AND the fourth one, which had already emerged by now.

    But, Akiko didn''t seem much concerned about that at all. She just looked at Voldemort as if waiting for something. No. She wasn''t looking at Voldemort, she was looking "past" him!

    ''You done?'' Her nce seemed to ask.

    Only then did Voldemort and Lockhart start to notice. An intense Light had already begun radiating from Martina''s staff. It was so much that even Axel''s invisibility spell couldn''t hide it!

    While Akiko was distracting Voldemort and Lockhart, Martina had been preparing to cast her Guardian Angel spell, one even more powerful than the one she cast back at Hogwarts. And it was necessary. After all, they were up against creatures above XXXXX.

    Covered in Axel''s magic, which her extreme sensitivity to magic, she could exert much more powerful emotions into her spell.

    "ANGELUS CUSTOS!!!"

    The spell wasplete. And this time, the guardian angel formed was smaller thanst time. But¡­

    *Screeeeeeeech*

    An old cacophony of screeches was produced by the huge Demegorgons as they sensed imminent threat from the Corporeal figure that was beginning to take shape.

    A blinding light filled up the ce, erasing all the darkness away.

    The Guardian Angel looked ahead at the Demigorgons as it rolled its shoulders and cracked its neck, as if getting serious this time. Then it slowly began walking in air towards the Demigorgons, as if ascending the stairs.

    *Screeeeeeeech*

    Despite the massive size difference and the numerical difference, it was the Demigorgons who took a few steps back.

    Looking at the scene, Axel nodded in satisfaction. First Akiko distracted them enough for Martina to sessfully cast her spell. Now, Martina''s spell should distract them enough for him to retrieve Rose.

    He quickly made his way towards the Ritual circle where Rose was lying. Everything was going as he had thought. But of course, there was a ''but''.

    Something unexpected happened just as he approached the ritual circle.

    The ritual circle suddenly began producing tendrils of darkness. And those tendrils were attracted to the pendant around his neck, breaking his invisibility.

    ''Shit!''

    ¡­.

    Around the same time, unexpected people arrived at Hogwarts. It was the Minister of Magic, bringing a huge force of Wizards and Ninjas along with her.

    *****

    A.N.: I need POWERSTONES. Or I''ll dy the next chapter ??

    Next: Axel Vs Voldemort

    Next next: Encounter with Kraken

    Next... next: Who is the Real Monster?

    Next... next: Well, subscribe to find out. Lots of action ahead. It''s a new month! /Snollygoster

 Chapter 140: Axel vs Voldemort

    Chapter 140: Axel vs Voldemort

    "Sorry, but I''m not into talking books," said Axel, his voice purposely altered. Now that his cover was blown, he didn''t try to hide anymore. Instead, he subtly signalled Akiko and Martina to stop the ritual circle instead.

    Upon his outrageous words, burst of darkness came from the book, and Lockhart drew out his wand and directly sent out a cruciatus curse at Axel.

    "How DARE you? Do you know who you are talking to?!" He asked.

    Axel had to move aside to dodge it. He raised his hands in front of him. "Whoa whoa! Why so angry? Let''s talk this out, alright?" He said, his gaze flickering towards the fight happening behind Lockhart.

    It was truly a sight to behold. The Guardian Angel didn''t y around this time. It rushed straight at the group of Demogorgons, whounched beams of darkness back at it. But, it made no impact.

    ''Arcane Footwork¡­'' Axel realized. The Guardian Angel was using Arcane Footwork right now. It weaved through the web of darkness and plunged into the midst of the dark creatures, making them scream.

    ''I need more distraction,'' thought Axel. The fight happening right now was beyond his ability to interfere. Not because he was weak, but he simply didn''t have enough magic power. He had to uste limit break for even taking down just one of the creatures. Right now, there were four of them, and more woulde.

    Not to mention they have no idea if Voldemort has any other more powerful monster he can send. Their bet is to quickly shut down that rift. And he can''t do that himself since his pendant is reacting to the ritual circle. That''s why, he has to try his best to distract Voldemort while Akiko and Martina are closing the rift.

    [Increase Presence]

    If he knew how to minimise his presence, he also had some mastery over increasing it.

    As expected, Voldemort was now more focused on him rather than the fight taking ce behind them.

    Voldemortughed. "Arrogant. Recklessly so. I can''t remember thest time someone has dared to be so brazen in my presence. Who are you?"

    Axel shrugged. "Me? I call myself the Arcane Thief. ...But you can call me your daddy."

    Lockhart lost it this time.

    "You¡ª! Do you know the consequences of opposing Lord Voldemort?!" He asked, already intent on attacking Axel again.

    "Calm down, Lockhart," Voldemort''s voice suddenly became more clear as dark apparition emerged from the book it''s two red eyes ring down at Axel. "Had it not been that you have something I desperately need, you would have been dead already, Arcane Thief."

    Axel raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? And what is it that you want from me? Surely it''s not due to my looks, or are hooded ck figures your type?" Asked Axel, ncing down at his own fully covered appearance. "Wait, that does make sense, doesn''t it? Why else would you have an army of them?"

    Voldemort''s eyes zed with fury. Axel had taken it too far.

    Lockhart began attacking Axel again. Only this time, Voldemort didn''t stop him. "Kill him! We retrieve what I want from his dead body."

    ''Fuck.'' muttered Axel. ''But I suppose now I would have his full attention,'' he reasoned, looking back at the ritual circle.

    His [Increase Presence] might be too powerful.

    "I''ll kill him for you, my lord."

    Lockhart was all the more happy toply. But first, the bastard deserved some torture. No one can be allowed to disrespect his master. Lockhart used to be a terrible wizard. All he could do was memory altering spells. But then, HE found him, the Lord''s most loyal and devout follower.

    Lockhart discoverd that he wasn''tpletely useless after all. Using the powers bestoyed upon him by his lord, even he, Lockhart, can be a powerful wizard. Not as powerful as the Lord''s most devout, but powerful nheless.

    Due to that power, he was quickly able to gain fame and achieve his dreams. But he onlyter realized, all those things he had been running after were merely superficial. Just because of one person, all the fame he had built with years of effort crumbled like a sandcastle. Now his Lord is the only support he is left with. And he is not going to let some arrogant twat disrespect his Lord like that!

    "You''ll pay for your words! Crucio!"

    Lockhart again began firing the Crutiatus curse at Axel again and again.

    Seeing the extremely familiar spell, Axel felt a vein throbbing on his forehead.

    [Magic Hands]

    He suddenly stopped dodging and raised his hand, blocking the Cruiatus Curse with his bare hand. Without even a flinch.

    Axel looked at the residual magic in his hand and scoffed. Looking back at thepletely stunned Lockhart, he simply shook his head. "You may get power by sucking his non existent dick, but you are simply too ipetent to use it," he informed helpfully.

    Lockhart was still looking at Axel''s hand in shock. "H-How¡­?"

    Even Voldemort looked serious now. That was a crutiatus curse. An unforgivable curse that can''t be blocked with a shield. The one Lockhart fired was enough to incapacitate any ordinary wizard. Even strong ones would feel the overwhelming pain.

    "You do have some interesting tricks, Arcane thief," acknowledged Voldemort. "But you just denied yourself a quick death."

    Surprisingly, the dark apparition of Voldemort entered Lockhart, making him fall to the ground while choking. In the next instant, a terrible pressure spread through the area.

    !!!!!!!

    And Axel backed away immediately his jawing dropping in shock.

    ''Fuck! He can even do that?''

    Things had just gotten a notch dangerous. Axel desperately hoped that Martina and Akiko would hurry it up. Lockhart stopped choking, as his body slowly rose. He was no longer Lockhart. He was LockMort.

    The surrounding darkness seemed to go still for a moment, and then¡ª

    !!!

    [Arcane Footwork]

    [Lauching boom]

    Axel boosted himself away from his previous location as tentrils of darkness pierced right where he was standing moments ago.

    ''Fuck¡­'' Axel was impressed and horrified at the same time. Usually, a wizard is only able to use magic from his own reserve, But Voldemort is not using Lockhart''s dark magic, The dark magic in the whole surrounding is his to control! That''s why he is able to bring out such immense power even while using Lockhart''s body.

    But of course, it didn''t seem like he can do this for long. Axel could see Lockhart''s body quickly deteriorating in real time. It can''t bear the burden of Voldemort''s possesion.

    !!!

    This wasn''t the end of the attacks. More followed, causing Axel to run around continuously. Right, now he couldn''t use his main strength: his Stealth. Because then Voldemort might turn his gaze back and see that the Guardian Angel had already killed all the Demogorgons and the rift had started flickering as Martina and Akiko did their best to break theplicated ritual circle without damaging Rose.

    Fortunately, Voldemort seemed to think everything was under his control as he merely yed around with Axel using the Darkness. After noticing his astonishing movements, the darklord regarded at Axel with a gaze of interest. "Hm¡­ you truly have some fascinating tricks," he said, increasing the intensity.

    "You remind me of that annoying Queen. Not to mention your friends, who are¡ª"

    ''No!'' Axel was too fucking busy to stop Voldemort.

    Toote, Voldemort finally nced back, only to see that Martina and Akiko were already on the verge of breaking the ritual circle and taking Rose out.

    "You dare¡ª" eximed Voldemort, raising his hand towards them.

    Axel got serious. The bastard was going to attack Akiko and Martina. Right now, Akiko was too focused on the task and Martina had just used an extremely powerful spell. Both were not in the condition to defend themselves properly.

    [Throwing]

    At this moment, Axel didn''t use any fancy moves he had learnt till now. All he used was a simple [Throwing], a skill he had practiced countless times even before he had gotten the system.

    Tens of daggers came out of his pouch, all of which he threw at Lockhart with all his might.

    *BOOM*

    The knives which he had thrown with all his might, using the technique he had improved through system easily broke through sound barrier, faster than Voldemort cast his magic using Lockhart''s body.

    With Voldemort''s attention focused on the ritual circle, he was toote to defend himself. But even so, the darkness itself moved to protect him.

    ''This monster¡ª''

    Fortunately, the hasty defense was too flimsy, or the force behind his knives was too much. They pierced through the dark and hit Lockhart all over his body, going right through him.

    LockMort was ''riddled'' with holes right now. But even so, he was marvelously able to still keep standing. Though¡­

    ''Didn''t expect any less,'' thought Axel, already halfway towards Voldemort under full stealth. The knife attack was merely meant to stop the bastard from killing Martina and Akiko. Axel took out his main knife now, the one custom made by the Valentinos.

    [Light Infusion: Max]

    [Knife Wielding: Max]

    Instantly, he sent out tens of quick shes filled with Light magic towards LockMort''s body, this time damaging LockMort for real. But Axel still wasn''t done. As he finally reached Lockmort, his knife shed a brilliant golden as he ran it through, not LockMort, but the Diary in his hand!

    A horrifying shriek came out as Voldemort''s soul itself was attacked. Darkness burst out from the book, but Axel was still. not. done. He shing through the thing a good fifty more times before it fell to the ground in small pieces.

    Axel knelt down, panting, Lockhart''s bloody remains falling beside him. The guy died a truly meaningless death, simply because he was in the way. Too bad, Axel wasn''t the kind to think twice before killing, if it means saving the lives of himself and his friends.

    But the guy had iting, supporting Voldemort to summon those monstrosities into this world. He''s better off dead, lest he be sent to Azkaban, which is guarded by Voldemort''s bitches: Dementors. Breaking out would be a breeze.

    "Axel! Are you alright?!" Asked Martina, looking back from her work on the ritual circle.

    Axel slowly got up, wiping the blood off his face. "Fine. Are you done?"

    "Almost." Martina breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought we were done for."

    Akiko clutched her head. "I was useless too. He hadplete control over the darkness."

    "Done!" Eximed Martina, as Akiko quickly stepped into the circle to get Rose out.

    "Looks like it''s over," muttered Axel, looking at the rift getting shorter and shorter.

    That was a g. A system alert came the next second.

    [Axel. RUN]

    Axel jumped. ''Why?!''

    [Creatures aren''t the only thing Voldemort can send through the rift. He can also send out his magic.]

    Axel''s eyes widened as he looked at Martina and Akiko standing dangerously close to the rift.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Next: You''re From Kraken?!

    Read 10 chapters ahead on P¨¤treon. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 141: Youre From Kraken

    Chapter 141: You''re From Kraken

    [Creatures are not the only thing Voldemort can send through the rift. He can also send out his magic.]

    Axel''s eyes widened as he looked at Martina and Akiko standing dangerously close to the rift.

    "Back away!" he yelled.

    ?!

    Akiko and Martina, who hadpletely let their guards down, were both confused and rmed by Axel''s warning. But they couldn''t immediately move away. That''s why Axel couldn''t just run away on his own.

    At this moment, they all seem to feel the burst of magic emerge from the rift. Yes, that''s what the system meant. Through the rift, maybe Voldemort can''te himself. Maybe only amortal creatures who can turn intangible can pass through it. But... Voldemort can also send his magical attack through the rift as well.

    This is Voldemort, the strongest creature in the Netherworld. His magical might is unfathomable. Even if he can send a small portion of his power through that rift, it still might not be something they could handle right now.

    "What?!"

    Akiko and Martina also noticed the change in atmosphere. But by the time they realized that something was wrong, they were toote to defend themselves.

    ''They''ll die, if I don''t help. Martina, Akiko and Rose. And if I help, I might die as well.''

    This was what his mind knew. Thinking logically, he should have run away. But right now, he simply didn''t have the time to think. Whether to run, or to protect, he had to make the decision instantaneously.

    During times like these, do you realize who you truly are deep down. And thus, Axel ran... he ran with his full strength...

    Towards the rift!

    He arrived in front of Martina, Akiko and Rose just as the darkness spread out from the rift. Axel drew his wand.

    [Limit Break]

    [Light Infusion: Max]

    [Arcane Barrier]

    Axel used the special skill he had gotten as a reward for defeating the Demogorgon at Halloween and infused it with light magic. And something amazing happened.

    A tremendous amount of magic was generated, enough to make Martina widen eyes as she felt it. Dazzlingly bright light erupted from his wand forming a huge shield that epassed them all.

    Martina looked at the scene in shock. Such powerful magic. It''s might was evenparable to her full-powered Guardian Angel spell. Martina had an unmatched magical limit. Something that was only possible due to her gift [Child of Magic]. And she would be pretty much useless after that until she recovers.

    Thus, she couldn''t imagine how Axel could bring the same level of result when his magical capacity was clearly much, much lower than hers.

    Axel''s knees almost buckled as he felt the huge burden of the spell. Though his spells were always powerful, his magic capacity itself had not been too high yet. He was only 13 after all, and he hadn''t done any specific training for increasing his magical capacity yet. But through several factors, he had gone well above and beyond his capability this time.

    First of all, the [Limit Break]. Though it might get him some serious bedrest, Axel was able to drastically increase the amount of magic he was going to use by tapping into his soul.

    Then there''s his improved Fairy core wand. It already used to provide an amplification for all light affinity magics, but then he got it upgraded with the wood containing an extremely powerful light element. Considering that he was using a shield made out of light magic due to his [Light Infusion] skill, it''s no wonder that the result would be much stronger.

    Furthermore, his wand is no longer ordinary. It has be a powerful weapon with a sentience of its own. Axel could only harness a little bit of its powers yet, but at this moment of life and death, it amplified his magic far more than usual.

    With all these factorsbined, the power he was able to bring out in a single spell was enough to even defend against a full powered spell of someone like Dumbledore.

    And it was a good thing he did. Because in the next moment, it happened.

    "BOOOM"

    They ''felt'' the impact even before their brain registered the attacking. It was that fast. They really wouldn''t have been able to escape in time. The powerfulyers of barriers Axel had created with all his strength were halved in an instant, and the rest almost broke too as they all shook due the impact.

    Watching his most powerful spell crumple like paper, Axel simply couldn''t believe his eyes. He... might actually die this time. His shield was too weak. No, the attack was too strong!

    ''This¡­ is the power of Voldemort? This is what I have to fight against?''

    Axel was shook. He knew Voldemort was powerful, but this? This is simply way beyond anything he could imagine.

    But it also made sense. Voldemort was someone so powerful that the akashic records had to go so far as choosing its own champion to defeat him. Axel realized that he was too naive. He had made the mistake of Judging Voldemort''s powers by the standards of this world.

    With the power he just used, he might have been able to stop Voldemort before he was transferred to the Netherworld. But after going there and spending a decade conquering that world, Voldermort has ascended to a level that is far beyond what anyone in this world can contend against.

    Just as his barrier was about to give out, another barrier made out of Lightning was errected in front of it, lessening the strain on Axel''s shield.

    "Raiton: Shield of Thunder God!"

    "Not¡­ today!" Akiko muttered through gritted teeth, using all of her magic as well. Her darkness ninjutsu was useless here, since it would mostly get converted into Voldemort''s strength. But she still had her lightning affinity.

    She isn''t ready to die just yet. In the past, the world was nd, and all she could see was revenge. No one could match her talent and no one could understand her. She really didn''t have much to live for.

    But now, she was only beginning to discover hope. She had found her equals. She had found joy in training with Axel, and the rivalry with someone as powerful as Martina. Akiko wanted to live. And more importantly, she wanted Axel to live. To see him grow, and take down Kraken.

    That''s why she used one of her most powerful Jutsu. It takes a serious toll on her body to produce so much lightning, so she would be in pain for the next few days.

    ''No...''

    Martina looked at Axel standing in front of her, protecting her yet again, and feltpletely powerless. She had wanted to never be in this situation again. That''s why she started making full use of her abilities. And yet, here they are. The things she had been working on, they weren''t ready yet. All she had was another spell, which she didn''t have the magic to cast.

    Martina took out her knife and shed her arm. A whimper of pain escaped her lips but she beared through, for Axel. The magic she could feeling from the rift dwarfed theirs by a huge margin. But she couldn''t give up, not when Axel was giving it his all.

    "CLYPEUS ANGELICUS!"

    Another shield appeared as Martina raised her staff, making it a tripleyered defense. "You should have run away!" she said, before she pushed everyst bit of magic she could get from the Blood sacrifice into the shield. Guardian Angel, the custom spell she designed after the Christmas incident had two versions, one for attack, and one for defense. This was the second version, ''Guardian Angel''s protection''.

    Axel felt the load on shield lessening as Martina and Akiko stepped up on either side of him with their own magic. That''s right, he wasn''t alone. He had the support of two of the most talented individuals of this generation. Whether he lives or dies now, he has already made his decision. There was no backing down now. All they could do now was¡ª

    "Let''s give it our all!" He called out, using all the power from the limit break.

    Voldmort''s overwhelming magic shed with thebined desperate defense of Axel, Martina, and Akiko. An incredible amount of magic gathered at one ce, causing the space itself to be distorted. The wards covering the ce were blown apart, causing the magic to spread into the surroundings.

    ''Keep going!'' Thought Axel, only standing due to sheer will power. He never thought he would still be this weak despite two years of harsh training. But Voldemort was also someone who had had decades of preparation on him. This confrontation with Voldemort, it was too early!

    Voldemort''s darkness seemed all-consuming. It was eating away at their magic. The only reason they were safe right now was because the light attribute of his wand was somehow able to match that intensity. The only problem was, he simply couldn''t continue.

    Fortunately, the rift finally closed at this moment, just in time as their shields broke down. Their enchanted clothes quickly covered their bodies as the remaining darkness attacked them.

    Axel looked back at Rose, only to see a protectiveyer of magic forming around her. That was thest thing he saw before he feinted.

    "Axel? Axel!"

    *Cough-cough*

    Axel opened his eyes. Martina was currently gripping his hand while Akiko was checking his body for injuries.

    ''Fuck¡­ it hurts to move,'' thought Axel as he slowly got up. He removed the mask from his face and looked at himself. He had survived, miraculously, but the clothing which Martina had given him seemed to havepletely lost its protective properties.

    He looked at the girls. Both Akiko and Martina seemed ok, and even Rose seemed uninjured.

    "Everyone¡­ survived?"

    Martina had tears in her eyes. "Yes! I''m so relieved¡­" she choked, looking like she really wanted to hug him.

    "You really saved us," said Akiko. She did a dogeza. "I''ll remember it."

    At this moment, Rose Potter suddenly woke up hyperventting. But then she looked around. The trees and vegetation within 100 meters were all dead, and Axel, Martina and Akiko Matsushima were sitting with her on the ground, looking quite battered.

    "What¡ª?! What happened?! Where is Voldemort?!"

    Thest thing she could remember was the overwhelming pain when Lockhart had activated the magic circle.

    Martina patted Rose on her shoulder. "It''s over now. We prevented that."

    "And Lockhart?" Rose asked. "That bastard Kidnapped me!"

    Axel pointed into the distance. "He''s over there. Resting in pieces," he said, much to Rose''s horror. Though, his hand fell back down. Apparently, he didn''t even have the strength to lift it right now.

    Martina produced a vial from her pouch. "Here, drink some phoenix tears. It''ll help with the recovery."

    "Phoenix tears?" Only a Valentino would use something as precious as Phoenix tears as an energy drink.

    Axel made to take the vial from her, but his hands wouldn''t budge.

    "Let me," said Martina," leaning forward to pour it into his mouth.

    But before the liquid could go into Axel''s mouth, it flew out of Martina''s grasp.

    "What?!"

    All four of them looked in the direction where the vial flew, only to see two unfamiliar figures standing there. They were wearing weird armour and had blue tattoos on their bodies.

    "Poseidon''s trident! Just looked at this ce. You were right about keeping our distance, Nerio." said the bulky figure.

    "Wasn''t I? You would have gotten us in trouble," said Nerio.

    "Who the fuck are you two?" Asked Axel, trying to get up. Rose and Martina had already stood up, on their guard due to the suspicious appearance of the two men.

    But Akiko had a look of shock on her face as her eyes trembled.

    "T-That armour¡­ and those Markings¡­" she said, darkness surrounding her as her eyes darkened.

    "You''re from Kraken!"

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    Next: Who is the Monster?

    Next next : Axel vs Kraken

    Get instant ess to 10 more chapters: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 142: Who is the Monster?

    Chapter 142: Who is the Monster?

    A while back¡ª

    It had been a few days since Theron and Nerio had changed their ns. Their target had now be Axel, the prince of Antis. But, there were problems. First of all, the castle was huge, with thousands of students.

    And no matter how hard they tried, they had been unable to find Axel Hunt alone during this time.

    "It''s taking too long. Let''s just pick him up from his ss the next time," said Theron.

    Nerio sighed. "Seems like that is our only option."

    If a student, especially Axel disappearing right out of the ss, it''s bound to cause a big stir. Their involvement might be revealed in such a scenario.

    But since it has alreadye to this, then fuck secrecy. They were high level executives of Kraken. They couldn''t stay here for long, especially for a job as trivial as kidnapping a child. A force as powerful as the two of them was for Gorski. If they weren''t already in the area, they would have just sent some low level members to fetch the kid.

    *beep* *beep*

    At this moment, they were alerted by a sound, causing them both to frown. "He''s there again?" Asked Theron.

    "It would seem so," said Nerio, checking the device. For the past few days, a professor from Hogwarts had been sneaking into the forest. To check his movements, they had nted a monitoring device in the area.

    A screen appeared in front of Nerio, showing the situation.

    "Huh?"

    Nerio''s rxed features tightened into a serious expression as his eyes met the screen.

    "What''s the matter?" Theron asked in puzzlement as he checked out the footage as well. He raised his eyebrows. "What is he doing?!"

    On the screen, they could see that Lockhart had brought a student with him this time, and he had put her in the middle of the ritual circle.

    "What is he doing?"

    "How would I know?! Just keep watching."

    As they watched, their shock only grew. "Who the hell is Voldemort?" Asked Theron.

    Nerio was already searching for information. He scoffed upon reading through the results.

    "Just a local darklord who disappeared a decade ago. The girl in the ritual circle, Rose Potter, was supposedly his subjugator "he informed.

    "Got done in by a little girl?" Theronughed. "Guess he''s still alive, through that book. So this was about revenge," he muttered, already losing interest.

    Though, soon, his mouth fell open as the ritual circle activated and the huge monstrosity called the Demogorgon came out,

    "What,,, What in Poseidon''s name is that?!"

    Nerio had a look of horror etched upon his face. "That can''t be¡­" he murmured, quickly searching the confidential archives of the Organisation.

    "What IS it?" Theron demanded.

    Nerio was no longer rxed now. He had already stood and started suiting up. "It''s called the Demogorgon. It''s actually a creature from the Netherworld."

    "What?!" Theron couldn''t wrap his head around what was going on here. "But¡­ no one should be able to ess that world! Not without the key!"

    "That''s what I can''t understand! But if their words are to be believed, that Voldemort somehow reached into the Netherworld. And now he''s sending in an army here."

    "Damn it," Theron also got up. "Shouldn''t we go stop the guy?"

    Nerio shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the screen. "Let him be. We can get the boy during the chaos. Might also pick up that girl while at it."

    Antis was far, far away from this ce. They wouldn''t be affected if they didn''t interfere. But, that wasn''t the problem here.

    "We need to report this situation to the HQ. We underestimated the scale of this." Nerio muttered.

    That was the problem. Things had suddenly gotten out of bounds. The Netherworld. They had been trying to get to the ce for so long. That ce had so much untapped potential, just waiting for them to ess it. And just when they had seeded, that Tristan stole the key, along with a lot of vital research data.

    Now, a decadeter, they are discovering that someone else has managed to travel to the Netherworld. And not only that, the said person has also managed to gather an army of creatures as fearsome as Demogorgons there.

    Not to mention the fact that Voldemort has also found a way to establish connection between the worlds without the key.

    It feels almost simr to the girl you were trying to woo getting stolen by someone else.

    They had been regarding everything here with disdain, sitting on their high horses. They had never thought this was possible, but this Voldemort... he might actually be a threat.

    Nerio was just about to contact the HQ, but a new development urred at the scene, causing him to pause. A person had suddenly appeared in front of Voldemort.

    "An eel?" Muttered Theron, looking at Akiko in her ninja attire. Eel was the derogatory term used upper echelons of the Organisation for Ninjas. Antis has been recruiting them for security and counter attack with a high amount of resources. They''re slippery and shrewd, and can really sting if you''re not careful, just like the case with an eel.

    "Is she trying to stop him alone?"

    Nerio had a calcting look on his face. "Those ninjas aren''t that simple minded. She is up to something."

    Sure enough, something happened soon after. The screen was suddenly filled with an extremely bright light, making them unable to spectate the situation.

    ???

    By the time the light settled down, they could see a clocked corporeal figure made out of pure energy.

    "What is that?!"

    Both the Antians were dumbfounded to see the DemogorgonsDemogorgons actually retreating due to the presence of the magical construct.

    Though, at this moment, something else happened thatpletely took their attention off astonishing sight.

    Another person became visible, trying to rescue the girl from the ritual circle. But what drew their attention was the fact the object glowing at the chest of the person.

    "Oi, Seventh! Isn''t that¡ª?!" Eximed Theron.

    Nerio nodded. "The key¡­ that mask guy, it must be Hunt."

    Theron began walking out. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let''s go get it!"

    Nerio smacked Theron on the head, "Don''t be in a hurry. Don''t you see that spell single handedly fighting all the Demogorgons?! Both the parties have extraordinary strength right now. Us going in would not bring good results."

    "Then what do we do?! Don''t you know how important that key is?!" Demanded Theron, rubbing his head.

    "Calm down, eight. We are at the advantage here.. Just observe the situation. Let them fight it out. We would be the fishermen who will reap the benefits," said Nerio with a sly grin.

    They both calmed down and watched the events with a cool head. " The boy is quite good," remarked Nerio idly.

    "Just look at his family. Of course he is good. And those snide remarks, they remind me an awful lot of someone," said Theron through gritted teeth. "By the way, what does the ''First'' say about this?"

    Nerio shrugged. "You know how that old man is. He just said to bring the boy. Maybe he''ll kill him personally."

    They both shivered remembering the man. But soon, the event happening in the screen became too mindblowing to think about anything else.

    "How is he doing that?!" Asked Theron as he saw Voldemort taking over Lockhart''s body. But their surprises were only beginning.

    "He is¡­ actually powerful," said Nerio, putting on his sses.

    They saw Voldemort weilding huge amounts of magical power to crush Axel.

    "Oi Seventh, he''ll die at this rate," said Theron. With Voldemort having such power, Axel was going to die at this rate."

    Nerio''s sses were glowing. "Look carefully."

    Sure enough, something unbelievable was happening at the scene. Axel was¡­. He was somehow evading all of Voldemort''s numerous, unavoidable attacks with hair''s breath!

    "Wh¡­.. what kind of monster is he?"

    Nerio could see much more than that. "He''s not only fighting him. He''s also distracting while his partners rescue the girl."

    Nerio adjusted his sses. "Complete mastery over Stealth, Evasion, Endurance and Combat. An incredible situational awareness and battle sense. And a calm and fearless mindset¡­. It''s good that he didn''t approach this monster recklessly. Right now, his only weakness is¡ª"

    He about to say ''attack power'', but then it happened. Voldemort nced back for a moment. And then¡­

    There was a sh of light, and they saw him falling to the ground, cut into pieces. It was that quick.

    *Jaws dropping*

    "I¡­. am not fighting him," dered Nerio, looking scared for the first time. He was thanking his lucky stars that they hadn''t just walked up to the guy to kidnap him.

    "Coward! I want to fight him more now," said Theron. "Let''s go now! He must have exhausted all of his means by now."

    Nerio rolled his eyes. "Of course you would say that. You have that armour after all. And no, we''re not going there yet."

    "Why?"

    *BOOOM*

    Before Theron evenpleted his question, he got his answer. They felt the impact even while sitting far away in their circle.

    "What¡­. What happened?"

    Theron took off his sses. "Voldemort. He is our number one threat from now on."

    Now he was quite thankful that he didn''t thoughtlessly approach earlier, thinking Voldemort to be someone beneath them. "That power¡­"

    Nerio wiped off cold sweat from his brows.

    Theron looked even more scared. "My armour. It would have crumbled into nothing before that."

    Nerio nodded. "That power is beyond relics "

    Currently, the main weapons in Antis are relics. Being the oldest civilization, it once used to have magical technique far beyond what anyone can reach today. Too bad, that exact technology also led to it''s downfall. After everything was almost destroyed, only a few things of the past have remained. They are called relics, unique items with unexinable powers.

    That is also one of the reasons why Antians consider themselves superior to other humans. But those relics¡­ they are useless in front of Voldemort. That is how powerful he currently is.

    "Which is why we must retrieve the key. Let''s go," said Nerio, finally getting up. If Voldemort can gain such power from the Netherworld, then they can too.

    They quickly arrived teleported to the disasterous location. Everything in the surroundings waspletely decimated, but¡­

    "They survived!" Eximed Theron. He couldn''t imagine how someone could survive something that even his armour couldn''t.

    "Barely," said Theron, looking at the situation through his sses. They are severely exhausted.

    But really, he didn''t know who the real monster was. Voldemort who was able to instantaneously generate all that power, or Hunt, who was able to survive that.

    The boy seriously reminded him of Tristan even in his cockroach like tenacity. Nerio still sometimes doubts if that Hunt is really dead.

    But oh well, that doesn''t matter.

    He smirked. "We have the perfect opportunity."

    ¡­

    A.N.: Read ahead and support me on /Snollygoster

 Chapter 143: Choice

    Chapter 143: Choice

    I usually post after posting on p¨¤treon. Today I got dyed so I still have a few hundred words to finish the P¨¤treon chapter. Either wait a few hours or I''ll release it as soon as we reach 2400 stones. Either way, there is a chapter today. Hey that rhymes.

    Meanwhile, you can check out a great new fic from a friend.

    The name is HP: Life with Dcours

    Synopsis:

    [After Transmigration, Lucas suddenly finds himself living under the same roof as three Ve beauties. The Dream scenario, right? Not really. Things are...plicated.

    "Lucas! Bring me some wine!"

    Well, he is just a servant here. But not for long. Let the ve taming begin!(AU. Starts from canon Fourth year.)]

    It''s not avable on wn yet, only on ff. Just search the name on your browser and it''lle up.

    Here''s link:

    https://.fanfiction/s/14261246/1/HP-Life-With-Dcours

    Author''s name is SoleAim.

 Chapter 144: Axel Vs Kraken (1st fight)

    Chapter 144: Axel Vs Kraken (1st fight)

    "You are Kraken." Akiko instantly recognized the identities of the two men. They were the reason she had been training so hard for.

    "Kraken?!"

    This was kraken?!

    He gave the intruders a second look. One was tall and brawny, covered in a thick Armor from head to toe, only leaving his face visible, which had blue markings.

    The short and skinny one with the spectacles was wearing some kind of futuristic light armor, and had a long spiral equipment in his hand. He also had blue markings on his body. No matter what, they did not look anything like the weak henchmen he was expecting to be sent for him.

    Upon seeing their reaction, Nerio raised his eyebrows in interest. "Oh?

    You two seem to know about us."

    Darkness began radiating from Akiko. "I know enough. I have waited 10 years for this. You and your organization¡­ you''ll pay for okaa-san and otousan''s death."

    Theron chuckled. "Oh, we killed your parents too? Sorry, I''ve killed too many eels to remember."

    Axel stopped Akiko from rushing forward. ''We need to stall,'' he signaled to her.

    He understood her anger, but they were in a precarious situation right now. Every second more helped him recover and get a better grasp of the situation. Blindly rushing in could be fatal.

    Nerio red at Theron. "Eighth, we don''t have time for this. Let''s just pick up Hunt and go."

    Theron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Nerio. Let me y for a bit."

    ''Pick up Axel?''

    Martina knew a bit about Kraken too. This was the Antean Organization that supplied the Mikhailovs with the technology to pass through her wards. That alone exined that this Organization was not simple. And now they have dered their intention of kidnapping Axel!

    This was a grave predicament. Right now, Axel was extremely weak. The amount of magic he had just used, it should have been impossible for someone his age to do that. Obviously, there was a serious price to pay. There was no way he could defend himself now.

    She stepped in front of Axel protectively. "Why do you want to take Axel?"

    Theron looked at Martina and grinned. "Oh, of course you don''t know. That guy¡ª" he said, pointing at Axel, "¡ªIs the Crown Prince of Antis, the rightful Heir to the throne. And he also happens to have something else we desperately need. That reason enough for you?"

    "What?!"

    Martina, Akiko and Rose, all three of the girls were struck by surprise at that im. Axel? Prince of Antis?

    Antis had always been an unreachable ce in their minds. The strongest nation in the world. The ce was imprable,pletely closed off from the world. Only from time to time, pieces of their technology would show up, which would always be far more advanced than anything the other countries could currently produce.

    And now, they are hearing that Axel Hunt is the prince of such a ce.

    "What are you saying?! How can that be possible?" Asked Martina.

    Theronughed boisterously. "You can''t believe it? His father was a thief who stole from us. And his mother, she was the crown Princess who ran away from the Kingdom," he said to the shocked trio.

    "Hey, they''re spouting nonsense, right?" Asked Rose, turning to look at Axel.

    Axel shrugged. "No idea."

    His parents were, of course, kind enough to leave him at the muggle orphanage when he was barely a year old. So of course he had no idea. But if what that brawny guy in thick Armor said is true, then he could feel a headacheing.

    Rose was baffled. "What?! How can you not know?! Weren''t you the son of Andromeda''s friends who died in war?"

    Axel gave her a ''Really?'' look. "You still believe that flimsy lie? Seriously, just how naive are you?"

    Nerio checked his screen. "Theron, get the boy."

    Martina raised her staff. "We can''t let you do that."

    Nerio looked at each one of them. "I will acknowledge that all of you are formidable," he said, and he really did think so.

    One has a direct connection with the Netherworld, one can destroy four Demogorgons with a single spell, one can use the fearsome Darkness magic, and one can kill within a sh.

    "But¡­" he smirked. "Right now, you all arepletely powerless."

    ''Fuck... he knows.'' Thought Axel. He didn''t know how, but that guy with the sses seemed to know about their current state. They had barely escaped with their lives just a few minutes ago. They were in no condition to fight again.

    Nerio shook his head regretfully. "Each of you have things I want to research more about. It''s really such a pity that except for Axel, we''ll have to kill the rest."

    Martina did not back down. "Don''t be so sure of yourself. Even in this condition, we are strong enough to take on anyone. You should retreat while you still have the chance."

    She wasn''t wrong. Even an injured dragon is more dangerous than other beasts. The three of them might be exhausted, but if ites down to a matter of life and death, they won''t go down before putting up a hell of a fight.

    Theron and Nerio exchanged nces, then theyughed.

    Nerio cleared his throat. "Ahem, it seems that we still haven''t properly introduced ourselves. I am Nerio, and my partner here is Theron. We are the Relic Wielders, two of the Kraken''s Eight Overseers. Usually, you would never even have the opportunity to see us. But we just happened to be in the area due to some¡­ private dealings. That''s why we decided to take on this mission." he exined with precision.

    "So, unless you suddenly bring out something remotely close to thest destructive attack you survived, yes, we are confident in handling you all."

    ''...Fuck...fuckfuckfuckfuck¡­ FUCK!'' Axel finally realized just how shitty his luck was today. Things were just spiraling out of control at every turn. And now, it had simply crossed all boundaries.

    He tried to attract the Organisation''s attention. What he had expected?

    They''d notice him and think: Oh, that''s Tristan''s son. ''Hey, minor henchmen, go pick that boy up.''

    Axel would have happily kicked those small fries asses, and extracted all the information they had.

    But what happened?

    They think he is the Prince of Antis, the only heir to the throne, and just his luck, their most powerful, the upper echelon members, the final bosses, just happened to be the area, chilling.

    And then, they didn''te to him any other time. No. They came just in time to catch him with his pants down, meaning when he is in apletely exhausted state, after almost being crushed like a bug by the most powerful existence in the two worlds.

    ''Just¡­ which sadist bastard is fucking with me?'' He wondered, looking up at the sky. Someone must be fucking with him. Otherwise, just how can he be so damn unlucky every time?!

    Theron stepped forward. "Under different circumstances, I would have enjoyed torturing each of you. But right now, we''re in a bit of a hurry, so I''ll kill you quickly, ok?"

    ''Fight,'' Axel signaled Akiko, who had been raring to go.

    Martina began preparing her magic as well, but Axel whispered another order to her.

    Akiko drew her sword and rushed straight at Theron, who hade forward to kill them.

    Darkness radiated from Akiko''s de. As it made contact with the ground, it instantly made the rocks disintegrate. With that sword, she attacked Theron with all her might.

    "Coral Armor: Defence Mode."

    Theron didn''t move at all, taking Akiko''s attacks head on.

    *CLANG*

    Sounds of metal shing with metals were heard. But the result¡­ Theron was still standing at the same spot,pletely unharmed.

    ?!

    Theron grinned. "Try harder."

    Akiko gritted her teeth but she didn''t stop, attacking Theron at all points, even his eyes, but every time, his sword would bounce off harmlessly.

    ''What¡­ is that thing?'' Martina couldn''t believe her eyes. The armor¡­ it seemed to have a life of its own. It was protecting its owner by adjusting its structure ording to the attack.

    Theron shook his head mockingly. "Is that it? Maybe that''s the reason why your parents died a terrible death. They were just too weak."

    Akiko''s always calm and emotionless face was nowhere to be seen. Right now, she looked like a demon thirsting to kill.

    Suddenly, the surroundings became dark, something that only happened when Voldemort controlled the darkness. Akiko made a single hand seal, one she strictly was forbidden to make.

    "FORBIDDEN ARTS: FLAMES OF FURY!"

    Theron, his eyes widened upon seeing the power of the Jutsu. His yful expression was gone as he cursed under his breath.

    "Coral Armor: Absolute Defense!"

    Theron''s armor took on a radiant glow. Within moments, he waspletely surrounded by the dark mes.

    "SHI-NE!" (Go die) with her eyes wide, filled with killing intent, Akiko put all of her hate into the darkness mes, which took a purplish hue.

    ''What the¡ª'' Axel inched back from Akiko due to the sudden feeling of burning. The Jutsu Akiko just used... he had never seen her use it before.

    Though more than that, he was shocked by the amount of power the spell had. He couldn''t understand how Akiko could still have so much left.

    But then he realized it. ''It''s emotions.''

    Akiko was using the real power of darkness now. It uses her emotions as fuel, rather than her magic.

    When the Jutsu ended, Akiko fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

    "You killed him," whispered Rose in Horror, looking at the mass of dark mes where Theron was standing. No one could survive from that.

    But, Axel was still uneasy. Not because he felt that Akiko''s attack wascking power. No, but because of Nerio.

    ''He still hasn''t moved.'' That was the problem. Nerio didn''t seem worried about his partner''s life. His expression was more of¡­ amazement and pity rather than annoyance.

    "You guys¡­ all of you are monsters, aren''t you? I have really been a frog under a well," he muttered.

    "To be able to bring out such power even in an exhausted state¡­ I am really d we didn''t fight you all at your full strength," he acknowledged. "But¡­ you''ve made him really mad now," he said, shaking his head.

    It was at this moment that the dark mes finally cleared, and they saw the armored figure of Theron still standing there, unharmed. And he looked pissed.

    "You¡­. you bitch! You actually managed to damage my Armor!" He yelled. And sure enough, his armor was indeed a bit damaged.

    A relic, a weapon of immeasurable power, was actually damaged by Akiko''s mes. It was outside both the Antians'' wildest expectations.

    *ng*

    Theron hit his palm against his fist. "It''s my turn now."

    "Coral Armor: Counter mode."

    *Shin*

    Suddenly, sword shes came at them out of nowhere, which managed to graze Akiko.

    Theron clicked his tongue. "My aim is still shitty."

    "What?!"

    Martina was stunned, looking at the ground where the shes hadnded. The area hadpletely disintegrated.

    Those sword shes¡­. They were the same ones that Akiko used!

    The counter mode¡­ it could return the attacks with 100% power. And if that was the case¡­

    They all realized it at the same time as they looked at the mes of darkness radiating from Theron''s armor.

    "I won''t miss this time," said Theron.

    "Martina, now!" Said Axel, gripping her hand.

    Martina quickly grabbed Akiko with her other hand, who quickly grabbed Rose.

    Yes, that was what Axel had put Martina up to as soon as he had realized just who it was they were dealing with. Running away was the best choice for now.

    Theron was taken by surprise by their unexpected move. But¡­

    "No you don''t."

    It was at this moment that Nerio finally decided to make a move. He pointed his spiral device in their direction.

    *Snap*

    At the same time, Martina executed her teleportation.

    Martina, Akiko and Rose disappeared from the sight.

    ''The teleportation was sessful¡­ partially,'' thought Axel, who was still left standing in his ce¡­. with a bloody stump instead of a hand.

    "Ha... Axel Hunt," Said Nerio, stepping forward. "I believe it''s best if you surrender peacefully," said, as Theron pointed his fully charged Darkness mes at him.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Next: ???

    Read ahead and support /Snollygoster

 Chapter 145: Interrogation

    Chapter 145: Interrogation

    ...

    Nerio gritted his teeth as he activated the anti-teleportation field once again. Those girls somehow escaped. It was bad, since their involvement would be revealed now, but what matters the most is, they still have their target within their sights. After all, the main thing they''re after is the key around his neck.

    "Hah... Axel Hunt. I believe it''s best if you surrender peacefully, Nerio said, as Theron pointed his fully charged Darkness mes at him.

    Axel looked down at the bloody stump that used to be his hand. The part from his wrist down was missing, teleported away with Martina. He knew exactly what had happened. Just when they were about to teleport, Nerio had used the spiral device in his hand, which Axel now realized, was a freaking magic gun!

    While it''s true that expert wizards can increase the casting and traveling speed of their spell, but that was on a different level. The casting and the moment of impact was almost instantaneous.

    Axel nced at Nerio, who was once again pointing the gun at him, and then at Theron, who looked ready to burn him alive, and sighed. Great, just great.

    "The weather is rather lovely today, don''t you think?" He said conversationally. "It''d be a pity if it rained."

    "Theron, he is stalling. Go bind him. We don''t have time," said Nerio, adjusting his sses.

    "Hey, I was just trying to make small talk," said Axel. Though, at this moment, his gaze went behind Theron and Nerio, and a smile came to his face.

    ?!

    Theron instantly looked back before he knew what he was doing, and even Nerio did too. It was almost irresistible! But then he realized just what he was doing! Without thinking, he pulled the trigger of the spiral equipment which was pointed straight at Axel.

    *Thump*

    Aghast, Nerio''s gaze fell on the motionless form Axel whichy sprawled on the ground. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He felt goosebumps upon realizing just how simr this situation waspared to when the boy cut down Lockhart into pieces.

    "Hey, why''d you shoot him?" Asked Theron in bewilderment.

    Nerio shot another st at Theron, whose armor blocked it. "You stupid seashell! He made us look back! If that boy was in a better condition, either I would be dead or he would have escaped!"

    Theron was a bit slow but also realized that Nerio''s words were true. "Damn it, you''re right! We made sure that no one else woulde here, but when I saw his face, for a moment Ipletely believed someone was behind me," he said, as he walked up to Axel''s paralyzed body.

    He gave the body a good kick. "Bastard! I''m starting to hate him just as much as his dad."

    Nerio added ''mastery over deception, defense, and attack'' to the list as well. And upon realizing that this was a thirteen-year-old boy, he felt like his whole life had been a waste. He wondered just how it was possible for a boy so young to be so... freaking dangerous. In fact, he was so curious that finding it out would be the first thing he was going to do.

    "Let''s get out of here quickly," he said, creating a portal.

    They stepped through, and entered a dark ce.

    Theron lit up a light orb, looking around. "Aren''t we going to the HQ?" He asked.

    "No way. Why would we do that?" Asked Nerio. "We are the ones who discovered and captured him. Obviously we should have the first stake over questioning him. You guard him while I secure the ce."

    Theron dumped Axel into a chair, not at all caring about his bloody hand. "You heard that, we get to torture you first," he said gleefully.

    ''Fan-fuckking-tastic,'' thought Axel sarcastically. He was in a state ofplete paralysis. And he couldn''t really break free, what with him already having expended every single drop of energy he had on surviving Voldemort. He inwardly sighed.

    He wondered if it was the right decision... not running away and trying to save everyone instead. It really wasn''t like him to think about anyone but himself.

    Fuck, who was he kidding? It was a fucking idiotic decision, and stupidly naive. He should have run away at the first opportunity. Nothing should be above his own life. And if he really had a little bit of time to consider, he WOULD have run away. He really thought so.

    But, he didn''t. And now he''s paying the price. He almost died, once again damaged his soul, and then got captured by the Organisation. Oh, and how could he forget the hand he just lost?

    Anyways, he was captured, he didn''t have an ounce of energy, and he was missing a hand. That was about it.

    ''Not too bad,'' he thought calmly, beginning to turn the gears in his head once again. He still had his greatest asset with him after all.

    So, these are powerful high level members of the organization. Their power level? Indeterminate. But those relics give them a huge advantage in specific fields.

    From what he can gather, Theron has an extremely high level of physical and magical defense. And he can also turn that into attack power. He isn''t too smart though.

    As for Nerio, he is sly as a Slytherin. Low defense, at least lower than the Tank Theron. But attack? Insanely high. The so-called magic gun? Axel was sure it was a relic. That attack speed might even be faster than muggle bullets. Axel didn''t fancy his chances in a head on fight even in his top condition.

    It''s so good that he doesn''t have to fight them on. Axel has always been a cheater, a thief, someone looking for an easier way. He just has to find a way tobat these two with his limited options, while keeping in mind their unfairly powerful Relics.

    Easy, right?

    While Axel was still busy thinking, he was released from the paralysis spell. But of course, now he was bound by some incredibly strong bindings, making sure he had no possibility of escape.

    Now that he was able to move, he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dark and dingy room, with the only furniture being three chairs, one for each of them, there were no windows, and a single orb as the only light source. The only path of escape was the door, which was already heavily secured by Nerio.

    "Don''t worry, you can''t escape from here. And no one wille to find you here," said Theron, who was observing Axel''s reactions closely while sitting on the chair opposite to him. "We''re in a safe house right now. We''ll take you to the organization once we''ve properly questioned you," he said menacingly.

    Axel nodded. "Can''t wait," he said ndly.

    Theron gritted his teeth. "You bastard, that''s the exact reason why I hated your traitor of a father. Why do you always have to be such a smartass?"

    Theron had known Tristan. The guy was too talented for his own good, and he liked to let others know it too. Theron had always wanted to wipe that calm and collected expression off the bastard''s face. Too bad, he never did get the chance.

    Even when that man died, he took the Organisation''s second key along with him, leaving them all in immense frustration. Now that he met Axel who was like a replica of Tristan, only more talented and cockier, his old hatred had been once again reignited.

    He leaned forward. "Don''t you realize the situation you''re in?" He asked. "You have been captured, you can barely move, let alone fight us off, you have lost a hand, we are going to torture you, and then you are going to be killed. Now do you realize? You couldn''t be in a worse situation. Why the hell are you so calm and cozy?!" he exined, as a sadistic smile came to his face.

    Axel chuckled. He couldn''t help it. "Couldn''t be in a worse situation? Bitch, you don''t know anything about me."

    He HAD been in situations which were much, much worse than this. That was exactly why he was so calm. His life has been throwing him into such situations long before he even stepped foot into Hogwarts. So what if the past year was somewhatx? Situations like this are still routine for him. The only thing that keeps changing is the power of his enemies.

    "Calm down, Theron."

    Theron was just about to hit Axel but Nerio stopped him as he came to sit on the chair beside him. He looked at Axel deeply.

    "You know Axel, I really admire you."

    "I''m thirteen, you pedophile."

    Nerio wasn''t provoked. "You¡­ there''s something about you that terrifies me," he continued. "You have such great powers, and yet you didn''t show even 10% of that when you had the chance to show the whole world. And as you said, you are only thirteen. HOW? And how are you mature enough to hide it. Heck, how are youposed right now? I have so many questions."

    Nerio was genuinely curious. Axel was too abnormal for his abilities to be natural. He could sense many secrets behind his power, and he wanted to unearth them. It''s one of the reasons why he didn''t take Axel directly to the headquarters.

    "Well," Axel shrugged. "Too bad, you''ll never get the answers. It would be a waste to even try."

    This, he could say with confidence.

    Nerio raised his hands. "Now, now. Don''t be so hasty in making a decision. I know you have high endurance, and I''m trying not to go into the torture route just yet. So, how about a deal? You tell me how you acquired so much power at such a young age, and I''ll tell you about your parents.

    "What?" Axel wavered at that.

    Nerio smiled, like he had caught a fish. "Yes, your parents. From what I researched, you don''t remember anything about your parents, right? Well, we happened to have a detailed ount of their lives, even first hand memories. I don''t mind sharing them with you at all. Won''t you like to see it?"

    "How do I know you won''t go back on your words?"

    Nerio shrugged. "Why would I need to go back on my words? Telling you something about your parents is nothing disadvantageous to me. So, What do you say, do we have a deal?"

    "Fine." Axel grew serious. "Then I''ll tell you," he said, looking at the ball of light, seemingly remembering his past.

    "Once, there used to be a boy, living in an orphanage where he did not belong. His parents had abandoned him, and he couldn''t fit in with the ordinary muggles at the orphanage. He was set to live an ordinary and insignificant life. But then a fateful encounter changed his life."

    Theron and Nerio unknowingly leaned forward in anticipation.

    "He met an old man who saw something in him which no one else could. This old man was no ordinary person. He was from a mysterious ce called ''Aether''. ''Comprehend the meaning behind my words, and I''ll pass down my legacy to you,'' he said."

    "The words were: Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi."

    Axel paused aftering this far, letting them absorb it.

    Theron had a look of realization on his face.

    "Aether? Hey Nerio, it can''t be, right? He was from the Aether World! No wonder this brat is so freakishly strong."

    Nerio nodded, deep in thought. "It would make sense. Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi¡­" he muttered seriously, looking at Axel. "You were able toprehend their meaning, weren''t you?"

    Axel was unimpressed. "No shit."

    Nerio type the words into the transparent screen that appeared between him and Axel and hit search. "Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi"

    He frowned. "It doesn''t match any dialect of this world. Not even from the little bit we have from the Aether World. How did youprehend it?" He asked.

    Axel did an eyebrow-shrugged. "Because I''m not an idiot. I can read it pretty clearly," he said, looking at the words which were appearing inverted on the transparent screen.

    Theron was not so patient. "So, what DO the words actually mean?"

    Axel sighed. You two really are what I said you are. Turn the screen around."

    Sensing something wrong, Nerio turned the screen around.

    !!!

    When the words became inverted, suddenly they could read it.

    "theroN and neriO are idiots."

    "....."

    Axelughed. "I am not telling you anything. You can take the information about my parents and shove it up your cunts. I don''t give a fuck who they were."

    Theron directly sucker punched Axel, and this Nerio didn''t stop him this time. But Axel onlyughed, feeling no pain. "Hahaha... haah... damn, your faces¡­ I should have recorded it."

    "Alright, ytime''s over. Let''s get the key first," said Nerio as he stood up.

    He decided not to waste time anymore. Their number one priority was of course, the key. "We have been searching for it for a decade. We had thought that it was destroyed, but to think that it had been hanging around the neck of a brat all this while¡­" he said, tugging at Axel''s neck.

    Though he suddenly paused, as an expression of doubt came to his face. He removed Axel''s half-destroyed hoodie to clear the view and saw¡ªnothing.

    "What in the¡ª"

    "Where is the key?!"

    Yes, the key, which they had clearly seen hanging around Axel''s neck, was nowhere to be seen.

    Axel beganughing once again.

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!! Or dy in chapters</strong>

    <strong>Next: Search For Axel</strong>

    <strong>Next next: The Key</strong>

    <strong>Next.... Next: Revenge of a Savage: The Beginning</strong>

    <strong>To read 10 chapters ahead and support /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 146: Search for Axel

    Chapter 146: Search for Axel

    Chapter 144

    Meanwhile, In Hogwarts:

    Betrix ck, along with the professors, stood in an abandoned corridor, looking at a specific ssroom.

    "Skimpy, are you sure Axel used to sleep here?" Asked Professor Mcgonagall.

    Betrix slowly walked into the room. It waspletely destroyed. Holes and craters marred the ground, the columns were broken, and tables and chairs were overturned with their feet snapped like twigs. "What happened here?" She asked.

    The professor looked at each other, hesitating to answer. Betrix raised her eyebrows. "I asked, what the hell happened here?!" She asked, her annoyance apparent.

    "Well, it happened on the night of Halloween two years ago. A troll somehow barged into the castle. By the time we got here, the room was already like this... and the troll was dead," exined Flitwick.

    Betrix looked ballistic.

    "Night of Halloween?! So Professor, are you telling me that he might have been here when the troll got in?"

    The professors were silent, but that did seem to be the case. They never did find out who killed the troll.

    Betrix felt her heart throb upon thinking of Axel''s circumstances. Having to sleep all alone in such a haunted corridor, and then a troll barging into his room in the middle of night. And all this was still back when he wasn''t healed.

    "Does no one have any idea where he currently might be?" She asked, getting no answer.

    Betrix gritted her teeth, There was no choice anymore. "Launch a search. And if anyone finds him, report to me immediately." This might also alert the kraken into taking action, but she feared it might already be toote.

    And thus, a school-wide Hunt for Axel Hunt wasunched, causing amotion.

    Since the students were grounded under curfews, the Hogwarts forum was abuzz with activity.

    HufflePuffin:

    "Hey, anyone seen Axel today?"

    GhostlyGwen:

    "I wish. I haven''t seen him in two days."

    WandnWine:

    "What the hell is happening though? First the curfew and now they''re finding Axel all over the school?"

    "Don''t know, but the minister of Magic herself was here in the Slytherin dorms,ing to get Axel. But guess what, the guy wasn''t here."

    Anonymous:

    "What? The Minister of Magic? You saw Mrs. ck in person?!"

    Anonymous:

    "I''m jealous!"

    "Fuck you, Slytherins! You take all the glory, and now you have the Minister of Magic visiting you!"

    I-am-Axel''s-bitch:

    "More importantly, that Axel is screwed. Breaking curfew at the time. They still haven''t found him, right?"

    Galgadot554:

    "F"

    Anonymous:

    "F"

    ProfessorNarcissasimp333:

    "F"

    GalleonGal69:

    "Is Axel missing?"

    Anonymous:

    "Where could he be?"

    Merlin''s_daddy:

    "I''ve only even seen the guy in the great hall. And that too, only after I try very hard to find him."

    RuneReader909:

    "I am his ssmate, and even I have never seen passing through in the corridors. It''s almost as if he just¡­ appears wherever he wants. Even in ss, I rarely see him."

    CharmChick00:

    "Yeah, I had this fantasy about being stuck on the moving staircases with him, but I haven''t even seen him climbing the steps, ever."

    NimbusNerd:

    "Famous people tend to attract a lot of attention wherever they go, but I''ve barely seen any photos of Axel aside from the one taken in the great hall and sses.

    Let-me-Slyther-in:

    "I''ll let you guys in on a secret. Axel Hunt never stayed in the Slytherin Dorms. His room has always been empty."

    Anonymous:

    "Wtf, is this guy a ghost or what?"

    Now that the matter was broached, people suddenly freaked out upon realizing that they weren''t the only ones who felt that way. So many students, and very few had seen Axel anywhere outside ss and the great hall¡­ Just how is this possible?

    Usually, people like Martina attract a lot of attention wherever they go, like when they are walking through the corridors, when they are climbing the staircase, when they are practicing in the Quidditch pitch, when they are having fun in the dorms, and even what their dorm room is like. Their photos are taken and circted amongst the fans and gossipers. But now that they thought about it, they had never seen such photos of Axel.

    All types of rumors and conjectures were made. Some said Axel knows all the secret passageways, while some surmised that he must be an unregistered animagus. Each of their guesses was wilder than the previous one.

    ....

    On the other hand, Betrix was still pacing back and forth in an office, waiting for results.

    "Any news?" She asked. It had been a while since the search started.

    "Afraid not," said Nymphadora Tonks ck, the minister''s niece and now an auror. "They''re questioning the students of all houses now, to find out when and where he wasst seen and where might be. But there''s no positive response yet," said Nymphadora, her hair turning a mousy brown, a sign that she wasn''t in a good mood.

    Betrix''s mouth formed a hard line. "Is there really no one who would know?"

    Nymphadora shrugged, "Well, there is Martina and Akiko who might know, but they''re missing too. He keeps his distance from everyone else."

    Betrix rested her head into her palms. So, he still had not let people in. She cursed herself for the umpteen time. In their first meeting, back when she had no idea he was Tristan''s son, she had said some really nasty things to him. She had even lied that Andromeda was just using him, not to mention she had also threatened him.

    She could still remember his response. The boy had simply smiled sardonically, thanking her for giving him a reminder never to trust anyone again. Now, he has managed healed his crippled body, and even be so popr, and yet, there were hardly any people he trusted.

    Nymphadora hesitated. "Aunty, there''s something else I need to report."

    Betrix didn''t even raise her head. "What is it?" She asked, her voiceing muffled.

    "Rose might have snuck away, or she is missing too. Because she''s not in the Griffindore dorms," said Nymphadora.

    "What?!" Betrix raised her head back with a jerk. "Didn''t she have Aurors protecting her all the time?"

    Nymphadora scratched her head. "Well, you had set me to protect Rose at all times, but then I went with you to deal with the Organisation. And the other Aurors who were guarding her had gone to fend off the dementor attack just now. So... she might have been left unguarded for a while."

    Betrix banged the table. As if the situation wasn''t already bad enough. Afterst year, Dumbledore had asked Betrix to assign strict protection for Rose this year. Of course, Dumbledore being Dumbledore, hadn''t deemed it necessary to provide the reason behind his request.

    Now she wondered if it was for this reason. Maybe the organisation wanted her to too.

    *BOOOM*

    As if she still didn''t have enough on her te, the sound of a distant explosion was heard, rming her.

    Betrix quickly moved to look out of the window in the direction of the st, and saw a mushroom cloud of darkness rising far far away into the forest.

    "What¡­ is that?!" Asked Nymphadora.

    But Betrix was already calling her force in order to investigate. ''Please don''t be there, please be alive, please don''t die¡­'' Her mind was a chaotic mess.

    That explosion¡­ there could be very few people in the world who would be able to do something remotely like that. And she just hoped that Axel and Rose were nowhere near that ce.

    Betrix and her team of hitwizards quickly made their way towards the site. It would have taken forever to reach by ground, and they couldn''t use apparation, so the only option was flying by Brooms. But¡­ something was wrong.

    "Why aren''t we reaching any closer?!" Eximed Betrix.

    That was the problem. Even after flying for several minutes, the team found themselves unable to go further.

    Gorski sighed. "It''s an Antean array. I should have found out sooner!"

    "What?! Does that mean¡ª?!" Betrix went white.

    Gorski nodded. "What we feared has happened. Kraken really is here. And if they are here¡­ then it''s also very likely that Axel is here as well."

    "Then break through this thing! Now!" Betrix ordered.

    Gorski was helpless. "It''s not so easy. Arrays areplicated. It might take a few minutes to an hour."

    Betrix gripped Gorski''s cor. "You better pray he''s alright by the time you break it!"

    ¡­

    Martina, Akiko and Rose appeared in the middle of Martina''s room at the Valentino residence. In her hurry, Martina had unconsciously chosen the safest ce she could think of.

    With her eyes closed, Martina fell to her knees, Rose''s and Axel''s hands still clutched in her hands. The familiar warmth of Axel''s hand reassured her that she was safe now.

    Meanwhile, Akiko was still in shock. She had failed. She finally had the opportunity to take revenge. And she had failed. After all the training she had, and all the hardships she had gone through, she couldn''t do anything when the members of Kraken were standing right in front of her. Instead, she had to run away like a coward.

    Rose, on the other hand, was still panicking. She looked around frantically, trying to understand the situation. Ok, so it looks like they had managed to escape. But¡­ if that is the case, then¡ª

    "Where''s Axel?!" She eximed.

    Martina looked at Rose in puzzlement. "What do you mean? He''s right here¡ª"

    !!!!

    Martina let out a horrified scream when she realized that the hand she was holding¡­ was just a hand, with blood still dripping from it.

    Akiko woke up from her self hatred when she realized the situation. "We need to go back!" She said immediately to the shaking Martina, who was looking at Axel''s hand in mortification.

    Martina quickly tried apparating back, but it didn''t work! "I-I can''t! The ce is covered with some sort of space-blocking field!"

    Hyperventting from panic, Martina kept trying to teleport, still holding Axel''s hand. When she finally seeded, they teleported to the familiar location... with no sign of Axel or the Kraken overseers.

    "No..." Martina began shaking her head. "Nononononno... NOOOOOOO!" kneeling on the ground, tears began flowing from Martina''s eyes. He was gone, he really was gone. And Martina had no idea how to bring him back.

    "Just... who were they? And W-What are they going to do to him?" Asked Rose, feeling like this was all a dream. So much had happened in such a short period of time that she could hardly believe she had been cursing Axel just an hour ago and her main concern was people thinking ill of her. Having been kidnapped herself, she couldn''t help but worry for him. She had been saved, but who will save HIM?

    "They were high level members of the Organisation called ''Kraken''. They''re after him before they want something he has in his possession. And after that, they''re going to kill him," said Akiko faintly, looking like she''d fall any second. She had overdone it with thest forbidden jutsu. The only reason she could even stay conscious right now was because Axel was kidnapped.

    "What?! So what they said about him being the prince¡­ was it all really true?!"

    "Most likely." Akiko really thought so. It was too random a thing to mention otherwise. Why would they need to lie? Besides¡­ Axel''s abnormal affinity to water, that was another reason she thought that it made sense.

    Martina still could stop hyperventting. She couldn''t imagine what they were doing to him right now. "What do we do now?! I will contact my family. Akiko, can you contact your grandfather? We can go to Antis¡ª"

    Akiko put a hand on Martina''s shoulder. "You need to calm down first."

    "Calm down?! How am I supposed¡ª"

    "He is Axel," said Akiko, cutting her off. "Even if he is injured, even if he''s weak, even if he''scking a fist, he''s still¡ªAxel!" She said firmly.

    Akiko has been training with him since the better part ofst year. She knows a lot more about his capabilities than Martina, who had merely seen glimpses. The thing that makes Axel is not merely his skills, or his power. It''s far more than that.

    Even if the guys from the Organisation were strong, they didn''t give her the same level of dangerpared to what she felt from Axel.

    The Organisation was strong. Much stronger than she had imagined. But they are no Axel.

    "He will survive," Akiko said with certainty. "We just have to do what we can. Panicking would get us nowhere."

    "...You''re right."

    Martina looked down at Axel''s hand which she was still holding on to. As she finally rxed her hold, something fell out of it. ''This is¡­?''

    Martina realized that this was the pendant Axel always used to wear around his neck. And it was also the thing that Voldemort wanted from him after it reacted to the ritual circle. While she was putting Axel''s hand into stasis, it suddenly clicked to her.

    ''Could it be?'' Martina''s hand shook. The members of Kraken said that they wanted something important from Axel. Could it be that this is the thing they wanted as well?

    If it is, then how the hell did it end up in the hand which got cut off? It was almost as if¡­ ''As if he predicted it¡­''

    ¡­

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!</strong>

    <strong>Next: Endurance</strong>

    <strong>Next next: The Weakness</strong>

    <strong>Next next next: Revenge of a Savage: the Beginning</strong>

    <strong>Next...next: Payback continues</strong>

    <strong><em>Read 10 chapters ahead and Support me on /Snollygoster</em></strong>

 Chapter 147: Cracking Axel

    Chapter 147: Cracking Axel

    Axelughed. "You guys¡­ you''re such idiots. Of course I don''t have it."

    Nerio narrowed his eyes. He quickly took out a device and ran it up and down in front of Axel, as if scanning him.

    "It''s not on him." He ripped open Axel''s space pocket and put the device inside. Nerio frowned. "Not here either."

    For the first time in a while, Nerio regarded Axel with a look of anger. "I''m giving you onest chance. With the condition of your hand, you are going to bleed out and die soon if we don''t help."

    Axel leaned forward, causing the two of them to lean forward as well. "Go fuck yourself," he said, giving them the finger with the hand that still had fingers remaining.

    Theron had had enough. He gripped Axel''s neck, trying to choke him. "It''s alright, don''t tell us. That way I get to torture it out of you," he said, digging his fingers into Axel''s neck.

    Axel was calm, as if it was not his neck that was being choked.

    "Stop it, Theron," said Nerio. "It''s a waste of time when we have better ways to get him to talk."

    Nerio had regained his calm by now.

    "I know you''re tough. But there are a few things you just can''t resist with mere toughness," he said, looking at Axel.

    He took out some sort of helmet and strapped it to Axel''s head.

    "That''s a sub-relic, extremely rare. We call it the mind reader. Whatever we want to know, it''ll show us on the screen. Of course, there''s the side effect that it may damage your mind, and cause a lot of pain, but since you won''t share any of your secrets, this is the next best option," he said with a shrug.

    Theronughed. I didn''t know you brought this thing with you.

    Nerio shrugged. "It was gathering algae just lying there in the headquarters. I just borrowed it without permission."

    Theron nodded with a satisfied look.

    "Well, this method works too. Dig up all of his secrets! Also, while you''re at it, also mess up his mind as well," he said with a sinister smile. He already hated Axel, but seeing him act so cocky right now only made him more angry.

    Axel stopped smiling for a moment as he gave Theron a look. "You should be careful."

    !!!

    Theron backed away instinctively, but the feeling was gone as soon as it came.

    "You scaredy turtle, he''s incapable of hurting you." Scoffing at Theron''s cowardice, Nerio activated the device.

    Axel suddenly gasped. His lumency shields were attacked by a huge force as the machine sent out powerful magical waves into his mind.

    Nerio rubbed his hands together. "Now, let''s see what you''re hiding," he said, waiting for the screen to start showing Axel''s memories.

    And it worked, as it showed the memory of a younger version of Axel walking on a street.

    Nerio changed the scene, and this time, it was showing a younger Axel making graffiti of a middle finger on the wall.

    Theron was getting impatient. "Just skip to the part where it shows how he got so powerful."

    "That''s what I''m trying to do," said Nerio, clenching his jaw as he typed in moremands.

    The scene changed once again, and it saw Axel running. Just running through the building of rooftops, between the maze of back alleys, climbing pipes, and going through narrow spaces. Several people were chasing after him, but in the end, no one could catch up. Axel disappeared after giving a condescending smirk.

    The scene changed, and now it was showing Axel sitting by the Thames river, doing nothing, just looking into the surface.

    "Damn it, work already¡­" Muttered Nerio, typing away furiously now.

    The scene shifted to now show an injured Axel just by the river. Seemingly deep in thought, he jumped into the river, blood spreading into the water.

    The scenes changed again and again. Every time they felt like they were close to knowing about his secrets, it would just turn out to be a useless thing.

    Nerio wiped off the sweat from his face. "Why is it not working?!"

    "Could¡­ Could he be resisting it?" Asked Theron, looking at Axel was sitting very still.

    Nerio shook his head. "That''s not possible. It''s a sub-relic. I''ve only heard rumours of anyone being able to beat it. Besides, he''s only 13. His mind can''t possibly be developed enough to resist."

    Sub relics are the advanced machines which the Antians were able to recreate or repair after the destruction. They aren''t as powerful as the real Relics, but they can be produced in more quantity, unlike Relics, each of which is one of its kind.

    "I don''t understand why it''s not working. It''s almost as if these are all the memories he has of his childhood. I can''t ess the rest."

    "Then let''s just find out about the key first. If we can get the key, we don''t have to go back to the organisation, we can just hoard it ourselves," said Theron.

    Nerio nodded. "The key is the priority," he said as he searched for the information of the key. The scene shifted again, and this time, it showed Axel smirking at something.

    But something was different. He seemed to be looking directly at them through the screen. Axel in the screen slowly raised his middle finger into the air, right at them.

    "Didn''t I already say? Go fuck yourselves," he told them.

    !

    A look of sheer incredulity crossed on Theron and Nerio''s faces. They could not believe it!

    "H-How¡­?"

    Nerio didn''t even have the capacity to get offended at the utter disrespect they had been dealt. All he could wonder was: H-O-W?

    If it was still random visions, he could have still attributed it to happening due to some other circumstances, but after thest vision in which he flipped them off? There was no other way to exin it. This boy¡­ no, this monster, he''s able to resist the sub-relic, and even somehow protected his brain from any damage!

    How is that possible?! Mind training is something even the Anteans take a lot of time to master, even with their advanced training and equipment. How could this boy have mastery in even that?!

    It was definitely impossible for someone to be so skilled naturally at this age. He must have had a unique training from an early age, otherwise this wouldn''t have been possible.

    Nerio took off the sub-relic. "Alright, I admit defeat. I will ept¡­ this boy is infuriating. Theron, you''re up," he said, backing away with his machine.

    "Haha..." Theron rubbed his hands together with glee as he stood up, his armour making nging noise. "I''ve been waiting for you to say that."

    He gave Axel a sinister smile. "You know what the worst thing about his father was?"

    "Nope, but I know that you hate like a kid who got bullied. What happened, he ate your candy? That''s why you hate him?"

    Theron punched Axel again. "Wrong answer. It was due to his cockiness. He was always so cocky, as if everything was under his control, as if others were just seashells lying there to fill the space.

    While others had to work hard to get chosen by relics and earn the right to use them, he got chosen without any effort, like they were made for him! And how he reacted to that extremely fortunate situation? The guy had the audacity to look disappointed. ''Only two?'' He had said, as if it was only natural for multiple relics to choose him. That guy was cocky till death. Just like you are. Even though your situation is worse as it gets, you still act like you''ve got everything under control." He said as he punched Axel again.

    Theron wiped his sweat. "So, realize your situation, and tell me about the key," he said, holding up his hand that was cut from wrist.

    "Tell me!" He hissed, jabbing his finger right into the raw flesh of the cut surface, causing fresh blood to spew out of the hand.

    Axel didn''t say anything. He just sat there, not at all reacting to the pain Theron was trying to inflict on him. It was as if his mind waspletely elsewhere.

    ''What is it with this guy?!'' Thought Theron as he gritted his teeth. That should have hurt like a bitch, but this guy is not reacting to it all!

    Theron clenched his fists and began punching Axel with a single minded devotion. He punched his face, he punched his head, his chest and stomach. "Where is it?!"

    Axel still didn''t react. He didn''t even look at Theron, as if he waspletely unworthy of his attention.

    Theron was sweating buckets now. "You''re seriously pissing me off now."

    Nerio adjusted his sses, his eyes narrowed. "He''s not pretending, He really isn''t affected. His body is abnormally tough. I thought something was wrong with the sses, but it really is the case."

    Axel finally reacted as his gaze shifted towards Nerio. "Those sses¡­" he said."They''re annoying."

    Nerio smiled at that. "Ah, you noticed. These are very precious. It''s a sub-relic. With these, I can see things normal people can''t. For example, they''re currently disying your physical stats to me, which I really can''t believe. Your body is expertly trained to the extreme. But it would exin that abnormal speed and sturdiness. It only increases my curiosity."

    Axel shrugged. "What can I say? I eat my veggies."

    Nerio''s eyes twitched, "Is that so," he turned to Theron. "We don''t have time for this. Just use thest option. I do hope you brought it with you."

    Theron chuckled. "Oh, you know I bring it everywhere. I can''t go for long before using it on someone."

    "Sadistic bastard," Nerio muttered under his breath as Theron took out a cylindrical container from his storage space. "I was going to use it on you just for pleasure, but I didn''t think it would be because I had no other choice."

    He unsealed the lid of the container. "Say hello to my pet," he said, as small tentacles came out of it.

    "What is it?" Asked Axel.

    "Your worst nightmare," said Nerio, taking his distance from the container. It was apparent that whatever was in that container, he wanted nothing to do with it. "It''s a deep sea magical creature called the Excrucio Medusa, a type of jellyfish whose sting is excruciatingly painful. No one has been able to survive it without the antidote."

    Theron grinned. "It''s more poprly called the ''Tormentacle'' or ''painifera''. Its tentacle can deliver a type of venom that would give you a few minutes of indescribable agony, after which you will die from heatstroke or you will be brain-dead, if not administered with the antidote in time. You have a lot of secrets, huh?! Well, I bet this would make you sing like a siren."

    Axel looked at the jar, and then at Theron. A smirk was threatening to break on his face. "You are making a big mistake." he said in amusement.

    Theronughed. "Don''t try to act tough anymore. I know you''re scared now. What? You want me to stop?" he asked in triumph.

    But Nerio looked at Axel with a scrutinizing gaze. "You really think it would be in your favour. How?"

    Axel didn''t react anymore, seeming too concentrated on something else.

    "Well, hope you have a good time." said Theron. He sprayed something on Axel then brought the container closer to him.

    The tentacles came out of the container, slowly getting a feel for the surroundings. Suddenly, they started moving in Axel''s direction, as if spurred on by the spray. As they made contact with his skin, the area turned purplish, an evidence of the poisoning.

    "Now, let''s see how long you can hold on," said Theron.

    ¡­

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!! We need to be at the top by a huge margin!</strong>

    <strong>Next: The Weakness</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Revenge of A Savage: the Beginning</strong>

    <strong>Next...Next: Old Daphne is Back</strong>

    <strong>Latest: Antis It is</strong>

    <strong>Read 10 Chapters ahead on /Snollygoster</strong>

    I have an exam tomorrow ??

 Chapter 148: The Weakness

    Chapter 148: The Weakness

    Betrix and the rest were finally able to break through the array. They were now approaching the sight of disaster. But the closer she reached, the more horrified she got. In a huge radius below her, a scene of pure destruction had spread. Nothing was alive. The nts and the vegetation were mere husks of dark matter. There were no animal and bird corpses, only darkened pieces of bones.

    Just¡­ What the hell happened here? And how?

    Is the organization really capable enough to do this?

    "Holy¡ªFucking¡ªMorgana¡­ just how powerful are they?" Muttered Tonks, seriously freaked out. She was so scared that her hair had turned white¡­ literally.

    "It¡­ It wasn''t the organization," said Gorski, looking truly shaken from the view. "Even the relics can''t do something like this. If they had such power, they would have been ruling Antis by now."

    ''Then who was it?! And is Axel involved?!'' Thought Betrix as she quickened her pace. When she finally reached the clearing, she saw several figures huddled together.

    Betrix found Rose, looking fine. But she failed to find Axel.

    "Rose!" yelled Tonks,nding into the clearing. "Are you alright?!"

    Rose jumped upon hearing the unexpected voice. She turned around, only to find her cousin Tonks, her Aunt, Hitwizards and Aurors loyal to her Auntnding one after another.

    "Tonks? Aunty Be?"

    Betrix grabbed Rose''s shoulders. "Rose Potter ck, have you seen Axel?!"

    Rose flinched as soon as Axel''s name came up. Martina sobbed, and Akiko clenched her fists.

    Betrix got a bad premonition upon seeing their reactions. Her gaze went to the very conspicuous severed hand in Martina''s hands and she gasped.

    "Is¡­ Is that¡­?"

    She could recognize that hand easily enough. But she still didn''t want to believe it. She saw what Martina was holding in her other hand, and it only confirmed her worst fear.

    "The pendant..."

    The cross shaped pendant that Tristan always wore around his neck, and the one he had passed down to Axel.

    "What happened?"

    "What happened?!" She drew her wand and pointed at Martina.

    "Aunty Be! It wasn''t her fault!" said Rose, stopping Betrix in a hurry. "She saved me, or I would have been kidnapped!"

    Martina was not at all affected by whatever Betrix just said to her. She looked at Betrix with urgency. "Minister ck, I really need your help. Some people have kidnapped Axel Hunt. You might have heard of him. It is really important for us to save him. Please¡ª"

    Gorski stepped in at the moment, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "I think both of youdies need to calm down first. We all want the same thing here, to rescue Axel and get the bad guys."

    "Professor Gorski? What are you doing here?" Asked Rose in confusion.

    "Ah, Miss Potter, that''s a story forter. First we need you to tell us what happened here?"

    "Okay," Rose was confused, but still quickly began recalling the details. "Well, it all started when Lockhart kidnapped me out of nowhere¡­"

    By the time she was halfway, Gorski had to interrupt her. "Is Vodemort really in the Netherworld? And he has an army of Demogorgons?!"

    This inconceivable piece of news, he just couldn''t wrap his head around it. If this was true, then the situation was much more serious than he had imagined.

    "So, Voldemort is the one who has Kidnapped Axel?" Asked Betrix.

    "No! When I regained my consciousness, Voldemort was already gone, and everything around us was destroyed. Axel was still there, though unconscious. Everything seemed to have ended, but then ''they'' showed up. They called themselves the Kraken or something. They said they wanted Axel, along with a load of other nonsense. They were too powerful."

    "It''s Kraken again!" Betrix was ballistic. They had taken Tristan, and now Axel too, while she could do nothing. She didn''t know what to do now. She would have stomped into their base right now, but she had no idea where it was, and how to get there. The only thing she could do was to bang on Antis''s doors and ask for cooperation, but that would take too much time, and she didn''t know Axel would be alive for that long.

    Though, Gorski wasn''t out of hope yet. "When did they leave? And can you recall exactly how? Did they use a portal?"

    "It couldn''t have been more than 20 minutes, as for how, we don''t know that," said Martina. "We tried running away through Teleportation, and we seeded, but they managed to hold back Axel. We tried returning but the space was locked, by the time we returned, they were already gone, along with Axel."

    "Less than 20 minutes? And can anyone tell me about these Kraken members? Their appearance, names, or equipment? Anything will do."

    "They were the seventh and eighth overseers. Nerio and Theron. They introduced themselves quite freely since they thought they were going to kill us," said Akiko.

    "So it''s them." Gorski understood the gist of the matter. "Then there might still be hope yet," he said, as he began rummaging through his space pocket.

    "What?" Betrix perked up. "What do you mean by that?!"

    "The situation isn''t as hopeless as it seems right now. Our advantage is that they don''t know that I am cooperating with the British Ministry yet. Those two are arrogant andzy enough to directly used the portal to leave, which is traceable by someone like me, if we''re not toote," said Gorski as he took out a magical tool that looked like a scanner.

    "Miss Valentino, can you tell me the general location where Axel was before you teleported?"

    "It was around here," Martina said, indicating the area right where they were standing.

    Gorski waved it around slowly, as if searching for something. Very quickly, the device started to beep.

    "That''s it!" said Gorski in Triumph. "They did use the portal, from right here. There are still some traces left. Now I just have to use them to find the coordinates of their destination."

    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go already!" Said Betrix.

    Gorski shook his head. "It''s not that easy¡­"

    "Gorski, If you tell me it''s going to take time¡ª"

    "It IS going to take time. Tracking portals is not something easy. It''s a delicate work that need utmost care. So please don''t waste your time on threats and let me start already."

    Betrix didn''t have any choice this time. She ground her teeth in frustration. Every moment wasted would lower the chances of Axel''s survival.

    "I want to help," volunteered Martina. She really didn''t feel that they had much time.

    ¡­.

    Back in the Hideout:

    "Now, let''s see how long you can hold on," said Theron as the poison of the Tormentacle began to spread.

    Axel''s head lowered as his body started to shake.

    "Yes! Did you feel that? As the poison spreads, the pain will only increase! You''ll be in a paralysis, with seizures running throughout your body. You''ll feel like every inch of your body is on fire, but the pain would only increase with every time your heart beats. It would be so bad that your body will involuntarily stop your heart from beating, and that''s when you''ll almost die..

    "But you see, the Tormentacle likes its prey alive, so the poison will keep you alive, even when every part of your being wants to desperately die," Theron seemed to find describing the process quite satisfying as he looked at the shaking form of Axel.

    What Theron said was true. Axel really did feel an incredible amount of pain. He was surprised to find that it was actually worse than the Cruciatus curse. But... that was it.

    [Pain Tolerance: 98%]

    [Poison Immunity: 21%]

    If might have been a problem if he was still the weak Axel two years younger. But he could handle the pain much better now.

    "So, do you feel like talking yet?" Theron gripped Axel''s hair and raised his head which had been lowered. But, instead of seeing the contorted face full of agony, he saw Axelughing with no sign of pain at all.

    "Hah, I''m finally getting the hang of it, " he said while chuckling. In order to torture him, Theron had made a huge mistake, one that had helped it out a lot.

    ???

    Nerio and Theron looked at him in extreme bewilderment. What the hell is going on? All the other victims in his situation would have been screaming their lungs out while bleeding from all orifices by now. What kind of unique creature is this guy, to beughing right now instead?

    Axel eventually stoppedughing as he just sat there peacefully with his eyes closed. His muscles would twitch from time to time, a sign that he was indeed poisoned by the Tormentacle, but otherwise he lookedpletely preupied with something else.

    Inplete disbelief, Nerio checked on Axel''s condition. The poison was slowly being neutralized, But the fact was, there was still a decent quantity of it still running through his veins.

    Nerio backed away from the monster. He couldn''t believe it. It meant that Axel was feeling the same pain that the others felt, but he was not reacting to it at all!

    "What¡­ what kind of pain tolerance is this?" Nerio simply couldn''t understand it. Even the toughest people had no way of resisting it. It would have still been barely within the realm of eptance if he had just managed to resist giving information despite writhing in extreme agony. But this?

    *Bang*

    Theron threw the container away in frustration. "How¡­? Why¡­? Just why won''t you react like a normal person for once?!" Theron wanted to kill Axel right now.

    Nerio was also frustrated. If they brought Axel to Antis and told them that they lost the key, they would get punished rather than rewarded.

    More importantly, they had seen the power of Voldermort, and the numerous specialties of Axel. No doubt they can also obtain simr powers if they could ess the Netherworld through the key, or if they can ess Axel''s secrets about how he got his power.

    Thus, getting Axel the information out of Axel was extremely important. But¡­ how?! The boy doesn''t seem to care about himself at all. And he seems to have no other weakness! Not torture, not mind reading, no need to even try the truth serum¡­ then what can they do?!

    ''Right!'' Nerio suddenly recalled. "Back in the forest¡­ you went to rescue the girl Rose Potter. And you protected all three of them by risking your life," said Nerio, a look of enlightenment drawing upon his face. "You seem to have a soft spot for them. I wonder what would happen if we picked any of them¡­"

    Axel was still not moved. "You can try it. One is the minister''s niece, one is the precious daughter of the most dangerous Mafia Family, and one is the granddaughter of the Principle of Mahoutokoro. All three would be under high security after this incident."

    Axel really wasn''t worried about those three. By now, the ce must be crawling with Aurors and they should be safe.

    Nerio gritted his teeth. But what Axel said was true. "No problem, we just have to find another weakness."

    Axel gave a smile that didn''t reach his eyes. "Good luck with that."

    Nerio sighed, wiping his sweat. The room was incredibly humid, and the situation wasn''t helping. Finding another weakness was difficult, and the brat knew it.

    He was running out of options now. They couldn''t kill him, neither could they castrate him. He had the royal bloodline in him, and the first hadn''t actually dered his intention to kill him. So, what else could they do?

    Another thing he noticed was hisposure. It was almost as if THEY were HIS captives, and not the other way around. And his condition seems to be improving fast too. He was no longer looking as pale and fatigued as before.

    Something about this situation was scaring the hell out of Nerio. It was almost as if they had somehow captured a higher being, who was slowly regaining his strength.

    Just when Nerio was losing it, something happened. A ringtone rang in the silent room, attracting everyone''s attention. It wasing from Axel''s space pocket which had been confiscated earlier.

    And for the first time, even if it was only for a moment, Nerio saw Axel''sposure finally slip away.

    That was because... there was only one person for whom his phone, which is always on silent mode, would ring.

    *****

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!</strong>

    <strong>Next : Revenge of A Savage: the Beginning</strong>

    <strong>Next...Next: Old Daphne is Back</strong>

    <strong>Latest: Axel Kisses Daphne</strong>

    <strong>Read ahead and support me on /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 149: Revenge of a Savage: The Beginning

    Chapter 149: Revenge of a Savage: The Beginning

    Chapter 147

    *ring*

    The chime echoed in the silent room, sounding louder than it should.

    Theron frowned. "Hey Nerio, can you shut that thing? It''s annoying."

    But Nerio didn''t register Theron''s words at all. His attention was focused on Axel, whose face had shown some new emotions for the first time.

    Nerio stood up. "What was that?!" He asked, pointing at Axel with a triumphant look.

    "What was what?"

    "That reaction. As soon as the sound came, you reacted."

    Axel shrugged. "Well, you might want to consider the existence of a deadly venom inside my body that you guys so kindly administered. I''m really sorry if I react even a little bit to that," he said sarcastically.

    "Fuck, I totally forgot about that! How are you not dead right now?!" Asked Theron in shock. The victims would be long dead by this time. He couldn''t wrap his head around how Axel was still alive without the antidote.

    "Shut up, Theron. This monster can somehow detoxify the poison," he said, rummaging through Axel''s space pouch. He fished out Axel''s magi-mirror which was still ringing and chuckled. He nced at the screen. "Daphne. So, it''s that girl, huh? I thought you had already left her."

    There were a few girls with whom Axel seemed close with. One of them was a girl named Daphne Greengrass. Nerio had neglected her since it seemed that she wasn''t very close with Axel anymore.

    Axel seemed impressed. "You''ve done your research, huh? Are you a fan? If not then it''s a very suspicious thing to do," he said, giving Nerio a dubious look.

    Nerio chuckled. "You''re really good at controlling your emotions. But just when the bell rang, I saw it." It was quite a brief moment, but with his sses, he was able to see it.

    What was that emotion? It was primarily worry, mixed with annoyance and... apprehension.

    "Let''s see what you''ve got."

    He connected Axel''s magi-mirror with his screen and he was able to ess everything on it. "Wow, you have a lot of missed calls. We didn''t hear any of them. Why is it that only this girl''s call actually rang?"

    ''Well, shit,'' thought Axel. After not picking up her callsst Christmas, Axel hade to find the hard way that it''s better not to ignore Daphne''s calls, lest something like that happens again. At least until he finds a cure to her curse.

    That''s why he had set it so that even when on silent mode, his magi-mirror would at least chime when Daphne contacts him. He could only me his shitty luck again that her call just happened to arrive only at this moment.

    Axel sighed. He was busted.

    Nerio quickly found out that Daphne Greengrass was much more than just any friend. "Wow, Theron, look at this," he said, as if he''d found gold.

    There were Hundreds of calls, and even more messages. He opened the message history and read thetest messages.

    Daphne:

    -Hanging out with Luna, Hermione and Rose.

    -Rose won''t stop bitching about the other day.

    -I got away from my previous friends because they were all drooling after you, but this isn''t any better ??

    Below was a selfie of Daphne, along with Hermione, who had her head buried in her book, Luna who was looking at the camera with a dreamy look, and Rose was pouting her lips, though not for posing, but out of annoyance.

    [Yesterday]

    Daphne:

    -Today has been another weird day.

    -Woke up to find that the nts in my room had another explosive growth.

    -Contacted mum.

    -Said I must be growing up. Now what the hell does that mean?

    -Anyways, when are we meeting again? I need some more advice with training.

    You:

    -Wait for a few more days, I''m busy.

    Daphne:

    -??

    A few days earlier

    Daphne:

    -Don''t wanna eat the diet. It''s yuck (?T?T?)>?.?<

    Axel:

    -Eat it.

    Daphne:

    Can''t. Give me a cheat day. How do you eat this stuff everyday?*??0?/?*

    Axel:

    It makes me strong.

    Daphne:

    How do I look? Mom sent this dress for the Celebration Party that will be held at the end of the year. (???????????)

    [Pic shy Daphne in a ck sleeveless dress]

    Axel:

    There''s a party?

    Daphne:

    ¡­. Why am I not surprised you don''t know.

    Nerio scrolled further, to the start of the messages.

    Daphne:

    Is it okay if I start messaging you? It might sound weird but I feel something missing without talking to you.

    Axel:

    It''s alright. We used to talk a lot before you lost your memories. But then your mum had to delete the messages since you''d feel pain whenever you tried to remember me.

    Nerio slowly looked up from the screen, a shit eating grining to his face. This was it. This was jackpot! He was so happy he could dance right now!

    Theronughed sinisterly, also reading the messages."So, you''ve got a girlfriend, huh? She really seems to love you."

    60%

    Axel didn''t say anything. His eyes were closed and he was concentrating like usual. But now, there was a sense of urgency on his face.

    Nerio pped Theron''s head. "You tin box, is that all you read? There''s much more important things hidden here," he said, going through the chats again.

    He looked at Axel. "From what I can gather, you''ve been teaching her, right? And there''s something about a special diet too. ''It makes me strong'' you''ve written." He read. There was so much information here! A special diet, this could definitely exin some of his freakishness. And the training. It must be how he got so skilled. And if he''s training the girl as well, then it must mean¡­

    "You really care about this girl, huh?"

    66%

    Theron whistled, looking at Daphne''s photo. "I totally understand why. Just look at her! Do girls in Britain mature quickly? I can''t believe she''s only 13."

    78%

    Nerio nodded, "We had a simr surprise when we first saw you, Axel. The two of you look much older and mature for your age. Is it because of the ''diet'' and ''training'' you mentioned?"

    *Cling*

    At this moment, Axel''s magi-mirror chimed again.

    "Oh, looks like there''s another message from her," said Nerio, looking at the screen that was now beginning to be covered with water do to the sheer humidity in the room.

    Daphne:

    -Hey, you didn''t pick up your call. Are you alright? The minister of Magic came to see you, but you couldn''t be found anywhere. You''ve been dered missing. There has been a school wide search for you. I know I shouldn''t bother you, but a month ago you said there''s an organisation called the Kraken that wille for you, and now you''ve vanished. That''s why I''m getting really worried. If you''re alright please reply.

    -Oh! You''ve seen my messages!

    -Thank Merlin!

    -Are you alright?!

    "What the¡ª" Nerio''s eyebrows rose up in an odd sense of bewilderment. Something was wrong with what he just read.

    "Haha," Theron didn''t notice. "She''s asking if you''re alright. Shouldn''t we send her a picture of you right now? All beaten and bloody. I bet she''ll be reassured. Let''s tell her toe out of the ward if she wants to see you alive."

    "Theron, shut up for a moment," there was something that Nerio couldn''t understand at all. "You," He said, dropping the Magi-mirror, focusing only on Axel. "You told her about our arrival a month ago. How the hell is that possible?!" Nerio couldn''t understand how that was possible.

    Axel still did not react. "You both are dead very soon," that''s all he said.

    "A direct threat. You are getting agitated," said Nerio. He wasn''t much fazed if Axel didn''t answer right away. Since they now had his weakness, it was only a matter of time before he cracks and tells them everything.

    Theronughed. "What do you say, brat. Shall we go and pick up your girlfriend? She''s rather pretty. It''d be a pity to ruin that cute face."

    82%

    Axel sighed. "I shouldn''t be bothered by dead people''s talk."

    Nerio raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And how would you kill us? Just look at yourself. One of your hands is cut off, you have lost a lot of blood, you got attacked by the most powerful being in the world and survived, so you have no physical and magical strength to speak of."

    "You are currently bound by the chains made from Neptunium. They''re unbreakable and they''re restricting your magic. And even if you break through somehow, you shouldn''t forget how strong we are. You haven''t seen our full power yet."

    Axel stopped reacting.

    "How do you think Daphne will react to the Tormentacle?" Asked Nerio, trying to get a response.

    Theronughed. "You might be immune, but I bet she''s not."

    85%...86%...87%

    "It''d be pretty easy to kidnap her. I just have to message her using your Magi-mirror. I bet she''lle running," said Nerio, fidgeting with Axel''s Magi-mirror. "We''ll call her to a remote location, open a portal, and bring her in. Won''t even take 5 minutes."

    87... 88 ... 89%

    "It''s good that you didn''t tell us your secrets. Now I get to torture her," said Theron gleefully. "She''ll pay for your smart-assness."

    93... 94... 95... 96¡­ 97¡­ 98%

    Nerio suddenly noticed that everything was appearing blurry in the room.

    ???

    He wiped his sweat and realized that it was due to the vapour present in the air. With his sses he realized that it all seemed to be converging around Axel.

    "Wait¡­ It''s you, isn''t it? What are you doing?!"

    Something was incredibly wrong here, and Nerio could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand.

    Axel''s eyes were still closed in concentration, but the corner of his mouth lifted a bit. "Well, I''ve been fishing."

    100%

    The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. The humidity reached a level where it was difficult for them to breathe.

    Theron wiped his sweat. "Why is it so sweaty?" He panted.

    Meanwhile, rm bells rang in Nerio''s mind. But before he could do something.

    *Shin*

    !!!

    Suddenly, both of Nerio''s arms fell to the ground, along with his Relic. It was only then did Nerio notice the des of water hovering in the air.

    "Seventh!" Eximed Theron, rmed by the sudden development.

    Nerio fell to the ground in agony as Theron rushed to help him.

    "Don''t move!" Theron said. Losing both arms is a precarious situation. Nerio would die of bloodloss if Theron didn''t help him. That''s why, he couldn''t do anything about Axel, who was leisurely sitting on the chair. But inwardly, he swore he was going to end the bastard''s life. He might have

    gotten Nerio, but Theron is invincible.

    Axel finally opened his eyes. They were glowing blue.

    "Didn''t I say, you''ll both be dead soon," he said, moving his hands to the chains which were binding him. "Well, the process starts now."

    "H-How¡­?!" Meanwhile, even in the excruciating pain, Nerio''s primary emotion was confusion. Everything was in their favour. He''d made sure of that. Axel shouldn''t even be able to use magic while bound by those chains. And even if he somehow could, there''s no way he could have recovered his magic so fast after the severe drain he went through earlier.

    Then, how the hell did he end up losing his hands?!

    *ng*

    At this moment, the Neptunium chains, which he was so confident in, fell to the ground, freeing Axel. But Axel remained sitting on the chair. Only this time, he gave off an air of royalty, rather than a prisoner as he looked at the two Kraken overseers, both of who were on the ground.

    "How, you ask?" Axel smirked, tilting his head as it rested on his hand. "Simple, I''m not using my own magic. I''m using external power," he exined.

    "It''s something I picked up from Voldemort," he said in amusement.

    That''s right. The magic he had just used. It manifested through his extreme affinity with water. Until now, he had been using his water affinity with his own magic. But Voldemort didn''t need to do that for his Darkness. That''s why he was able to wield such tremendous power through Lockhart''s body.

    Well, if that noseless bastard can do it, why can''t he?

    "It was quite difficult though."

    He had been struggling to make a proper connection with the water in the surroundings. He couldn''t afford to half ass it, since he was dead if he failed. But he couldn''t even properly try with Nerio observing him with those sses. That''s why he said those sses were annoying. He had to summon water, but he couldn''t, otherwise Nerio would see it and shoot him.

    "The rise in humidity... you didn''t notice anything odd about it, did you?" Asked Axel, causing Nerio''s eyes to widen in realisation.

    Since he couldn''t directly bring the water into the room, he summoned it in vapor form little by little, gradually increasing the humidity of the room.

    ''Damn it, he got us... No, he had us since the very beginning,'' Nerio realized. Axel had been nning his escape since the very beginning. All this while, he was only stalling for time. He was just ying with them.

    Now that he looked at Axel again, he felt it. How could he have missed it until now? This overwhelming sense of danger. It''s like¡ª

    ''The First...''

    It was an overwhelming danger, the likes of which he had only felt from one person. But how?! He has no relics, and he''s only 13!

    Now there was only one thing he couldn''t understand. "Y-You... How did you... manage to control water?"

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: One down, one to go</strong>

    <strong>POWERSTONES!!!</strong>

    <strong>Next: Unbreakable Armour, well doesn''t matter</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Revenge of the Savage: The End</strong>

    <strong>Next next next: Old Daphne is back</strong>

    <strong>Read ahead and Support me on /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 150: Unbreakable Armour? Doesnt matter

    Chapter 150: Unbreakable Armour? Doesn''t matter

    There was only one thing Nerio couldn''t understand. "Y-You... How did you... manage to control water?" That''s what he wanted to know. It was an ability that a few members of the royal family could awaken. And that too after a lot of special procedures. How did he do it?!

    Axel shrugged. "Well, to be honest water has always been good to me. You saw my memories, didn''t you?"

    Whenever he''d get beaten up, and sick, he would take a bath in the Thames. It would always make him feel better. So to say, his affinity with water has always been high.

    Axel shook his head. "But I still wouldn''t have been able to do it without your help. You were so eager to torture me with that jellyfish that you delivered me a container full of deep sea water along with it, that helped me in my recovery."

    !!! Nerio''s gaze went to the container which used to contain the tormentacle, and sure enough, it no longer contained any water.

    "Yep, and then you also helped me learn it by generating the need."

    The two of them looked at Axel in confusion, but Axel didn''t exin further. The ability to control water, it was generated not because he had had any special training for it, or anything. It was generated out of sheer anger and will to crush these two. It helped him take his concentration to the absolute peak and make the connection with the water element in the atmosphere.

    That''s why this notification was being showcased in front of his eyes.

    [Congrattions! {Water bending} has been upgraded to {Water Monarch}]

    Until now, he had been on the first stage of it, in which he could summon and manipte water using his magic. But he needed to go further in order to wield water like Voldemort could wield his darkness. He just had this intuition that he could do it.

    Theron stood up. He was done patching up Nerio the best he could. At least the man shouldn''t die of bloodloss before they get his arms reconnected.

    He exhaled, ring at Axel. "You shouldn''t have done that to Nerio. You are done for now."

    As if to confirm that, Axel used his water des on Theron, only for them to be broken harmlessly against the imprable defense of Theron''s armor.

    Theronughed. "You see that? Your des might work against Nerio, but they''repletely useless against me. Your situation hasn''t improved at all. In fact, it''s worsened! You can''t escape since the space is locked, and you can''t break through my defenses. And you still haven''t recovered your physical and magical strength. It''s apletely hopeless situation," he said,ing closer to Axel without fear.

    It was the reason why he hadn''t bothered immediately trying to subdue Axel, instead focusingon Nerio''s life. Because he knew Axel can''t hurt him, neither can he escape.

    Theron seemed to be telling the truth. Axel couldn''t escape since he couldn''t use magic, and his water monarch skill still wasn''t strong enough to defeat Theron. But. Axel covered his face with his hand in exasperation.

    "Is he really that dumb?" He asked, looking at Nerio, who sighed,

    "What did you say?!" Theron decided to attack Axel, but then he saw the water des resting against Nerio''s neck and paused in his steps.

    "Did you forget your own words? My des CAN hurt Nerio, you moron. Move forward, and I kill him," he said.

    With the leftover water, a hand was created, which picked up his space pocket and brought it to Axel. Another hand picked up Nerio''s fallen relic as well.

    "Gentlemen, as you already know, I am also called the Arcane Thief. I do hope you don''t mind if I take this Relic with me," he said, as the des got closer to Nerio''s neck just in case if they needed more convincing.

    Theron and Nerio could do nothing as Axel stole the priceless relic right in front of their eyes.

    Patting his pocket in satisfaction, Axel sat leisurely in his chair, lookingpletely at ease in the tense situation. Though, in retrospect, he seemed to have been at ease from the very beginning. Only they were foolish and arrogant enough to attribute it to false bravado.

    Axel looked at them mockingly. "Well, the two of you were very fond of the hostage situation, weren''t you? You kept trying to create it. Well. hope you are satisfied now."

    He had been enduring until now. Even if he didn''t show it, these two had managed to anger him to levels his lumency was having difficulty controlling.

    Well, it was his turn now. Somewhere in the gangs, he had heard a chinese saying: Give 1000 times what you receive.

    Well, he liked it. And now he intended to follow it.

    "How does it feel? Getting outsmarted by a 13 year old? Did I tell you guys that I only started learning magic 2 years ago? You lost to aplete beginner."

    Axel didn''t know it, but his words were simr to a gamer''s trash talk, something extremely deadly to the victims.

    Sure enough, Theron and Nerio looked downright murderous right now. If looks could kill, Axel would be dead a hundred times over. His words were hurting them more than getting stabbed by a 1000 knives.

    Of course, Axel wouldn''t stop just yet.

    "What did you guys say? That you were the Overseers of the Kraken? Well, it''s more like overdosers of crack! Maybe that''s why you are so fucking easy to beat."

    "You," He turned to Nerio. He was now going to target them individually. "You cut my hand, right?" Axel grinned. "You fucking idiot, that hand had the key clutched in it!" He said whileughing.

    !!!

    Nerio''s eyes popped out of their sockets. What did he just hear?! The key¡­ was in the hand he cut off? He couldn''t believe it!

    But no matter how much he wanted not to believe it, he could tell that Axel was telling the truth.

    "Haha, you lost the thing you wanted the most due to your own actions." Axel was stillughing. "And you thought you were so awesome for doing that," he wheezed.

    Indeed, Nerio WAS proud of that shot. And now, upon realizing that he had lost the key due to it, he felt extremely frustrated.

    "You¡­ did you n it?" He asked, thinking of a scary possibility. Axel already knew they woulde, and then he was captured quite easily. So, Nerio wondered if this came here willingly.

    Axel shrugged. "I will neither ept nor deny that. Anyways, I settled the score. You cut one of my hands from wrist down, I cut both of your hands from shoulder down. Far more fair than two adults ganging up on a child."

    "You know what? You should thank me instead. I took so much weight off your shoulders!"

    Axel was absolutely butchering them.

    "I will ask for a handshake. Too bad, you don''t have a hand to shake."

    He didn''t even leave out such petty jabs. He was absolutely enjoying the situation.

    Nerio couldn''t take it anymore. The blood loss had already made him feeble and the extreme anger and frustration made him temporarily pass out.

    "Nerio! Hey, wake up! Nerio?!" Theron turned to re at Axel as the dark mes he had absorbed Akiko started to burn on his glove. "You bastard! I''m going to kill you!" he said, but just as he was about to attack Axel, Nerio groaned in pain.

    "Don''t even think about it. Well, not unless you want him dead," he said, as the water des made Nerio''s arms to start bleeding again.

    Theron gritted his teeth. "You¡­ you''re so much more infuriating than your father."

    "I''ll take that as apliment," said Axel, now turning his attention to Theron. "I''m curious. Why do you hate my father so much? I don''t think it''s because of his talent." he said as his eyes bore down on him.

    "Judging by your ugly-ass face, I bet because he would always get all the bitches, right?"

    Theron''s face contorted at that.

    "Damn," Axelughed. "I''m actually right, aren''t I? You''re so ugly you could never get a girl to like you."

    "Shut up, you bastard! You don''t know anything!" Theron yelled.

    "Oh? And what don''t I know? That your crush liked him too?"

    It seemed like he was right again, as the veins of Theron''s neck bulged out, a sign he was holding back a great amount of anger.

    "That''s not true!"

    Axel raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I think it is, though. But you shouldn''t take it personally. I''m sure the better man got the girl."

    "YOU BRAT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" said Theron, stomping his foot. "It was supposed to be me! It was me who first came to know about the Princess''s assassination! It was me who included him in my n to save her! It was supposed to be me she was supposed to fall for!"

    Theron really hated that memory. He had always admired the crown princess. So when the Kraken had made an borate n to kill her, he had decided to betray the organisation to save her. But he couldn''t do it by himself, so he had asked for that righteous fucker''s help.

    Who knew that the fucker would take all the credit, and the princess''s heart along with it. Theron ended up getting a simple thank you ''for his trouble''. It wasn''t enough for the fucker. He got himself killed, and got the princess killed along with him when he destroyed the second key.

    Axel was silent for a moment. Then a chuckle escaped his lips. "Sorry, Hahaah... I know I shouldn''tugh, but¡­ you''re such a loser¡­Hahahahahahaha...."

    "Man, how the hell did you end up bing an Overseer at Kraken? Are they full of virgin losers like you?"

    That was it. Theron couldn''t care whether Nerio died or not. All he wanted was to kill this bastard who was mocking him while having so much resemnce with his parents. He began advancing towards Axel, step by step, his eyes bloodshot with anger.

    Nerio''s screams echoed throughout the room, but Theron didn''t turn back. "You can kill him. But I swear I''ll thoroughly avenge him. I''ll give you a slow and painful death. Then I''ll go and do the same to your girlfriend back at Hogwarts."

    Theron came to stand in front of Axel, who still hadn''t moved. "Well, not so chatty now, are we? You thought I''d let you walk all over me just because of Nerio?"

    He raised his hand to grab Axel, but then¡ª

    Theron suddenly found himself in a different ce altogether. He knew this ce! It was Antis.

    "What the¡ª"

    Then he heard a sigh that echoed all around. "Well, you didn''t think I''d base my entire safety on your loyalty to your friend, did you?"

    "It''s you! You bastard, how did you bring me here?!"

    Axel''s chuckle echoed all around. "I didn''t take you anywhere, Theron. It''s all in your mind. Literally."

    "What?!"

    "Your mind, Theron. We''re in it. You were right. You have a good physical defence. But you don''t have much in the way of Mental defense, do you? I mean, yeah those defenses were strong, but nothing I couldn''t breach."

    "You," Theron gritted his teeth. "You could actually do something like this all along." The more he knows about Axel, the more horrified he gets.

    "Yep, now you understand," said Axel. As mentioned, even when he didn''t have his physical and Magical ability anymore, his main speciality, his mind, was stillpletely intact. He can still depend on it when all else fails.

    "You were never the problem from the beginning. Nerio was. I can only do this trick on people with weak minds for now, and that guy''s sses were also blocking my ess to his mind. Damned sub-relics."

    Nerio had always been the more dangerous of the two. His reaction speed was extremely fast, and all the guy had to do was pull the trigger, and it would be over. But aside from that, his sses, which were a sub-relic, were also preventing him from properly invading his mind. That''s why Axel took him out first.

    At this moment, Theron saw something in the distance that made him freeze.

    "Princess¡­"

    He now realized. This was his memory! A particrly bad one. In the distance, he could see the silhouette of the woman whom he had betrayed the organisation to save.

    The princess of Antis was walking towards him.

    ''So, that''s what she looks like,'' thought Axel, looking at his so-called mother for the first time.

    ¡­.

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!! Please keep giving, chapters of this quality are hard to write.</strong>

    <strong>Next: Revenge of a Savage: the End</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Old Daphne is Back!</strong>

    <strong>Next.... next: Antis it Is</strong>

    <strong>Somewhere after that: Axel kisses Daphne</strong>

    <strong>Well, a lot toe, lot forward to it ??</strong>

    <strong>Come read ahead and Support /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 151: Revenge of A Savage: The End

    Chapter 151: Revenge of A Savage: The End

    Axel looked at thedy who was supposed to be his mother.

    She was a woman of graceful and elegant bearing, dressed in a luxurious gown that swept the floor. There was a ne of blue pearls around her neck, and small conical earrings hanging by her ears.

    Her shimmering blue hairs seemed to be floating in the air and her sapphire blue eyes were looking in his direction with warmth and happiness.

    ''So, that''s her, huh?''

    To torture Theron, he had randomly searched for the memory which was associated with most pain in his mind. He didn''t think he would find her in it.

    Axel had always wondered what she would look like. And now looking at her, Axel felt... nothing. He didn''t know this woman, and she didn''t know him. All he could see was that she was strong, and kind.

    Theron''s memory continued.

    The princess waved, and Theron waved back. But this moment, another man overtook him, walking towards the princess, and Theron realized that he wasn''t the one being the Princess was smiling at.

    Instead, the one she had her eyes on was hispanion.

    Axel recognised the other person as well. It was Tristan Hunt, his father. He looked the same as in his portrait, meaning a lot like Axel''s adult version.

    "Tristan, wasn''t it?" said The Princess as she gracefully walked towards them. "You saved me yesterday. I can''t thank you enough."

    Even though thenguage was different, Axel could somehow understand it.

    "You don''t need to thank me." Tristan shook his head. "I was just rebelling," he said casually. "Besides, you didn''t need much help to begin with."

    The princess smiled. "It didn''t seem that way when you got injured protecting me." She leaned forward and kissed Tristan on the cheek. "That''s for saving my life."

    "That reminds me, are you alright now?" She asked in concern.

    "It was a minor injury."

    The princess narrowed her eyes yfully. "Will you stop with the modesty? Kraken is going to try killing you as well now. I hear they don''t tolerate betrayal."

    Tristan shrugged. "I''ll manage."

    The princess seemed deep in thought. But then she looked up. "Come to the castle with me? You''ll be safe there. And I need someone to protect me."

    Tristan nodded, "I''ll think about it."

    The princess finally turned her attention to Theron. She did a royal courtesy. "Mr. Theron, I am deeply grateful to you as well. Here is a small token of appreciation for your trouble."

    Theron epted what was given to him. It was a royal emblem with the Princess''s name on it. If he ever needed a favor, he can use this. But Theron''s heart was burning with mes.

    The way the Princess looked at Tristan, and the way she looked at him were clearly different. And he knew the reason. Because when the time of attack hade, things had gotten out of hand. The kraken was far more powerful than they had imagined.

    He still hadn''t obtained his relic armour back then. Thinking it to be the end, he had decided to flee. That''s why, his involvement was not known by the Kraken, and neither had he done anything to save the Princess.

    He was the coward who ran away.

    Axel''sughter echoed in his mind. "Ooof. So that''s how it was. Man, you are a bigger loser than I thought. You practically set my parents together!"

    Theron felt the hurt. He really really did. It was like an all consuming pain in his heart, much worse than any other torture.

    He wanted this memory to end. To never remember it again, but at the same time, he couldn''t. This was the only time the Princess had ever talked directly to him.

    While Theron the loser was consumed in the torture, Axel began searching his mind for information on the organisation. But to his bewilderment, he couldn''t find it anywhere.

    While searching, he encountered a wall that obstructed him.

    ''This must be it,'' he thought, moving forward.

    !!!

    But suddenly, Axel received a huge bacsh which forced him to retract his conciousness back into his mind.

    ''What in the world...?!''

    That barrier, and that defence... It''sparable to his lumency shields! That was not something Theron could have done on his own. And, it''s not something he can easily breach with his current Legilimency skills.

    "Huh?!" Theron suddenly found himself back in the hideout room, standing right in front of Axel, who was still stunned from the bacsh.

    Theron grinned. "You tried to ess the wall, didn''t you?" He quickly advanced, not towards Axel, but towards Nerio, who was still lying unconscious on the floor.

    He took Nerio''s sses and put them on.

    "Haha, you can''t do anything to me now."

    Theron''s only weakness was his mental defence. Now that he had it too, Axel couldn''t do anything to him.

    "I might be a loser. But I was the one who is still alive, while your powerful and reckless parents are dead. And now, this loser is going to kill you, and then you''re girlfriend. I might even have some fun with her before I kil¡ª"

    "Shut up, will you?"

    Suddenly, Theron''s throat was filled with something fluid, causing him to choke.

    Axel raised his head, gripping his head that was still throbbing. "Losers like you can never beat me."

    *cough COUGH* "Wh.." *cough* "What... ar you doin¡ªg?!"

    Theron spat out the fluid, only to realize there was a lot of blood in it.

    Theron couldn''t understand what was happening right now. His armour was supposed to be invincible! Then how the hell can it hurt so much?!"

    Axel chuckled. "You know, your relic does do a great job at giving you protection," he acknowledged.

    "¡ªFor your outer body, that is..."

    Yes. Axel was controlling the water inside Theron''s body. Something even his relic couldn''t protect.

    "Aaaaarrgghhh!" Theron kneeled on the ground, clutching his stomach, which felt like being run through with a barbed wire from inside.

    "Stop! Please!"

    Axel moved his fingers, controlling the water present inside Theron. "You know, 70% of our bodies are made up of water. Your armour is in fact making it easier for me to control it."

    Theron''s armour was strong. But all of his magic was being used by it, leaving none to protect his body.

    Usually, a wizard''s body is naturally protected by his or her magic. But that was not the case with Theron. It made it easier for Axel to take control of the water inside his body.

    Axel raised his hand and clenched it, causing Theron to scream his guts out.

    *snap*

    He then twisted his hand, and Theron writhed in agony.

    Axel didn''t even need a Cruciatus. He could inflict worse pain through this.

    "STOP! PLEASE STOP! I BEG YOU! PLEASE STOOOPPPP!!"

    Axel shook his head. "Can''t, sorry," he said regretfully. "You two shouldn''t have made this personal."

    This was just the beginning of what he was going to do to the two of these fools.

    Theron''s screams echoed in the room, and Nerio joined him soon, whose body was covered with water needles. Theron was being tortured from inside, and Nerio from outside. But the pain both were receiving was equally excruciating.

    "You had problems with me? You should have taken it out on me like real men do. I really would have given you an easier death. Then why..."

    !!!!

    The pain Theron and Nerio were feeling intensified, causing them to scream louder.

    "Why did you have to bring her into this?"

    "I''m.... Argh! I''msorry! PLEASE STOP! I''LL DO ANYTHING!"

    But Axel didn''t listen to their pleas. He was more concentrated on the barriers ced on their memories rted to the Organisation. Every time he tried to ess it, not only would he get a bacsh, but their memories would start self destructing on their own.

    "Fuck is this thing?!" Axel was beginning to realize something. It was that this Organisation... is much worse news than he had imagined.

    Axel just copied the memories he could still ess and stored it in his mind. The rest, he has to get from their mouths.

    Axel stopped the torture when their bodies were already broken and minds were on the verge of being broken.

    "Tell me clearly. What does the key do?"

    Theron couldn''t care less about anything else right now. He began to ''sing like a siren''.

    "It... it opens a portal to the Netherworld!" He panted. "Just like... the second key opens the portal to Aetherworld! Those worlds... they have an extremely high magical concentrationpared to Earth, and much more powerful entities!"

    Axel nodded. He had thought as much. That''s why Voldemort wanted it so desperately. That monster wants toe back to this world. Axel decided to make sure it never falls into that monster''s hands.

    "Where''s the second key?" He couldn''t feel safe if that key is still in the hands of psychopaths like these.

    "It''s... it''s destroyed... by your parents.... They died destroying it," said Theron, spitting out some blood.

    Axel''s eyes narrowed. "By my parents? What happened exactly?!" He asked, his voice wavering a bit.

    "Just when we had figured out how to use it...your parents infiltrated the Organisation... *cough cough* They stole the key and tried to leave with it, but... they were discovered. In the end, they couldn''t leave, so they destroyed the key. It caused a huge explosion... and they died."

    Axel clenched his remaining fist. So, that''s what happened. He was already pretty sure they were dead. He just wanted to know why, and how. He wanted to know if what they were doing was important enough to leave him in an orphanage. He wanted to know if all the things he went through growing up, it wasn''t because of nothing.

    "What''s Kraken''s goal? Why are they so desperate for the keys? And why were my parents so desperate to stop them?"

    "It''s... It''s Destruction!" Theron groaned out. "And the merging of three worlds!"

    Axel knitted his brows in bewilderment. Destruction? And the merging of three worlds? What kind of idiotic goal is that? His assumption was right. These guys are lunatic!

    "Is that why you were going to give the bomb to the Mikhailov family?"

    Axel had discovered that the Mikhailov family was going to get a bomb from the Kraken. And if he hadn''t stopped them, they were going to use it on the Valentino family.

    "No... that was a test, to see if the bomb was working properly. The real one...is going to be used on the Royal castle."

    Axel rubbed his forehead. This organisation... It''s really headache inducing. "Look, I know that you two are crazy, but even you two don''t seem crazy enough to want to blow everything up. I mean, Destruction? Seriously? Why are you supporting this cause?"

    Theron shook his head. "You won''t understand!"

    Axel lessened Nerio''s torture. "You tell me."

    "You won''t understand unless you''ve been enlightened."

    "Enlightened? What is that now? Who enlightened you fuckers?"

    Nerio shook his head. "Can''t tell you that..." he suddenly clutched his head in pain. "Damn it! We''ve already said too much! ''He'' has found out!"

    "Who? Tell who is this ''he''?!" Axel couldn''t understand why, but Nerio and Theron suddenly began to convulse in pain, even though Axel wasn''t doing anything to them right now.

    Nerio began shaking his head.

    "No! We didn''t do anything! We didn''t! We were just trying to survive!"

    "What the hell? Hey! What is happening to you guys?!"

    Axel examined their condition, trying to stop their seizures. But when their movements ceased, it had ceased forever. Axel found that the two of them were already dead.

    ¡­

    On the other side¡ª

    "HOW MUCH MORE TIME!" Betrix demanded.

    Gorski clutched his head. "Someone stop thatdy. Please."

    "But you ARE taking longer than you said, Mr. Gorski," said Martina. She was no less patient than Betrix.

    "It''s not my fault. I''ve been absent for a decade, and they''ve improved their portal since then."

    "Every second more you take, Axel could be getting closer to death on the other side!" Eximed Betrix.

    Martina closed her eyes. They were full of unshed tears.

    Akiko put a hand on her shoulder. "Have faith in him."

    Martina nodded. At times like these, she hopes she had less imagination, or if her brain could be less urate at predicting the odds.

    Taking everything into ount, Axel''s situation was not looking good.

    First of all, his magical reserves were critically exhausted, and so is his physical body. Martina didn''t know just how he had managed to bring out so much power, but it was clear that his exhaustion was a result of that.

    Also, his hand has been cut. If he is not given medical treatment soon, he might bleed out and die.

    Then those Overseers of Kraken. They are so powerful! One has insane defence, another has insane attack speed. Martina wouldn''t want Axel fighting them in his peak state, let alone when he is in such dire condition.

    From what they had said, he might already be¡ª

    Martina didn''t have to think further since a portal opened at this moment, like a beacon hope. Martina raised her staff, quickly advancing forward.

    ''Please be alive! We''reing to save you!''

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES! Every single one counts!</strong>

    <strong>Uping: Old Daphne is Back</strong>

    <strong>further: Axel Kisses Daphne</strong>

    <strong>Further more: Sleeping Together</strong>

    <strong>Latest: Vol 3: Into the Antis!</strong>

    <strong>Lots of Excitement toe!</strong>

    Come read ahead /Snollygoster

 Chapter 152: Return of Daphnes Memories

    Chapter 152: Return of Daphne''s Memories

    Axel cursed under his breath. He still had so many questions remaining.

    A sigh escaped his lips.

    "Peaceful life..." he muttered looking into empty space. A peaceful, worry-free life. That''s all he had wanted. But he could now see it going further and further away.

    See, he couldn''t live in peace if the world is going to be conquered by someone like Voldemort.

    He had to destroy Voldemort first. And the system said doing that would require him to use the key. How to use it? The system said he had to find out for himself.

    He knew that the organisation and Gorski knew about its use, so he figured he''d get the information from Gorski or the Organisation.

    He could find neither.

    The only option left was to draw the Organisation''s attention to himself since Gorski had warned him that he is recognisable by Kraken.

    Even that failed. The members that came for him were executives, and their security is strong enough that he couldn''t breach their mental barriers. And the organisation can remotely kill its members from a distance.

    So now, not only is he no closer to stopping Voldemort, since he still doesn''t know what to do with the key, but he has discovered that there''s another entity he needs to stop if he wants peace.

    Another bad news? Both are Dangerous with a capital D.

    He had roughly gauged the power levels in the Wizarding world, and ording to his calctions, he thought that the Organisation and Voldemort wouldn''t be a big deal.

    But these muthefuckers turned out to be far more powerful.

    The Organisation is not simply just a bunch of viin wannabes that his dad had pissed off. No, they had powerful Relics of interminable power in their possession and that ''he'' they mentioned was someone even these two powerful beings feared and obeyed. Not to mention that those barriers were so expertly created that even he had trouble breaking them withoutpletely destroying the memories within.

    And Voldemort¡­

    He''s just an entity several leagues ahead right now. Axel has to make sure to keep Rose and himself out of his reach for now, so that monster can''t get back into this world.

    ''Whatever,'' thought Axel. It wouldn''t do to keep dwelling on this matter. He has to quickly get out of here.

    "Oh right." And he also has to contact Martina and Akiko. Those two, especially Martina, must be freaking out right now.

    Axel chuckled, imagining their reaction when they teleported with his severed hand. "Ah, I shouldn''tugh."

    He just hoped his hand would be fixed now. The Wizarding science had improved by leaps and bounds sincest time, so reattaching his hand shouldn''t be a big problem.

    Axel spotted his Magimirror lying a distance away. He tried getting up, but found that it was a useless endeavour.

    "[Limit Break]¡­" Axel sighed.

    He had to use the skill to the limit. That''s why his physical and magical strength are currently extremely difficult to ess.

    If the system''s words are to be believed, he shouldn''t do magic at all for a while. And there''s a recovery routine he has to follow to strengthen his soul again.

    All he has avable is his mental strength. He gestured with his fingers and the hand made out of water manifested, which brought his magimirror back to him.

    Axel switched it on, only to almost drop it when he saw what was disyed on the screen.

    Call Ongoing¡­

    10:12 mins

    Daphne

    "Fuck!"

    How is that possible?! There''s no way Nerio didn''t call her, or pick up her call for that matter. Did the man really do it? But then he noticed it. The screen was covered with a fineyer of water droplets.

    Another curse escaped his lips. The humidity! It was so high that it caused water to gather on the cold surface of his screen. That could have been the reason for the call.

    But the question is¡­ what now?

    Axel looked at the ceiling. ''When will you stop torturing me?! I need a rest!''

    He put it to his ear. "Hello?"

    There was a sniffing sound from the other side. "It''s me."

    Axel''s eyes widened.

    "You should have tortured the bastards more."

    It was definitely Daphne''s voice, but something was different.

    "You¡­" Axel gripped the Magi-mirror tightly. He couldn''t believe it! "Did you get them back?"

    ....

    A few minutes earlier...

    ''Still not found...''

    Daphne bit her lips. This was not good.

    When she heard that those people couldn''t find Axel, she had just thought that it wasn''t a big deal. After all, he''s a mysterious and private person. For all you know, he might be training somewhere.

    But after a school-wide hunt for him wasunched by the minister of Magic, and he was still not showing up, now that was something unusual.

    Axel should have just turned up at this point, since it would be more troublesome if he isn''t found.

    Now Daphne couldn''t squash down her apprehension. For the past few months, he has been keeping his distance from her in public because a mysterious organisation is after him.

    For him to suddenly disappear now, she couldn''t help but connect the dots.

    ''Are you an idiot?! How can they kidnap someone from Hogwarts?!'' Daphne chided herself.

    But it doesn''t seem that Axel is in Hogwarts right now, or he would have shown up by now.

    ''I should call him, just in case he''s still not aware...'' she thought, picking up her magimirror.

    But unfortunately, her call didn''t connect this time.

    Sighing, she began typing a message.

    -Hi, I just called to check in...

    Daphne shook her head. Too casual.

    -Hi, why didn''t you pick your call?

    Daphne shook her head again. Too demanding.

    After a long while, she managed to write one big message:

    -Hey, you didn''t pick up your call. Are you alright? The minister of Magic came to see you, but you couldn''t be found anywhere. You''ve been dered missing. There has been a school wide search for you. I know I shouldn''t bother you, but a month ago you said there''s an organisation called the Kraken that wille for you, and now you''ve vanished. That''s why I''m getting really worried. If you''re alright please reply.

    To her surprise, her message was instantly seen.

    Daphne began typing again furiously.

    -Oh! You''ve seen my messages!

    -Thank Merlin!

    -Are you alright?!

    But of course, no reply came. Frowning Daphne called him again, this time it got picked up instantly!

    "Hello?"

    But instead of a reply, she could hear voices instead.

    "--How did you know?!" She heard someone say in a demanding tone. It had a certain sleaziness to it that made her frown.

    "You both are dead very soon."

    Came the reply. Daphne knew this voice very well. It was Axel! But his tone¡­ Daphne didn''t know why, but even though it was a calm voice with no fluctuations, she felt that Axel was furious.

    "A direct threat. You are getting agitated," said the sleazy voice. Daphne frowned. This situation doesn''t seem right. Why would Axel need to give someone a death threat?

    At this moment she heard a chuckle, which was made by a new voice that was rough and booming.

    "What do you say, brat? Is that a threat? Shall we go and pick up your girlfriend? She''s rather pretty. It''d be a pity to ruin that cute face."

    Daphne widened her eyes. What¡­ the hell are they talking about, Daphne couldn''t understand the situation. Why were these guys threatening to hurt Axel''s girlfriend? And WHO is this girlfriend?!

    She heard Axel sigh at this moment.

    "I shouldn''t be bothered by dead people''s talk."

    This time, Axel hadn''t bothered to hide his anger. And Daphne felt a chill down her spine. She had never heard him so mad before. Axel right now was dangerous. Too dangerous.

    "Oh? And how would you kill us?"

    Though, the sleazy voice guy didn''t seem to take the threat seriously, as he mocked Axel further. And the reason was revealed by his next words.

    "Just look at yourself. One of your hands is cut off, you have lost a lot of blood, you got attacked by that monster and somehow survived, so you have no physical and magical strength to speak of."

    "You''ve been subjected to the worst torture one could be inflicted and there''s no way you can resist since you are currently bound by the chains made from Neptunium. They''re unbreakable and they''re restricting your magic. And even if you break through somehow, you shouldn''t forget how strong we are. You haven''t seen our full power yet."

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Daphne''s heart almost stopped beating upon hearing that.

    "No¡­" She couldn''t move. What¡­ were these people saying?! They cut his arm? They tortured him?! They have him in chains?

    "NO!"

    "How do you think Daphne will react to the Tormentacle?"

    "You might be immune, but I bet she''s not."

    SHE was the girlfriend they were talking about. Now they''re threatening him by using HER? Daphne got up, wanting to do something. She HAS to do something.

    "It''d be pretty easy to kidnap her. I just have to message her using your Magi-mirror. I bet she''lle running," said Nerio, fidgeting with Axel''s Magi-mirror. "We''ll call her to a remote location, open a portal, and bring her in. Won''t even take 5 minutes."

    "It''s good that you didn''t tell us your secrets. Now I get to torture her," said Theron gleefully. "She''ll pay for your smart-assness."

    Daphne ran. She has to get help. Where are the professors? Where is Dumbledore?

    At this moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Axel was in trouble, but there was nothing she could do to help.

    And then, anger came. At herself for being so useless, and at those captors, who are hurting Axel. How DARE they?!

    Her heart was beating very fast, and the blood flowing through her veins felt as hot asva. There was a faint glow on her forehead, and as if a dam had been broken, memories rushed into her mind.

    !!!

    What¡­?

    At first, it was painful. But then, things suddenly began to fall into the ce.

    Daphne breathed. For what felt like the first time in months! She felt like an important part of herself that had disappeared, was back again. She now remembered it all. The first real friend she made. The person she could interact with without her mask. The person who cured Tory. The person who permanently invaded her heart.

    Countless memories that had been associated with him, which had be a part of her character, part of her life, part HER¡­ suddenly settled back into their ces, giving her a sense ofpleteness that had been absent for so long.

    Daphne slowly regained herposure.

    ''It''s Axel!''

    She was the person with whom he had spent the most time with. She knew better than any person in the world.

    The person she knew¡­ was tenacious to the extreme. Now the panic was gone, only anger remained, for hurting her Axel.

    Daphne put the Magi-mirror back to her ears, now much calmer. She wanted to hear his voice. It had been so long.

    "Why is it so sweaty?" The person with the booming voice eximed.

    "Mist? Where did thise from? Wait¡­ It''s you, isn''t it? What are you doing?!" Demanded the sleazy voice, suddenly sounding alert.

    "Well, I''ve been fishing." Then, she finally heard it. Axel''s voice. And she instantly felt relieved. Because, it was a voice which clearly said, ''I gotcha bitch!'' It meant he was up to something.

    Sure enough, there was a shing sound, immediately followed by the painful howls of the sleazy person.

    ¡­

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!! Every single stone counts!</strong>

    <strong>You know the titles: Finally safe, Axel Kisses Daphne, Sleeping Together, Departure to Antis</strong>

    <strong>Come read /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 153: Finally Safe

    Chapter 153: Finally Safe

    Daphne heard it all. How Axel broke free, how he defeated the fuckers, then how he tortured and interrogated them until they died.

    The amount of new information she received made her head spin.

    Axel was¡­ an Antian? And there was a crazy organisation out there trying to destroy the world?

    She was so overwhelmed by what she heard, and frustrated that the bastards died too quickly.

    They tortured Axel, and then threatened to harm her to make him crack. Death was too easy a punishment for them.

    But it was of all of secondary importance. What was more important was the fact that Axel was alright for now. He survived.

    She heard Axel sigh. "Peaceful life¡­" There was a bit of wistfulness in his voice. Daphne could empathize. Axel and peace have never gone hand in hand.

    "Pick up the phone already, damn it!" she muttered. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to confirm if he was alright. She wanted him to know that she was herself again, the Daphne he had created. She wanted to apologize for forgetting him. But mainly, she wanted to hug him tightly.

    It seems that Axel heard her request, because there was a sound of movement on the other side, followed by a sharp intake of breath.

    "Fuck!"

    She heard his voice much clearer this time. Daphne''s heartbeat elerated, feeling anticipation and nervousness. What should she say? There was so much to say!

    "Hello?"

    Daphne became breathless. "It''s me." She wanted to exin more clearly, but her mind wasn''t working properly anymore. His presence always has that effect on her.

    There was no answer from the other side.

    "You should have tortured the bastards more," she blurted.

    Somehow, Axel still understood.

    "You¡­did you get them back?" He asked, making her smile.

    "...Yes!" she breathed, feeling her nose sour. "I missed you so much..."

    She really did miss him. Too much. Every minute, every second, she had missed those memories.

    She was in a state of euphoria now that she finally had them back. And, she could somehow FEEL the happinessing from the other side too.

    But first things first.

    "Are you going to be alright?! How badly are you hurt?! How did it happen? Where exactly are you? I''ll need to get you help."

    A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Axel couldn''t believe it. Is it really happening? But it was definitely her.

    "Me? I could dance right now. Missed you too, my best friend. Wee back."

    From the way he dodged her questions, Daphne knew that his condition wasn''t good right now. Daphne could no longer contain it. She closed her eyes, letting her tears fall. "You bloody idiot. Come back quickly! I need to hug you, damn it."

    Axelughed more.

    "The fuck are youughing about?"

    "Ah... nothing. I just... didn''t realize how much I missed this."

    Axel was feeling quite light-hearted, his earlier gloominess already gone. That''s right, so what if there''s danger out in the world? He had things that made it worth fighting for.

    Though at this moment, he detected fluctuations in space causing him to pause.

    Happiness died right out of Axel''s eyes. Seriously? More?

    ....Had the organisation already sent back up?

    There was a limit to how much Axel could handle. And for now, this was already far far over it. He really, desperately, urgently needed a break. Maybe some medical attention too.

    "Damn it."

    "What? What happened?!"

    "Listen, we''ll talkter. I need to escape from here," he said in his calmest voice before he hung up.

    Very quickly, a portal opened up in space, causing Axel''s expression to turn grim. This portal was quite simr to the ones the Organisation used.

    Axel tried moving, but couldn''t.

    With no magic, the option of activating Invisibility was gone. Escaping was going to be even more difficult.

    With no other choice, Axel just killed his presence and waited, gathering the water with thest of his mental strength.

    As soon as the portal fully opened, figures rushed in with wands drawn.

    The first thing Martina sensed after entering the room, was blood.

    A strong metallic scent hung in the air, and the ground she stepped on was wet, and red.

    "Where is he?!" Eximed Betrix. "Clear the mist!" She sounded quite panicked. And why would she not, when there''s so much blood lying on the ground.

    The mist was covering everything, and there was no sound of enemy engagement yet. And the peculiar thing was, it was going away even after one or spells.

    ''Not good.'' Martina grimaced. This situation was not at all favourable. They were nning to catch the enemies by surprise, but since they didn''t get any visuals due to the mist, their element of surprise was gone.

    With Axel''s conditionbined with those Antians'' aggressiveness, Martina feared the worst.

    Everyone began to get focused on clearing the mist first. When the visibility increased, they followed the trail of blood and finally reached the source.

    Martina gagged, almost vomiting right there.

    "Holy shit¡ª"

    "By Merlin..."

    "What in the world..."

    Others'' reactions weren''t much better. There were two bodies lying on the ground. But the thing that made everyone''s skin crawl was the condition they were in.

    The one in heavy armour was bleeding from all orifices, and every part of his exposed flesh seemed to have been turned inside out.

    The other one was even worse, both of its hands were gone, and the skin had numerous jagged bloody lesions all over the body, as if torn with thousands of small des.

    With a lurch, Martina realized that it was the two bodies that belonged to the same men who kidnapped Axel. They were only barely recognisable due to their equipment.

    ''He¡­ He actually¡­'' Martina gasped. Does this mean he''s still alive?

    Akiko smiled grimly, looking at the bodies. She didn''t know what made her more happy. The fact that this was clear sign of Axel being alright, or the fact that her enemies had died a terrible death.

    ''This... this is why I admire him so much,'' she thought.

    Even she had no idea how he managed to do it. But with Axel, you have to stop trying to figure things out and ept them as a matter of fact. It gives her such reassurance to share the same enemy as him.

    Meanwhile, the others were still thrown off by the sight of the bodies lying on the ground. But the one who received the most powerful shock was none other than Gorski.

    "How¡­ is this possible?"

    The executive level figures for whom they had gathered the whole team of finest Wizards and made thorough preparations¡­

    They were lying dead on the floor. Jacob Gorski simply couldn''t understand how that was possible. He had already identified who they were.

    Theron and Nerio.

    Who did this? How did they manage to pierce Theron''s defences? How did they manage to beat the sharp and quick Nerio?

    At this moment, the mist finally began to subside, and everyone''s gaze went to the faint silhouette of the only other person in the room, seemingly sitting on the chair with leisure.

    Axel gripped his forehead, feeling a headacheing. He was d to see Akiko and Martina.

    But the Minister of Magic? How the hell is SHE here? And it seems like she brought a shit ton of reinforcement with her as well. And for fuck''s sake, what''s Gorski doing here?! He had been trying to locate the man for the whole year!

    It was only because he couldn''t get the information from Gorski that he had to attract the attention of the organisation. And he appears NOW? After he''s already gone through so much trouble?

    If not for those two girls, he wouldn''t think he was out of danger yet. He slowly let the mist go, revealing himself.

    At once, all the Aurors subconsciously trained their wands at Axel. It was due to the sheer intimidation he was giving off. This person was most likely the one who did that to two bodies lying there.

    Axel smiled bitterly. "Ah, will you guys believe me if I say I didn''t kill them?"

    "Axel!"

    In a heartbeat, Martina and Akiko rushed over to Axel''s side.

    Martina knelt by his side, gripping his hand. "You scared the life out of me."

    Axel smiled at her. "Ah, sorry. Things got out of ''hand''¡­" he said, showing her his stump.

    Martina shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Not funny!" she said, finally hugging him.

    He looked at Akiko. "Sorry, couldn''t keep them alive for you," he said, nodding towards the two bodies.

    Akiko shook her head, also kneeling down. "Your safety matters more," she said, surprised herself that she really meant it.

    Axel nced towards the whole group of strangers. "Am I going to be safe?" He asked.

    Martina and Akiko nodded. "Don''t worry about them. Don''t worry about anything."

    "Alright," he sighed. "Tell Daphne¡­ I''m safe and¡­"

    Axel couldn''t finish whatever he was about to say. He just paused, his eyes staring nkly into space.

    Martina frowned. "And what?"

    "Axel? Axel?!" She called, shaking him a bit, but there was no response.

    The Medics, who had finally arrived by now, quickly checked his condition. "Body functions are slow."

    "Multiple Injuries¡­ and unknown marks."

    "Veins are bluish purple. He could be poisoned!"

    Gorski''s eyes widened upon hearing about the bluish purple veins. "No¡­" He murmured, walking towards Axel.

    Gorski knew about Theron''s twisted nature, and about the horror he calls his ''pet''.

    They couldn''t have done it, could they? Axel is a child! There''s no way they''d use it, right?

    !!!

    Too bad, his fears turned out to be true. Axel''s body had clear marks characteristic to a Tormentacle bite. In fact, there were more than one! There were far too many!

    "Poseidon''s sea, what have they done?" He whispered in horror.

    "What is it?!" Asked Betrix, feeling apprehensive. She hadn''t seen Gorski react this strongly before.

    "The Painifera. Something much worse than the Cruciatus Curse. Just one sting can cause death and insanity due to the sheer amount of pain it causes. It''s the cruelest torture one can inflict on someone." Gorski had an absurd look when saying this.

    "What?!" Betrix looked like she was the one who had been tortured. "Those bastards..." Magical waves rose up

    around her.

    "What do we do now?! Martina was also panicking. She took out the Phoenix tears from her pouch. "Will this help with the venom?!" She asked.

    "Wait, let me diagnose his condition properly. They must have already administered him with the antidote," said Gorski, hurriedly taking out an Antian equipment

    "How can you say that with certainty?" Asked Betrix, still worried about Axel.

    Gorski raised his eyebrows. "Oh trust me, I know."

    At this moment, they heard an ear piercing scream, causing everyone to quickly look at the source. It was then that they found Nymphadora Tonks, who was one of the aurors who were securing the perimeter, lying on the ground, writhing i

    n agony. There was a Jellyfish-like creature near her.

    ¡­.

    <strong>A.N.: Tonks Still Be Clumsy lol</strong>

    <strong>POWERSTONES!!! <em>Every stone helps!</em></strong>

    <strong>Next chapter: "Your father was the one who Tortured Axel two years ago"</strong>

    <strong>Next Next: Antis It is</strong>

    <strong>Next next next: Daphne''s Guilt</strong>

    Wanna read ahead? Come join /Snollygoster

 Chapter 154: Axel Flexes "Unconsciously"

    Chapter 154: Axel Flexes "Unconsciously"

    At this moment, they heard an ear piercing scream, causing everyone to quickly look at the source. It was then that they found Nymphadora Tonks, who was one of the aurors who were securing the perimeter, lying on the ground, writhing in agony.

    "Nymphadora!"

    Betrix quickly rushed to her side. "What happened?!"

    *!!!!!*

    But Tonks was in no condition to speak anything. Her mouth was stretched open in a soundless scream, and blood had begun to flow out of her eyes and nose.

    "It''s the Painifera! EVERYONE! MOVE AWAY FROM HER!" Yelled Gorski. He quickly went to Theron''s dead body and took out the antidote from his space pocket.

    "Avada Kedavra!" He killed the Jellyfish-like creature that was lying not far away from Tonks before he approached her.

    "Hold her down! I need to administer the antidote!"

    Betrix did as she was told, trying to stop Tonks from thrashing around. "It''ll be fine! Do you hear me? It''ll be fine!"

    Gorski quickly injected the antidote, and only then did Nymphadora regain the ability to breathe again. "Kill me, please kill me!" She begged, still feeling the pain. It took a few minutes for the aftereffects to fully subside and she fell asleep soon after.

    Looking at her, everyone felt goosebumps, now beginning to somewhatprehend just how intense the pain was.

    "That¡­ is why I was certain Axel was already given the antidote," said Gorski in the silence.

    "Did¡­ did they do this Axel?" Asked Martina in horror. Now she understood why Gorski was shaken up when he saw the traces on Axel.

    Gorski nodded grimly. "What you saw was the result of just one sting. Axel has several... dozen. I don''t know how he''s still alive, even with the antidote."

    Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. Just¡­ What kind of sick monsters were these guys to do that to someone?! To a child no less.

    "Quickly check his condition!" Said Betrix.

    Gorski strapped the Diagnostic equipment to Axel''s arm. Very soon, his body''s condition was disyed on the monitor in details.

    But the results¡­ Gorski was so surprised that he began doubting his knowledge and the machine. He couldn''t understand what was going on right now. "This¡­ this can''t be possible¡­" he murmured.

    "What does that mean?" Asked Betrix.

    "There''s no trace of the antidote in his body, and the Painifera poison is still present in his bloodstream!"

    "What?! How is that possible?!" Asked Martina. If that was the case, then does that mean that Axel was talking to them all rxed ALL the while having that poison in his body?!"

    "Exactly my thought. But listen more¡­ the poison¡­ is not even the cause of his copse," said Gorski, scratching his head full of white hair. What was going on here?! His main confusion: Why the hell was Axel still alive and sane right now?

    "He was able to stay not only sane, but also quite rxed while that poison was still running through his body. It''s as absurd as the Crutiatus not having any effect on a person. I think there is something wrong with his body! Maybe too much poison has had some other side effect."

    Painifera is a unique creature. Its poison itself doesn''t kill anyone. It''s the unholy amount of pain that causes the people to either die to escape the pain or go insane trying to bear it.

    And yet, Axel just now lookedpletely at ease even when there was so much poison still left in his system. That''s why he wondered if something was wrong with Axel''s body.

    But Betrix only sighed. "You don''t need to worry about that. Him not reacting to the venom, I mean."

    "It''s just his pain tolerance, isn''t it?" Said Akiko. Through their many spars, she knew what Betrix was talking about. It''s really fucking scary when you stab someone but they only use that to lock your weapon in ce without flinching and deliver a fatal blow in return.

    Betrix nodded. Shrugging off Cruciatus? Yeah, she could understand Gorski''s confusion. She was equally incredulous when she had heard from Andromeda that someone was able to do that.

    She created a privacy ward around the four of them.

    "Axel¡­ just has an abnormal pain tolerance. He was able to take the Cruciatus curse for around 10 minutes ande out perfectly sane."

    She had even ckmailed Axel into seeing his memories of the incident in order to find out how he did it. And now, he has had to go through a simr experience yet again. What''s more frustrating is the fact that she is the cause of this incident. If she hadn''t bothered trying to lure the Organisation out in an attempt to destroy them, those Overseers wouldn''t have found Axel.

    And this was all after she had vowed to secretly protect him from the shadows. Well, so much for protection. Axel had to go through another inhumane level torture barely a year after the previous one. It made her feel just how ipetent she really was.

    "Just pain tolerance?!" Gorski shook his head, unable to wrap his head around the information. "That''s simply not possible! Even if someone could do that, their nerves would¡ª" Gorski paused, his eyes widening. "Their nerves would receive severe harm¡­ holy Posiedan¡­ his first year..."

    Martina gasped.

    "So¡­ that''s how he was injured," She murmured, tearsing to her eyes. She had always wondered just what could have injured him to the point that he can''t even control his body properly. But Axel had always remained silent about the reason. It was because he had put through an inhumane torture.

    "Who did that to him?" Asked Martina, truly wanting to kill someone for the first time in her life.

    Betrix had an ironic smile on her face. "Dead. He doesn''t really need us to take revenge on his behalf," she muttered, ncing at the very dead Antians who had tried to go against him.

    Martina sighed. Of course. This was Axel they were talking about. Of course they weren''t alive.

    She looked at Axel, who still appeared tough with his eyes still open and posture defensive even though he waspletely knocked out and felt extremely worried.

    "If the poison is not doing anything to him, then what the hell is the cause of his unconsciousness? Is it the injuries?"

    Gorski took off his sses, looking like he couldn''t convince himself with the results he was seeing.

    "It''s¡­ it''s exhaustion. The kind that is theoretically not possible."

    ???

    "What does that mean?" Asked Betrix.

    Gorski pressed his lips into a line. "I don''t know what, but something has made him overexert himself in a way that is simply not possible. It''s like he has run 1000 kilometers when his limit is 50.

    There''s a limit to how much our body and mind can take before it shuts down on its own. But this boy..." he paused, looking at Axel like he was looking at some unique creature.

    "He has crossed that limit several times over. He has been forcing himself to stay conscious all this time. His eyes are still open because... he probably doesn''t even have the energy to close them."

    "Now that the danger is gone, his whole body is in what seems to be sleep mode. It has lowered all bodily functions to focus only on recovery."

    Betrix shook her head in pain. "What could have caused this?"

    Martina and Akiko had some idea. When they had been attacked by Voldemort, Axel had managed to generate an incredible amount of magic to survive. They couldn''t imagine just how he was able to do it, and what price he had to pay in order to do it.

    But, even then he couldn''t rest. In that condition, he somehow managed to defeat the two executives whose powers were beyond theirprehension. There has to be a limit to how much he can take.

    So, Gorski and Betrix couldn''t understand, but they could.

    "So, what do we do now?"

    Gorski shook his head. "He''s in no immediate danger, which is really absurd. I don''t know how he did it, but he has even restricted the blood flow at his stump to prevent bleeding. But his arm though¡­"

    "What about his arm?" Asked Betrix. "Can it not be fixed?!"

    Gorski shook his head. "Well, I can''t fix it." He wasn''t actually a Healer. That diagnosis was more due to the help of the machine rather than his own expertise.

    Betrix turned to the medics, who exchanged looks. It would be aplicated process. There is no guarantee if he''ll be able to get full control over his hand."

    Betrix gritted her teeth. "Not enough. Is there any other way? Any other healer

    who can do it better?"

    "Minister, if I may," interjected Gorski. "Have you thought about what you are going to do with Axel now?"

    Betrix was flummoxed. "What are you talking about?"

    "I mean, the Kraken knows about his existence now. Axel is no longer safe at Hogwarts. Even having high-level aurors as his guards might not guarantee his safety."

    "Your point being?" Gorski was right about that. There even high level aurors can''t protect Axel from Kraken. But how does that rte to reattaching Axel''s hand?

    "I think¡­ it would be better to let the Royal Family know about this matter now. They can of course arrange for his hand to be fixed with their advanced procedures," he suggested.

    Betrix shook her head. "No way! They can''t be trusted! Not to mention we don''t know what will happen to him once they know he has a rightful im to the throne!!"

    "Actually, they CAN be trusted. They are his family after all. And there would be no conflict regarding the Throne since they are desperately in need of someone who can inherit it. They would be beside themselves with joy," Gorski countered.

    Betrix was deep in thought. Actually, she knew that deep down that contacting Antis was their best option. But she also knew that it would mean that Axel might never return again.

    But thinking about it, what right did she have to keep him anyways?

    "Um, excuse me?" Martina interjected at this moment, gathering their attention. "How about, we let Axel decide what he wants to do? It should be his decision after all," she reasoned. She knew that Axel was quite independent. He would like to make his own decision.

    Gorski nodded. "We can give him the best treatment we can provide. He can then make the decision whether to go to Antis for further treatment or stay here."

    Martina sighed, feeling a sense of incongruence. Axel, the boy she thought she knew very well, was now suddenly the prince of Antis. He might leave this ce to settle there, take the throne. The thought that he might not attend the next year at Hogwarts made her feel sick.

    Meanwhile, Akiko had already made her own decision, as a hint of resolve could be seen in her eyes. Axel and she shared the same enemy. She would do whatever she could to help.

    Betrix sighed. Whatever happens now, it''s pretty clear that Axel''s life has been irrevocably changed because of her.

    In the past two years, without her help, he had somehow managed to heal his crippled body and had built himself a good life at Hogwarts. He had even managed to make friends he could trust like these two girls despite the emotional wounds she had given.

    Just when things were once again going right for him, she had once again made his life hell. Now he has the Organisation hunting for him, just like Tristan. And he had lost his hand and suffer terrible torture due to her.

    "I am so sorry¡­" she whispered, stepping forward to touch his cheek, but¡ª

    *Shin*

    des of water appeared in the air, pointing right at her. Even while unconscious, this woman was a big no to Axel.

    ...

    Daphne waited and waited, but Axel didn''te back for hours. Now she was getting worried again. Though, she knew better than to call or message him. She almost gotten him into trouble the previous time.

    Thest thing she wants is Axel trying to sneak past some enemies and getting discovered due to the notification chime.

    So, she waited. Finally, she got a call. Though it was from Martina.

    "Hello? Is this Daphne Greengrass?"

    "Yes?"

    "Daphne, It''s me, Martina. Er¡­ Axel asked me to tell you he''s alright¡­"

    "Really?" Relief washed over Daphne as she sighed deeply.

    "Where is he? Can I talk to him?"

    "Um¡­ he''s¡­ he''s not able to talk to you right now¡­" said Martina evasively.

    Daphne frowned. It was only then did she begin to think more about the situation. Why didn''t Axel call her himself? And how is this Martina with Axel?

    "Where is he?"

    ***

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!!</strong>

    <strong>So, should he go public with his identity or not? Well, there''s a third way too.</strong>

    <strong>Next: Daphne Finally Knows</strong>

    <strong>Next Next: Antis It Is</strong>

    <strong>Latest: Vol 3: A King''s Return?</strong>

    <strong>Next: Meeting with "Aunt"</strong>

    <strong>IF YOU WANT TO READ 10+ CHAPS AHEAD AND SUPPORT /Snollygoster</strong>

    <strong>Come Already. Action Packed Antis ark is Waiting??</strong>

    <strong><em>VOTE??????</em></strong>

 Chapter 155: She finally Knows

    Chapter 155: She finally Knows

    ...

    Daphne waited and waited, but Axel didn''te back for hours. Now she was getting worried again. Though, she knew better than to call or message him. She had almost gotten him into trouble the previous time.

    Thest thing she wants is Axel trying to sneak past some enemies and getting discovered due to the notification chime.

    So, she waited. Finally, she got a call. Though it was from Martina.

    "Hello? Is this Daphne Greengrass?"

    "Yes?"

    "Daphne, It''s me, Martina. Er¡­ Axel asked me to tell you he''s alright¡­"

    "Really?" Relief washed over Daphne as she sighed deeply.

    "Where is he? Can I talk to him?"

    "Um¡­ he''s¡­ he''s not able to talk to you right now¡­" said Martina evasively.

    Daphne frowned. It was only then did she begin to think more about the situation. Why didn''t Axel call her himself? And how is this Martina with Axel?

    "Where is he?"

    ¡­.

    ¡ªHospital Wing¡ª

    The ce was abuzz with activity right now. The best Healers from all over the world had been gathered on Minister ck''s summons, just to attach a single hand.

    "Hey you! What are you doing there?! Go to your post!" Betrix was really serious right now. She had been toox about Axel''s safety before, which led to him going through all that. Due to her fault, no less.

    So from now on, she was going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.

    "Call some more personnel. Make them patrol the corridors and grounds," she instructed.

    "And where the fuck is Dumbledore?!" She eximed in frustration. The school had been attacked and the Headmaster was still absent.

    "There has been a situation in the United States, and the Headmaster is currently indisposed. We are unable to contact him.

    Betrix cursed under her breath. Let me talk to the Embassy."

    On the other side of the Hospital wing, the VIP area had been emptied save for one room for Axel, and the best security had been arranged throughout the area, consisting of Betrix''s most trusted men.

    While Axel''s operation was underway, a few people concerned were allowed to wait in the VIP.

    Among them were Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks ck. Andromeda had been called as soon as Betrix returned. She knew more about who to contact for Axel''s operation and she was also concerned for both Axel and Nymphadora.

    "Mum, I understand why Aunty Be is concerned about him, but what about you?" Asked Nymphadora, who had recently gained consciousness. She was sitting on a wheel chair since she couldn''t properly stand yet.

    Tonks could see that her mother seemed really distressed after listening to the whole situation. She could understand that aunt Betrix would be concerned since she knew his dad, but why is her mother looking to distressed?

    Andromeda evaded the question. "It''splicated," she said helplessly.

    Nymphadora shrugged, "Well, we have nothing but time."

    "When I first saw him, he was a little boy, and he had been put through the worst torture possible," she said, remembering the time. Seeing that the boy was so young, her heart had ached, already knowing that his mind was probablypletely destroyed.

    "But when he woke up, he was perfectly fine! Not only that, his maturity, and hisposure... you couldn''t tell he was just an eleven year old who had just been an through inhumane torture."

    "''Could you please untie me?'' He had asked so calmly and politely, like I was the one who needed calming down."

    Andromeda shook her head. "I couldn''t let him go just like that. Suddenly, I had hope. Here was a boy who had managed toe out perfectly sane after going through worse torture than Ted."

    Nymphadora understood the rest. "So, you used him, and that''s why you feel guilty now, is that it?"

    Andromeda shook her head. "If only it was that simple." She said in mncholy, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye. "He was going to attend Hogwarts the next week, so I offered to take him out to shopping.

    A smile appeared on her face, remembering the time. "First, we got him a haircut and clothes. And suddenly, the boy had transformed into a cute handsome little prince!

    "I was really shocked. But that wasn''t it. He was just a little boy, and yet he had his principles. He refused to take things that were expensive. ''wouldn''t ept charity,'' he had said. Promised to pay it all back, even when I was ready to shower him with money.

    Regret appeared on her face. "So, I couldn''t help asking why he would refuse. It was clear that he had little to no money of his own, and neither did he have any parents. He could really use the money, right? Then why would he refuse? Can you guess what he said to me back then?" Said Andromeda, looking at Nymphadora.

    "What did he say?" Asked Nymphadora impatiently, already immersed in the story.

    "He said, "Nothing in this worldes for free. If someone is actually treating you nicely, that only means they want something from you.""

    Nymphadora gasped, and Andromeda shook her head. "Never in my life, had I ever felt so guilty and deeply ashamed of myself. And more than that, I had to wonder what kind of life this boy must have lived, to have such a bleak outlook to life."

    "After spending the day with him, I had already discarded the thought of trying to use him. I had realized something else."

    "What did you realize?"

    "I realised that I wanted to change his outlook to life. I wanted him to know that there are better people out there who would help him without wanting anything back. I wanted him to know what it felt like to have a family. I¡­ I wanted to adopt him."

    Nymphadora jumped in surprise, but then moaned due to pain. "What the heck, mom! You shouldn''t drop bombs like that without warning!" She said, gritting her teeth as she endured the after effects of the Painifera.

    Tonks was really taken by surprise. She could have had a brother? Now that is news. Of course, it all failed because she already knew how Aunty Be ruined it. But still, now that the thought hade, it refused to leave.

    "How are you feeling right now?" Andromeda asked, checking Nymphadora''s condition.

    Nymphadora shuddered, still feeling the tremors running through her body. "I feel... like I''ve been a naive fool all this time. Never thought it could be this painful."

    Andromeda hugged her daughter tightly. "I warned you about this job... Couldn''t you have just be awyer?"

    Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "Mom! Not now."

    Andromeda sighed. "I just can''t lose you too. Do you know how scared I was when I heard what you''d been through?"

    Nymphadora had nothing to say to that. She just looked at the door where Axel was currently going through the procedure to fix his hand.

    "You know, I used to think that dad was weak. Especially when I heard that a kid survived a full ten minutes of Cruciatus. But now..."

    Nymphadora realized that the fault didn''t lie with her dad. Axel was just someone you couldn''tpare others with.

    "I still can''t understand how he did it," she murmured frustratedly into the silence. "Are his senses dull of something?"

    "Don''t make assumptions, Nymphadora," rebuked Andromeda. She had a pained look on her face. She knew too well how he did it. After all, her sister had been ''kind'' enough to forcefully extract the memory of the incident from him.

    "Axel is... different. But not in the way you think. He does feel all that pain. As much as you do," said Andromeda.

    "Then how the hell did he bear it?" Nymphadora couldn''t understand at all.

    "It''s his mindset. It''s the thing that sets him apart from anyone else I''ve seen. With every hardship he has faced, while others'' minds would have suffered set backs, he has evolved."

    Nymphadora only got more puzzled by that. "Can you exin in English?"

    Andromeda clicked her tongue. Her daughter must get her dumbness from Ted. "What was going through your mind when you experienced that pain?" She asked.

    Tonks had a pensive look on her face.

    "I... just wanted it to stop. That''s all I could think of."

    "Do you know what Axel was thinking at that time? He wasn''t paying attention to the pain. He wasn''t feeling sorry for his body. His mind, was instead filled with thoughts of revenge. Countermeasures. And... an overwhelming desire to survive. He never once considered giving in."

    "H-How...?" Tonks was stunned.

    Andromeda shrugged "It''s called selective focus. He has knowingly or unknowingly trained himself to focus on things that help him, rather than things that drag him down."

    "Do you understand what I meant now? Many people suffer hardships. And he is unfortunate enough to be one of them. But he has managed to emerge stronger with each hardship. While people like us, we learn nothing and get weaker instead. You would probably break down even faster the next time you go through that pain."

    Nymphadora opened her mouth, but she didn''t have any words to refute. Her mother was right. She was terrified of ever having to go through that again.

    ''No! I''m not weak!'' She decided. ''I can''t be weak! I want to be as strong as him!''

    Andromeda put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, you should be careful what you wish for. His abilities havee with a price. What you went through today¡­ he probably has been through such situations many times."

    Nymphadora shuddered to even imagine that. She could empathise with Axel since she had already been through it once.

    "Must be some tough life."

    "It definitely was. When I first saw him, he was just skin and bones. Numerous scars, and unhealed or partial injuries, it was painful to watch."

    Nymphadora recalled Axel''s figure that was full of robust figure and lean muscles better than aurors, and couldn''t believe it. "Really?"

    "You have no idea. And his nerves werepletely damaged due to the prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus curse. In that condition, he had somehow dragged himself into the Saint Mungos."

    Nymphadora looked at herself, who was sitting in a wheelchair after just one sting.

    "...."

    Comparison is really impossible.

    ....

    At the same time, Daphne, Martina and Akiko were also sitting not from away.

    "How did you find him?" Asked Daphne to Martina and Akiko as they waited while Axel''s operation was still underway. It has been a few hours already.

    Martina hesitated. "We got the teleportation coordinates from the traces the kidnappers had left when using the portal."

    Daphne sighed. "Thank you, for helping him," she said in gratitude. But there was also the feeling of inferiority. She hoped she could be morepetent. She hoped she could be there for him.

    Akiko scoffed in self mockery and Martina quickly shook her head. "Nono! You''ve got it wrong. First of all, he wouldn''t have been kidnapped in the ce if not for our ipetence. He lost all of hisbat power saving us."

    Martina put a hand on her chest. "And I personally would be happy to help in any way possible," she said genuinely.

    "Is that so?" Daphne''s voice contained suppressed trechancy.

    She knew it! This girl is an enemy! She looked at Martina with a hint of caution.

    Martina didn''t notice anything wrong. She nodded readily. "Of course! I owe him too much already, not counting the two life debts I owe him."

    Martina was drowning deeper and deeper into his debt, and even if she did somehow pay it all back, she would still want to continue helping him.

    "Though, I don''t think I''ll ever be able to pay him back. Axel rarely needs any help. Even today, all we did was pick him up. He had already killed those two before we came."

    Akiko nodded at that. "We were more of a hindrance than help to be honest," she muttered in frustration."

    Daphne agreed. "Yeah, your arrival really rmed us both. He had to cut the call because he thought more enemies had arrived."

    "Really? I''m so sor¡ª" But then Martina''s eyes widened. "Wait, he was on call with you before we arrived?" She asked in surprise.

    Daphne sighed. "Yes, and it was a really important call too! I had so much to talk to him about!"

    A frown marred Martina''s wless face. This doesn''t seem right. At that time, she had been freaking out,pletely traumatized, because Axel had left her with his severed hand. And the person he called first was Daphne?

    For some reason, she felt an unpleasant feeling in her chest at the thought.

    Sparks were flying between Daphne and Martina. But at this moment, Minister ck, who had just finished attending to the urgent matters, returned to the isted VIP area, causing everyone to quieten down just by her presence.

    Betrix frowned as soon as she saw Daphne. "What are you doing here?!" She asked, stepping forward.

    Daphne didn''t back down. "Because I''m worried for Axel?"

    Betrix shook her head. "Who called her here?" She asked the rest of the women around.

    Martina slowly raised her hand. "Um¡­ I was just informing her that Axel was fine." Well, when she did call, Daphne just came on her own.

    "You." Betrix pointed her finger at Daphne. "Get out. Right now. You might have been his friend back then, but Axel has long stopped hanging out with you. I''m not taking risks with Axel''s safety."

    Daphne lookedpletely baffled. "Who are hell are YOU to make decisions on Axel''s safety?! Axel loathes you for some reason, and you don''t even know him! I don''t trust YOU with his safety!"

    Betrix''s magic red up. "Listen, you little bitch, I owe 3 life debts to Tristan Hunt, Axel''s father. I have his best interest at heart. And YOU don''t get to talk about Axel''s safety what your own father did to him!"

    ?!

    Daphne''s eyes widened.

    "What¡­ is that supposed to mean?" She asked.

    "Oh you don''t know? Your dear father put him through ten minutes of torture just for his amusement. And you dare talk about Axel''s safety?"

    !!!

    Time seemed to stand still as the words left Daphne momentarily scattered. "No¡­" she murmured.

    Betrix didn''t have time for this. "Are you going or not? There''s no way I''m letting him near the daughter of such a sick lunatic at a time like this! Seriously, I can''t understand why he even bothers hanging out with you."

    "Be! That was supposed to be secret!" Eximed Andromeda, scandalized.

    This could out Axel as a murder! Not to mention how bad the girl must be feeling right now!

    She stepped between Betrix and Daphne. "I really sorry for what she said, dear. She has been terribly paranoid after knowing about the amount of danger Axel is in because of her."

    But Daphne wasn''t at all listening. Her eyes were still wide open as if she had seen a ghost as she tried to fullyprehend what she had just heard.

    Daphne began walking away. She couldn''t stay here. She couldn''t stay near HIM. Not after knowing that his torture was her fault!

    ¡­

    Several dayster, Axel finally opened his eyes. ''Still alive¡­'' he thought in relief. He hoped life would be easier now.

    ***

    <strong>A.N.: Ah¡­ she finally knows.</strong>

    <strong>Give me Powerstones.</strong>

    <strong>Come read ahead on /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 156: Atlantis It is

    Chapter 156: Antis It is

    Andromeda looked at the poor girl walking away, and felt an extremely bad premonition.

    "Be, you have to stop this!" She admonished severely. Her sister was like a mad dog right now, barking at everyone in her sights. "You need to calm down."

    "I am calm, Andi. What did I do wrong? She''s a Greengrass! You do know what that implies, right?"

    "I¡­" Andromeda couldn''t refute that. In the pureblood circle, the Greengrasses are considered time bombs, or the cursed ones. Their curse could manifest any time, either making them mad or worse. It is believed that Cyrus Greengrass got like that due to the curse.

    "But that''s no excuse enough to treat her that way! She''s Axel''s friend! And she seemed genuinely concerned for him!"

    "Come on, Andi. She is either a fan girl or has an ulterior motive. And I have been keeping tabs on him. He has stopped hanging out ages ago. I''m sure he wouldn''t give a damn about some random girl."

    There was hidden bitterness in her voice when she said thest sentence. Not giving a damn about women''s feelings seems to be a specialty of Hunt men.

    But before they could talk further, the door to the vip room opened, signalling that Axel''s operation was over.

    "How did it go?" Betrix urgently asked the Healers who had just finished patching up Axel.

    "We''ve done our best. Unfortunately, some nerves couldn''t be properly connected. It might not be as good as it used to be, but he will be able to do basic tasks with his hand. And with due time, we believe there are chances of full recovery."

    Betrix gritted her teeth. It was not enough. With this, Axel''s chances of staying here have lessened. But she still thanked the healers for their hard work.

    Martina stepped forward. "Can I see him?" She asked eagerly.

    "Of course, but he''s still unconscious. After whatever he''s been through, his body needs serious rest. Please don''t try to wake him up."

    Martina slowly walked in, and Akiko followed. Betrix looked like she wanted to go too, but that happened the previous time shed in her mind as she just backed away. She had other duties anyway.

    Martina saw Axel. Earlier, he had been badly bruised due to the beatings he had received, but now the bruises were gone, and his face was clean. He seemed to be resting peacefully now, but there was a small frown on his face.

    ''He''s cute when he''s asleep.'' A thought randomly came to her, making her startled. Martina shook her and went near.

    One of his hands had been wrapped in thick bandages, after attachment. She gently grabbed his other hand and concentrated. A somewhat distressed look came upon her face. Axel''s magic flow¡­ it was still weak.

    "Please wake up soon." She murmured, squeezing his hand.

    At this moment, she heard a creeking sound beside her, only to see that Akiko had put a bed right beside Axel''s.

    "What are you doing?!" Asked Martina in surprise.

    Akiko looked bewildered at Martina''s over reaction. "I''m tired. I need to sleep," she said simply.

    "What does that mean? I need sleep too, but why are you putting your bed here?!" Asked in a whisper, so as to not disturb Axel.

    "Because I''m sleeping here?"

    Martina was frustrated. "Yes, but why here?!" She said in a harsh whisper.

    Akiko shrugged. "He''s unconscious. And in a lot of danger. I need to protect him."

    "...."

    Martina didn''t know what to say to that. This reason seems¡­ reasonable? Axel was truly in no condition to protect himself. And be it the Organisation, or the Kraken, both were unfathomably dangerous.

    But¡­ sleeping in the same room as him¡­

    As someone withmon sense of her previous world, Martina found it inappropriate for Akiko, a girl, to be doing this.

    Martina got up and took out another bed from her storage space.

    "What are you doing now?" Asked Akiko.

    "Well, I can''t let you do it alone. I''ll help too," she volunteered.

    Akiko shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just don''t disturb him."

    Axel had protected them. Now it was their turn to protect him.

    ¡­.

    In the Headmaster''s office, a meeting was currently underway, the participants being Dumbledore, Yujiro, Betrix, and McGonagall.

    That''s right, Dumbledore and Yujiro had just teleported back using Fawkes the Phoenix when they received McGonagall''s patronus.

    "Is something wrong? We came as soon as we received the patronus," said Dumbledore.

    "What?! Did you not receive the messages and calls that were sent to you?" McGonagall asked, looking seriously irked.

    "Well, an¡­ incident urred in America while on our diplomatic visit. Just after our arrival, there was a mass outbreak of Dementors, and we were the Prime suspects. Or at least the most powerful potential threats present there at such a vulnerable time. We had to stay under observation for some time," exined Dumbledore.

    They were strongly discouraged from having any contact with their acquaintances until the situation stabilized, so they had to give up their tools ofmunication as well. Had Mcgonagall not tried contacting them using the Patronus, they would still be chilling in America.

    "What in the world happened here?" Asked Dumbledore calmly.

    "What happened?! Oh, nothing much," said Betrix in sarcasm. "The whole of Hogwarts was almost wiped out, maybe along with the rest of Britain!"

    Dumbledore''s eyebrows went up. "Was it Voldemort?" He asked, already knowing the answer. There''s only one person who had the potential to do that."Where is Rose?!" He asked with urgency.

    "That!" Said Betrix, pointing her finger at Dumbledore. "That is exactly why I want to murder you right now. You already knew that Voldemort was alive, and you already knew that he woulde after Rose, didn''t you? You knew that he could use her to ess this world! That''s why you asked me to arrange security for her! But you didn''t think it necessary to share it with any of us?!"

    "What is she talking about, Dumbledore?" Asked Yujiro. He knew about Voldemort, but he didn''t know anything about Rose.

    Dumbledore sighed. "I had only a faint suspicion. I didn''t think it would be wise to rm everyone just on an old man''s hunch. What exactly happened? What is the current situation?"

    "There was a Dementor outbreak here as well! That Lockhart, who turned out to be one of Voldemort''s followers, kidnapped Rose using the distraction and opened the portal!" Said Betrix.

    McGonagall clutched her throbbing temples. "Even we learnt of this muchter. And if it wasn''t for Miss Valentino, Mr. Hunt and Miss Matsushima, Hogwarts would have been overrun with creatures of another world."

    They had gathered information from Akiko, Martina and Rose about what had happened, and McGonagall was still having trouble wrapping her head around the whole thing.

    She recounted as much as they knew about the incident to Dumbledore and Yujiro from the outbreak till how they closed the portal as much as Akiko, Martina, and Rose had told her.

    Of course, Martina and Akiko had decided not to reveal exactly what had happened, keeping all their abilities a secret.

    After McGonagall was done, Dumbledore''s countenance was extremely severe.

    "Voldemort has be better at hiding himself, and at plotting," he acknowledged.

    "I couldn''t detect the Dark Magic inside Lockhart. And the way he managed to keep us away was also masterful. I''m afraid if not for those three, it would have been toote by the time the news reached us," said Dumbledore gravely.

    Yujiro gritted his teeth. "I told you to not be so "understanding" and just return. Your peacefulness almost got my Granddaughter killed!"

    Yujiro was furious after listening to what happened. His granddaughter almost died while he was away.

    "How is she now?" He asked, focusing on Akiko rather than other things.

    "And how are Rose, Martina, and Axel?" Asked Dumbledore.

    "Miss Matsushima wouldn''t let us examine her condition, but she guarantees her well being. Rose passed out soon after she had recounted all she had seen. The ritual took a toll on her, but she''ll be fine. As for Miss Martina, she is also only tired. But Axel¡­ there was an attempt to kidnap him by a third party shortly after the incident."

    "Is that so? By who?"

    "Kraken." Said Betrix, hatred shing in her eyes.

    Both the Headmasters were surprised by the news. But Yujiro reacted more strongly to it.

    "Kraken?! What were THEY doing here?!" He eximed.

    The Japanese ministry has a long term contract with Antis. They hire ninjas in exchange for massive resources. So of course he knew this Organisation very well. After all, numerous Shinobis have died to this damned Organisation, including his daughter and her husband.

    But what he couldn''t understand was why in the world they woulde after someone like Axel.

    "He is the Crown Prince of Antis."

    "The Crown Prince? How is that possible?"

    "Preposterous!"

    McGonagall nodded, understanding their surprise. "Apparently, his mother was the first princess of Antis. I don''t know anything else."

    "Now the situation at our hands is that the Kraken is going toe after Axel. So, I need you to fully cooperate in arranging for his protection," said Betrix.

    "Crown Prince of Antis..." Dumbledore took off his sses, taking some time to fully go through the implications of that.

    "I always knew Mr. Hunt was special, but truly, to be the crown Prince of Antis¡­" he shook his head in astonishment. Right now, his eyes had this twinkle that gave Betrix the chills.

    "Hey! Hold that thought!" Growled Betrix, leaning forward. "Don''t you even ''think'' about using him in your ns, or Voldemort and Kraken won''t be the only entities you will need to worry about!" She threatened.

    Dumbledore was surprised. "Betrix, I assure you¡ª"

    "Leave it, Headmaster. Your kind granda act doesn''t work on me. I know what you must be thinking, and I want you to drop that idea! Keep Axel and Rose out of your schemes!"

    Betrix knew how much weight the words Crown Prince of Antis held. The person can control the most powerful Magical nation in the world. Dumbledore must be having a hard on right now. If not for the fact that she needed him to protect Axel, she wouldn''t have even revealed this information to him.

    A chuckle escaped Yujiro''s lips upon hearing that. "Finally, someone said it."

    The meeting continued for a long time after that as ns were made to arrange security for Rose and Axel. Of course, in their infinite wisdom, they didn''t think to consider what Axel might think about all the things they had nned for him.

    ¡­..

    Several dayster¡­

    In the VIP room, Axel finally opened his eyes. ''Still alive¡­'' He breathed.

    But for how long? He wondered. His life has been on hell mode for as long as he can remember. He has had so many near brushes with death that he has already lost count.

    So... how long can he keep this up? His life doesn''t seem to have any signs of getting less dangerous.

    ''Well, just gotta enjoy what I have,'' he thought, a person''s faceing to his mind. Yes, at least he can have those moments back. The time he can spend with someone who knows and epts him. He really missed talking to her.

    He examined his surroundings. The Hospital wing again. But, something wasn''t right.

    He could smell a familiarvender scent, and he could feel a weight restricting his movements somehow.

    Axel raised his head, only to see long purple hair fill his vision.

    !

    Axel was rmed, but he rxed when he realized that it was just Martina. But this situation... the girl was hugging him like an octopus, her head buried in his chest. Her eyes were closed, signifying that she was asleep. There were three beds in the room. Akiko was asleep on one of them, but it seemed that Martina was not using hers.

    "Hm~"

    His movement must have disturbed her, because Martina took a deep breath, adjusting her position. Then as if she had found afortable spot, she fell asleep again with a contented look on her, as if having a sweet dream.

    "Uh... Martina?"

    Axel tried calling her but the girl seemed to be deep asleep. At this moment, Akiko, who was sleeping on another bed, woke up.

    "You''re awake!" She eximed. Then she looked at Martina and frowned. "Not again."

    She got up and approached the bed. Then without mercy, she kicked Martina off of Axel.

    "Aauch!" Martina woke up in pain, rubbing her side which had been kicked. She sighed, "Akiko! You don''t have to kick me every time. It hurts!" She said groggily, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.

    But she paused as soon as she saw Axel. "You''re awake!" She eximed in joy.

    But then she panicked realizing the situation he must have witnessed just now. "I¡­ I can exin¡­"

    "Well, cover up first," said Axel. "I can see your purples."

    "Hn?" Martina looked down to see that her skirt had her nightgown had ridden up due to her fall, exposing the long legs and of course, the underwear of signature colors.

    "Noooooooo!"

    So, as it turned out, Martina had been somewhat traumatized after the recent events. She would have difficulty sleeping, and somehow, after she does fall asleep, she could end up climbing into Axel''s bed.

    "I''m really sorry! I really didn''t do it on purpose!" Apologized Martina after she had exined.

    "Well, I didn''t kill you, so it''s alright I guess." Due to having to sleep on streets, Axel had developed somewhat wild reflexes. If he had felt threatened or ufortable, he would have attacked Martina. If she''s fine then, that means it''s alright.

    Martina sighed in relief, d that Axel didn''t stretch the matter further. She was already too embarrassed as the matters stand.

    Axel looked at his hand which was wrapped in bandages. He tried moving his fingers, but couldn''t do it at first. It only happened when he exerted more pressure.

    "I''m really sorry about your hand. The healers say you can make a full recovery with proper rehab," said Martina.

    "Or you can get it fixed from Antis," said Akiko.

    Axel raised his other hand, and the Valentino knife appeared in it, which he used to cut off the bindings.

    [Magic Hands]

    "Be careful! You won''t be able to use it properly for a few da¡ª"

    Martina paused at whatever she was saying when she saw Axel twirling the knife with his newly reattached hand with no difficulty whatsoever.

    Axel stopped immediately, shaking his head. "It''s no good," he said,pletely dissatisfied.

    "Antis it is, then."

    "What?" Martina couldn''t understand how he was able to use it so well! She couldn''t do what he did even with her fully intact hand. And how the hell was it still not good?!

    "Was that the "max"?" Asked Akiko seriously.

    "Yep."

    "You really do need to go to Antis," she agreed.

    "Wait, can someone exin what the hell is happening here? His hand looks just fine to me!"

    "It''s because you haven''t seen him do it at its peak," said Akiko. "And if his hand was alright, you wouldn''t have been able to see it now either."

    "It''s just that fast."

    Akiko really thought it would be a crime to lose that level of skill. That''s why Axel needed to go to Antis.

    Axel looked around. "Anyways, where''s Daphne?" He asked. The rewards from the system this time were great, and he wanted to share something with her.

    "...??" X2

    Akiko and Martina exchanged awkward nces.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: POWERSTONES.

    You can read ahead and support me on /Snollygoster

 Chapter 157: Daphnes Guilt

    Chapter 157: Daphne''s Guilt

    Daphne Greengrass didn''t have a pleasant childhood. Even when she was too young to notice the abnormalities, young Daphne had realized that maybe her father did not love her.

    Why else then, would he even look at her no matter how hard she tried to get his attention? He was always busy, often spending time outside, or in the dungeons of their manor bringing lots of sealed cages. She was sad many times by his cold attitude towards her and his cruel words, as if no matter how hard she tried, it would never please him.

    She had also realized that her mum loved her very much and she did not like daddy too. Why else would they sleep in separate bedrooms? And why else would her mothere to her and Astoria''s room to cry at nights when Daphne pretends to sleep?

    "Mum, why do you always need to see the healer? Are you sick?" She had once asked her mother, as sheid weakly in the bed.

    Even with all the pain, her mum had tried her best to smile tenderly.

    "Mum is fine honey. Just sometimes, mum is a little unlucky."

    Unlucky¡­ That wasn''t enough of an answer for young Daphne. So she began trying to find the answer for herself.

    Too bad, there wasn''t much she could find. The basement was off limits and her father would onlye homete when she had fallen asleep.

    Just like that, young Daphne''s childhood was spent in confusion, trying to find answers about the peculiarities in her family. Until one fateful night.

    *p*

    Daphne had just woken up to go to the bathroom when she heard that sound from her dad''s room.

    "Let me put up the privacy ward first. The girls might¡ª" came her mother''s voice, but it was cut off due to another blow.

    *Baam*

    "You think I care? They''re both bloody useless! Just like you! Would it have killed you to give me sons?!"

    "How can you say that? They''re your daughters!"

    "You need to not remind me,," said Cyrus coldly. "They''re my daughters, that''s why I haven''t tortured them yet. Why do you think I spend so much time and resources to acquire and torture muggle children in the dungeon when I have two children at home?"

    !!!

    Listening to the conversation, Daphne, who was quickly making her way toward the voices, stopped in her tracks, her mind trying to process what she had just heard.

    "Please, just let me cast the priva¡ª" her mother''s voice came but--

    *Snap*

    The sound of breaking of a stick was heard.

    "Do NOT touch your wand! You think you can hex me?!"

    rmed, Daphne, who had been frozen quickly ran towards the room and peeked through the slightly ajar door.

    !!!

    The scene she saw inside made her dumbfounded. She saw her mother lying prone to the ground, cradling the broken remains of her wand, while her dad stood over her, pointing his wand at her.

    At this moment, Daphne, for the first time, saw her mother angry as she turned her gaze at father, angered at the loss of her wand, and the denunciation of her daughter''s.

    "I was NOT trying to hex you! Are you so cowardly that you''re still scared of me after binding me with the contract, you absolute gutless recreant?! It''s not my fault that you''re impotent and can''t even get it up anymore! If your House doesn''t have male heirs that''s not my problem you¡ª"

    Her mother suddenly stopped in her outburst when her eyes met with Daphne''s who had been peeking through the door.

    "Tolly, seal the room!"

    Before Daphne could react, the house elf appeared with a pop at the same time her father brandished his wand at her defenseless mum.

    "Crucio!"

    The door was mmed shut by magic, blocking her sight along with mother''s painful screams, and Daphne was left standing there,pletely horrified.

    From that day onwards, she slowly began to understand. Even though she was too young toprehend everything she had heard, but eventually, she did.

    Turns out, her father really didn''t love her. All he wanted to do was to sell her to the highest bidder and have her continue the Greengrass line.

    Turns out, the reason her mother would sometimes need to see the healer was because she would put her into that condition.

    Turns out, the reason why her father spends so much time in the dungeons is not because of work, but because the man has a sick hobby of torturing children.

    Turns out, the meager approval which she craved and for which she used to work so hard for, learning all types of things was only given to her because it would increase her chances of getting a better spouse to continue the line.

    But. Even though she had realized everything, Daphne didn''t know what to do with the information. She didn''t know how to save her mother, and she didn''t know what to say to the bright and cheerful Astoria.

    Then one day, something happened that made her dead set on what to had to do.

    She was 9. It was just another ordinary day. She was working with Astoria in one of their greenhouses.

    "Come on, Tory! You have to do it!" Said Daphne, digging the soil for painting new seeds.

    "I''m not doing it, Daphi!" Astoria stood a distance away, a rebellious pour on her face. The little girl couldn''t properly pronounce Daphne''s name, so she settled for "Daphi" instead. "My hands would get dirty! What if I got sick?! You should not do it either! Just let the workers do it!" She urged.

    Daphne rolled her eyes. "Afraid of dirt and soil? What kind of Greengrass are you?"

    Astoria stomped her foot, waving her tiny fist. "I-I''m not afwraid! I just like to stay clean and not sick!"

    Daphne sighed. She didn''t know where, but her little sister had gotten in her head that children get sick easily if they y around in dirt.

    She got up and grabbed Astoria with her dirty hands. "Listen to me, you dummy. You aren''t getting sick. We will take a big bath after this, and all the soil will be washed away."

    Astoria trusted her elder sister. And she really liked to bath with her elder sister, so the two sisters happily began ying in the greenery. After that Daphne had to attend her etiquette sses like usual with Rose, Susan and Hannah, so she bade farewell to her sister.

    But when she returned¡­

    No one was at home. She was taken to the Saint Mungos by the house elf, where she saw her sister lying on the Hospital.

    "Daphi¡­ you said I won''t be sick..."

    What had happened¡­

    Her sister had gotten sick. Not by any ordinary sickness. It was Blood Malediction. The incurable disease.

    How did it happen¡­?

    She never got the exact details, but she knew one thing for certain. Cyrus Bloody Greengrass. It was due to that man.

    Something happened. Something which made Astoria feel such emotional distress that it made the curse of Greengrass line activate in her. It manifested in the form that would deliver the most impact to little Astoria. It took her health, giving her a short, and sickly life.

    It was only after the incident happened that a resolve was solidified in her mind. Even if she was young and weak, it burned bright inside her.

    A resolve to kill her father.

    From that day on, she began nning and plotting. But it was easier thought than done.

    First of all, her father was a paranoid man. He would check everything for poison before consumption. He was also a formidable wizard with sharp senses and a strong body. Killing him was not at all an easy task.

    Secondly, Daphne was not like her father. She was a normal child. Taking a life, especially one of her father¡­ it wasn''t morally, physically and magically possible for her.

    ''It''s wrong¡­''

    That''s how she justified her inaction. But she knew deep in her heart that it was the right thing to do, and she was just too much of a bloody coward to do it.

    Daphne became an unfeeling robot. She would just do things she was supposed to do. She would eat what was given to her, she would study what she was made to study, and she would talk with whoever her father would order her to.

    She couldn''t let know that she was about to kill him, could she? She knew he could read minds, so she strived to not even give him a reason to try reading her mind.

    All the while, inside her head, she nned and plotted hundreds of ways to kill him.

    Every night, she had to sleep with the knowledge that her mother and sister have to live with that man for one more day.

    She was stuck. She was unable to kill him, and neither was she able to live without killing him. It was absolute hell. Just when she had almost lost hope, something happened.

    He died.

    The devil that had made life hell for her, was¡­ gone. Just like that. It was so surprising that it had taken her more than 3 days just topletely believe that fact.

    Suddenly, Daphne felt free, for the first time in her life. Suddenly, the sky seemed much brighter, the gardens looked much more lively, and the Manor, much more homely. She realized she no longer had to behave like she was dictated to anymore. She could do whatever the hell she wanted.

    And it was all because the devil was gone.

    Someone had stabbed his balls twice, slit his throat from ear to ear, and stabbed his chest a total of 157 times, as if venting a lot of anger.

    It wasn''t a simple killing. It was a revenge murder.

    Someone must have had a lot of anger for the man. At that time, Daphne had thought that whoever had done this was an angel, to rid her and this world from that terrible demon. She had thanked her lucky stars that the man had finally pissed off the wrong person. Someone who strikes back.

    For years, she had tried and failed. But finally, the work was done. Albeit it waste, and someone else had to do it for her, but she cared little about that. After all, she and her family were finally free now, weren''t they?

    All she did was thank the Angel a million times in her head.

    ...Never even once¡­ did she wonder what the man might have done to the Angel that was so cruel that they stabbed her father 157 times.

    Never even once¡­ did she consider the fact that she could have saved the person so much trouble, if she just had the courage to do it herself.

    Daphne had gotten her freedom. But at what price?

    Well, now she knew the answer. Axel''s suffering.

    Daphne gritted her teeth, leaving the Hospital ward. Minister ck''s words still echoed in her mind.

    Hatred.

    Intense Self-Hatred. That''s what Daphne was feeling right now.

    There was something about Axel that she had noticed after spending so much time with him. It''s the fact that he is very good at hiding his emotions.

    Unlike others, Daphne knew just how much Axel had suffered due to what the Cruciatus had done to him. She could see his pain, even though others couldn''t. It would hurt to write, it would hurt to sit, it would hurt to stand, it would hurt to walk... basically... if he''s moving, it would hurt. But even if he''s not, it would still hurt.

    So, it wasn''t just those ten minutes that he was tortured. Itsted for the whole year. His whole body was in pain, and no one could help lessen it.

    Why? Just because she couldn''t kill one damned demon who had made so many people''s life hell.

    It was her fault.

    ¡­.

    ¡ªBack to present¡ª

    Looking at Martina and Akiko''s faces, Axel got a bad premonition.

    He got up with some difficulty.

    Limit Break is a skill that consumes every bit of power you have at that time, and what you are going to have in the future. Both physical and magic. The effects are not going to go away so soon.

    "What the hell happened?" Axel asked the girls. Everything should have been fine. He had thought these two would make sure of that.

    "...."

    Martina and Akiko didn''t know how to exin it. What were they supposed to say?

    "I¡­ think it''s better if you see it yourself," said Martina, looking into his eyes.

    Axel didn''t need a second invitation. He delved into Martina''s mind, and saw the memory which she had brought to the forefront.

    With his fast Legilimency, the memory was over within a second. Axel came out of Martina''s mind, but not before she got stunned by the sheer amount of anger that he leaked into the link.

    She gripped her forehead terrified. She looked up at Axel who lookedpletely calm on the outside.

    "Why¡­ didn''t you stop her?" He asked. His voice was low, but it sent chills down their backs.

    Axel put a hand to his forehead. Why¡­ Why can''t things go right for once?!

    Martina looked like she was about to cry. "Her father did that to you¡­ and at that time¡­"

    At that time, all she could think about was how much hatred she had from Daphne''s father. How sick was that man that he made Axel suffer so much?! And if she''s that man''s daughter. . . Let''s say she didn''t have pleasant feelings for her. At that time, she hadn''t thought much about the situation. But now, feeling the intensity of Axel''s anger, she knew she had made a huge mistake.

    Unlike Martina, Akiko didn''t know how bad the situation was. "What''s the big deal?" She asked. "We''ll apologize to her if she''s not as bad as we thought."

    Axel sighed. If it were only that simple. "You know, you might not get the opportunity," he said, beginning to walk out of the hospital wing.

    They really might not get the opportunity. Because Daphne might have already done something extreme by now after knowing what that bitch Betrix revealed to her. Daphne still has that goddamn curse too!

    But Axel didn''t have time to exin all this to them. Neither did he have the time to get angry at them. Heck, he would have already reached Daphne if he could still use his Physical and Magical abilities.

    "Axel! Please don''t move. You''re supposed to rest!" said Martina.

    "Yeah, the Healers have rmended strict rest. We can get her for you," said Akiko.

    Axel looked at them with a look that said: Seriously?!

    Just for a moment, Axel stopped controlling his anger.

    *Shatter*

    Water particles in the air crystallized, and the magically reinforced windows broke down like ss.

    !!

    Martina and Akiko fell to their knees.

    Axel''s eyes glowed blue as he looked at the two of them.

    "Shut it, will you?"

    ...

    A.N.: There is nothing to fear. That''s what I wanted to say before I start getting cursed. Daphne will be alright. Next chapter is a vani chapter. Rx. Take deep breaths. In...out... in... out

    Anyways, Martina and Akiko trying to stop him at this moment.

    Women?

    Also, sorry the dy. Something came up irl.

 Chapter 158: Axel Kisses Daphne

    Chapter 158: Axel Kisses Daphne

    "Shut it, will you?"

    !!!

    Martina and Akiko suddenly found themselves unable to move, their mouths were sealed shut.

    Axel''s voice. . . It contained this hint of Absolute Authority that they found unable to disobey.

    At this moment, rmed by themotion, Aurors rushed into the room, trying to understand what had happened, and saw the target they were supposed to protect walking out without a care.

    "Mr. Hunt, please stay where you are. The minister ck has strictly ordered¡ª"

    Axel couldn''t give a fuck about minister ck''s orders right now.

    ""Move.""

    Suddenly, everyone was pushed out of Axel''s way, creating a path for him.

    Axel began walking out of the room with difficulty. As soon as he was out of the door, he disappeared.

    Axel had to find Daphne as soon as possible. He had no idea how she would react to the news, but he had a feeling that she didn''t take it well. Right now, he just felt an inordinate amount of vexation towards that Minister of Magic.

    ''Would it have killed you to not save her?!'' He cursed his dead father, who had saved this witch not once, but thrice. If only his old man had just let the bitch die, he would not have had to suffer so much due to her. Now, her meddling has potentially put Daphne in danger.

    To be perfectly clear, everything was his dad''s fault. Had the man not brought the keys here, Voldemort would have still been just a harmless little local darklord of Britain that he could have one-shot by now.

    Well, it is what it is. Now all Axel can hope is for Daphne to be alright.

    Killing his presence, he entered the Ravenw Dorms and checked her room.

    ''Damn it.'' Daphne wasn''t there. He read the minds of some of the students, and none of them had seen her since the incident. In fact, she had already been reported missing.

    ... Axel was hoping that he had been needlessly worried, but now he knew that something was definitely wrong.

    Where could she be?!

    He tried thinking about where he could find her, and one ce came to the forefront.

    Not long after, Axel stood in front of the abandoned Greenhouse. This ce was abandoned because the nts here have gotten too wild and dangerous to let the students in. Now it has be a wilderness of its own. But Daphne likes toe here whenever because, well, because she''s Daphne. She treats the wild nts here like pets.

    Axel entered the ce, all too mindful of the nts, but they didn''t seem to be in the mood to attack. They let him pass, even appearing to invite him in.

    !

    Axel finally found who he was looking for. But¡­.

    Daphne was lying on the ground, unmoving.

    "No..." He mumbled, getting closer. She had just regained her memories. Everything was just going back to normal. Then why?

    "What have you done?!" He whispered, kneeling down and holding her hand.

    Relief washed over him as he detected a pulse. At least she was alive! But it was very faint.

    "Daphne?"

    "Hey! Wake up!"

    He tried shaking her awake, but Daphne showed no signs of waking up. Axel''s frown deepened. This wasn''t a natural sleep. Something was wrong with her. She was too cold, and her lips are blue.

    ?

    Axel''s gaze went to the conspicuous silver coloured leaves lying by her side and his brows furrowed.

    "Damn it, Daph!"

    Daphne''s voice echoed in his mind. "This is slumbershade. Just one leave and you''ll be out like a light. Eat too many and you''re gone." That''s what she had said, when describing each and every nt in the greenhouse to him.

    Axel cursed under his breath. What was she thinking?! Her lips are blue, meaning she has taken an overdose. Her pulse is also weak.

    [Poison Mastery]

    Axel got to work, gathering ingredients from around the greenhouse. He quickly made up an antidote. Axel couldn''t understand why she would do this! He had been unconscious for days! But he was being fed and hydrated while he was unconscious. Daphne, she has been lying here for so long without food and water all this time.

    It didn''t take him long to make the antidote. He quickly poured it in his mouth and fed it to her mouth-to-mouth.

    "Come on!" He muttered. "Wake up!"

    Daphne coughed as the bitter antidote went down her throat. As the antidote took effect, she slowly opened her eyes and saw Axel looking down at her, desperation showing on his face.

    "No¡­" Daphne''s breathing suddenly quickened. "No¡­ put me back to sleep! I can''t be awake!" She said, her voice hoarse.

    She suddenly began thrashing around. Her hands went to the leaves of Slumbershade lying on the ground and she quickly tried to eat it again.

    "What the¡ª" Was there a way that Axel would just sit by and let her do that? He quickly stopped her, wrapping his arms around her to stop her from sleeping herself to death.

    "Let go! Please!" Daphne desperately struggled to break free.

    "Stop! Why are you doing this?!" Eximed Axel as he struggled to keep her from moving. They were both really weak right now, so it wasn''t doing anyone any favors.

    "I don''t want to go through it again! I can''t!" She wailed..

    "Go through what?!" Axel couldn''t understand at all.

    "The curse! It''sing again!" She revealed, shocking Axel. "I know I deserve it! It was my fault you went through all the pain. I will ept any punishment, but not this! Those memories are too important! She cried, her hands reaching for the leaves.

    Axel finally understood. He understood why Daphne woulde here. He understood why she put herself to sleep. And he understood why she would do it again even when he is right here.

    Somehow, she has gotten in her pretty head him getting torture was her fault. The revtion made her have emotions extreme enough that the curse was getting activated again. When that happens, she''s going to lose something that will give her the most pain, which would be forgetting him. And she seems ready to rather die than to let that happen.

    Suddenly, a chuckle escaped his lips, which turned into a full blownughter.

    "Fuck¡ªhaha¡ª it''s only this," he muttered in between hisughs.

    ??

    In this situation, it was so absurd that even Daphne stopped struggling for a moment, question marks appearing in her teary eyes.

    "Can you please enlighten me, Madame Greengrass. How in the three worlds is it your fault that I got tortured?" He asked in amusement.

    "It''s not funny!" Daphne was suddenly feeling very angry at Axel''s reaction. "If only I had killed that man myself, if only I hadn''t been such bloody coward...you wouldn''t have had to go through all that terrible pain!" She said, tears pouring down her eyes.

    That''s right. It was all her fault. She wondered if getting the curse was really the right punishment for her.

    "Then," said Axel. wiping her tears. "I guess I should be thanking you, for not killing him," said Axel instead,pletely bewildering to her.

    "What¡­?" Daphne had expected that Axel might not me her, she had even expected that he would me her, but this...

    Why the hell would he thank her for that?

    "Well, if I hadn''t been injured, I would have never met you then. I would still be a petty thief in London."

    "WHAT?!"

    Axel nodded. "It''s true. When I got the letter, I thought someone was messing with me. I wasn''t going toe."

    Daphne''s eyes widened. A life without Axel? She shuddered. Now that is far worse than forgetting the memories and still having him.

    Axel smiled. "Well, looks like the curse is not going to activate."

    !! Daphne suddenly realized that it was true! Somehow, Axel had managed to make go away. Just being in his presence had calmed her mind enough that the curse was not activating. It means her memories were safe! Daphne was so relieved! Now, other priorities...

    She threw away the Slumbershade she had just picked up and lunged onto Axel, tackling him down into a tight hug. "I missed you so so so soooooo much!" She mumbled, her face buried in his hair. She suddenly bit his ear.

    "Ouch!" Eximed the guy who isn''t fazed by the Crutiatus. "What was that for?!"

    "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack by that call! Don''t let anything like that happen again!"

    Axelughed. "I''ll try."

    "You¡­" Daphne hit him in annoyance with her weak hands.

    "Hey! Knock it out." They began messing around on the floor without a care that they were getting messy in the dirt whileughing.

    But slowly Daphne stopped smiling as she slowly separated herself from him. She shook her head. "I don''t deserve to be this happy. I can''t."

    "Axel got up from the ground. "What''s the matter?"

    Daphne shook her head. "You are just saying you don''t mind, but I do! I saw your suffering! And I made you go through all that! Maybe not forgetting you, but I can''t be allowed to get away with it without repercussions!"

    Daphne was angry. At herself! If there was someone else in her position who was so weak and pathetic to not kill the one man responsible for everything, then she would have wished the worst fate possible on that weakling.

    "What are you talking about? I''m fine now, aren''t I? And you have to trust me, it''s for the better that I went through that."

    Daphne was not having it. Surely, not going through that would have been worth it, right? Daphne dug her nails into her palm. "Can you¡­ can you please just me me? I need to do something with all this guilt."

    "Daphne, It''s not your fault. My life before¡­, it''s better off this way."

    "At least cast a few Cruciatuses¡­ Please¡­" she begged.

    Seeing her being so adamant, Axel sighed. "There''s no choice. You''ll have to see it for yourself," said Axel, clenching his jaw as he grabbed her by her cheeks.

    ??

    Daphne didn''t understand what Axel meant by that. But as soon as their gazes met, she suddenly found herself standing transported to a different space,pletely disorienting her,

    "Fuck! How did we get here?!" She asked in confusion. They were on Hogwarts grounds, then how the hell did he do that?

    "Rx. It''s a memory," said Axel, his countenance serious.

    "A memory?" The ce felt so real that she couldn''t even tell. This is much better than a pensieve. Daphne looked around the ce more curiously now. Axel has hardly talked about his life outside Hogwarts, so Daphne is eager to receive anything he reveals.

    They were currently in a dark alley, surrounded by buildings. It was cold¡­ so cold, and a rancid smell hung in the air. Daphne wrinkled her nose. "Where are we?" She couldn''t help but ask. Why would Axel evene to a ce like this?

    Axel shrugged, looking at the ce with a hint of nostalgia. "This ce¡­ it used to be my home."

    "Home?!" The words that reached Daphne''s ears left her utterly dumbfounded. What did he mean by home?!

    "Yep," Axel nodded in affirmation. She thinks that was the worst he had gone through? Well, maybe. But he has to show her that it might as well be called just another day in the life he had lived. Maybe then she wouldn''t feel so guilty.

    They watched as the dumpsters in the alley opened and a younger Axel emerged from inside. Daphne gasped, her hand moving to cover her mouth.

    She couldn''t believe it. She just couldn''t. "It''s you¡­?" She asked in a whisper, even though she already knew the answer.

    It was just how different the appearance of the boy she was watching was. Axel looked nothing like his current self. His hair was wild and overgrown, covering most of his face, which was sunken, with bruises all over it. The little boy could not have been more than 8, and looked nothing like the Axel she was used to. But those striking amber eyes were still the same, calm and rebellious.

    Daphne couldn''t help stepping forward. She couldn''t see Axel in this condition. But she realized that it was just a memory.

    As they watched, young Axel stepped out of the dumpster after looking around cautiously. His stomach growled, making him frown.

    They watched as he walked up to the most busy street, his eyes going everywhere. There was a slight limp in his steps from a previous injury.

    "What are you trying to do?" Asked Daphne. She had no idea how Axel was going to manage to eat. "Surely there must be a ce where they feed children?"

    Axel scoffed. "Not one I was aware of. I''m trying to steal the money."

    Daphne felt nothing wrong with that. What choice did he have? She felt it was even alright to mug someone as long as the boy she loves can live better.

    Axel walked on the road for a long while. He was, of course, trying to steal some money to buy food. But it wasn''t working out well for him in the beginning. He was too conspicuous. People would take distance whenever or just keep an eye on him since he looked suspicious.

    "There! That guy''s purse was practically hanging out. Why didn''t you steal that?" Asked Daphne.

    "Did you look at him? He looked like he could barely pay for his own meals," said Axel.

    At this moment, an olddy walked by him who had dropped her purse. Daphne breathed a sigh of relief, since Axel could finally eat now. Maybe get his injuries fixed. It hurt her to see him limp.

    Little Axel looked at the purse, then at the olddy. He sighed. Picking up the purse, he walked back to the olddy.

    Watching little Axel''s actions, Daphne felt a lump in her throat. "You were such a gentleman thief," she said, gripping his hand. "She''ll at least reward you for this, right?"

    Axel said nothing to that.

    At this moment, it just so happened that the olddy also noticed the absence of her purse. Turning around, she saw Axel holding it out.

    "...THIEF! YOU DIRTY THIEF! HELP! THIS BOY STOLE MY PURSE! OH MY LORD, PLEASE HELP!"

    Instantly, everyone on the busy street that their attention focused on Axel.

    Axel looked at Daphne, who looked beyond outraged at this moment, and shook his head. This was just the beginning.

    "The outside world... can be a cruel ce."

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Well, technically the title is not wrong. He did kiss her when feeding the antidote ??

    Next: Betrix''s Retribution

    Next next: Sleeping Together (Ahem)

    Somewhere in future: Metting with Aunt (Princess of Antis)

    Come read 10+ chapters /Snollygoster

 Chapter 159: The Curses Cure

    Chapter 159: The Curse''s Cure

    "The outside world¡­ can be a cruel ce," Axel told her.

    Daphne watched as all the pedestrians on the street surrounded little Axel in the memory.

    "Hey! I was just returning it! She dropped it!" Little Axel tried to tell everyone the truth of the matter, but it didn''t seem like anyone believed.

    "Yeah, yeah, you were, weren''t ya?" Said one of the men sarcastically. "Stealing from an olddy, don''t you have any decency?!"

    The other people also began condemning Axel, not at all listening to what he had to say. He had already been Branden the thief, no matter what.

    Little Axel knew he was in trouble. He threw the purse and tried to run, but couldn''t run far with his injured leg before he tripped and fell.

    The ''Chivalrous'' men surrounded him, wanting to punish him even when he had already thrown away the purse.

    Little Axel curled himself in a ball as punches and kicks rained down on him. Unlike his future self, he had almost zero special abilities and skills. Even his tolerance to pain was very low, causing him to grunt and groan with each blow.

    Daphne couldn''t watch it. "What are they doing?! You were just a kid! Who beats up someone as young as that?!"

    Axel had learnt something the hard way. "People don''t hold back no matter the age. A thief is a thief," he told her.

    "They''re monsters!" growled Daphne. "I still don''t understand how they can do it."

    Axel shrugged. "All these people, they''ve all got a lot of aggression inside them. They just hold it back because of the rules. But when they catch a criminal, especially a thief¡­ it''s like they''re given a license. They stop thinking of you as a person and just unleash their aggression," he exined. "Their conscience is clear, since the thief clearly "deserves it"," he said, looking at himself getting beaten to a pulp. There was hidden bitterness in his voice that Daphne was able to discern.

    Tears began falling from Daphne''s eyes. "I''m so sorry you had to go through." She hugged him, unable to see the scene anymore. "When will it stop?"

    Axel didn''t answer, only looking at the scene with cold eyes.

    Once the crowd was satisfied, they dumped him into an alley, but not before spitting on him and hurling obscenities.

    "Bloody bastard!"

    "Stealing from an olddy! Deserves every bit he got!"

    "Think twice before stealing, you son of a whore!"

    ''Son of a whore?! They''re saying that to the Prince of Antis!'' Thought Daphne, positively murderous by now. If she ever encountered these people someday, she wouldn''t hesitate to kill this time.

    Axel shook his head. "It''s what I believed at that time, That my mother was a whore who didn''t want the burden of a son." he said, reading Daphne''s thoughts. He had heard such insults so many times that he had begun to wonder if they were true. "It made sense. It would have messed with her business, right?"

    Daphne only felt more sad by that.

    "Tell me you got medical help after this." she said, looking at his condition with heartache.

    Before Axel answered, something happened in the memory.

    "Well, well. Look who it is," someone said as rowdy noises came from the end of the alley. People emerged from the darkness, and it didn''t seem like they were there to ''help'' him.

    "You''ve GOT to be kidding me," said Daphne,pletely bbergasted. Axel has just been through hell, and it''s still not the end?!

    Axel nodded. "Exactly my reaction every time it happens," he said, d to have someone else feel the absurdity for once.

    Kid Axel, who was barely conscious, desperately tried to run, but all he managed was to drag himself a few feet before he was surrounded again.

    "Uh-huh, not so fast at running now, are we?" Asked the person in the lead. "Scars has been trying to find you."

    Kid Axel didn''t say anything. He just looked at the sky, as if finding someone to curse for his shitty luck.

    "Scars?" Asked Daphne.

    Axel shrugged. "My mortal enemy at the time. He used to be a gang leader. Of course, he''s dead now."

    "... Of course..."

    In the memory, Little Axel said something in a low voice.

    "Eh? What was it? Didn''t quite catch it," said the leader, leaning down.

    "Tell scars¡­ to go fuck himself," he said more clearly this time to the man who had bent down, as he smashed a piece of concrete lying around into his skull.

    The man cursed, falling to the ground in pain. Axel tried to fight more, but he was quickly overwhelmed. And this time, the blows were even more merciless.

    Fortunately, the police sirens sounded not long after, causing the men to run away in a hurry, leaving Axel lying in the ground, beaten to an inch of his life.

    Daphne was crying, and her head was buried in his chest. This was too much for her.

    "Do you see now?" Asked Axel, raising her head. "There''s more."

    The scene shifted into the one where a scarred man was shing Axel''s face, who was being held down by a group of thugs. The Axel in the memory screamed, and the scene shifted again, this time he was being beaten by a group of coppers. The scene shifted again, and again. Slowly at first, but then it got faster, before they split into different scenes, each of them containing a younger Axel getting beaten, or suffering some kind of torture.

    Axel looked at Daphne, who had a nk look on his face upon seeing just how many there were. "My life still wouldn''t have been ideal. It would be much worse than it is right now. True, I might have suffered less, but I would still be alone, unable to trust anyone," he told her. Even though it hurt, her eyes greedily devoured every bit of knowledge they could gain about Axel''s past.

    Axel stopped it before it got too much, as they returned to sitting in the Greenhouse.

    "So," he said. "I''ve stopped ming third parties for whatever happens to me. Because there are just far too many of them. The ones I me, are the people directly involved, and me and my shitty luck.

    The only thing I care about from that incident? It''s that the person directly responsible is dead. It''s that I am now strong enough to even handle 10 of him. It''s that I came to Hogwarts due to that incident. It''s that I even bothered talking to you because of our mutual hate for the man. It''s that... we would never have been friends if not for that incident," he said, as Daphne wiped her tears.

    Daphne nodded. She understood now. But she found difficulty breathing as Axel''s screams still rang in her mind. Holy shit¡­ Holy fucking shit. She knew Axel''s past life was bad, but this? It is beyond herprehension how he is even standing alive and well right now.

    Daphne shook her head, clearing her thoughts. What was she doing?! Overwhelmed just by just witnessing a fraction of his pain? Pathetic!

    She now understood why Axel never talked about his past. Because he knew that people would look at him like he was some sort of pitiful creature. But, he had shared it with her, because he trusted her. He trusted her enough to take the information and understand his point of view. And not judge him for his past, or get overwhelmed. He''s strong and independent. He doesn''t need her pity, just her understanding.

    "So," said Axel, holding her hand as he smiled. "You still me yourself?" He asked yfully. "Still want me to torture you, Miss ''Hurtme'' Greengrass?"

    Daphne shook her head. She felt so embarrassed right now.

    She looked at Axel. Really ''looked'' at him. The past him looked like apletely different person now. Now his eyes were more alive than ever, he was in a much better ce, and most importantly, he was happy.

    It gave her such contentment to see the vivid changes. She felt like the time she spent trying to break his she''ll, even after getting rudely dismissed, was worth it.

    And now, thinking about her guilt, an ironic smile came upon her face. "I was too naive," she murmured, wiping her tears.

    "After the things you''ve been through¡­"

    She understood now. After the things he had been through, he had simply stopped caring whose fault it was. He has been through so many such situations that he''d rather just me his luck than every person involved.

    It was a bleak mindset, but it was realistic, considering the number of times it has happened to him. If he even started involving third parties like her for every case, then just how many people would he have to hate? It would drive anyone crazy.

    Daphne sniffed. "My guilt does seem rather absurd, now that I see it from your point of view. And I understand why you wouldugh when I was calling myself responsible for what happened to you..."

    Axel sighed. "Well, as long as you understand."

    "But...." Daphne''s eyes suddenly narrowed as she pinched his hand in annoyance. "It wasn''t a funny situation. I was about to lose all the memories once more! If I had to go through that all over again. . .I swear I would have killed myself this time!"

    Axel winced. "Yeah, about that, I wasn''t really worried about it. Sorry."

    ???

    "Because I have the cure to your curse now."

    !!!!!

    The world stopped for Daphne. "What did you say?!"

    Axel nodded. He had finally found the final ingredient. "You heard me. I can remove that curse of yours. Forever."

    Daphne''s mouth remained opened. Her eyes became unfocused as she fullyprehended the meaning of Axel''s words.

    She shook her head. "Axel, it''s not funny to even joke about it. Don''t give me hope, you know I''ll trust anything you''ll say."

    Daphne would believe anything Axel says. Because Axel really doesn''t joke around about such things. But this... this was simply beyond the realm of possibility. For generations, many have tried and failed. But all they''ve ever managed is to deal with the form it has manifested into. At the price that it would return any time, maybe even manifest into something else.

    "That curse..." she said. "It''s not like other bloodline curses. Others disappear after a few generations. But ours has been in the family since forever! No one in the world can fully cure it."

    Axel nodded. "I do know the extent of your family curse, you know. It''s from a different world, right?" He asked, as if it was not a big deal.

    Daphne widened her eyes. "Did my mum tell you that? It''s unbelievable, right?"

    Axel shook his head. He checked the system interface once again. Surviving through that ordeal definitely had its rewards.

    [Congrattions on beating the overwhelming odds and surviving.

    Approval rate: 50%

    Rewards:

    Congrattions. New feature unlocked: {Alliance}

    You can now form Alliance with the people you select and help them get System''s perks through you.

    [Current Allies: 1

    Daphne Greengrass (default)

    ss: None

    Status: Curse Afflicted]

    [Congrattions. You have unlocked the Bloodline feature.

    Current Bloodline:

    Antian Bloodline: Awakened 21%

    Can be awakened further by going to Antis

    Ally''s Bloodline

    Daphne Greengrass:

    €£¤$¡Á¡ì?¡é Bloodline: Dormant, but on the verge of awakening

    Can be awakened by lifting the curse.]

    He had gotten a new feature. An Ally system. He can help them get some benefits of the system with it. For example, Daphne can now get a ss too. As she can get a custom training of her own.

    But of course there are limitations. She wouldn''t get a system. Every new training knowledge and skill the Ally unlocks would have to be passed to them through him, everything they learn would be visible to him, and he can terminate the alliance anytime. Finally, the Ally must not hold any serious ill intent towards him, or he''d be informed.

    Andstly,

    [Bonus Reward: The Curse''s Cure.

    The Greengrass Curse is not an ordinary one. Its origin can be traced back all the way to the Aetherworld, the Cradle of Magic.

    The Final ingredient to activate the ritual is the wood of the World Tree, which can only be found in Aetherworld. Fortunately, your wand happens to be made out of it. Congrattions, you have all the ingredients.]

    It felt like the system was trolling him. He had the ingredients all along. And he only gets them when Daphne already has her memories.

    Axel smiled at Daphne. "Shall we get rid of that curse already?" He asked.

    Daphne was still in disbelief. "Can we really?" She grabbed his hands in hers, which were practically shaking with nervousness right now.

    The curse. It had affect her whole life.

    It was not a secret in the high circle. Everyone knew that the Greengrass family was a ticking time bomb, they just never said it to her face. From childhood, she was taught lumency, not because of the benefits it gives, but to be emotionless all the time, so that the excess emotions don''t bring out the curse.

    Seeing the impact it had on her dad and Astoria, Daphne had decided to never marry, to never have kids would have also had to live a cursed life like theirs.

    She had spent her whole life scared of it, and was resolved to spend the rest like that too.

    And now, can she really¡­ get rid of it for good?

    "We can." Axel nodded. The knowledge on the exact procedure on how to do it was in his mind, along with the detailed exnation about the reason behind each and every minute detail and he had thoroughly analysed it to be safe. "I won''t joke about this," he said seriously.

    Daphne nodded, overjoyed. But the smile slowly drained from her face when her gaze went behind Axel.

    "You little bitch! Didn''t I tell you to stay away from him?!" A voice eximed in anger, causing Axel to turn around, his good mood leaving him.

    Someone could not wait to get what they hading.

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: Vote with Powerstones. </strong>

    Next: Retribution on Betrix

    (Well, she''s been begging for it)

    Nextnext: First Time (A night of Reunion)

    <strong>Come read ahead and support /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 160: Bellatrixs Retribution

    Chapter 160: Betrix''s Retribution

    Chapter 158

    Axel turned around to see Betrix standing in the entrance, ring at Daphne.

    "You... you have some nerveing to seek death on your own..." he said, standing up. Axel had too much anger for Betrix.

    But Daphne pulled on his hand, knowing he would be angry. "Please¡­ don''t. Not because of me. Let''s just leave, alright?"

    Axel shook his head. "No, she deserves it."

    He hadn''t failed to notice the fact that if the curse had returned, Daphne might have really killed herself by now.

    Axel never forgets to pay back what he''s owed. And the revenge with this woman¡­ it''s been in order long before she even hurt Daphne.

    "She will pay," he repeated, stepping forward.

    But Daphne wouldn''t let him do it. She hugged him, not letting him move. "Please¡­ Can you not?"

    As far as she knew, Axel was taking revenge because Betrix caused her to go through the curse again. Of course Daphne wanted revenge for that too. But...

    Daphne knew that the woman ultimately wanted the good for Axel. Plus, she is the extremely powerful minister of magic! Daphne didn''t want Axel to get into any more trouble because of her! Especially against a minister who is on his side.

    With that crazy organisationing after him, she wants him to have all the support he can get, especially since she herself is so utterly useless to him.

    "Revenge is not the way. Don''t do it. Please¡­?" she asked pitifully.

    Axel sighed. "I hate it when you use that tone," he said, separating from her. But he held off on going savage¡­ for now.

    Betrix was surprised to see Axel and Daphne being so intimate. "Axel! You really need to rest right now! Why are you here?! And you," she said, glowering at Daphne. "Stay away from him!

    Axel frowned. "Oi! You delusional spinster! What gave you the outrageous assumption that you have any say in my life? You are dead the next time you insult my friend! Apologize to Daphne right now and I''ll consider letting you go for now," said Axel.

    If Betrix was surprised previously, she was positively suspicious now. Axel sticking up for a girl? Especially one that he had already stopped interacting with a while ago?

    She red at Daphne, understanding that the bitch had once again trapped Axel somehow. "Axel, Why are you defending her? You do know that her father tortured you, right? Your Friend? You guys were no longer friends, but she has returned now that you are famous. Please understand, Axel. She is not someone you should be associating yourself with."

    "What the fuck? You''ve been stalking who I interact with?" Axel was truly creeped out.

    But Daphne ignored the things Betrix said. Her mind was only stuck in her previous sentence.

    "Wait, you are rmended rest? You haven''t recovered?! Why did you get out then?!" She asked in panic. Just now when they were messing around, she had felt that Axel was rather weak, but she had just thought that he was going easy on her. She had no idea he still hadn''t recovered.

    Axel was exasperated. "Well, I''d rather rest too. But I had toe and see if you had killed yourself," he said, pushing the tip of her nose with his finger.

    Daphne blinked, looking sad again. "That... It''s all my fault¡­ I always end up being a burden!"

    "Are you ming yourself again? Did I show you all those memories for nothing?"

    "No! Sigh.... I get it, I get it. But you are going to HAVE to rest from now on. I''m going to take responsibility for disturbing your rest."

    "Here we go again..."

    Axel and Daphne began arguing like a couple, as if there was no one here with them. Meanwhile, a certain minister who waspletely ignored: "....."

    She couldn''t believe it. She refused to believe it! She has been keeping tabs on Axel for a while now. And the Axel she knows¡­ he can never be this¡­ gentle with any girl! And neither is he so talkative, or so... happy! Just like his father wasn''t. It is simply not possible! It''s too out of character for him!

    There was only one exnation to this. Magical influence. That blond bimbo had used some kind of witchcraft on Axel to influence him. And the realization made her extremely angry.

    Looking at the little bitch looking all doe-eyed at Axel whom she had trapped, Betrix decided she needed to know the consequences doing something so despicable.

    "You!" she said, pointing her wand at Daphne, causing her to scream in pain. "You''ve done something to him, haven''t you?! I bet it was one of those love potions! How DARE you?!" She asked, using her magic on Daphne. There were many types of Love Potions invented by now. Betrix suspected this girl had dozed Axel with one of the forbidden ones!

    !!!

    It all happened too suddenly.

    Axel had tried to move in front of Daphne. But with the condition of his body, he was toote. By the time he came in front of her, she had already taken the damage from Betrix''s spell.

    Daphne began falling to the ground. She hadn''t had anything to eat or drink for the days Axel was asleep. She was in an extremely weak state to begin with, and Betrix''s spell, whatever it was, put her right into unconsciousness.

    Even as he caught her and gentlyid on the ground, Axel''s ears were ringing, seeing Daphne getting hurt, yet again. How could this happen?! He wasn''t expecting Betrix to be mad enough to do this.

    "Daphne!" Axel tried shaking her, but she wouldn''t wake up. No! This can''t be happening! He was feeling so rxed just a few moments ago, thinking that everything would be alright. But now, everything changed in an instant.

    "Why...?" He murmured, his gaze turning to Betrix.

    "Why would you do this?... Even after she just protected you?" He asked, even as a tidal wave of anger rose up in his mind. If not for Daphne''s urging, Betrix would have already been suffering right now. Of course, kindness is never rewarded, is it?

    *Crack*... *Crack*.... *Shatter*

    His lumency shield broke down by the violent mental energy that had surged in his mind.

    [Axel, your condition...]

    A red alert came from the system, which wasn''t even registered in Axel''s eyes. He didn''t know what came over him. But he was on Betrix in an instant, pinning her down by her throat with all his might.

    Water appeared around them, surrounding them a whirlpool that would stop anyone from interfering.

    "Axel! Cough!" You have... to stop! I''m on your side!" Choked Betrix. But Axel didn''t listen at all. His mind was filled with too much anger to care.

    This woman! She has crossed the line too many times. First Daphne almost got the curse again because this woman couldn''t keep her mouth shut. And now she had, for some reason gotten in her head that Daphne had used love potions on him.

    Axel didn''t care whether her intentions were good or bad. If she''s going to hurt Daphne due to them... she needs to pay. He had tried holding back. Well, lots of good it did to him, didn''t it?

    Axel was done holding back.

    He looked down at Betrix with absolute loathing. He wanted her to pay. He wanted her to understand the price of hurting Daphne, not once, but twice. He wanted her to feel the worst pain he could imagine possible!

    !!!

    Suddenly, Betrix began screaming, pure terror filling her eyes.

    She was no longer in the Greenhouse. She was surrounded in a blur of memories, living through all of them intermittently. Somewhere, she was getting her bones broken, somewhere she was getting shed, somewhere she was going through the Crutiatus, somewhere something even more intense than that.

    Betrix was feeling the worst torture she had experienced in her life, but even still, Axel didn''t feel satisfied. He wanted her to realize exactly how far out of her line she was, ating over and trying to dictate his life. And then hurting the people he cares about!

    "You think you can have any say in my life?!" His voice reverberated in Betrix''s mind, who was hoping beyond hope for the pain to stop.

    The unbearable pain continued, but this time, memories that shed in her mind were of the time she first met him two years ago.

    ¡­."You think she did this for our of kindness?"....

    ¡­."You are a nobody! She''s just using you!"...

    ¡­."She just wants to know how you resisted the curse in order to cure her husband!"....

    ¡­."Let me read your mind and we both go separate ways!"....

    She saw herself uttering those cruel words from Axel''s eyes, and his feelings were also vividly felt by her.

    He was still naive back then. He was just this homeless kid with nothing to his name, and had just found out that he might have been permanently disabled, and may have to live the rest of his life feeling jolts of pain running throughout his body.

    But then this kind woman named Andromedaes along and treats him so kindly for no reason. Axel knew better, but he couldn''t help himself. He had trusted her. And he had allowed himself to hope, that perhaps, he could trust them.

    He was actually very happy that day. Until SHE barged in and destroyed his happiness with such cruel words that it made him feel there was no one he could ever trust again. And what''s worse¡­ she enjoyed every second of it.

    That is until she found out that he was not a stranger. But, does that change anything for him? No. He might be someone she needs to protect now, but for him, she was still the same bitch who took pleasure in thoroughly crushing him.

    Betrix was still feeling the pain, but now, her conscience was hurting even more. She was crying.

    "I''m sorry!"

    "I''m so sorry!!!"

    That''s all she could repeat in her mind, over again and over again.

    She heard Axel''s furious voice again. "You think that''s all you did? Wrong!"

    The pain didn''t stop, but this time, the memories were of Axel''s life afterwards. How distrustful Axel was about the whole world after what she did to him. How he would push away anyone who tried getting close to him. How much hatred he had for her.

    "It took a lot of time for me to recover from that!"

    The memories showed his first meeting with Daphne and their gradual friendship. How Axel wouldn''t trust her, no matter what she tried. How Daphne still smiled every time, despite his cruel and ruthless words of rejection.

    "You think she used magic on me? Look clearly. It''s called being kind, something can''t understand. She is the one person I can trust fully. You then barge in, AGAIN, and almost destroy everything!"

    The memories showed just how much Axel meant to Daphne: That the curse manifests as her losing all her recollection of him. And how close to death Daphne was after Betrix, in all her brilliance, had decided to revealed that her father was actually one who tortured the person she loved.

    "I ALMOST LOST HER!" With the increased fury, the pain magnified, if that was possible.

    But now, something had changed.

    Betrix no longer resisted. All the torture she recieved, she willing epted it. She knew deserved every bit of it! What she had done was really unforgivable.

    "Kill¡­ me¡­. Please¡­.."

    That''s all she desired. She didn''t deserve to live. All this time, for the sake of her family, she had done terrible things to many people. And she never felt an ounce of guilt for it. But hurting Axel made her feel guilt that was far more unbearable than any torture. She was truly a wed person. Dying by Axel''s hands¡­ it was her salvation.

    At this moment, a soft hand gently came to rest on Axel''s eyes, closing them and thus ending Betrix''s suffering.

    "It''s enough¡­ Please don''t be like my father."

    Axel had already made up his mind. He was going to keep torturing Betrix until he was satisfied. But his rage dissipated as soon as he heard that scared voice, slowly making hime to his senses.

    When the hand was removed. Axel opened his eyes and blinked, snapping out of whatever state that hade over him.

    He looked down at Betrix and was surprised to see her state.

    "Kill¡­ me¡­." Was all Betrix could muster saying.

    ¡­.

    <strong>AN: Should he kill her?</strong>

    <strong>POWERSTONES!</strong>

    <strong>Next: Sleeping Together</strong>

    <strong>Come read /Snollygoster to</strong>

 Chapter 161: Sleeping Together

    Chapter 161: Sleeping Together

    Axel blinked, shaking his head.

    What in the world happened just now?

    He didn''t know exactly how he did what he just did. He looked at Daphne''s scared face and suddenly didn''t feel so good.

    "Are you alright?" He asked her,pletely Ignoring Betrix for now. "Did the spell hurt you? We should go to the Hospital ward."

    Daphne slowly calmed down upon seeing the previous Axel back again. She hugged him feebly, still looking distressed. "I''m fine. Just¡­ weak."

    But her stomach rumbled loudly at this moment, causing her to blush. "Well, I could use some food as well, I guess."

    Axel sighed in relief. "We''ll get you food. But first¡­" His gaze shifted back to Betrix, who was lying on the ground.

    Betrix was in a horrible condition right now. Her face was bloody red, due to various blood vessels exploding and bleeding from eyes and nose, and a pungent odor wafted in the air, as her dder had loosened while in pain.

    "Kill¡­ me¡­" she repeated.

    Axel was still contemting that, but Daphne shook her head, looking down at Betrix with cold eyes. "No." she decided. "That will be way too easy for you."

    "You said you owed three life debts to his father that you want to return to Axel, right? Well, rather than paying them back, you''ve only made trouble for him instead. I''m not letting that happen."

    "You sure about this? She might try to hurt you again," Axel warned her.

    Although chances were pretty low after what he had done, Betrix was one psycho bitch, and there''s no telling exactly what changes will ur in her after this.

    Daphne wrinkled her nose. "Just look at her. Is there someone who would dare to hurt me after you do this to them?"

    Axel shrugged. "Well, you never know," he said, as he began rummaging through his pouch.

    "A parchment?" But Daphne was confused when Axel just brought out a piece of parchment from his pouch.

    "A contract," he said, as he began writing the terms on it.

    Daphne had an ufortable look on her face. Just like torture, she disliked contracts as well, since her mother was trapped in one for a long time. "Do we have to do it?"

    Annoyed, Axel showed her the terms he was writing.

    "This Wizarding Contract ("Contract") is entered into as of [Date], by and between Axel [Last Name], hereinafter referred to as "Party A," and Betrix ck, hereinafter referred to as "Party B."

    WHEREAS, Party A has a vested interest in the safety and well-being of Daphne Greengrass and her family;

    NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, Party A and Party B agree as follows:

    Non-Harm use: Party B agrees not to cause any harm, directly or indirectly, to Daphne Greengrass and her family, including but not limited to physical harm, emotional distress, or any form of magical interference. Any breach of this use shall be considered a material vition of this Contract.

    Secrecy use: Party B also agrees to never reveal anything about the rtion Party and Daphne Greengrass.

    Consequence of Breach: In the event of a breach of the Non-Harm use (use 1) and Secrecy use (use 2), Party B acknowledges and agrees that severe consequences will ensue. These consequences include, but are not limited to, immediate and irreversible magical consequences that may result in significant harm to Party B, including but not limited to loss of magical abilities, incapacitation, or, in extreme cases, loss of life.

    "...."

    Everything written was for Daphne and her family. He hadn''t added anything for himself. "This¡­ what about you? What if she tries to harm you?"

    Axel scoffed. "She can try."

    Whatever the case, Axel didn''t really fear a mere Betrix after having faced the organisation and Voldemort. His only concern was Daphne and her family. Since he had thoughtlessly revealed it in his anger, Betrix now knew exactly how much Daphne meant to him. If she ever bes an enemy in the future, she knows exactly where to strike.

    Axel still added a few more things which included Betrix not killing herself before he was done.

    "Please¡­" Betrix really didn''t want to live anymore. Her family all had their own families now. Tristan was already dead, and Axel didn''t need her, and instead hated her, and rightly so. But more than anything, she hated herself too much.

    Daphne took the contract and bent down to look at Betrix with cold eyes. "Sign it. You aren''t allowed to die yet."

    Betrix saw the contract through blurry eyes. She said something, but it was too indecipherable to hear. Axel read her mind and clicked his tongue, "What a crazy bitch," he muttered under his breath, but added one more condition.

    ¡­

    "Come in already." Said Axel, stepping into the circle of immortality that he called his living space.

    Daphne stood in the door, looking at it in astonishment. "This is where you live?" She asked, looking at thevish interior. This ce looked like it was designed for royalty.

    Axel shrugged. "Dramatic upgrade, isn''t it? Dumpster to, well, this."

    Daphne shook her head as she stepped in. "No, I didn''t mean it that way. It''s just that, it feels so¡­ lonely... deste. Don''t you think so?"

    Axel looked at her with nk eyes. "Seriously? Such a great ce to live,pletely safe and secure,fortable, warm, and rain proof... And that''s the first thing you notice? That it''s lonely?"

    After hearing Axel''s point, Daphne felt that she was quite insensitive and privileged. She was now extremely happy that at least now he was living well, albeit still by his lonesome.

    Axel briefly introduced the room. "That''s my bedroom, that''s the luxury bathroom, that''s the kitchen, and those are spare bedrooms.

    "That''s alright," Daphne nodded impartly before gripping his arm. "But now, about your condition. Tell me exactly how it is," she said, using a strict tone.

    Axel looked away. "I''m fine."

    "Please, no bullshit. It''s me, Axel. You can tell me."

    Axel blew a breath in annoyance. "It''s nothing serious. I can''t do magic anymore for a while. Neither can I strain my body. And this hand isn''t moving properly. That''s all."

    "That''s all?"

    "Yeah."

    Daphne rolled her eyes. "It''s so bad, and you are saying that''s all?! Why have you been going around torturing Ministers of Magic when you are in such a bad condition?! Rest now!"

    "Well, I was only worried¡ª"

    "I don''t want to hear it. I would have been fine on my own for a few more days. You should worry about yourself. You need to rest right now," she said, dragging him towards his room.

    "But you''ve had no food."

    "Later!"

    Daphne dragged Axel into the room he called his bedroom and pushed him on the bed. She once again realized how bad his condition was when he fell down easily despite trying to resist.

    She then hoisted his legs on the bed as well, only to realize that he had been barefoot all this while and his feet were soiled due to the soil in the greenhouse.

    "Merlin. You could have at least put on some slippers beforeing for me," she said, applying a cleaning charm on his feet. Even though her demeanor appeared strict outside, her heart was being pierced by arrows. ''He really cares a lot about me.''

    She proceeded to put pillows under his head and cover him with the quilt.

    "You stay here. I''m bringing food," she ordered, before hurrying to the kitchen.

    "....."

    Axel obedientlyid in bed, trying to peek over to see what she was making. Usually, whenever someone dares to orders him to do something, he makes a point to not do it, or even do the exact opposite. But strangely, he didn''t feel like resisting right now.

    Through the doorway, he could see Daphne busily working in the kitchen, having an apron tied around her waist. Cluttering sounds of kitchen equipment could be heard in the room, apanied by the humming of a sweet voice.

    He wasn''t used to hearing any sound around here, but nestledfortably in his bed, Axel felt like he could understand what Daphne meant when she said lonely.

    Axel just Daphne cook, humming and swaying to herself as if in a great mood. She would asionally eat some food herself, more to check the taste than to fulfill her appetite.

    Soon, she came back with a piping hot stew and set in on the bedside.

    "Come on, you have to eat while it''s hot." She urged after finding him looking absentminded. She propped him up and adjust the pillows.

    When Axel raised his hands to take the bowl, Daphne stopped him. "You aren''t moving that hand under my watch. I''ll feed you."

    "I can eat with the other hand, you know."

    "No you can''t. I''m feeding you," she said, picking up the bowl and sitting on the bedside.

    "Uh¡­you''re being kind of forceful here¡ª"

    "Say ahh¡ª"

    Axel couldn''t even protest properly before he had a spoonful of warm porridge in his mouth.

    "Whthfff!" He said in protest with his mouthful.

    "What? Is it too hot?" Daphne filled the spoon again and blew on it. "Here, it should be fine now."

    As Axel tasted the food, the protest died down in his throat. He unwittingly ate another bite and was surprised. "How is it actually good?"

    Daphne was surprised herself. "It is? Well, I did learn cooking in my non-rebellious phase,"

    She had in fact been taught everything a perfect housewife should know so that she could be "sold" for the highest price. Daphne had really disliked everything she was taught but now she felt that it was all worth it if she could use it for Axel.

    "Well it''s good. But can you let me eat it myself?"

    Daphne smiled, bringing another spoonful in front of his mouth. "I know you can do it on your own. But, can you please let me? Come on," she asked petntly.

    Axel sighed. "If you insist. But you should eat too."

    Daphne shook her head. "I already ate while making this. I''m full," she said contentedly. Somehow, spending time with Axel like this¡­ she really felt like she didn''t need anything else.

    "That wasn''t much.."

    "What?" Daphne looked at the doorway and suddenly realized that the kitchen was visible from here. "You were watching?" She asked, a slight blush covering her face, "A-Anyways, it was enough for me. Can you let me feed you now?"

    Thus, Axel was propped upfortably against bed while Daphne slowly fed him, one spoonful after another, a soft smile grazing her lips.

    In the serene silence, both didn''t say anything. They missed this, just being in each other''spany. A lot. But they didn''t say this. They didn''t need to. Their feelings were deeply conveyed to one another.

    Soon, the bowl was finished, and Daphne looked at the empty bowl with someint. It ended too soon.

    "Now, shall we talk about removing that curse of yours?" Asked Axel, getting serious.

    Daphne shook her head. "I think I''ll be fine until you recover. More importantly, what are your ns for the future?"

    "What ns?"

    "I mean your hand. Are you really going to Antis to get it fixed?" She asked.

    Axel nodded readily. "Of course. It''s their fault to begin with." Strongest magical country, and they can''t even handle one organisation. It really was their fault that Axel got involved in all this mess and injured his hand.

    "But then, won''t they force you to be the king or something? Do you really want that?" Daphne asked. She knew very well that Axel wouldn''t want to be a king. While it may be a dreame true for others, she could just imagine him saying ''too much trouble''.

    Axel shook his head. "They can''t force me to do anything. But still, to avoid trouble, I have a n."

    With his uninjured hand, he brought out a shinning seashell from his pouch.

    "What''s this?" Daphne looked the thing in puzzlement.

    "The Royal Emblem. They''ll grant me any favour as long as I have this." Yep, it was the one his mother had given to Theron. No way he was going to let it rot in that fucker Theron''s storage space.

    Daphne understood his intentions. "So, does that mean you''re not going as the prince?"

    Axel nodded. "Exactly. I won''t reveal my identity. At least not from the beginning. I''ll have to see if I have to destroy on the Kraken or the Royal family as well."

    Daphne''s shoulders dropped. "But... that still means you''re going...." She muttered.

    Axel couldn''t say no to that. "Yeah."

    She put her hand on his. "Can you not go? Please? I just got you back."

    "...You know I have to go. They''ll keeping after me," Axel''s tone had hardened. There were few things he won''t yield on, even to her puppy eyes.

    Daphne sniffed. "Yes..... Yes I understand." She got up abruptly. "I''ll get more food."

    "I really don''t need to eat more¡ª" Axel tried to stop her but she was already gone, causing him to shake his head ruefully.

    In the kitchen, Daphne forced herself to take a few deep breaths. ''Come on, Daphne! Get a hold of yourself!'' She thought, mentally scolding herself.

    Her feelings for Axel were too strong. She was scared that if she expressed too much, she might smother him. She understood the need to eliminate the Organisation, and she understood that he can take care of himself. But she still couldn''t help but want him to stay safe with her.

    ''Act casual, act casual, act like you aren''t imagining marrying him and having kids with him in the future.'' She worried if she pushed too far he might shut her off.

    To cool herself, Daphne went to the bathroom and took a cold bath. It calmed her nerves and made her more rational. Axel really does have to go. He is not a coward and he is not the one to hide and do nothing. Besides, she has faith in him to survive by any means.

    When Daphne returned with another bowl of stew, she saw that Axel''s eyes closed, already asleep. She smiled sadly. She would have liked to spend more time with him, but he deserved the rest.

    Setting the tray on the bedside table, she just looked at Axel for a while. Her hand unwittingly rose up to gently run through his hair. "My angel¡­"

    Of course it was him. Who else could it be? The angel who killed her father and brought her out of hell.

    But it didn''t change much for her. Daphne had already decided to dedicate the rest of her life thanking him for saving her sister.

    What makes her restless is that there is nothing much she can do for him. She''ll only end up bothering him even if she tries. All she can do is support him, and try her best to be less useless.

    Daphne yawned tiredly. She only now realized just how sleepy she was. The Slumbershade she had consumed was still having effects on her. Looks like she needs to sleep as well.

    ''There were spare bedrooms, right?'' She thought. Even though she wanted to spend more time with Axel, there was nothing she could do, could she?

    Daphne leaned over and kissed Axel''s forehead. "Sweet dreams," she whispered. She also kissed the two scars on his face. She liked them. They seem to only make him more handsome. Now that she knew how he got them, she appreciated them even more. Just as she was about to get away, a whiff of fragrance entered her nose.

    This scent. Daphne drew another breath. Lavender.

    Her teeth grounded. There was only one person they both knew that smelled like this.

    ''Why does he have that girl''s scent on him?!''

    Come to think of it, she was allowed near him while he had been resting all this while. He is clean and even his hairbed right.

    Intense jealousy burned inside Daphne. While she had been trying to save herself from the curse, that bitch Martina was doing Morgana knows what to Axel. It was official. Daphne hates Martina.

    ''I can''t let it stay there,'' She decided. She hated even the thought of her scent staying on Axel. Without even thinking, Daphne climbed into bed and hugged Axelpletely.

    ''What am I even doing?'' She thought. She just wanted to erase Martina''s scent off of him.

    ''This... this is too good!'' But now she was in the bed hugging, she felt peace andfort she had never felt before. She hated the fact that the bitch Martina might have been doing this while she was in the greenhouse, lying in dirt.

    Daphne yawned again. There was no way she was going to move now. She simply didn''t have the will to do it. ''Hopefully, he won''t kill me when he wakes up,'' he thought, before closing her eyes.

    It won''t be long before he leaves for Altantis to begin with, so she might as well make the best of the remaining time.

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: Well, they did sleep together ??</strong>

    <strong>Powerstones</strong>

    Read Ahead<strong>: /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 162: Magic Limit and Recovery

    Chapter 162: Magic Limit and Recovery

    A.N.: A bit of Magic Theory in the Chapter, but in case you don''t understand, don''t worry. It will be clearer as you read the practical applications.

    ....

    At night, Axel was woken up from his slumber when he was kissed on the forehead by Daphne. It has to be mentioned that Axel wasn''t unconscious this time. So this much was enough to wake unlike thest time with Martina.

    "Sweet dreams."

    Daphne then proceeded to kiss the scars on his face. Axel fought back the smile that arose from the depths of his heart. Daphne has ways of making him feel happy without even intending to.

    But just as she was about to leave, she stopped, inhaling his scent again. "Lavender¡­" He heard her whisper.

    ''Fuck¡­'' Axel cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to open his eyes to exin. Daphne unexpectedly got into bed to hug him.

    ??

    Axel didn''t know what to do. Daphne hugged him tightly, slightly rubbing herself on him as if to erase Martina''s scent. Her actions were like a kitten.

    Seemingly tired, he felt her slowly rx while hugging him as she sighed in contentment. In the end, she buried her face in chest and fell asleep.

    Axel, who had been curiously observing her, was now at loss, looking at Daphne sleepingfortably while nestled on his chest.

    Without realizing, he poked her cheek with his finger, making her brows furrowed in her sleep.

    Looking at her, Axel couldn''t helping smiling. Is she not scared at all? He couldn''t understand how Daphne could be this rxed while sleeping on his chest. And that too after he had shown her his past.

    ''Bing friends with her might really be the best thing that happened to me.''

    Axel fell asleep watching Daphne.

    When he woke up, he wasying alone on the bed. Daphne had managed to get out with extreme care in order to avoid getting "discovered."

    A smile came to his face. He had quite a good sleep. But slowly, it receded. Good times can''tst long. He has to go to Antis. There are too many reasons to go.

    One of them being:

    [Special Quest: Save Antis.]

    [There is a chance that Antis might be destroyed by Kraken. Save Antis and destroy the Organisation. Rewards will be based on the degree ofpletion.]

    The mission had arrived not too long after he had defeated Theron and Nerio. They had already revealed that they had been nning a big attack on Antis. Axel would rather it did happen, else there would be nothing stopping the Organisation from moving on to do more destruction, starting with Britain.

    So, he really would have to go whether he wants to or not. Axel tried to get up, but felt the familiar sluggishness to his movements.

    ''Still not recovered,'' he thought in exasperation.

    It was better than yesterday. He could now perform rapid movements, maybe a bit of Arcane Footwork as well, not at a high intensity and certainly not for more than a few seconds.

    He checked his magic, and was disappointed again, His magical reserves had also not recovered, He can use his skills, but only for a few seconds.

    Axel could feel that when he defended Voldemort''s magic, he had really gone overboard. It was never this bad the previous times he had used limit break.

    ''Alright system, exactly what happened to me?''

    [Do you finally have the time?]

    ''Whoa. Are you actually being sarcastic?'' Asked Axel in surprise.

    But Axel couldn''t me the system. He hadn''t had the time to converse with the system yet, neither has he had the time to get to fixing his body.

    Actually, he was about to do it just after winning the fight, but then he got on call with Daphne, after that he went unconscious, and then there was the emergency as soon as he woke up. After that he once again slept before he could get to it. So yes, he finally had the time now.

    [You have used Limit Break to the extreme. You have been previously warned not to use it for a reason.]

    Axel was a bit puzzled. "Alright, so limit break is a bad skill. I get it. But you''ve never told me why it is bad. I should at least know exactly why I shouldn''t use it."

    So, the system exined.

    [All humans have a limit ced upon them. They can slowly increase that limit, but at any point they can''t exceed it. The skill you have is very unconventional. Even by the multiverse''s standards. It forcefully exceeds those limits at an equivalent cost. It goes against the veryws of the world. So, the further you go, the more dire the consequences.]

    Axel swallowed. He realized what the system said did make sense. Somehow, he could also subconsciously feel this limit. He didn''t like it at all. Who is anyone to dictate how far he can go? So, he just uses all might to just still do what he wants, fucking all the limits. Guess there''s a cost for doing that.

    ''So, what was the price?''

    [You have damaged your soul. Every wizard summons magic from the other two worlds through their souls as the medium. Every soul has a limit to how much magic it can summon at once and during a period of time. You exceeded yours by a huge margin, hence damaging your soul.]

    Axel grunted. It did feel much worse after knowing exactly how messed up his condition was. But it was important. He needed to know exactly what was wrong with him. But there was one thing he still didn''t understand.

    ''So, my soul is damaged. What about my body? Why is it not functioning properly?'' He asked.

    [The remaining energy was converted from your body, so it has also been severely depleted.]

    ''Damn... so, how do I recover?'' Asked Axel,ing to the most important topic.

    [You can fasten your body''s recovery by consuming various elixirs, but the recovery of the soul is difficult to hasten]

    ''What? Why?!''

    [The soul is a collection of Akashic Records. The more outstanding your records are, the stronger your soul, and the stronger your magic. You just lost a lot of your records by doing what you just did and got the remaining ones into a disorder. That''s why doing magic using your soul as the medium is difficult for now. Fortunately, there''s also a positive side to this.]

    ''What could be good after this?

    [Your records aren''t permanently gone. They''lle back with time along with the new ones. Your achievements this time, especially taking that attack head on and surviving has given a great boost to your records. So, when you do recover, your Magical Limit will have been significantly increased.]

    Axel was a bit relieved to know that. At least he got something out of it. But imagining the sheer amount of power Voldemort had, he didn''t think the increase would help him much. That monster was just too strong.

    ''If my records are impressive, then why is my magical limit so low?''

    [Don''t be mistaken, Axel. Your magical limit is extremely highpared to humans your age. Anyone with a higher magical limit is only older than you.]

    "So basically, the more impressive and quantitative records a person has, the more their magical limit, right?"

    [Affirmative. But other factors can also influence it, for example, destiny. If it''s written in the future records that someone is destined to do great things, their records, and hence their magic can be powerful despite age. You don''t have that advantage since you were supposed to have died early. In fact, you don''t even exist in many realities. And that is just one factor.]

    That''s harsh, thought Axel. But he didn''t mind it much. Destined? Fuck it. He''ll write his own destiny. Ain''t no akashic records exist that can dictate when he dies.

    ''What are these other factors you mentioned?'' He asked. He wanted to know just what other ways one can have a strong soul.

    [That is restricted information.]

    ''What? Why?!''

    [Ites under the realm of getting to a higher existence. The information is too restricted to be avable to you even at this stage.]

    Axel sighed. Guess there was no use asking it.

    ''Then, why is Martina so powerful? Is she also destined to do great things? Or is it some other factor?'' He asked. Axel realized that Martina was only three years older than him, but her magical limit far exceeded his.

    The ''Guardian Angel'' spell she had used¡­ it used an extremely high amount of magic. And she had spammed two of them in session, the second one being even more powerful than the first one. And all that without suffering any repercussions.

    [It''s because her soul has gone through ''Transmigration'', so her previous records also count. She is also aparatively higher existence due to having the blessings of ROB.]

    ''Fuck¡­ talk about unfair.''

    [You shouldn''t be impatient. You have time on your side.]

    Well, that was true. Axel''s records were great, and with time, they would only get more impressive. He should just focus on his present situation.

    ''So, how do I recover?'' He asked.

    [The natural way is to recover through time. But there are a few more essible ways that can hasten the recovery.]

    ''And what is it?'' Asked Axel, already assuming it wouldn''t be easy.

    [The main factor is that you have lost your records, meaning your soul has weakened. The System can give you custom missions to quickly get more records. These missions will be designed to maximize the records you gain through your actions in a period of time. They won''t be too difficult or risky.]

    [Meanwhile, to make use of your existing disordered records better, you need another skill. It would have been given to you as a reward, but it''s too expensive for that. Please buy it using your SP.]

    Axel frowned as soon as he saw the cost. "Fuck¡­" he muttered out loud. It really was fucking expensive. Axel had gathered a lot of sp during this time, but this was putting a huge dent in his collection.

    ''Well, this better be worth it.'' he thought, before buying it. He didn''t have a choice right now. Right now he couldn''t do magic

    [Congrattions. You have gained the Skill: Zen Focus]

    [Zen Focus: It''s not about the size, it''s about how you use it.]

    Axel frowned. "What kind of description is that?"

    [It means that it''s not about the amount of magic that determines a better wizard. It''s about how you use it. Zen Focus will help you align your remaining soul better so that you can use your magic optimally.]

    ''Well, makes sense,'' thought Axel. Just when he was about to start learning the skill, he heard soft footsteps, causing him to stop.

    Daphne entered the room with a tray filled with food and saw Axel sitting up with a deep frown on his face.

    "You''re up? Are you feeling better now? She asked, looking quite bright.

    Axel nodded. "Yeah, there''s progress."

    "How was your sleep?" She asked, a bit tentatively.

    Axel nodded casually. "I slept quite well. Though funnily enough, I think it was a bit too hot in herest."

    Daphne shook her head. "It wasn¡ªI mean, was it? Why would you think so?"

    Axel looked down at his chest. "Well, there the front of my shirt feels a bit damp due to sweat."

    Daphne cursed under her breath. It was her drool! She forgot to dry it!

    "Anyways, how was your sleep?" Asked Axel.

    "M-Mine?" Daphne stammered, caught off guard. "Ah¡­ I was fine. I was great actually, the best I ever had."

    Axel raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Where did you sleep? One of the spare bedroom? Did I mention they were locked?"

    Daphne opened her mouth, but couldn''t say anything. She was trapped this time. But looking at the grin on his face, she realized that he was making fun of her. "You¡­ you already know!" Sheined.

    "Of course. I was awake the whole time," Axel admitted. "Though, I don''t know why you were rubbing yourself on me¡­"

    Daphne''s face had gone beet red. She put the tray of breakfast on the table with a thump and ran out of the room. "Eat it on your own!"

    "Hey, wait! Just hear me out, this is important!" Axel called out after her. "I just remembered that the spare bedrooms aren''t locked at all in case you need them. Though I don''t think you''ll be needing them since¡ª" Daphne mmed the door shut with a loud bang.

    Axel chuckled to himself. Teasing Daphne is always fun. Though he did wonder if he had gone overboard this time. To let him eat on his own, now that''s cruel.

    He looked at the food. It was made from the magical ingredients he uses for his diet, but it looked and smelled quite delicious. Daphne must have put a lot of effort into making this. Axel sighed. This type of care¡­ he had never experienced it before. He felt like he could live like this forever.

    But¡­ it can''tst long. If he gotzy and stopped now, others would destroy it before long. He has already decided. Only when he has reached the peak and eliminated all the threat will he finally stop and rx.

    Axel got serious again. As he brought out the interface for the new skill: Zen Focus.

    ''System, ept the information''

    ¡­.

    <strong>A.N: POWERSTONES</strong>

    <strong>READ AHEAD AND SUPPORT /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 163: Departure I

    Chapter 163: Departure I

    Zen Focus.

    Axel had bought the skill by paying quite a heavy prince. He couldn''t help but wonder what was so special about this skill to warrant such a huge price.

    But when he went through what he would be able to do once he learnt it, he was surprised.

    The information rted to the basic training of the skill came into his mind and Axel got to working with the first step.

    First step: Peace.

    He has to go through all of his worst actions and have peace with them.

    After some time.

    ''Done.''

    Axel did this quite easily. Axel stands by everything he has done. His every action, his every mistake, his every sin, he owns up to it.

    ''Why was it so easy?''

    [You are a rare existence in this World. This step proves to be incredibly difficult for most practitioners. Not many have convictions over their actions. Most humans are hypocrites who can''t face their real selves.]

    ''Well, that''s good. Because I don''t have much time.''

    Axel shrugged, moving on to the next step.

    Now came the truly difficult step. Connecting with the soul.

    Axel went through the instructions. In order to connect with your soul, you need to cast magic and truly locate the origin of that magic. It can be anywhere in the body. The objective is to be able to connect with it in order to proceed further into the skill.

    Axel casted a simple spell. The magic appeared on his wand, but he didn''t quite feel where it originated from.

    He cast magic a second time. This time, he felt it rush from his hand all the way to his wand. Still, no origin. Axel tried a few more times before he was exhausted. Sighing, he got up and went out to find Daphne.

    Though he couldn''t find her in the living, neither in the kitchen, nor in any other rooms. Axel looked at the only only other room he had left out, which he hadn''t even introduced to her.

    He sighed. ''Of course she went there.''

    Axel found Daphne in his study, where he kept all the important stuff. Daphne was looking at a particr miniature model he had made as a reference for nning the heist.

    "I see you found my study," he said, making her jump.

    Daphne rounded up on him, looking a bit panicked. "I¡­.I thought it was one of the bedrooms."

    Axel nodded, "Well, it''s not. Anyways, d you''re no longer angry with me."

    ?? Daphne suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be angry with him for teasing her mercilessly. She turned her head away. "Hey! I''m still very much angry, alright?"

    Axel nodded. "If you say so."

    Daphne sighed. She could never stay mad at him. She turned back, returning to observe the model. ''This model¡­ it''s the third floor corridor, right?''

    Daphne sighed upon seeing him nod as if ask why she is asking that. "You were there, weren''t you? You were the one who stole the Philosopher''s stone."

    Axel shrugged. "I did." He said, expression saying ''big deal''. He didn''t think it was a problem if she found out. "I needed it to make the cure."

    Daphne rubbed her forehead. "So, it was you." She murmured to herself.

    "What''s the matter? The stone wasn''t even real."

    Daphne just shook her head. "Nothing." That day, she had almost lost her life. But ''someone'' swooped in and saved her from her. Now she''s discovering that even that, was none other than Axel.

    She was frustrated. Just what is she supposed to do when she is already in such a huge dept? She''s ready to give him her everything but she doesn''t seem to have anything he wants or needs.

    "Oh, right. Martina called, asking for you. She said you aren''t picking up her calls," she said before she leaving.

    Axel, who didn''t even remember that he had saved her, scratched his head. Is she still mad? He just decided to contact Martina and Akiko. Those two must have been worried about him.

    As expected, his magi-mirror was full of calls and messages. Axel just rang Martina, who picked up very quickly.

    "It''s him! Hello?"

    "Axel? Are you alright?"

    "Of course I am, didn''t Daphne tell you that?" He asked.

    "Daphne? Yeah, she said a lot of things." Axel fell like he heard grinding of teeth. Axel wondered just what the hell Daphne said to her.

    ''Ask him where he is.'' He heard Akiko say over the phone.

    "He can hear you, Akiko. Anyways, where are you? When are youing back?" Asked Martina.

    "Me? I''m at this secret living space I found in one of the corridors. Can''t tell you the location over the call." he casually before taking a more serious tone. "Listen, don''t worry about me. I can recover better on my own than under the supervision of the healers. Plus, I''d rather not answer to Dumbledore and professors. So, I''ll just stay here and recover. Call me if anythinges up, alright?"

    "¡­ Alright." Martina didn''t sound too happy for some reason. "Though the situation is getting a bit serious about your disappearance are beginning to wonder what happened. And with no statement from the school, it''s only making things worse. Dumbledore is also haunting us for your location."

    Axel clicked his tongue, Fame really wasn''t a good thing. "Just let Betrix handle Dumbledore. As for the restless students, just let them wonder. You know why we can''t let other''s find out about my status."

    Axel decided that it would be best if he remains missing. It will leave throw the Organisation off his trail. Hell, they might even assume he was dead after Theron and Nerio kidnapped him. Even if they think he''s alive, they''ll at least not focus on Hogwarts after knowing he never returned.

    "Alright, I understand," said Martina. "And Axel, sorry about thest time. We shouldn''t have tried to stop you."

    "It''s alright. I should be the one apologizing. It was emergency." Axel didn''t really mind that. Martina and Akiko were only trying to help him. He regretting using force on them. It''s just that at that moment, he was just too furious since he had know idea what had happened to Daphne and he didn''t have the time to exin.

    "Are you still going to go?" This time, it was Akiko who asked that.

    "¡­Yes, and I''m not taking you with me."

    "I''m going," said Akiko firmly.

    "Not happening. To be honest, for a ninja, you aren''t all that adept at deception and covert operation. I''ll call you if need you."

    "¡­." It seemed like Akiko took some damage from that. But it was true. Akiko is good as fighting, killing, using force, but not at other things like espionage, spying and disguise. She has always been so strong that she has never needed those.

    "Um¡­" began Martina, but,

    "Don''t even bother asking, Martina. You''re too inexperienced for this."

    Axel hung up after talking some more. He could understand the girls wanting toe, but Axel decided he''d rather do it alone. Sure, those two are incredibly powerful and would be helpful to have around, but he hasn''t forgotten that he is injured in the first ce due to protecting them.

    Whatever happens in Antis, Axel would be much morefortable if he has to look out only for himself. He has the survivability of an immortal creature, but he can''t say the same when having to look out for others.

    After a meal, Axel went back to training, having recovered some of his strength. He tried, failed, tried failed, recovered, and then tried again. Connecting with his soul took quite a long time, and the process wasplicated. But till the next day, Axel did it. It was a lot like lumency, so that also helped him along the way.

    But as soon as he did, problems arose only after that. Axel''s body jerked violently as he quickly broke the connection.

    "What the hell?!"

    It really was. Hell. His soul¡­ It was like a purgatory that seeked to destroy his mind as soon as it connected. It was full of pain. And anger. There was so much anger¡­

    ''System, what the hell just happened?!''

    [Axel, your mind might be at peace with your life, but your soul is not. Mind is something that can be controlled consciously, but the same does not apply for the soul. With such a soul as your medium, you are not able to make the optimal use of your magic. That''s why you feel that your magic limit is very low.]

    ''Damn¡­'' Axel now understood why he was unable to do much magic. His soul has been weakened due to the loss of most of his records. That small purgatory can''t process much magic before it reaches its limit.

    ''Does everyone have a soul simr to mine?''

    [Only you do. Due to your extreme experiences in your life. The only reason you were able to so much magic is because you had too many impressive records, strengthening your soul. Now that they are temporarily gone¡­]

    Axel understood. Now that his impressive qualitative and quantitative records are gone, his soul can''t bear the burden of magic when it''s already in such a state. If Zen Focus can help him solve that, it would enhance his magic greatly.

    [That is only one of the benefits of Zen Focus.]

    ''Yeah, yeah, but how the hell do I even proceed? That thing won''t even let me in!'' That was the problem. He could see that the skill could be extremely beneficial, but Axel couldn''t see himself seeded.

    He knew what he had to do to proceed from the information in head. The next step is to somehow gradually bring tranquillity to his soul and make it as still as a pond at dawn, so that the magic can flow unobstructed through it. It might be easy for others, but Axel couldn''t even bring his conscious near it let alone make adjustments.

    He was supposed to find an anchor. Something that would pacify his soul, but had no idea what it meant.

    [You have to find that on your own]

    Of course, the system didn''t help out at the crucial moment.

    ''Sigh¡­'' And thus began Axel''s difficult part of recovery. No matter what he tried, he couldn''t seed.

    No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t influence the turbulence in his soul at all. It was simply not in his control, unlike his mind. Until now, he had always thought that he had put all that suffering past him. That nothing could really affect him as long as he doesn''t let it.

    But he was wrong. The shitty life he has life, and the pain and suffering has gone through, they''re all still with him, in his soul. And it has been affecting him a lot.

    [Don''t take it too hard on yourself. You can be powerful even without this skill once you regain your overwhelming records. Even the most powerful wizards have bad memoires and regrets. Most of them don''t have tranquillity with their soul. But they turn these sufferings into great source of motivation and power.]

    ''Really?''

    [Affirmative. It''s just that none of them have suffer quite as much as you at your age. If someone is alive after all you''ve been through at your age, they''d rather kill themselves.]

    The fucking system was NOT helping at all! Axel sat there for he didn''t know how long. It wasn''t working at him.

    While Axel was struggling, his hand was suddenly grabbed between two soft andparatively small palms. "Are you alright?" A voice asked tentatively.

    !!!

    The burning purgatory of suffering that had been blocking his consciousness from entering suddenly became much tamer, letting him easily enter. But Axel was just so surprised by this sudden change the connection broke, bringing him back to sitting on the bed.

    Axel opened his eyes, stunned. The anchor. He actually found it!

    "What happened?!" Asked Daphne, really scared.

    Axel fixed Daphne with an intense gaze. "Daphne."

    ?!

    Daphne''s heart skipped a beat. Axel had never looked at her like this before. "Wa-Wa-What is it?"

    "I need your help," said Axel seriously.

    ''Help?! With what?!'' Daphne''s imagination began running wild. "S-Sure. W-Whatever it is¡­just tell me," she said, looking down as she fidgeted her hands. Holy Morgana, is this a dream?

    "I need you to stay with me."

    Daphne''s heart was pumping so loud that she thought even Axel would hear it. "Stay with you? I-In what way?"

    A few minutester, Daphne found herself sitting in bed, holding Axel''s hand while concentrated on what he was doing. And, it seems like they are going to stay like that for a while.

    Well, it wasn''t what she was expecting. Definitely not.

    But¡­

    Daphne smiled. Isn''t this great as well? She can look at him as much as she wants. And she''s helping him too! Somehow. Something rted to soul. Whatever the case, Daphne felt like her soul was quite serene right now.

    ....

    A.N.: Wonder what Daphne said to Martina on call?

 Chapter 164: Chapter offer

Chapter 164: Chapter offer

    If we get to #1 then one more chapter tomorrow. Next chapter: Departure II

    Next next: Vol 3: Entry into Antis

    Next next next: Metting the aunt

    So vote ??

 Chapter 165: Departure II: Farewell

    Chapter 165: Departure II: Farewell

    A.N.: Well, here''s the promised chapter. Axel now knew why he liked hanging out with Daphne. HIs burning soul literally gets soothed just by her mere presence. Could there be a better reason?

    ....

    Just sitting there, holding her hand gives him a sense of peace that he has never actually paid attention to. It made him realize just how d he was to have someone like her. Without her, he would have never known such a feeling actually existed.

    Now, he would be able to send his consciousness into his unweing soul and finally make some progress about making his soul a better medium for summoning magic.

    ''Alright, here goes,'' Axel tried connecting to his soul once again. This time, he seeded! But a frown etched upon his face as soon as he understood the situation inside.

    His soul was basically a bubble of akashic records, most of which are of his suffering, lightly intermittent with the records of some good memories. No wonder the magic can''t flow through it properly.

    Even though he has managed to control his mind and body to be permanently affected by the things he has been through, he hasn''t been able to do the same for his soul.

    ''Alright, let''s get to work.'' Axel began to try what he had learnt from the system knowledge.

    He can''t really do anything about the bad records, but he can arrange his records in a way that brings some semnce of bnce to his soul.

    The only problem is, the soul is not quite easy to manipte as mind. He can''t just adjust records like he can do memories. The process is extremely slow. He has to go through each record and patiently guide them to gradually shift ording to his feeling. Even then, they might just decide that the previous location was better and shift back.

    [What you are doing is already beyond the reach of almost all humans. You can''t expect it be easy]

    Axel could only grit his teeth and soldier on.

    Meanwhile, outside his bubble of seclusion, exams took ce at Hogwarts, which Axel decisively missed. Writing about basic and mostly useless information about magic wasn''t on his list of priorities right now. Though, he did make Daphne take hers, which she did with extreme reluctance.

    He didn''t want her to miss her exams due to him. And besides, it would be quite suspicious if only two students from the same year didn''t show up for exams who just happened to be former friends. That''s just asking for trouble, considering the current circumstances.

    Axel''s alleged disappearance was now turning into an issue. It wouldn''t have been a big deal if it was just any student, but since the student that disappeared is the most talented Quidditch prodigy, Axel Hunt, things have blown out of proportions.

    It became so bad that the school could no longer keep it under wraps and had to make an official statement, confirming his disappearance, assuring everyone concerned that the authorities are making their best efforts to locate him.

    But, that only made the matter worse. The news had spread far and wide, and now there was an uproar in the whole Quidditchmunity all over the world. It has to be noted that Axel is one of the most famous celebrities in the world.

    Why? Because the clips of his game y aren''t something that just the Quidditch enthusiasts enjoy. The level of skill, finesse and savagery is so off the charts that even someone who has no interest in Quidditch would find themselves wanting to see more of his ys.

    That''s why, the clips of his gamey have quickly taken the highest rankings in watched recorded memories on the Magi-hive, exceeding the other clips'' number of views by a huge margin. Especially hisst game, where he single-handedly took down the Mahoutokoro team in an unrestricted format.

    No matter if they were school level matches, but Axel has already been unanimously termed as the God of Quidditch by the viewers.

    And now that, this person has suddenly disappeared from the face of earth, it is no wonder that it is causing waves.

    People are demanding for answers, genuinely concerned for Axel''s wellbeing. Various conspiracy theories have been circting about his alleged disappearance.

    There was a huge explosion at Hogwarts on the day of his disappearance, so some are attributing it to that, saying he was dead, while there are few who think he is on the run since the Minister herself was searching for him.

    But theories have no end. Some say he has been kidnapped by people from another country to y Quidditch for them, while some even say that one of his female fans at Hogwarts drugged him and trapped him in her sex dungeon, and so on.

    Though, Axel himself paid no heed to any of this. Daily, he would try to recover to the best of his ability while Learning Zen Focus. Just like that, the day he had to leave finally arrived.

    His body was now fully recovered, save for his hand, and he was able to cast a moderate degree of magic without strain. He still had a long way to go in order to reach and exceed his previous capacity, but it was definitely a lotpared to before.

    It wasn''t enough, but he didn''t want to dy any longer. His soul had finally calmed down enough that he was able to train the skill on his own, so staying here was just wasting time he could be spending destroying the Organisation.

    ,,,

    ''How much longer?'' wondered Axel.

    "Daphne, are you going toe out or not?" He asked, looking at the time. He was waiting for Daphne, who was taking forever to get ready. Today was an end term party on ount of a sessful coboration between Hogwarts and Japan.

    Daphne wanted to go with him, and Axel couldn''t deny her this after having her sit with him for most of the time for thest few days. (Though of course, Daphne didn''t mind it all. She was, instead, hugely disappointed when she came to know that it was over.)

    "Just how long will it take for you to get ready?" He called out.

    "Just a minute!" came Daphne''s muffled voice. Inside the room, Daphne was fully ready, dressed in the same gorgeous dress she had sent him the picture of not long ago. Only, there was one little problem. She was a crying mess. She wanted to bid him farewell with a smile on her face, so she was crying right now.

    Daphne wiped her tears and looked into the mirror. "Come on, Daph. He needs you smiling right now." She said, trying to smile. Quickly fixing her make up the best she could, she hurried out of the room.

    "How do I look?" She asked as she did a 360 turn for him.

    Axel took a second longer to answer that. "Really pretty," he praised sincerely, causing Daphne''s face to light up, all smiles.

    But Axel had a troubled look on his face. "Can''t you just let me do it?" He asked for the umpteenth time.

    Daphne shook her head firmly. "I told you. I have made my decision."

    Daphne adamantly refused the treatment of her curse, even now that he had recovered.

    Daphne frowned. "Don''t bring it up now. I told you I''m not going through with it until you return safely."

    Axel sighed. "You and your weird reasoning..."

    "You shouldn''t worry. The curse is only a threat if you don''t safely return," she said with a sweet smile.

    Axel clicked his tongue. This girl¡­ she is taking herself hostage in demand of his safe return. If something happens to him, the curse will activate and he won''t be there for the cure.

    "You don''t have to do this."

    "But I do. Anything to increase your chances of survival," she said brightly. "Now, are we going or what?" she asked, linking arms with him.

    Axel turned both of them invisible to others, and off they went. As always, the Party was in the Great Hall. It''s a ce that can be moulded into any ce to fit the asion. Axel suspected it might even turn into a huge dormitory someday of emergency for all the students to sleep.

    Right now, the ce was decorated in a sort of Japanese plus English theme for the asion. The ceiling was decorated with a blend of chandeliers andnterns. Japanese shogi armors were instated right alongside the knight armors, making for an interesting view.

    The walls were decorated with pictures and descriptions of the events that had taken ce in the year and the guests were also dressed in Suits and dresses or Yukatas and kimonos.

    In the music area, English and Japanese songs were intermittently being yed and the students of Mahoutokoro and Hogwarts danced together as one.

    "You should have worn that suit," said Daphne, looking around with bright eyes. Axel, who was wearing his travel attire, shook his head. "I''d rather leave as soon as I can. Besides, no one can see me anyways."

    "Well, you do look good in whatever you wear, so it''s alright," said Daphne.

    Both of them were not in the mood to celebrate like thest time, so they just spent thest few moments of their time wandering along, trying dishes and enjoying the vibes.

    A lot of students were bidding farewell to each other, many of them being couples. It wasn''t just a day of farewell for Axel. Mahoutokoro was leaving today as well.

    The party was wild, but Axel and Daphne enjoyed it at their own pace,pletely invisible to the rest of the world.

    In the end, they met up with Akiko and Martina, who were sitting in a corner under their own secrecy wards.

    "Axel!" Martina stood up as soon as she saw him. They had been keeping correspondence over the Magi-mirror, but she was still relieved to see him in person.

    "Are you really recovered?" She asked.

    "No, notpletely. But it''s enough to get me going. Trust me," he assured.

    "Are you really not taking us? We don''t mind the risk, really," said Martina earnestly.

    "I''ll call you over if I need you," that''s all Axel could relent. But he was firm about his decision to go alone. He was more of a solo yer at heart.

    Martina''s shoulders drooped in disappointment. But she took what she got. "You have to call us as soon as there''s the slightest bit of trouble. ''Some'' of us can help,'' she said, ncing at Daphne.

    Axel sensed the tension between Daphne and Martina. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

    Daphne and Martina both smiled at him.

    "It''s nothing."

    "It''s alright."

    Axel was certain something was wrong now, but he didn''t pursue the matter further. It didn''t seem serious.

    He turned to look at Akiko. "I thought you would be more forceful abouting along."

    Akiko shrugged. "Well, you aren''t going to listen anyway."

    "¡­True," Axel admitted, but he still looked at her dubiously. She had this look on her face that seemed simr to the one she used to get in their trainings when she had something up her sleeve.

    The three of them sat in silence, watching the party. Soon, the party was over, and it was time to leave. Dumbledore and Yujiro came upon the stage for their speech.

    "This year has been a great sess, and you students have worked hard in learning the extra subjects. Don''t be despondent, because this is, by no means, the final parting¡ª"

    "You!" While Dumbledore''s speech was still going on, someone stormed right up to their corner, pointing at Axel. "You are here! I have been so worried and no one would tell me anything!"

    It was, surprisingly, Rose Potter, who removed her invisibility cloak. Now that she was in their bubble, the four of them became visible to her.

    Axel frowned. "How''d you find us?" He was sure she didn''t happen toe to the most secluded corner alone. They should have been invisible to others eyes.

    "I sensed her darkness," she said, nodding at Akiko. Ever since the ritual, she has been able to sense the darkness better than ever.

    "But that does not matter! What the hell are you doing rxing here while there is a country-wide search going on for you?!" Asked Rose.

    Axel face-palmed. "That shouldn''t be of any concern to you. Rather, you shouldn''t be sneaking to ces under your invisibility cloak without protection. If you''re caught by Voldemort again, it''s over for us all."

    Axel was furious with Rose''s recklessness. She can allow Voldemort to ess this world, and here she is, wandering around without protection.

    "You shouldn''t worry about me. I can take care of myself... Now more than ever," she said, as darkness started to circte around herself.

    "What the fuck?" Axel and the girls were, of course, understandably surprised. Now that Axel looked at Rose again, he could indeed spot some things in her that were different. There were ck streaks in her red hair and the bratt-ish vibe about her was gone.

    Something about the darkness around her reminded him of Voldemort.

    Curious, he casually probed her mind, only to be sent back by a huge force.

    !!

    ''System, what the fuck?!'' Axel was more than a bit surprised. So, only does she have this exinable power, she also has mental protection. How is that possible? Rose was weak as fuck just a few days ago.

    [The Ritual has deepened her connection with the Netherworld. She now seems to be able to ess the Magic of Netherworld much more directly. A unique and unprecedented case.] The system presented it''s analysis to Axel.

    Rose dispersed the darkness, satisfied that she was being taken seriously now. "What the fuck indeed. Now, can you tell me what the hell is going on here? I have so many questions..." She all but begged.

    Rose was just so... confused. First she is trapped in some ritual circle to summon dark creatures. When she wakes up, some extremely powerful mene along and take Axel. Then she is sent to the Hospital wing where she faints again.

    Waking up, she finds that Axel has been brought back but she can''t even meet him to thank him for saving her life, neither can she find Akiko and Martina. Even more strange, she now has some really strange and scary abilities.

    A few dayster, Axel disappears again, and this time, no one tells what happened to him.

    Now that she has spotted him again, along with Akiko and Martina, she desperately needs some answers.

    "Just¡­ sit down, Rose. We''ll exin," said Martina, looking at the girl with some pity. She hadpletely forgotten about Rose who had to go through such a huge event.

    Martina exined the situation to Rose. About what happened and why Axel can''t reveal himself.

    "So, there are more terrifying people out there like those guys who are after you. And you are trying to y dead so that they don''te after you?" Rose was having trouble wrapping her head around the whole situation.

    "Exactly. He didn''t mean for the situation to turn out like this, but now if he reveals himself, more Kraken members would be dispatched to Hogwarts in hopes that some of us might know where he is."

    Rose nodded her head slowly. "That does make sense. So, what you going to do now?" She asked Axel, looking worried. She felt that Axel''s situation was quite simr to hers.

    "Destroy the Organisation," said Axel like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

    "...What?"

    "Yep, anyways, it''s time to leave," said Axel, getting up.

    "Wait why are you¡ª"

    "Save it, Rose. You can''t stop him," said Daphne helplessly.

    Rose could do nothing but follow the party of four out of the party. Daphne grabbed Axel''s hand, knowing that she would be doing that in a long while.

    Soon, they were out of Hogwarts wards and Axel stopped walking.

    Martina hugged him tightly. Separating from him reluctantly, she gave a small ring.

    "Here, I''ve been busy for thest few days as well. I''ve packed everything necessary into this along with instructions on how to use them. I''ve made the ring as untraceable as I could, in case you be a hostage again," she exin meticulously. "Make sure to check it out."

    "It also has some sealing scrolls, explosion seals, weapon, and other stuff," said Akiko. She stepped forward and surprised him by hugging him as well. "I''ll see you soon. Stay alive till then."

    Axel finally turned to Daphne.

    "Well, I''ll be back in a bit," said Axel.

    Daphne tried, she really did, but she couldn''t holding it. She hugged him and cried.

    Axel ran a hand through her hair. "You did a job holding them till now."

    Daphne cried for a while, but she had to let him go eventually. "You have to take care."

    "I will."

    "Don''t be reckless."

    "I won''t."

    "Make sure to eat and sleep properly."

    "I will."

    Daphne sighed. She used lumency to calm herself and smiled at him. "Farewell."

    "You guys make sure to keep an eye on her," he said, nodding at Rose. "I don''t want toe and see Hogwarts destroyed."

    "I told you, I can take care of myself, Hunt," huffed Rose, who had been seeing Axel hug three girls one after another. Was she jealous? No way! Did also expect one? Well Maybe¡­ but she would rather not! Seriously!

    "Seriously, be careful," he warned.

    "Now, I have something to give you guys before I leave."

    He extended three of his fingers and produced three wisps of memories that the system transferred to him.

    [Mission: Make Rose an Ally.]

    ''System, you can be a bitch sometimes,'' Axelined, but extended another finger, causin another wisp to be created. The wisps slowly turned to balls which floated in the air and transferred into the girls'' forehead.

    !!!

    Daphne, Rose, Martina and Akiko were surprised when the following information appearing their minds.

    [Do you agree to be Axel Hunt''s Ally?]

    [yes/no]

    When they thought yes, an explosion happened in their minds, caused by a huge influx of information.

    [Congrattions, you can gotten the ss¡­]

    "You guys can''t reveal that information to anyone," said Axel while they were still disoriented. "Well, take care, my allies. And make sure to train whatever you get. I''ll leave before you guys start bombarding me with questions."

    "Wait¡ª"

    "Matte¡ª"

    "Don''t you dare leav¡ª"

    "Hey¡ª!"

    And Axel was gone, leaving them at a massive cliffhanger.

    ...

    <strong>A.N.: So, this is the end of Vol 2. </strong>

    <strong>Next: Into the Antis</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Meeting the Aunt (Princess)</strong>

    <strong>It''s a new month! Come read /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 166: A Kings Return

    Chapter 166: A King''s Return

    Why can''t things ever go smoothly?

    A question Axel had asked himself probably a million times. He had seen it happen to other people, getting everything to happen exactly how they wanted it to be.

    But It just never seems to happen with him.

    The only exnation he cane up is, someone must be fucking with him. Why else¡­ would he be sitting in a prison right now when he hade here expecting royal treatment?

    How did this happen?

    Well, let''s go back a bit.

    Axel had teleported right to the ce that was supposed to be the entry point for Antis.

    It was a heavily warded and fortified ind, also known as the entry point to Antis. Few people even know about this ce''s existence, and even few are provided entry.

    This ce is called Anopolis, the city of false hopes and wealth. People whoe here are either extremely wealthy, or extremely hopeful, or both. This ce, run under the strict supervision of the royal family, provides limited services of the real Antis.

    Since direct entry into the city is prohibited via wards, Axel Teleported to the edge of the ind. Though, something happened as soon as he appeared.

    "...What the fuck?"

    His knees buckled as he went through what some sort of sensory overload.

    !!!

    The sea churned, causing the whole Ind to quake. The Guards were, of course, rmed thinking that they had been attacked. Though very quickly, the disturbance stopped the sea calmed down again. Axel opened his eyes as slowly stood up.

    "Holy shit." He murmured. Now he understood the word ''home domain'' really meant. This ind was in the middle of ocean. There was water all around him. Right now, he felt¡­ powerful. Too powerful.

    ''No time to waste.'' Axel didn''t dally. He got to work. First, he quickly transferred almost all of his things from his storage bag into his ring, leaving a few things like money and basic necessities to not raise any doubts.

    ''Now, system, buy that Antean Language.''

    [Antean Language will be installed into your mind. Buy for 1000 SP?]

    ''Yes,''

    Instantly, Axel learnt a newnguage. Even though he knew they had trantion devices, Axel still learned thenguage in case he needed it.

    ''Now Finally, thest arrangement.''

    [Disguise]

    Axel changed his appearance with the handy skill he had learned for asions like this. He was an Arcane Thief. Of course, changing his appearance was included in his ss description. He just didn''t like to use it since, well, he''d rather just turn invisible, or put on a mask.

    But since he can''t choose either of those options this time, he has to go with [Disguise]. He changed the color of his eyes from Amber to onyx, removed the scars on his face, and changed his facial structure just a tiny bit.

    Now he didn''t look like his father at all, and even looked quite different from himself due to theck of scars and his striking amber eyes. With little changes, the difference was so huge that no one attribute him to Axel at all. Though if they knew it was him, they''ll realize that nothing much had actually changed about his face. With his disguise set in ce, Axel was ready to go.

    He began marching into the ind and the Royal Seal in hand. But, after arriving in front of the ce, he was surprised to see the situation. The towering walls were being guarded more tightly than he and thought, and the wards in the ce were crackling with power. Guards could be seen stationed at the top of the walls, carrying what seemed like magical guns, their armors streamlined with glowing blue lights, making it appear futuristic.

    There were big sign boards hung on the walls, saying the word. "CLOSED due to internal issues" in differentnguages.

    Axel was stumped here. This¡­ isn''t how this ce was supposed to be in the memories he got from Theron. There should have been plenty of peopleing and going into the city right now.

    ''Might as well try it out,'' thought Axel, boldly moving forward.

    "Halt! You can''t advance forward!" But he had only walked a few steps, numerous red dots appeared on him, making him stop and raise his hands.

    Axel took out the shell he had taken from Theron. "I have the Royal Seal!"

    ?!?!

    That seemed to do that trick. The guards frantically talked among themselves, and rang the higher ups, and very soon, they were rushing towards him. Axel found all this normal. After all, he had the royal seal.

    Though, he found out something was wrong soon enough, he was strapped with handcuffs and the seal snatched from his hands, and so was his space pocket along with it. "Hey. What the hell? That''s my seal! Not even the space pouch!"

    His protests were ignored as he was all but dragged inside the city through the smaller entrance of the looming gates.

    "Gentlemen, I think there is a misunderstanding here," he began to say, but the guard at the back gave him a shove, almost making him fall.

    "Keep walking, you thief!" He barked, his voice automatically getting tranted into English.

    ''Me? A Thief?'' Axel was stunned¡­ by how right they were. ''How''d you know that?!'' That''s what he wanted to ask.

    "Why would you say that?!" He asked instead, trying to sound offended.

    Though, the next thing they did was put some sort of advanced mechanic gag on his mouth to make him stop talking.

    Axel sighed. That''s why he HATES following rules. He was only using his mother''s royal seal to enter his OWN kingdom, and THIS was the result. What had he done wrong? He hasn''t even cursed anyone yet, at least out loud.

    And that''s how he found himself in his current situation, sitting in an advanced magic security prison.

    It has been more than two days since he was thrown here. And he is at the limit of his patience. No matter how high secure this ce is, it can''t really hold him if he doesn''t want to stay. But the thing is, if he sneaks inside Antis illegally to fight kraken, he would be a fugitive for both sides, which is going to make things much more difficult for him. He wanted to avoid such a situation if possible.

    Of course, revealing his identity is not an option right now either. He needed to understand the situation first.

    Axel needed his freedom. He doesn''t want to be tied up to any ce. For all he knows, he might never be allowed to live in peace if they found out he was supposed to be the inheritor of the throne. They might not let him leave, and if he leaves, they might even use force to bring him back. Maybe, they don''t want a new sessor, so they might just decide he was a threat.

    Thus, revealing his identity could lead to a whole lot of trouble. He has to choose between the other two options.

    Just when Axel was just about to get serious about breaking out, he heard movement outside the cell. "Where is he?"

    ?

    The one who came into his view was a middle aged man in heavy armor. Unlike the guards, his armor was a shining silver colour, and the magic glow in it was much more pronounced.

    He had an air of authority about him, and just by looking at him, it was apparent that he was someone important.

    "Yes G-General, right this way!" the guard who had acted like an asshole to him had now turned into a pussy. An extremely loose one at that. He looked at the man with reference, fear and respect.

    "You could have just sent up an order, we would have brought him to you ourselves!" The guard said anxiously, looking like he would piss himself any time.

    The General had an exasperated look on his face. "Can''t do anything about it. It''s the Princess''s orders."

    The two of them finally arrived in front of the right cell and looked at Axel, who was sitting there with a somewhat annoyed look on his face.

    The person who was called the "General" studied Axel with a critical eye while Axel did the same. "Looked enough?" Axel asked in English, but of course, it was tranted to him due to theirmunication devices.

    The guard was instantly triggered. "You insolent outsider! Don''t worry, General, I''ll teach him a lesson for disrespecting you."

    Not only Axel, but even the General seemed annoyed by the excessive boot licking. "Just opening the cell and undoing his restraint will do."

    "But sire, he''s¡ª" the guard seemed to want to say something but stopped himself after realizing who he was talking to. He punched in a code in a code in the lock, the cell which seemed to have been powered by magic, opened up on its own.

    The guard entered inside and did the same with his handcuffs as they opened with a click. He red at Axel. "Listen, that man can kill you with a swat. So, you better behave, or you won''t know when you died."

    Axel ignored the dog. His eyes were trained on the "General" the whole time. This man¡­ he got the feeling that he was much stronger than even Theron and Nerio.

    The general also seemed to be a bit perplexed looking at Axel. "What is your name?" He asked, tranting his words into English.

    "Chris."

    The General seemed to be expecting a more borate introduction, but he just nodded. "Outsider Axel, you have been called directly to the royal court by the Princess. It''s considered a great honour."

    Axel didn''t move yet. "Gee thanks. But why was I locked up in the first ce?" He asked, making the guard almost pounce on him. Such disrespect!

    "I don''t know the details. My only orders are to bring you to her, unharmed," said the general, ring pointedly at the guard.

    Axel got up. "Well, let''s meet her then," he said, slowly getting up. It looked like he wasn''t being taken, but having the general escort him to the princess.

    "Unharmed right?" Axel gave a tight p to the guard on his way out, making the man fall to the ground.

    Axel rubbed the hand he had used to p the guard. "Ouch. Do punish him for hurting my hand," he muttered.

    The General''s eye twitched, but he continued leading Axel. He was taken out of prison, towards an even more heavily guarded ce, beyond which was a portal. Axel was pretty sure it led to Antis.

    The restrictions around the ce were removed as soon as the general arrived, giving him free passage to the portal. "Well," Said the general, stepping aside. "Go in."

    ''Well, that''s more like it.'' It seems that the Royal seal did work after all. Now, he wouldn''t have minded sneaking into that ce on his own, but it is just much better this way.

    Axel stepped into the portal, followed closely by the general. It would have been quite funny if Axel were to suddenly disappear at this moment, but he decided against it.

    Appearing on the other side, Axel was stunned, as his glowing blue for a moment. He could feel it. They are hundreds of thousands of miles deep into the ocean, covered by water from all sides. He was feeling invigorated, refreshed. The air breathed felt like he was breathing for the first time.

    Axel slowly calmed down as he checked his surroundings. And the view made him catch his breath. Unlike what others might think, Antis was not submerged underwater. A huge protective bubble surrounded the city, seemingly extending till forever. The vast ocean could be seen beyond, unable to crush the bubble despite the overwhelming pressure.

    As far as the eye could see, he could towering buildings seemingly made out of metallic rocks, their shapes varying from spiral to conical. Various vehicles could be seen flying around at high speeds.

    "Looked enough?" Asked the general impatiently, though there was a hint of pride in his eyes. He waved his hand and what looked like a silver chariot appeared floating in the air. "Hop on," said the General, stepping onto the chariot.

    ''Damn.'' Axel didn''t need to be told twice. The General tapped a few buttons, and a transparent magical field surrounded, before they were off at a tremendous speed.

    Axel had to strain his eyes to take in the scenery rapidly whizzing by. Antis was big, probably bigger than britain. And beautiful. No doubt about it, But¡­ something was wrong. A lot of buildings were damaged. There weren''t many people on the streets.

    "You''vee at a wrong time," said the General. He increased the speed further, as if not wanting Axel to see the sights.

    Within a few seconds, they had already covered a huge distance, arriving at their destination. The buildings were gone now, and reced by a vastke of crystal clear water. The only structure dominated the area. In the middle of the luminescentke stood a colossus castle, looking like a marvel of ancient magical architecture. It had multiple towering spires, each magically reinforced to touch the very top of the protective bubble that encapstes Antis.

    "Can''t imagine what''s so special about that she''d send me to get you, especially at this time," muttered the General.

    If Anopolis had high security, this ce would have to have a hundred times that. Axel could see thousands of soldiers milling around at the borders of the castle.

    "At this time?" What is that supposed to mean.

    At this moment, a notification rang in his head.

    [Mission: A King''s Duty]

    [Antis has officially entered into a War against Kraken. Help your Kingdom achieve Victory.]

    Fuck!

    It now made sense. The weird atmosphere in the city, the damaged infrastructure, even the advanced security.

    He really came at the wrong time.

    ...

    <strong>A.N.: POWERSTONES!!</strong>

    <strong>NeXT: Meeting the Aunt (Princess)</strong>

    <strong>Come read /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 167: Meeting the Aunt

    Chapter 167: Meeting the Aunt

    As they approached the castle the general turned to him and gave him something. It was a trantion amulet simr to the one they were given at Hogwarts in the beginning of the year.

    "Put this on. The princess should have to bother tranting to yournguage. And Here, keep this in your pocket," said the General, handing him an enchanted seashell. "You can''t get ess to the castle without it."

    As soon as Axel grabbed the shell, a magic current ran through him as an imprint appeared on the shell. It seemed that now, no one else other than him can use it.

    !

    Though, Axel didn''t think he needed it. As soon they entered the wards, he ''felt'' it. A connection¡­ a calling. It was as if the castle itself was weing him.

    ''The fuck?!''

    Axel flinched. He looked at the General, wondering if he noticed something, but the man seemed too busy with his own concerns. He was barking orders at themunication device on wrist, surveiling the castle from the height.

    Unnoticed by everyone, a throne lit up deep inside the castle. Too bad, no one was there to see it.

    The general took Axel to what seemed like the training field of the army. In the vast space, a huge number of Antians were milling around. A number of ninjas were also intermingled among them, but they seemed to be mostly training others rather than training themselves.

    As the General arrived at the field, everyone stopped what they were doing to make a three signal with their fingers and put it adjacent to their chests.

    """General!"""

    The General nodded before continuing to walk. As Axel followed him, multiple nces were cast on him, some curious, some puzzled, some outright hostile as whispers followed.

    "Outsider."

    That was the word used multiple times, which was apparent by his clearly different style of clothes. Soon, the general reached a particr section of Antis where there were a lot of women. Surprised by the General''s presence, they parted to reveal a woman in light blue armor busily discussing something with several people.

    "Princess Anti, I have brought him as you ordered."

    The princess turned around to the General, then to Axel, and quickly nodded in understanding. She excused herself and parted from the meeting.

    "It''s him, right?" She asked the general, gesturing towards Axel. "Please, Come with me," she said to Axel upon receiving confirmation as she began to lead him away.

    While walking, Axel studied the woman. This was his Aunt, right? He could see the resemnce with his mother. She walking with grace befitting a princess. Her long blue hair blew in the air as she walked and her soft blue eyes would look back at him to make sure he was following. Overall, she gave the impression of a kind and wise woman.

    She led him to a secluded resting ce at the side of the field and gestured for him to sit. After that, she studied him with a critical eye. "Have I seen you before?" She asked all of a sudden.

    Axel controlled his expression to not appear nervous. "Well, have you ever been to the Outiside world?" He asked back.

    The princess chuckled. "I wish. Pardon me, it was silly of me to ask that. What is your name?"

    "It''s Chris."

    "Chris, the reason I called you here is because I just came to know that someone, an outsider, no less, used a royal seal," said the Princess, looking at him like he was a naughty child.

    "Now, possessing a Royal Seal without having directly received it from the Royalty is a punishable offense. And all the shells given by father and I are ounted for. So," she paused, narrowing his eyes at him. "I want to ask you, how did you, an outsider who has never been in contact with us, came in possession of the seal?"

    ''Busted.'' Thought Axel. He hadn''t thought that the Royal Seals would be so heavily regted. Though Now that he thought about it, it does seem quite impossible for an outsider to have even met the royalty, let alone get a seal.

    Unless¡­

    It suddenly clicked to Axel. If this princess really thought he was guilty, she wouldn''t have directly sent the General to bring him. And neither would she have taken the time to meet him in person and treat him so courteously. There actually was a way in which he could have had contact with the Royalty, even while being an outsider.

    Axel activated his trusted skill again.

    [Bullshiting]

    [Your lies would sound more convincing.]

    He pretended to be angry. "Well, I don''t know anything about what you just said. All I know is that thedy who gave it us said we can go to Antis and show this in case we needed help."

    The princess''s eyes widened in expectation as half of her suspicion seemed to vanish. "Yes, what was her name? Can you tell me more about her?"

    "She called herself Ana, or Atlnena, I think that was her name. She was trying to find her husband."

    "My uncle Thor didn''t know who she was, but he helped her anyway. After that she revealed her identity and gave him this seal, to look for her in case we needed help," said Axel, a look of remembrance on his face.

    "I was too young back then. But I do remember blue hair. We don''t have those around there. And also," he paused, pretending to dig around his storage pouch. "We have this. A portrait of her husband. We used it to find him for her," he said, taking out his dad''s portrait which Betrix had given him and hammering the nail in the coffin of lies he had created.

    ''You are finally useful for once, you mother fucker.'' He thought inwardly, looking at the annoying portrait.

    The final bit of suspicion from gone from the princess''s eyes as soon as she saw the portrait. A look of loathing appeared on it instead. "Well, they weren''t officially married. He was only her lover at best¡­"

    Axel took some indirect damage from that. ''Thanks for calling me a bastard, aunty.'' He thought.

    "Anyways," The Princess bowed. "Let me begin by saying that I am so sorry for the inconvenience you had to go through! And I am sorry for testing you just but I had to be sure it was not pretender." she apoligised sincerely. "The one you helped was my sister, the sessor to the Throne."

    Her gaze went back to the happenings of the field, and at themunication device on her wrist that was continuously blinking. "As you can see, the situation around here is extremely chaotic right now. We are a preparing for war. So my subordinates didn''t consider it important to report to be about this matter. I had you summoned as soon as I heard of that someone from the outside world hade with the Royal Seal," she exined.

    Axel was not much moved.

    "But why put me in jail if it really was the royal seal? Those guards didn''t even bother checking its authenticity."

    The princess sighed. "Once again, I am deeply apologetic for that. Actually, it is forbidden for any outsider to possess the Royal Seal. Whether it was real or fake, the guards considered it crime. Of course, rules never seem to apply to my sister."

    "Fortunately, I found soon," the Princess bowed again, this time in sincere gratitude. "Thank you for helping my sister. Unfortunately¡­ she is no longer with us. She died saving this kingdom," she said, a sh of pain shing through her eyes.

    "That''s¡­ that''s really sad," said Axel, it was the first truth he had said. There was no point hating or ming her if she was already dead.

    The princess nodded. "It is, isn''t it? But, let''s not dwell on that. My sister''s favor is Antis''s favor. Tell me, how can I help?" She asked directly.

    It was obvious that Axel was here to ask for something. The princess seemed to decide it best to just fulfil his demands and let him leave while it''s still safe around here.

    "Well," Axel didn''t shy away. Even though he didn''t really ''help'' her sister, Well, this was his aunt. He was allowed to ask for a favour, right? She can do this much for her sister''s son, right? He''ll save her kingdom in return.

    Axel raised his hand and removed the bandages, revealing a clear scar that was now connecting his once severed hand.

    "I heard this can be fixed here," he said, flexing his fingers to show that they weren''t working properly.

    The princess checked his hand. "Was it¡­"

    "Severed? Cut off? Yeah. I had it reattached but it''s still not working smoothly."

    "Oh¡­ How old are you again?" Asked the Princess, now a bit concerned. Is the outside ce so barbaric that to talk so casually about such injuries. Even though they can be fixed, the pain is still real, right?

    "I''m sixteen, maybe almost seventeen," he said, adjusting it to fit his story.

    The Princess nodded. "I see¡­ Well, I can arrange it to be healed. But¡­ is that it?"

    "Yeah, that''s about it."

    The princess was surprised. She had thought that someone from the outside world would get greedy upon getting such an offer. After all, this was a favor directly from the Princess of Antis. There is so much he could have asked for.

    "I will arrange for it right now," the Princess tapped her wrist. "Sylthia, could you pleasee here?"

    Momentster, a tall girl made her way toward them with purposeful steps. She had a graceful and upright posture.

    "Yes Princess?" She asked. She had bright emerald hair which were arranged in neat braids and her prideful emerald eyes focused only on the princess, directly ignoring Axel''s existence. A shinning green emerald was tied to her wrist, which seemed to radiate power.

    Princess gestured towards Axel. "Sylthia, this is Chris, my guest. Take him to the medics and have them treat his hand injury. Give him a tour while you are it as well."

    "Your guest?" The girl regarded Axel with a vary gaze.

    "Yes, treat him well," said the Princess, standing up. "Chris, I am extremely sorry that I can''t give you the tour myself. Come meet me after you have your hand fixed, okay?" She said, looking apologetic.

    "It''s alright." Axel was already surprised with this much. The princess didn''t put on any airs and treated him fairly. So his first impression of his aunt was:

    ''She''s alright.''

    "This way," Sylthia said as she began leading him away.

    Axel followed the girl who was storming away as if not wanting him to follow. As soon as he would match pace with hers, she would walk faster, keeping away from him. As they walked, the males would nce in their direction, first at Sylthia and then at Axel.

    Sylthia finally nced at him when she realised she couldn''t outpace him. "Is it true? That you''re an outsider?" She couldn''t seem to help asking.

    Axel shrugged. "Yeah, sort of," he muttered. He was an outsider, but he was also the prince and heir to the throne. "Anyways, where is my tour?" Axel couldn''t help but ask after realizing that the girl seemed to have no intention of giving him one.

    Sylthia rolled her eyes. But she began speaking. "Right now, we are in the Militiayer. That over there is the training field, and the academicyer is in the wing across it," she said, point at the training field.

    "Academicyer? Militiayer? I thought this was the Royal Castle?"

    Sylthia gave him a ''you are an idiot as expected'' look. "This castle spans over tens of hundreds of kilometers ofnd, not counting the fact that it''s internal space is almost infinitely extendable. What is the royal family supposed to do with all that? Only the internalyer is for the Royal family. But the rest is the Royal Military and Royal Academy. Only the most talented prodigies in the whole kingdom are allowed here."

    Sylthia seemed to respect the princess, because she was still exining despite all the disdain and contempt she seemed to hold for him.

    "Oh." Now it made sense why he was seeing so many soldiers and what seemed like students here. "So, are you a student or a soldier?" He asked. Judging by her looks and well developed body, she could be anything between 17 to mid twenties.

    Sylthia looked like she had been insulted. "I am neither. I am the heir to the Varnox family. I am, of course, a relic wielder," she said, stroking her bracelet.

    "Relic Wielder? Is that a different category?"

    "Of course! It''s everyone''s dream. Relic Wielders are the top of top, whether it''s power, respect, or wealth. Right now, there are only 12 in this whole castle!"

    "And you are one."

    "Yes, which is why I can''t understand why the princess would give me such a menial task," sheined.

    Axel found that to be true. A Relic Wielder should be someone as powerful and Theron and Nerio, right? They were the Overseers of Kraken. It was enough to make him curious.

    "So tell me, what does it take to be a relic wielder?" he asked with some interest.

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones. Just give me more and I''ll post more.

    Next: War: Entry

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 168: War: Entry

    Chapter 168: War: Entry

    "What does it take to be a relic wielder?" Axel asked.

    Sylthia had a proud look on her face. "It''s not something anyone can do. A relic chooses its own Wielders. You either have to bepletelypatible with it, or you have to obtain the right qualifications."

    Axel''s eyes narrowed in confusion. "What does that mean?"

    Could she not exin clearly?

    "There are two types of Relic Wielders. Chosen ones and Acquirers. Only people with extremely high talents in specific fields are chosen by the relics. Those who readily get selected are called Chosen ones, and those who train themselves to be worthy of a relic are called Acquirers¡ª"

    Sylthia suddenly paused. Wait, wasn''t she supposed to be only giving out a perfunctory tour just because the princess asked her to? This was an outsider! How did she end up having an immersive conversation with him?

    "Why do you even want to know that?" Disdain shed through Sylthia''s emerald eyes. "You are never going to need the knowledge anyway. Relic Wielders are existences far beyond your reach," she said coldly, increasing her pace. "We''re almost here."

    Axel clicked his tongue. But, he could understand why she had such high pride. The relics of Theron and Nerio were extremely formidable in their respective fields. The Armor was unharmed till the end, and he had no direct solution to the extreme casting speed of Nerio''s magic.

    They both walked in silence as Axel shifted his focus to his surroundings. The corridors were brightly lit, but there seemed to be no sources of light. The infrastructure was a blend of ancient architecture, mixed with marvels of magical advancements that synchronized to make the castle extremely beautiful.

    As they walked, anyone passing by would stop to greet Sylthia, who would only nod at them with her chin held high.

    "What are the badges for?" He asked, not at all caring about the fact that Sylthia did not want to exin at all.

    Axel had by now noticed that many people around here were wearing different kinds of badges on their chests, even Sylthia. They were of different colours, each containing different numbers of stars on them. Sylthia had a Red one with 6 stars, while most of the people at the only have 1 or 2 stars.

    Sylthia red at him, but still answered.

    "The badges show your status. Red is for Relic Wielders. Green is for Menders (Doctors), blue is for Soldiers, and so on. The stars on the badge represent your authority while the colour represents your division. Relic Wielders have 6 or 7 stars, just below the authority of the General, who has Eight stars," she exined, almost as a warning. "I don''t even interact with anyone below 3 stars."

    "Fancy."

    Axel''s lip curled up in derision. He didn''t care about those stars. Sylthia noticed it. Her gem on her wrist glimmered, causing a gust of wind to blow in the corridor, fluttering their clothes. "Ignorance can be such a bliss," she murmured to herself. She looked annoyed and amused at the same time.

    Anyone who has witnessed the power of Relic Wielders wouldn''t even dare to look directly at one, let alone act so unbridled. While on the other hand, Axel has shown her no respect at all. Watching him, one would think that he is not at all guest, but the king of Antis himself.

    Soon, they reached their destination as Axel saw the letters "Royal Sanatorium" written on the wall. A blue ball was embedded at the side. It shed, as if scanning them, and the door disappeared, giving them entry.

    "This is the Royal Sanatorium. You can get the best healing aid in the world here," Sylthia still introduced, looking at him as if to say, ''You better appreciate it, cause you sure as hell don''t deserve it.''

    Axel nced around. It was a spacious circr hall, with multiple doorways at its circumference. Each of the doorways wasbelled with different words ording to the type of Medical aid they could provide.

    Maybe it was due to war time, but the ce was bustling with activity, with many people going in and out of the ce. Most of the people here had Green badges, which must be equivalent to the Medical division in the muggle world. The staff at the reception greeted Sylthia politely while throwing curious nces at Axel who was in a unique attire.

    Ignoring everyone, Sylthia brought him straight to the department that wasbelled "Injuries". Inside, multiplepartmentalised rooms could be seen.

    "You are here again," said a voice as they reached deeper inside. "How many times have I told you to take it easy when training?" It was from a middle aged man who had just seen theme in. He had a pair of lenses hanging off of his neck, and a Green badge with 5 stars glinted on his chest.

    "I''m not here due to my own injury," Sylthia said sullenly. It''s for him.

    The man''s gaze shifted his gaze towards Axel, who stood casually beside her with his hands in his pockets.

    "Oh? Who is he?" Asked the man, looking at Axel in bewilderment.

    "Princess''s Guest. Don''t ask the details. Just treat him quickly," said Sylthia, though her tone was not as harsh.

    The man obviously had a lot of questions, but just by the number of stars he had, it was apparent that he was not idle or insensitive enough to question further.

    "Greetings, I am Caltus," he said, turning to Axel. "Where is the injury?"

    Axel raised his hand, pointing at the scar on his wrist. "It''s been reconnected but still not as good as before."

    Caltus frowned upon seeing the injury. "Let me see," he said, putting on the ck lenses that were hung by his neck. He cringed upon seeing what he saw. "Who did this?" he asked in disgust. But it was not for the one who cut his hand.

    "It looks like it has been reattached by some stupid blobfish," he observed, taking off the lens. Indeed, his disgust was for the people who reattached it, nor for the ones who cut.

    He dragged Axel to one of the rooms. Manipting one of the Magical contraptions, he put Axel''s hand in front of it for further observation.

    "You are not from here, are you?" He asked after taking a look. "Those clothes aren''t from here and this type of crude yet meticulous attempt to patch up your hand can only be done by the primitive people outside."

    "No shit. But can you fix it?" Axel asked directly. He didn''t care about the insults at all. In his opinion, even the Antians weren''t much of a big deal themselves inparison to the other worlds, where someone like Voldemort can casually annihte this whole Kingdom. There was nothing to be proud of, nothing to be ashamed of. It was what it was.

    Caltuas began doing more tests on his hand. "Of course I can fix it. But your people should have just chosen to regrow a new hand. Reattaching it is so much moreplex, and they didn''t even do it correctly. It will be much more difficult now since the hand was so crudely attached¡ª" Caltus suddenly paused, as his eyes widened. "What the¡ª"

    "What is it?" Asked Axel, wondering if there was a problem, or if he somehow found out that it had been cut off by Nerio''s relic.

    That wasn''t what baffled Caltus. He put Axel''s other hand under the device for observation and his frown deepened. Cultus manipted the machine and a number of bars came up on the screen, along with a string of numbers.

    "What¡­ what are you?" He asked, looking at Axel. "There''s a limit to Magical Enhancements," he said, taking a step backwards. It was as if he was afraid of Axel''s hands.

    ??

    Axel peeked at the screen. Since he had Integrated the Antiannguage through the system, he could see in the screen that Caltus was currently looking at the parameters of his hands, which included muscle strength, flexibility, bone density, along with other things he didn''t know could be measured, like magical conductivity, muscle memory etc.

    ''Damn it,'' Thought Axel.

    A thief''s most important tools are his hands. His hands were the part of his body which Axel had trained the most in his life, whether he was before or after he got the system. Whether it was the physical parameters, or magical, his hands are on a level far far beyond the norm.

    "What do you mean by that?" Asked Sylthia, still ignorant of the matter.

    "Just heal my hand, will you?" Said Axel, ring at the nosy doctor.

    Caltus felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, giving him goosebumps. When he touched it with his fingers, they came back bloody.

    !

    Caltus almost peed his pants. Just now, he didn''t even see Axel move! Or more precisely, his eyes couldn''t register it! But it was definitely his hand that moved. It was apparent from the sudden dramatic spike in the stats on the screen. Caltus realized that he could have died now. The thought made him want to run.

    Everything suddenly made sense. Why the young man in front of him is a royal guest and why his hand was reattached, not regenerated. With those extreme stats, his hand itself can be called a relic. But when it''s regenerated, the stats would be back to a normal hand, which would have been equivalent to destroying a relic with your own hands, except the relic is your own hand, if that makes sense.

    Of course, this put Axel on the same level as the Relic Wielders, the ultimate existences in Antis. People who you can only kiss up to, and not offend.

    "It''s¡ªit''s nothing. Just a glitch," he told the suspicious Sylthia. "L-Let''s fix your hand.

    Once the doctor had stopped bullshitting, the process was extremely fast. First, Caltuspletely cut off Axel''s hand again, since it was not attached perfectly in the first ce. Then he reattached it using the right procedure, perfectly reconnecting every nerve, muscle, tendon and bone. Finally, it was healed using a subrelic,pleting the process.

    Once they were done, Axel examined his hand, and as he did, a small grin uncontrobly crept up on his face. Because he knew, his hand was back. Only now did he feel like had recovered somewhat.

    After losing his magic, his hand, and the ability to move his body, he had to face two fearsome relic wielders on his own. Not even considering Theron, just Nerio could have killed him ten times in one second if that was his motive. But no more. Now the scenario has changed. He has his hands back, his body is back to its peak, and he now has [Zen Focus] and [Water Monarch[ to make up for his magic deficiency..

    ''Kraken, Relic Wielders, anyone¡­e at me now,'' he thought, his confidenceing back. He was ready for war.

    On the return journey, Axel was in a good mood. Well, rtively better mood all things considered. ''Daphne would be happy,'' he thought.

    But she would also be worrying about him a lot.

    ''As for Martina, she would literally drool after looking at the technology.''

    The civilization around his advanced enough to fascinate even him. A geek like Martina would definitely see this ce as heaven.

    ''But one who would want to be here the most would be Akiko.''

    Akiko, the one who wants to take down Kraken the most. With most of her life spent training for revenge, he could imagine how much she would have wanted toe. Of course, he couldn''t do anything to bring her with the situation like this.

    ''But all of them would also be worried,'' he thought. It would be better if he informed them that he was fine.

    But, when Axel took out his magimirror to inform them about his situation, he realized that there was no signal.

    ''Duh, we''re deep inside Ocean. What did you expect?'' his logical mind scolded him,

    "Hey Greenie, can you help me contact someone in the outside world?" He asked Sylthia.

    ".....?" It took a second for Sylthia to register the fact that Axel was talking to her. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she looked at him like he hadmitted an atrocity.

    "Greenie? Greenie?!'' How dare you?!"

    "Well? Can you, or can you not? I thought you had a lot of authority," Axel continued to ask, unaffected.

    "No!"

    "Why not?"

    "Because, I don''t want to! And outsidemunication is impossible in Antis!"

    Axel paused. "What?"

    "It''s prohibited. Antis has only been in contact with the Japanese Ministry. That too is done by the Elders. I have no idea how to do it." Sylthia suddenly realized that she had once again been drawn into Axel''s rhythm. "But! I wouldn''t have helped you even if I could!" She harrumphed.

    ''Well, it can''t be helped,'' thought Axel with a shrug. Daphne is going to cry, but there''s nothing he can do for now. Though, it did make sense that Antis has no contact with the outside world, or at least in thest year, Or someone would have seen him on the inte and realized the resemnce between him and Tristan.

    "Can you walk faster? I have somewhere to be," said Sylthia urged, walking faster.

    "Oh, where?"

    "The Shinobi Reinforcements are finallying today. I have to be there to¡ª WHY AM I TALKING?!" Sylthia couldn''t take it anymore. She couldn''t understand why she hasn''t been able to keep her mouth shut when she ns to ignore him the whole time.

    Axel smirked.

    [Silver Tongue:]

    [This skill implies a smooth, persuasive way of speaking that can convince or manipte others. A thief with a silver tongue would be adept at using words to extract information without raising suspicion.]

    ''Well, looks like it works.'' Axel has been using this skill the whole time. Since he is on an Espionage mission here, he ought to have the equivalent skills as well, right? Poor Sylthia. She has been quite a useful siren. She has sung a lot of information to him.

    "Hey Greenie."

    "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

    "You still haven''t told me how I can try being a Relic Wielder?"

    Sylthia snorted in disbelief. "You can forget about it! Relics are strictly regted Treasures. Even the Princess can''t give you one if she wants to, You neither have the minimum criteria of 5 star authority, nor the approval of the majority of Elders¡ªSTOP TALKING!" Slythia''s gem glowed.

    Suddenly, Axel found his mouth forcefully pressed shut by an external force. ''I guess, it''s enough,'' hemented.

    They walked the rest of the way in silence, while Sylthia kept giving him murderous nces. With nothing to do, Axel checked the notifications from the system.

    [Mission: Help Antis win the War, Gain as many merits and recognition as possible,]

    [Mission: Join any Department and Reach 5 stars as soon as Possible.]

    These missions weren''t going to get him any particr rewards, but they were going to get him the most records, which would strengthen his soul and regain his previous magic limit. Something he could definitely use.

    When they finally returned, the Princess was once again busy with various activities. But upon seeing Axel and Sylthia returning, she excused herself from the bustle.

    "So, how''s your hand?" She asked, walking over.

    Axel flexed his fingers, rubbing his wrist. "It''s healed. Thank you."

    The princess smiled. "It was a small matter. I hope you do realize that you can ask me for more. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

    Axel hesitated. "Can I really?"

    "Of course, You have my word, I will help you as long as it''s something that doesn''t harm Antis."

    "Then¡­" Axel looked directly at the Princess. "Let me join the war."

    ....

    A.N.: Next: Testing for Qualifications

    Please keep giving Powerstones.

    Also,e read ahead at P¨¤treon. Action Packed War arc is here. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 169: Trial

    Chapter 169: Trial

    "What?"

    It was understandable that the princess was dumbfounded. "What was your request?" She asked again, thinking she must have heard it wrong, or maybe there was a fault in the trantion.

    "I want to join your side and participate in the war. I want to stay. I want a citizenship, or something." Axel stated his intentions as clearly as possible in case he hadn''t been specific enough.

    "Why?" The princess couldn''t help but ask.

    Axel shrugged. "Well, I have my reasons. What you need to know is that there is no one to object to my decision on the outside world. It''s just a matter of whether you have the power to allow it or not."

    "I can allow it, but¡­" The princess was genuinely at a loss. When Axel finally said he wanted something more, she had thought that sure enough, the kid couldn''t resist asking for more of the benefits that Antis could provide, but after listening to his request¡­she was stumped. What kind of request was this?

    "Let me make it clear to you. The situation here is actually very severe. Our enemy''s strength is unpredictable, and they are extremely strong. There have been numerous deaths and your safety cannot be guaranteed."

    "In such a situation, while I would have been d to wee you, but the longer you stay here, the more danger you will be in," said the princess, exining the situation to him without holding back.

    "Furthermore, if you do be a citizen, or if you stay here for more than a few days, you will no longer be allowed to leave, or have any contact with the outside world. "

    Axel mentally rolled his eyes. This aunt is so overprotective even when I haven''t revealed my identity. What would happen after I reveal it?

    "Princess, I know the risks. I am an adult, and I can make decisions for myself. I am simply asking what I want in a fully conscious state of mind, knowing all the risks and dangers involved. Are you going to fulfill my request or are you trying to go back on your words?" Asked Axel. He was finding this situation a bit absurd.

    "Besides, I am just a random nobody. In this time of war, why are you wasting so much time thinking when someone is trying to help? Surely you have much more important tasks than worrying about me?"

    "I¡­" The princess''s blue eyes widened, as her lips parted.

    That''s right. The princess realized that her behavior was a bit abnormal. This boy was just an outsider, and yet, she was caring for him a bit too much. It''s war time right now, and there are many pending tasks on her list that could be considered much more important than this. Why is she paying so much attention to this matter?

    It seems that his headstrong and reckless attitude, and along with the way he carried and presented himself seemed too familiar. Thisbined with the fact that he had helped her elder sister, she feels like he''s linked with her elder. That''s why she is subconsciously treating him more favorably.

    ''No, you can''t go on like this anymore,'' she chided herself. She was too soft. She knows that. The fact that she''s here personally dealing with such trivial issues is a proof of that.

    Even the boy in front of her can see that. But this is war time, and she cannot continue to go on like this. She has to put her focus on important tasks. She can''t personally care for everything by herself.

    Thus, the Princess hardened her heart as she nodded.

    "If that''s what you wish... then I will fulfill your demand. From today onwards, I dere you a citizen of Antis. Your living arrangements will be supported by the royal family. But," the princess paused there, levelling Axel with a stern gaze.

    "Your selection in any of the enves, and your position, depends on your ability and merits. I cannot help you with that. Also, you will go through a strict screening beforehand to make sure you aren''t a spy."

    Axel nodded. "Thanks."

    ''Can''t ask for more,'' he thought inwardly. There are limits to how much he can get from that royal seal. It seems that while the princess is kind, she is not foolish.

    The princess turned to Sylthia. "Take him to the trials."

    Sylthia hesitated. "But princess, the Shinobi reinforcements areing..."

    "Don''t worry. This is the royal castle. They won''t try anything. Besides, I will have uncle Nort with me."

    Sylthia very much looked like she wanted to protest further, but she held it in, knowing it was not her ce to argue with the princess. Instead, she red at Axel like he hadmitted a great crime as she began dragging him away.

    "Hey! I can walk on my own!" Axel protested. The way Sylthia was dragging him was attracting a lot of looks. Most of it seemed envy. It seems that the people here have some weird interests.

    Though, more annoying was the fact that they seemed to be recording them through the device on their wrists. "What are they doing?" He still asked Sylthia, pointing at them.

    Sylthia only now realized the attention she had attracted. "For Triton''s sake, do these people have nothing else to do?" She snapped. A strong gale blew in the area, causing everyone to stop staring in fear.

    She tapped her wrist a few times and an interface popped up, showing photos of Sylthia and Axel with variousments below it.

    The gale intensified when Sylthia saw the contents.

    Axel took a nce. It was simr to social gossiping applications that the students of Hogwarts used. Since he knew thenguage, he could read thements.

    Most of them were simping for Sylthia while some were trying to guess his identity.

    Axel sighed. ''Great, so the low profile n is out I guess,'' he thought with some irritation. It looks like Antis also has something like the magi-hive here as well.

    "Why can''t they leave me alone?!" Sylthia grumbled in annoyance.

    "Well, maybe you should try dressing differently," suggested Axel. While most of the people here were dressed in simr uniforms or armours, Sylthia was wearing a vibrant green dress with deep slips along her legs. Whenever her emotions fluctuate, the wind blows, and her dress flutters, revealing her long legs. Combined with her long green hair and exquisite features, and her stern expression, it is apparent why she is attracting so much attention.

    Axel''s suggestion was extremely reasonable, given with sincere intentions, and yet, Sylthia gave him a murderous look. "Why would I change it? It''s a rank four sub-relic, with thousands of years of history." she uttered, looking offended with the idea that it could be the cause of the problem.

    "Suit yourself," Axel muttered with disinterest. "Why are you getting angry at me?"

    "Because! You are disrupting everything bying here! Instead of focusing on war preparations, the Princess is paying more attention to you! And with me not guarding her, the princess''s security is beingpromised because of you."

    "How is it beingpromised? Just a few ninjas areing, right?"

    "You won''t understand! It''s not amon urrence. It''s been 5 years since anyone legally entered or exited Antis. There''s no telling what those tricky Shinobis would do." said Sylthia as she continued dragging him.

    That means that they haven''t heard anything about the outside world for years. Axel furrowed his eyebrows. A thought suddenly urred to him. "Why is the entry and exit so strictly regted in Antis?"

    He was curious. Why does Antis not let outsiders in? Or let it''s people go out? It couldn''t just be an extreme aversion.

    "It''s because¡ª." Sylthia suddenly paused, realizing that Axel was doing it again. She directly sealed his mouth again, dragging him to take the trials. This person is too dangerous. She was just about to spill royal secrets without resistance.

    When Sylthia unsealed his mouth again, they had arrived at a ce in the castle as huge as the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

    Upon their entry, many students were pointing at Sylthia, their gazes full of admiration and worship, as if seeing a celebrity. But no one dared to recklessly approach her, all keeping their distance.

    The ce was quite crowded, just like the grounds they were previously in. The difference would be the fact that there were a lot less armored men and women and more boys and girls in uniforms. Meaning there were more students here and less soldiers.

    It looked like a very advanced gym of sorts, with all types of machines. In the middle, there were several fighting rings where the students were sparring. It also happened to be the most crowded ce. As Axel watched, one of the fighters in the ring knocked down the other, causing cheers to erupt among the onlookers who were surrounding the ring.

    The screen above, which was projecting the fight, lit up brightly, showing the winner''s face, and the numbers beside his name changing.

    "Where are we?" Asked Axel, his muscles unconsciously flexing and unflexing, getting ready for some action.

    Sylthia looked around at the ce with some nostalgia.

    "We''re in the Academic Block. This is the trial field of the Royal Academy. We''re here to test your qualifications."

    Axel cracked his neck. "Well, what are we waiting for then?"

    "The testing criteria is based on your enve. Which enve do you want to join?" She asked impatiently.

    "Enve?"

    "It''s the field you want your carrier in. I know that you want to participate in the war, but there are many ways you can do that. Military, Mending, Magical research, Technomancy¡­ there are many enves. What do you specialise in? What are you interested in? Depending on that, I will check your qualifications."

    ''What I specialize in?'' Axel thought about it. ''Stealth, assassination, infiltration, subterfuge, deception, stealing¡­'' the things that came to the forefront on his mind weren''t exactly good. Thankfully, he knew what he was interested in.

    "I think I''ll choose Military," he said. What he wanted was to fight Kraken head on.

    Sylthia did not seem surprised by his choice. Only disappointed. "Which division? Frontline or Logistics?"

    Was that even a question? "Frontline," answered Axel without blinking. Which cowardly idiot would join logistics?

    Sylthia''s eyes turned colder. "I suggest you rethink it. In the time of war, Military is the fastest way to gather merit and gain promotion, but it''s also the Enve with most risk. It also has the most number of members, and the fiercestpetition. Your outsider status doesn''t help either. You could be deployed to the most dangerous areas without taking your safety into consideration."

    A grin came on Axel''s face upon hearing those specifications. "Sounds perfect."

    "Why did I even bother?" She muttered, walking away. If someone has a death wish, she''s not going to try and stop them.

    "Since you''re in the frontline, physical fitness is a must, regardless of whatever specialization you choose. So the trial is going to begin by testing your physical parameters," said Sylthia as Axel followed.

    "Strength, Agility, Stamina, Speed, endurance, flexibility, Coordination, Bnce, Reaction time, and so on. After that, it''s going to test the main factor, your fighting power. Your career ahead will depend upon this. But since you haven''t gone through any preliminary training or enhancements, it''s better that you don''t hold out much hope."

    Axel''s eyes gleamed. "What kind of qualifications do I need to directly fight in the war? What do I need to do to reach five star authority?" He asked.

    Sylthia gave him a dismissive look. "You can forget about that for now. It''s impossible for you."

    Axel frowned "Why is that?"

    "Firstly, a student has to go through several years of schooling in the field they have chosen. Only when they are ready, can they graduate and get a star, meaning they can now enroll into their chosen enves military, court, Sanatorium, Research, etc."

    "You," she said, looking down at Axel. "Haven''t even proven to have the qualifications to even enter the royal academy, let alone graduate from it and get a star. So, right now, you can''t participate in the war. As for getting 5 star authority, you know how unrealistic that is, don''t you?"

    Axel was deep in thought, not at all looking offended. "What¡­ if I am more than qualified?"

    "That won''t be possible. Only the best of the best are admitted into the Royal Academy. The education here is much betterpared to the outside world. There has rarely been a case that a Shinobi warrior has been able to match an Antian warrior if they are the same age."

    "But what if¡­ I can? What if I can even match a five star warrior?"

    Sylthia rolled her eyes. "Stop daydreaming." She didn''t believe Axel at all. He was what? 15? 16? But she knew that it was the age of delusion and boasting, so she didn''t mind.

    But, Axel was serious. Right now, the only thing he was concerned about was: How much should I show?

    ....

    A.N.: Yep, there''s no cliche underestimating and cepping trope. He''ll get the recognition he deserves

    Next: Showing Off

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 170: Extra Chapter offer

Chapter 170: Extra Chapter offer

    I know the updates have been less recently since I''ve been busy. So, another chapter tomorrow. Just vote with Powerstones and take me to the top with an overwhelming lead.

 Chapter 171: Trial II

    Chapter 171: Trial II

    A.N.: Here''s the chap. Enjoy!

    ....

    How much should I show?

    It was something to think about. Truthfully, Axel would have liked to have kept his powers a secret.

    He was a bit conflicted about this. He wanted to go all out. At least for once.

    Right now, he was under a disguise. He wasn''t Axel, who was being targeted by the Organisation, but Chris, an identity he could discard without consequences. Showing off his power won''t impact his real identity.

    It is also a fact that the more power he shows, the higher he''ll be able to rise, which would make it easier for him to aplish his goals.

    That''s why, he definitely had the license to flex.

    But the problem is, this ce isn''t exactly safe for him. From what he has gathered so far, the king is sick, the Princess does not have too much power, and there is something called the council of elders who wield considerable power. That is not even mentioning the relic wielders present on their side.

    Between all these people, with his past record, Axel ispletely certain that at least one of them would want him dead at some point. Thus, it would be for the best if he doesn''t show everything.

    ''60%''

    60% of his total power. This is the max limit Axel has drawn for himself in this war. But, that 60% is more than enough.

    Considering the fact that he has only shown 2-5% to take out the whole Mahoutokoro team, it can be estimated just how high he is going to go this time.

    Sylthia first took him to an area where tens of transparent cylindrical pods were arranged in rows. She tapped a few times on the screen of one of them, and it opened from the middle with a swoop, its surface lighting up.

    Axel pursed his lips in distaste. "Don''t tell me I have to go inside."

    "You have to go inside," said Sylthia firmly. "It''s to check whether you are a squid or not."

    "...A what?" Axel was stumped. Isn''t squid just a tentacles sea creature? What does she mean by that?

    "A squid. Meaning if you are not a member of Kraken or not."

    ''Oh.'' Squid is a derogatory term for members of Kraken.

    It made sense now. No wonder Sylthia got suspicious when he expressed reluctance over going into the pod. If this device can check if he''s from the kraken then it seems he really has to go in. But,

    "How does it distinguish between someone who is from Kraken and someone who is not?" He asked.

    [Silver Tongue]

    "Every Kraken member has a particr energy inside their bodies. This machine can detect traces of that energy inside you¡ª" Sylthia paused as she gritted her teeth, realizing that she had yet again revealed secret information to him. The look she gave him could kill him a hundred times.

    ''So, it''s like this.'' Axel paid no attention to her. He was still analyzing the new information he just got. So, the members of Kraken have a particr energy inside them. From theron and Nerio, he had already deduced that they had been granted some special powers that weren''t their own. Those tattoos for example, and those mental barriers.

    Theron''s armor took too much power to control. It wasn''t something that a person can do by themselves. And the reaction speed of Nerio was unreal. Furthermore, their mental barriers were powerful enough to defend against even his legilimency. This must be the energy Sylthia is talking about. The question is, how?

    "Why aren''t you going in?" Asked Sylthia, her jewel already glowing. She was growing more and more suspicious of Axel. First he asks so many questions, then he wants to contact someone in the outside world, and now he is stalling to get checked.

    Axel was really hesitating to enter the pod. Of course he did not have the tattoos, neither did he have those mental blocks. But there was still some risk. His father was a fucking member of the organisation. A very powerful one at that.

    So he wondered, is it possible that Axel might have some of that energy inside him?

    Axel only entered the pod after confirming with the system. Fortunately, he was found to have passed the test.

    ''Strange.''

    Sylthia was still a bit confused. Even though he passed the test, there were faint traces, ones which can only be found in people of Antis. If this guy really has had no contact with Kraken or Antis, then howe he has them?

    ''Maybe, its influence is spreading faster than we had anticipated,'' she thought gravely.

    "What''s next?" Asked Axel, snapping Sylthia out of her thoughts.

    "Now, I will take you to the Trial rooms."

    "The trial rooms?"

    It has been mentioned many times, but Axel still doesn''t know exactly what the trial really is.

    "It''s essentially a set of tests that you are going to take in order to judge your overall capabilities. The rest, you''ll understand when you see it," she said meaningfully.

    Their destination was at the opposite side of the huge hall. Upon arriving here, Axel realized that the crowd here was second densest after the fighting rings. Large doors were built into the wall side by side, and above each door was a wide screen that disyed different kinds of footage.

    In one was the screens, a student could be seen shooting a horde of creatures, in another, a student was fighting soldiers in close quarters. In some they were running through different types of obstacles. From time to time, they would die too. Sometimes they would revive while sometimes they would quit.

    The students standing outside were spectating the participants while discussing among themselves. They would cheer and exim from time to time when something surprising happens.

    "By Magledon''s teeth! The way he''s running. Edir might break the record soon."

    "He''s not there yet. The running record has been unbeatable for 5 years straight."

    "What a shot! Keep shooting!"

    "Nert''s fighting power seems to have increased again."

    "Uh¡­ Calton died horribly this time. That must have hurt like Painifera."

    Listening to the conversation, Axel was able to guess what the trial rooms seem to be about, and his gaze flickered with astonishment.

    Sylthia looked at the country bumpkin by her side. "A trial room is an advanced antian technology that simtes real life situations through which you can test and improve your overallbat abilities without any risks. Do you understand now?"

    Axel nodded his head, still looking at the screens.

    Sylthia was satisfied with his bumpkin-like reaction.

    "I''ve heard from the shinobis that the outsiders are still far from developing any such technology, so be grateful that you''re getting a chance. Since the rooms are limited, even the students of the royal academy get a fixed quota of how many times they can try this. If it were in my hands, someone like you would have never gotten a chance." she said, going towards one of the rooms that had just gotten empty.

    Axel seemed to not mind her insulting words at all. Sylthia has been nothing but unhelpful and annoying so far. By now, he had already thanked the system for having him purchase the Zen focus. After training that skill, Axel was able to control his temper much better. Otherwise, he would haveshed out by now, no matter the consequences.

    Even though he could calm his mind through lumency, the source of his unstable emotions has always been his messed up soul. Now that he has adjusted it somewhat through [Zen Focus]. he can stop himself after considering the overall situation.

    But of course, his extremely petty and vindictive nature is still unchanged. The most Zen Focus can do is dy his revenge.

    ''Well, when I be the king, I know who to pick as my cupbearer.''

    ''I''ll have her wear that emerald bracelet she likes to unt so much around her neck, like a pet cor while she serves me drinks.''

    ''I''ll slowly crush that pride until there''s none left.''

    That''s what he was thinking while walking with light steps, his expression serene.

    ¡­Ahem, it seems that he has only be a more dangerous enemy to have. Previously, the retaliation would have been swift and shallow. But now, it is going to be long and extremely tortuous.

    Unaware of the future humiliation she had secured herself during this half an hour ofpany, Sylthia walked straight towards the crowd.

    "Out of the way." she said, blowing a gust of wind. Suddenly, the students who were busy looking at the screens, turned to find Sylthia walking over. bbergasted, they all stumbled to make way for her while saluting her.

    They weren''t prepared to see someone high as like Sylthia so close to them. The crowd parted to make way for her. Walking through the path created like it was a matter of course, Sylthia shed themunicated device on her wrist to the control screen, and the interface shed with a [Wee, Sylthia Eryndor].

    "So, which path do you want to choose?" She asked him over her shoulder.

    "What is this path now?" Asked Axel in annoyance. First, there are various enves like Military, Mending, Technomancy, Court Official, etc. Then in the Military, there is the Frontline and Logistics division. Now, what are these paths?

    "There are four basic paths to choose in the frontline division: shooter, diator, spell caster, rider. Which ones of these would you like to try?"

    "I can select more than one?"

    Sylthia clicked her tongue. "Someone exin it to him," she ordered, gesturing towards Axel.

    The students hesitated at first due to nervousness, but knowing that it was a good opportunity to curry favour with Sylthia, a student stepped forward. "You can choose more than one, but only if you are capable. The more paths a student or soldier is proficient in, the better his or her prospects will be," he exined.

    ''More the merrier, huh?'' Axel pondered over what to choose.

    Warrior? He could dabble.

    Shooting? His aiming has been honed for years. How difficult can it be?

    Rider? World famous Quidditch yer here.

    Spell Casting? He could see that the Antia spell Casting was a bit different, but it seems he can try those as well.

    "I''ll choose all four," he decided.

    Everyone looked at him strangely and Sylthia snorted.

    Another student stepped forward to exin. "I don''t rmend you choose all. The trial will be designed to test all the aspects of the paths you''ve chosen. So, the more you choose, the more difficult it will be."

    Axel nodded. "I choose all."

    ??

    Those words made Axel look ignorant and overconfident, and their impression of him fell several degrees.

    "You should not underestimate the trials. Since it''s safe, their difficulty level is beyond even 2 star soldier level. Students die many times while attempting it, and even though the death is not real, the pain you''ll feel is very real," one of the more empathetic students kindly exined.

    If Axel is someone important enough to be escorted directly by Sylthia Eryndor, then it''s better to make a good impression. That''s why, several students seemed to want to persuade him further. After all, facing those situations and ''dying'' is no joke. Lots of students get traumatized due to it every year. If it''s too much, they stop even going to the trial room.

    On the other hand, many others were just happy to see him make a fool of himself.

    Why?

    ''The bastard is able to be so close to Sylthia!''

    That''s right, they were just jealous. Who is he?!

    But, Axel was thinking of something else entirely. ''Only 2 Star?'' Since the difficulty level only reached two stars, it seems that he won''t be able to show off much after all.

    "So, what will happen if I clear it?" He asked, but maybe the question was ridiculous, because several snickers were heard from the surroundings.

    ''This again?'' Sylthia was exasperated by Axel''s delusional questions. Most students can''t even pass the endurance test, or die at the second stage. The trial is just to test how far a student can go, not if they can clear it. If they perform decently, they will be admitted, and then they train for years so that they can get a satisfactory score and graduate.

    So, his question about clearing it is just in ridiculous.

    "What is your full name?" Sylthia asked, tapping the control screen.

    She no longer cared if Axel died many times inside and failed. She just wanted to get this over with.

    Axel clicked his tongue. Would it kill her to give him a straight answer to his questions for once?

    "Chris Martin." Axel gave out a random surname.

    Sylthia quickly entered his name, selected all of the basic paths and tapped [simte trial].

    "Just go in already. And be warned, don''t me us if you get trauma from dying," she said, turning to Axel.

    ''Maybe, she''ll be more cooperating after the trial.''

    "Fine."

    Axel decisively walked into the Trial Room. The door closed behind him, and the screen above lit up, showing Axel.

    Inside was pitch ck, except for these words.

    [Wee, Chris Martin.]

    [Your very first attempt will begin now. Are you ready?]

    "Ready."

    [3]

    [2]

    [1]

    Slowly, a narrow path appeared in front of him being cleared out of nothing and stretching out for a distance.

    [First Stage, Obstacle Course.]

    [Start Running]

    ...

    <strong>A.N.: Chris Martin is the name of the protagonist of my previous fanfic. I used it here because, well, why not? </strong>

    <strong>Anyways, next chapter: Showing Off.</strong>

    <strong>(Sorry, I thought it was this one.)</strong>

    <strong>Next next: First Few Followers</strong>

    <strong>Next next next: Aerial Combat </strong>

    <strong>The War arc is going to be an absolute banger! Come read /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 172: Showing Off

    Chapter 172: Showing Off

    Outside the Trial Rooms, the number of people gathered had begun to increase at a rapid rate.

    From the moment Sylthia had arrived in the Trial grounds, more and more people had started paying attention to her movements. What is Sylthia Eryndor doing in this area? Usually, she is only seen apanying the princess. But today, she had a boy in strange clothes walking side by side with her.

    When they noticed Axel and Sylthia walking towards the Squid Detection Pods, and then to the trial rooms, they realized that Axel was actually taking the enrollment test.

    What kind of person was he to have Sylthia Eryndor personally take his test? Everyone was curious, So, they all began making their way towards the Trial rooms, curious to spectate. When those who still had no idea what was going on saw everyone gathering at one ce, they also followed to find out.

    And that is how, Axel now had a big audience watching his match. Not only that, many of the students had begun recording and streaming him through their wrist devices.

    "Who is this new fish?"

    "I don''t know either, but he''s with Sylthia, so there must be something, right?"

    "Look at his clothes. What kind of fashion is that?"

    "He''s so handsome! Someone tell me his Oceagram!"

    All kinds of discussions regarding Axel were going on. But the most prevalent one was:

    "Look at those loose clothes. 100 Atan says he won''t be able to even pass the Physical stage.

    "I bet he''ll go down on the first obstacle!"

    "300 on 3rd obstacle!"

    Yep, they were betting on how much he''dst.

    [3]

    [2]

    [1]

    [Begin Running!]

    In the screen, the Trial had already started, but they could see that Axel still had not started moving. Instead, he was stretching his muscleszily, warming up.

    """?????""""

    The confusion of the crowd was palpable. Did this guy not know what he was supposed to do?

    "Run," said Sylthia through the microphone, in case he hadn''t yet realized. But Axel still took five seconds toplete his stretching routine. Then, he began jogging on the path.

    "Is this a joke?"

    "What the hell is he doing?"

    "Is he mad or what?"

    The crowd felt like they had wasted their timeing here. A lot of booing and jeering sounds were heard. But, some perceptive people didn''t take their eyes off of Axel. Somehow, the way he behaved, and his each and every movement gave them an inexplicable feeling.

    Sure enough, Axel''s speed was increasing at a constant rate. He was still steady and rxed, but his hands and feet were moving faster and faster. Not only that, the steps were gradually gettingrger, making him cover more distance in the same amount of time.

    The crowd was no longer so rowdy now. Axel was now running at a speed that seemed¡­ as fast as any of them? Even though they had been going through enhancements here.

    "So, he can run," muttered someone unimpressed. Running wasn''t really that important. The 1st stage was a test of stamina, endurance, reaction speed, maneuverability, bnce, coordination, etc. Agility was just one factor.

    But very soon, people noticed something abnormal. "Is¡­ Is he still getting faster?!"

    Everyone else also realized it. Axel''s hands and feet were still moving faster and faster.

    People couldn''t understand how that was possible. What kind of training and enhancement did he receive to be able to be so fast at such a young age? Is he from one of those Aristocratic families?

    "Look, he isn''t slowing down!" Someone pointed out in urgency.

    The beginning was a straight run to warm you up and tire you out somewhat, but the first stage truly begins when the obstacles starting.

    Axel was now entering into the true beginning of the first stage.

    "He''s going to die!" that was the conclusion people reached when they saw him still somehow increasing his speed.

    "Someone tell him!" Another person yelled. If Axel kept going like that, he would get seriously injured, or might even die. Even though it won''t be real, but it''s still a really unpleasant experience.

    But, even after the urging of the person, Sylthia didn''t warn Axel. She just stood there, gazing at Axel in surprise.

    Sure enough, the first obstacle came without warning. A block manifested out of thin air right in front of Axel. And since he was running so fast, he hardly had the time to even detect it, let alone stop or avoid it.

    [Arcane Footwork]

    In the next moment, Axel appeared on the other side of the block, as if he had passed right through it. His speed¡­ hadn''t decreased at all. In fact, it was still increasing! His hands and feet were almost a blur by now.

    ???!!!!???!!!????!!!

    Jaws were dropped, pupils were dted, and eyes were stretched wide open when they saw this.

    "What the hell? Is he a ninja?"

    "Even they don''t move like THAT."

    They didn''t know, it was just the beginning. As more and more blocks materialized in the path, Axel didn''t slow down at all, passing by the manifested blocks as if he was going right through them!

    The only silver lining was, he seemed to have at least stopped elerating further.

    "E-Excuse me."

    ? Sylthia came out of her trance-like state when someone addressed her. Looking back, everyone was looking at her inquiringly.

    "Can¡­ Can you please enlighten us about his identity?"

    The students couldn''t hold back their curiosity any longer.

    ''Who is he?'' Sylthia realized that she had no idea. She had thought that he was just a nobody who was bewitched by the prestige of Antis and wanted to climb high without having any abilities, but it seems that it was no longer the case, was it?

    It seems that Axel can at least run very well. But...

    ''So, he''s a bit good at running.'' thought Sylthia with a huff. She didn''t believe it would be anything more. Since he had chosen all the paths, the trial will be designed in order to test everything. Just good running is not going to help very much.

    Meanwhile, in the Trial, the next obstacle came, theser field!

    "He''ll slow down now, right?" Said a student.

    Everyone HAS to slow down here. You simply can not pass through that field without taking the utmost caution. Thesers are densely aligned, and you have to slowly move your body through the field without touching thesers.

    It''s not even about how fast you can go anymore. It tests your bnce, flexibility, and core strength. Trying to run through it is madness.

    But it seems that Axel was going to attempt this madness, because he still hadn''t slowed down despite theser field getting closer and closer.

    "Slow down. Touching thesers can be fatal," said Sylthia in the microphone. This time, she decided to warn him. It could be considered an apology for underestimating him. He wasn''t aplete weakling at least.

    Too bad, her kindness was ignored by Axel, since he didn''t slow down at all, making her wonder why he even bothered.

    "Die then," she muttered to herself.

    But, Axel didn''t even do that. As soon as theser field came, Axel''s eyes sharped.

    The world seemed to slow down for him as the details he could capture increased. A path quickly formed in his mind, as his brain did calctions to find the quickest and safest route out.

    Just when theser field came, he jumped right in, causing the spectators outside to grimace. They thought they''d see Axel getting cut into multiple pieces.

    But what they saw was parts of Axel''s body continuously bending into different angles, until he emerged on the other side,pletely unharmed.

    "....."

    There was pin drop silence outside. Everyone was stillprehending what they saw. Only after Axel nced right at them with a disdainful look did the exmations begin.

    "What¡­ what did he do just now?!"

    "It can also be done like this?!"

    "Can he be intangible?"

    "Does he have a relic or something?"

    What Axel was doing right now was just too absurd, even by Antian standards.

    "Wohoo! This guy''s awesome!" Someone eximed.

    "He''s speedrunning through the Trial like it''s nothing!" Another guy eximed with excitement. Several exmations of agreement were heard from all around. The students were now hooked, routing and cheering for Axel.

    Speedrunning was something the high level Soldiers sometimes do when theye to this trial ground. Since 2 Star difficulty is nothing serious for them, they''d show off by going through the obstacles like a piece of cake while taking as little time as possible. The videos they have seen are extremely exhrating and satisfying to watch, but they never thought that they would get the chance to see it live!

    Axel, despite this being his first attempt and his age being too low, was attempting to speedrun the trial! The students were no doubt excited.

    But, not everyone was excited. In the crowd, there was also a three star officer, who was spectating the Trial. Listening to the students chattering in awe, he shook his head. "Shut up, you idiots. He''s not going tost long," he said, shaking his head. This man was one of the instructors here. Of course, his words carried wait.

    "Running continuously at that speed, he won''t be able to clear the next obstacle," he exined.

    When he said that, realisation dawned on the students.

    "He''s chosen all four paths, so..."

    "The next obstacle... is the Gravitational Field, right?"

    "Oh, right. His boat will sink."

    "He didn''t conserve energy,"

    The students btedly realized what was wrong.

    The more paths you choose, the more difficult the trial will be.

    The Gravitational Field. It onlyes in the Trial if you have chosen 3 or more paths, including the warrior path. It''ll increase the Gravity in the area, causing every step to cause more exertion. When the effect stacks for multiple steps, a person can''t really hold on for long.

    A challenger can''t have infinite stamina. If you have to go through the Gravitational Field, it''s important to conserve your energy from the beginning in order to pass through it. Since Axel has been going at full speed for a while, it seems like he''ll end up tiring out now.

    Understanding this, the students enthusiasm dampened somewhat.

    Meanwhile, Inside the Trial room, Axel had a slightly annoyed look on his face. ''How long will this go on?''

    He''s tired of running..... at such mediocre speed.

    It''s too difficult.... trying to control his legs to not move too fast. That''s why he had to increase the pace slowly, in order to keep it under control. Show power, and they''ll respect you. Show too much, and they''ll fear you. Axel doesn''t intend to go all at once.

    60% is just the upper limit. For now, Axel is showing off far less. He''s first going to gauge the reaction of the Antians to this much power.

    In the past two years, due to the System rmended training exercises, expensive magic ingredients diet, and the rmended potion recipes, his physical capabilities have already far surpassed human limits.

    Arcane Thief is a ss that especially promotes Physical Attributes, to begin with. So the Trial made for noobs here is just too damn boring for him.

    "Hm?"

    As Axel ran, he suddenly felt that his steps were a little heavy. Unconsciously, he increased the power of his muscles to keep up with the same speed, not at all faltering. But then he realized. ''Is this an obstacle too?''

    Axel slowed down his speed somewhat, but still kept going without any sign of fatigue. When he came out of the field, his speed increased again.

    By this point, he was almost bored. ''System''s exercise is so much more difficult that this,'' he thought.

    The amount of stamina he has used from the beginning of the trial till now... it''s used up within 2 minutes when doing System''s exercise.

    Meanwhile, looking at Axel still running at the same speed, the people outside, the students had question marks all over their faces.

    "Who is this guy?!"

    "He¡­ how did he do it?"

    "With that stamina¡­ he can even go on for the whole night," someone joked.

    "500 Ans says he''ll also pass the next obstacle!" A bet was announced. But this time, no one countered it.

    People could no longer specte what Axel could or could not do. The next obstacle was quite difficult, and it could be called one the most difficult of some of them, but they had no idea how Axel will perform.

    But, they wanted to find out.

    "Go Chris!" Someone yelled, quickly repeated by another, and another.

    "Speedrun the next one too!"

    "Yeah!"

    ""Speedrun!""

    """Speedrun!"""

    """""" Speedrun!"""""

    More and more students wereing from all around after knowing about themotion through online.

    In the Trial, while Axel was wondering what would happen next, he realized that there was no path ahead. Only a huge chasm. The only way ahead was a narrow pole, enough to amodate one feet in breadth.

    Still waiting for the next trial, Axel began running on the pole while looking around, wondering if the pole would break off or if another obstacle would like those blocks would appear, trying to push him off. But nothing of the sort happened, and Axel came to the end of the pole path. Up ahead, there was not even the pole. Just ropes at regr intervals, hanging by nothing.

    "Fuck!"

    "He really is speedrunning it!"

    "The guy didn''t even bother putting on the safety harness!"

    The students were left in awe. What confidence! What bnce!

    "Go Chris!"

    "Go Chris!"

    "Next one too!"

    Sure enough, Axel didn''t disappoint. He jumped off and grabbed the rope, swung forward, skipped two ropes, caught the third, swung off, caught the Seventh one. Due to the swinging motion, his speed didn''t decrease, but actually increased.

    As soon as hended on the other side, fireworks exploded on the screen! The first stage of the trial wasplete, and Two more were left!

    !!!!!

    Cheers erupted among the students. It was the moment when the new king had begun to get his first supporters.

    ¡­.

    Meanwhile, a girl in ninja attire with a beautiful but expressionless face was packing up her gear, ready to depart on a long journey.

    The guy is going to destroy Antis, and expects her to sit back and rx? Only when all the Kunai in the world turn into dust.

    "Aki! Let''s go! Before your Grandfather finds out."

    "Coming, Kurai Sensei." Said Akiko, going out. The corners of her mouth lifted, imagining Axel''s reaction when he would see her.

    ....

    A.N.: Next: Aerial Combat

    Next next: Killing Spree

    Next next next: Castle in an Emergency State

    Next... Next: Seeing a Familiar Face

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 173: Aerial Combat

    Chapter 173: Aerial Combat

    The first stage was over. The students werepletely won over by Axel, who had cleared it in style.

    Cheers were ringing incessantly, and more and more people wereing to spectate the match. In those people, there were many with even one and two star authority.

    Standing in the crowd, Sylthia could no longer stay indifferent. Looking at Axel''s performance, she had to admit that he was definitely capable, at least in terms of Physique. But, she was furious with the situation.

    Everyone was cheering for Axel like he was a new hero, and she absolutely couldn''t stand it. If he was an Antian, she wouldn''t have cared, but the fact is, he is not!

    "Who is he?" The students asked her for the umpteenth time. Since the atmosphere was so rowdy, they had even forgotten the absolute difference in ss when addressing her.

    ''An outsider!'' She wanted to say. But she still remained silent instead, focusing on the screen.

    At this moment, amotion ensued when Axel skipped the break time and directly entered the next stage.

    Usually, the Trainees are allowed a brief break after the first round so that they can perform optimally in the second stage. So the onlookers were a bit disappointed. They couldn''t wait to see how Axel will perform in the next stage. But, when they saw him skipping the break, it caused an uproar.

    "Does he not need rest?"

    "Even after that run? I don''t believe it!"

    "How old is he?"

    "He doesn''t look older than 15 or 16. But he must be at least 20."

    Whatever Axel''s Magical and Combat abilities might be, just considering his pure physical capabilities, it was too abnormal for him to be so powerful, even by Antian standards.

    Since Antis also puts emphasis on Physical development along with magic, It''s not that there aren''t people who can match his physique. It can be achieved through training and enhancement. But everyone else with such Physique is far older. Besides, his other aspects like maneuverability, bnce, reaction etc. can only be achieved after incessant training.

    "What will be the next stage?"

    "Shoot and Rider assessment."

    The next stage would be a test for Shooter and Rider. No matter what path you choose, or how many you choose, the Trial only has three stages. Since Axel had chosen all the basic paths, the difficulty is going to be much higher since more things will have to be tested with fewer stages.

    The distribution is something like this:

    1st stage: Physical Assessment

    2nd stage: Shooter+Rider

    3rd stage: Warrior+Spellcaster

    Usually, all three stages test just one Path. But here, three stages have to test for 5 paths, so each stage''s difficulty is increased several times.

    "Bets for the next round?" Someone asked.

    There was a pause, before bets began pouring in again. Like always, the bets were automatically registered into the system through their wrist devices, with the said amount being deducted from their ount. If they win, the amount will be returned, along with their winnings.

    Unlike the other time, the odds were in favor of Axel performing well in the next trial, which was a surprise.

    It''s natural that the chances Axel might perform poorly were higher. But the people had already lost a lot of times betting against him, so many knew better by now.

    Inside the Trial Ground, Axel walked through the doorway that had appeared in front of him and emerged on the other side. The scene around him got recreated again.

    This time, he was on the edge of a cliff. A number of bows and gun-like devices manifested around him. And then, a long hover contraption appeared in front of him.

    "Hm?" Axel examined it. It looked a bit like the muggle motorcycles he had seen, except,paring this mourous vehicle to a muggle bike seemed like an insult to this beauty. The body was extremely light and sleek, and it glowed with blue light, seemingly powered by magic.

    Axel strapped all the guns to his body and mounted the bike. As soon as he did so, words appeared in front of him.

    {Stage 2: While riding the Aquanite, safely reach the other side while shooting down as many hostile units as possible. identally shooting friendly units will bring negative points.}

    {3}

    "Wait!" Axel suddenly realized a problem.

    {2}

    He had no idea how to use these things!

    {1}

    "How do I use it?" He muttered. Fortunately, a box called instructions popped up in front of him when he uttered those words.

    {Go!}

    {elerate by turning the handles inward, brake using the livers. Fire the sters using the red switches, deloy the shield using blue switch. The Shield''s life will be disyed on the interface.

    """Go!""" The Crowd cheered while watching Axel.

    But¡­

    "....."

    They were once again met with the site of Axel not moving at all. Last time, he was at least warming up. But this time, he just sat there on the Aquanite,pletely Frozen.

    Then, someone saw the letters that had appeared in front of him.

    "Is he¡­ Is he reading the instructions?"

    """????"""

    That observation caused mass confusion in the crowd. It was too absurd to be true. But when they saw Axel fiddling with the Aquanite''s controls like a noob while checking the instruction, there was no denying it.

    Though instruction Manuals are provided to supplement knowledge on how to use Equipment, it''s rarely needed, especially in the very first trial that determines a person''s qualifications. The students only choose the path they are most proficient in. If someone has chosen the Rider path, it''s a given that they''re skilled in riding a Aquanite, which is a very difficult to control vehicle.

    In such a case, reading instructions on the first trial, the one that is supposed to determine your future is a bit¡­

    Not a bit, it''spletely nuts.

    Bruh, why did you choose the path if you don''t even know how to ride an Aquanite?

    While they were waiting for him to finish up reading the instructions on how to use the Aquanite, they saw another wall of text appear in front of him as he began fiddling with the Guns and Bows he had strapped to himself and the bike.

    "Is he for real?"

    So, not only was he not a rider, he was not even he was not even a shooter.

    "Remind me to punch him when hees out."

    "What kind of fish is he? Did no one tell him about the disadvantages of choosing multiple sses?"

    "What a waste of time. Did you call me here to show me this?!''

    The anger was reaching boiling point. Axel seems to have no idea about even the basics of the two paths. There''s no way Axel can do much at this point. The disappointment of the crowd was immense, especially considering the fact that they had already ced bets by now.

    Unaware of the negative attention he was attracting, Axel thoroughly read the instructions while also listening to the system''s information.

    The Magic Guns and Bows in this ce are well developed. So much so that there is an entire path rted to it.

    These guns and bows are magical conduits that can help youpress your magical power and fire it with much more force than normal spells. There''s also the concept of ready made magic bullets and arrows, but those aren''t usually as effective since most can''t pierce the Antians'' Armor. Also, they''re expensive.

    After going through the information, Axel tried firing ording to the instructions. He cocked the gun in front. "¨¤smus," he muttered. Instantly, his magic was channeled into the gun, causing its sides to glow as it gotpressed.

    When he pulled the trigger, with a ''bang'', apressed and destructive magic was released, causing a slight recoil. Though, it dissipated after covering some distance, quite weak.

    Axel could vividly feel that he couldpress it further, as was written in the instructions, but it was not easy. Shooting seems much more difficultpared to firing spells with a wand. Even though the power and speed can be increased, it must take a lot of training to master it.

    A slight smile yed on Axel''s lips. "Interesting," he muttered, as if he had found a new toy.

    Meanwhile, jeering and booing sounds were spreading outside when people saw Axel''s bullet.

    "He really is a beginner."

    "He''s dead. A hundred times."

    "My Ans..."

    They had given up hope by now. The bullet Axel fired was quite weak. It takes years of training to master firing bullets, not to mention the difficulty of aiming. If he''s a beginner, there''s no way he''d pass the stage.

    With it being such a difficult stage, chances are, he''ll keep dying, meaning and it was meaningless to watch further.

    *Bang*

    Just then, Axel fired a second time. This time, the bullet he fired was much faster, and covered more distance. It was almost approaching the student level, which takes years of training to reach.

    Not even letting anyoneprehend what was happening, Axel fired three more shots, with thest oneing at expert level.

    [Congrattions, You have acquired the Skill <>]

    [Due to ovep with [Aiming], [Throwing] and [Wand Shooting], [Zen Focus], etc. current Progress: 40%]

    "!!!!????!!!!"

    The spectators were left staring at this unbelievable sight.

    "Did he.... just learn to shoot in 10 seconds?"

    "What about the 10 years I spent?!"

    "He... He made it look so easy..."

    "I don''t believe it. He''s clearly dogfishing us!"

    "Yeah, there was no recoil. If it was really his first time, the gun would have flown right out of his hand!"

    "Wait, what is he doing now?"

    "Readymade bullets? What''s the point? The ones provided in the trial are useless!"

    In the Trial room, Axel was now trying out the readymade bullets. Though the power and speed was not up to par, but since Axel still hasn''t fully recovered his magical limit, he would prefer using this.

    Since the readymade bullets are just simtions in this trial, he can use an infinite amount. On the other hand, the magic used for firing magic bullets is real, and he''d rather not waste his precious magic if he can help it.

    After nodding to himself, Axel twirled the gun and strapped it to the holster on the Aquanite.

    He then hit the start button and the Aquanite hummed to life. Now, all that''s left is to try this beauty out.

    *Whirl*

    Gripping the handles, Axel gave a raise, causing slight vibration.

    "Let''s go."

    Axel switched gear and the Aquanite flew off with an amazing burst of speed.

    "Whoa!" Axelughed out loud. This thing had much better eleration than a broom. Axel quickly began familiarizing himself with the controls. Handling was a bit more difficultpared to a broom since the sensitivity was quite high. Just a slight tilt of the hand can change the coursepletely.

    Soon, the barren region below was gone, reced by an endless cityscape. It was simr to the city he had seen when he had stepped through the portal. Only, this city was in chaos.

    Some buildings had turned into rubble while Smoke was rising from others. Axel knew who he had to eliminate when he saw red marks over the enemy units.

    Meanwhile, the spectators outside, who were on the verge of leaving due to frustration, stopped when they saw Axel smoothly handling the Aquanite.

    The bets were still changing, and now those in favor of him not doing well had increased.

    It was because¡­

    "He got this one, huh?"

    "It''s been a while since I saw this."

    "Doesn''t even know the proper way to deploy the shield. It''ll run out before he reaches the end."

    "He''s going to die, isn''t he?"

    It''s because the scenario he got was like that. Axel has to shoot the hostiles which are quite a distance away, while flying at that speed. Meanwhile, he also has to keep himself safe from the attacks he''s going to face from the enemy.

    "Here ites!"

    "100 Ans says he''ll miss the first shot!"

    The first of the enemies hade. It was another rider riding an Aquanite,ing towards Axel from his nk while firing the front sters.

    Then, it started.

    Axel did not even look in the direction of the attack. Casually pointing his gun at the iing enemy with just one hand, he fired two shots before getting back to handling the Aquanite.

    The shots which were from the ready-made bullets, urately hit the target in the neck, avoiding all Armor. One seemed enough to take him down the Aquanite, but the second one hit the same spot, piercing the armor and killing the target on the spot.

    "What¡ª?!"

    "Fuck!"

    Suddenly, cheers erupted again.

    "That was a readymade bullet!"

    "That insane aim¡­ it has to be a fluke, right?"

    It might seem easy, but what Axel did was extremely difficult. Readymade bullets are slow, so when firing at such a speed, you have to fire while keeping the deviation in mind. Meaning you have to aim not where the target is, but where the target will be when the bullet reaches it.

    But, since they were shocked by just this, the people had no idea what they were in for.

    More Riders with red dots came towards Axel, firing at him with the sters in their Aquanite. Axel swerved in a circle, easily dodging the shots while firing at them with his gun.

    2 shots per kill, the triad was eliminated.

    Finding the next group of enemies, he drove low, firing at the hostiles who were firing at him from the ground and other buildings.

    The spectators couldn''t even cheer. This kind of deadly uracy was frightening. The civilians were quite close to the enemies he shot just now. And yet, each shot found it''s mark at the red target. And even then, two bullets still hit the same spot in order to make up for theck of firepower.

    "How...?"

    No one could understand how he could reach such level shooting and flying skills.

    "It''s really a pity he doesn''t know about the shields." Some peoplemented.

    With this much, Axel had already shown that he was a much better rider and shooter than almost all the students here. He really does have the right to choose both of these paths. But, it''s a pity that he got this particr scenario, or he would have cleared the stage.

    In this scenario, defense also ys an important role. There are some attacks that cannot be dodged. The Shields have to be deployed at the right times, or you won''t know what hit you. Since it''s his first time, Axel has no idea about this.

    "Here ites," said someone.

    Up ahead, there were enemy aircraft, which could fly faster than him. Reloading at a record speed, Axel fired again. Unfortunately this time, the gun couldn''t do shit.

    "Shit."

    "He''s in trouble."

    "Deploy the Shield!"

    At this moment, the enemy aircraft fired apressedser beam that was much much faster than any other attacks so far. It headed straight towards Axel, who was moving at a speed that would make it impossible to even react, let alone dodge.

    In thest moment, Axel''s head tilted to one side as theser missed him by a hair''s breadth.

    In the trials, Axel only had one thought about this: Nerio was at least 10 times faster.

    ....

    <strong>A.N.: Powerstones!</strong>

    <strong>Next: Beginning of A ughter </strong>

    <strong>Next next: Emergency </strong>

    <strong>Next next next: identity Partially Revealed</strong>

    <strong>Come read /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 174: Beginning of A Slaughter

    Chapter 174: Beginning of A ughter

    "!!!!!"

    Everyone had really thought that Axel was done for this time. But when they saw him somehow saved, a loud cheer erupted in the viewers.

    "That has to be a fluke, right?"

    "It has to be! It''s his first time attempting this!"

    After all, the Laser was nothing to scoff at. Even if they believe that Axel saw the signs of the aircraft attacking and moved beforehand, he''d have had some information first, which is impossible since it''s apparently his first time seeing this trial.

    Axel didn''t just stop there. Taking the opportunity, he continued getting closer to the aircraft. He then turned on the sters and fired a concentrated beam of his own, hitting it squarely in the middle. The aircraft didn''t even have the time to deploy its shield before it was shot, crashing sideways into a building.

    The trial had attracted a lot of attention by now.

    Due to the ongoing war, everyone ispeting to get rewarded, earn merits, or make a name for themselves. This is especially the case with the military division. In this turbulent time, the appearance of someone with extremely high talent and potential is bound to cause waves.

    That''s why, the number of people watching Axel''s trial has been skyrocketing, especially after the beginning of the second stage. Physical fitness is just the basics. But if Axel showed the same phenomenal mastery in shooting and riding, then he is definitely someone to pay attention to.

    Because then, he can directly participate in war and even y a crucial role.

    More and more Higher ups were now paying attention to Axel''s match.

    "Some of his skills... are better than even me," said a man with four stars shining on his shoulder, disying his authority. Astonishment was visible on his face as he looked at Axel who was back to shooting down the smaller enemies now.

    "Better than even you?" The officer beside him was surprised. "Surely, that is an exaggeration...?"

    "No," the man said firmly. "Look at him. He hasn''t missed a single shot yet."

    "?!" It was only then did the officer realise that this might indeed be the case. Axel has been shooting so fast that most people haven''t even had the time to ascertain whether his shots were reaching their marks or not. But of course, the Major Protectate and one of the best Shooters in Antis, who has already attempted the trial countless times, can easily tell. Axel has not missed. Not once.

    But, that wasn''t even the most fearsome thing. It was the fact that he was using the basic gun and readymade bullets, while shooting at the range of snipers. He''s calcting the extreme deviation into ount while also firing multiple bullets, even upto five per Target sometimes, to make up for theck of pration.

    "Who is he?" The man with four- star authority asked, clearly looking tomit it through his memory.

    The officer, who works in the royal court, had already done his research. "His name is Chris Martin. We know nothing else except for the fact that he is a guest of the Royal Princess. She is apparently on close enough terms with him that she assigned Sylthia Eryndor to help him take his trial."

    The man furrowed his brows. If such big figures are involved, then it might be difficult to recruit him.

    Meanwhile, Axel was in a bigger trouble this time. Three aircraft were chasing him at the same time. But Axel still seemed to have the time to shoot other hostiles.

    He suddenly dipped low, zig-zagging through the high-rise structures of the city. While he was passing through them, suddenly¡ª

    "What¡ª?!"

    "Where is he?"

    Axel suddenly disappeared! He hadn''t emerged on the other side. Apparently, the enemy aircraft were also deceived, because their speeds also slowed down noticeably when they passed through the towering spiral buildings.

    At this moment, multiple beams hit the three aircraft from behind, causing them to go out of control and crash. Then, Axel, who had been following them, flew back into the view from between the buildings.

    It was a simple enough trick to pull off for Axel, but it didn''t seem to be the case for others.

    "How¡­?"

    "S-Stealth Maneuvers!"

    "I didn''t see it wrong, did I?!"

    "Who taught him that?!"

    Those who had some knowledge on what he had done were in disbelief, while those who had no idea were cheering in awe because it was simply too spectacr!

    Meanwhile, the four star Major of the Guardian Division was still gaping in astonishment. Unlike others, he knew what Axel had and how he had done it. He just couldn''t believe he was watching it from someone who is 16 years old and new to Riding a Neptunite.

    "He has to be recruited into the Protectors," he said firmly. "I must inform the higher ups."

    The Protectors. A crucial division of the Antian military that Rides the Neptunite. Often patrolling the city, they deal in Aerialbat, civilian rescue, maintaining order, etc.

    Due to the difficulty of each path, usually, a rider is apanied by a shooter, making for an optimal team. But Axel can ride and shoot extremely well on his own. He''s guaranteed to rise through the ranks quickly.

    The officer nodded. "I believe no one will fight you for it," he said without urgency. "Who will, when he has such aptitude for both Riding and Shooting?"

    The man shook his head with uncertainty. "You can''t say that for sure. The specialized divisions would also not want to miss such a talent. Besides, that kid has also applied for the Warrior and Spellcaster paths as well."

    He had a feeling that it won''t be so easy to recruit Axel.

    His feeling, of course, turned out to be true.

    ...

    Axel entered thest stage of the trial immediately. He was currently suspended in the air. Looking down, he found that he was in a war zone again. But this time, there were two words to describe his surroundings: Utter Chaos.

    Two sides were currently in an all out war. Judging by his own Armor, Axel was on the side of Antis.

    And by the bizarre look of the other side, he was willing to bet the other side was Kraken.

    It consisted mostly of monsters, and humans who no longer looked like humans. The giant monsters were abominations created from a mixture of sea creatures. The humans, on the other hand, all had tattoos, and most of them seemed to have weird gic mutations.

    [Stage 3: This is an improbable simtion of a war. Fight for Antis and survive as long as possible using the warrior and Spellcaster path. There is no stage clearing criteria. Results will be determined based on your performance before ''death'' or forfeit.]

    Axel nkly looked at the scene in front of him. What exactly... is he supposed to do? Fight and Survive? Is he supposed to subdue them without eliminating them? No, that would be idiotic, since this is a war simtion, not a friendly match.

    But then, does this mean what he is thinking it means? Killing.

    Now that he considered it, killing, at least in simtion, seems quite normal in Antis.

    In thest stage, he didn''t think much about it since he was just shooting down enemies from a distance, not knowing whether they were dying or not. But now, it''s a bit different. People around him were ughtering each other, and he was being encouraged to participate.

    This came as somewhat of a culture shock to Axel. Whether it was the muggle Britain or the Wizarding Britain, killing was considered one of the worst taboos there.

    Some of it can be attributed to the fact that he is applying for the Army right now, for which, learning to use lethal force is necessary. But in Britain, the Aurors are at most taught how to subdue enemies, not kill. Even if you''re fighting dangerous criminals, taking a life is considered ast resort, and it can still get you into a lot of trouble.

    Regardless, with the war imminent, Axel agreed that this was the best way to ensure a soldier''s survival. It might be harsh, but it''ll keep them alive. The other side is ready to kill you. If you still try to be soft, you''ll be the one to die.

    [Choose your Weapons]

    Instantly, a list appeared in front of Axel, showing a variety of weapons. Since it was supposed to be a Warrior and Spellcaster Stage, there were Weapons for both the stages.

    Axel scrolled through the long list. There were various types of weapons here, some of which Axel couldn''t even recognise, let alone know how to use. Among the ones he knew about, there were: Different types of magic swords, shields, Tridents,s, maces, hammers, bows, magic staves, wands, rings, amulets. etc.

    Axel knew that he had to fire some spells and show off some of hisbat skills. His choice was simple: A dagger and a wand.

    [Get Ready]

    Axel looked at the dagger he had chosen. Sharp and durable, bnced well in his hand. It would do. He casually tried running his magic through it, and was surprised to see a sharp coat of magic power appear along the de. He checked the wand next. He was surprised to find that it was actually made out of metal. When he passed magic through it, it made a whirring sound while giving out a slight vibration.

    [3]

    [2]

    [1]

    Axel decided to just go with it. It''s not like he ever has had any problems with killing. In fact, he was somewhat looking forward to the fight.

    On the other hand, when the crowd outside saw Axel''s trial, some of the spectators gawked in bafflement while some were cheering as if they''d expected.

    "Is this really¡­ the Legendary War simtion?"

    "It is. But I''m not surprised. If someone can trigger it, it''s him."

    Many of them were dumbfounded to see the legendary ''hell-mode'' difficulty stage that they had only seen in videos actually appear while othersmented for Axel''s bad luck. If he has actually triggered it, he to suffer.

    The war scenario. The simtions for participants. For example, Axel''s Trial isparatively more difficult from the beginning, since more Paths have to be tested in three stages.

    But another fact that influences the scenario is your performance. If it''s above a certain level, then the simtions of subsequent stages change in order to keep it challenging for the participant. It means that the default simtion is not enough to check the full capabilities of a participant.

    Among these cases, there is one scenario that particrly stands out: The war scenario, the most difficult scenario of the trial room. If a challenger has triggered it, then it means that 2-star level is not sufficient to test a participant''s full capabilities.

    Obviously, no student has ever triggered it. It has only happened when some big shot has entered to show off, which is extremely rare.

    But since a war is interesting to watch, the videos of its precedents are extremely popr.

    Most of the students were naturally thrilled to be able to watch it in real time. But many also had concerns. This scenario is the most gory and brutal of all. Some students in the past used a higher ups authority to forcefully activate this trial, but they were traumatized after experience and quit from the Frontline division.

    Students need to train for a minimum of three to four years before they are gradually able to mentally face such kinds of situations. Since it''s Axel''s first time attempting the trial, the result can be imagined.

    Of course, no one tried to stop it. Even though they knew it was the right thing to do. Because¡­ everyone was just too curious!

    By now, everyone is somewhat used to Axel doing everything in a sh. The words ''genius'', ''unreasonable'', ''defying logic'' have already been attributed to him. What would happen when this person faces this stage of ''hell mode'' difficulty?

    That''s why, everyone watched without anyone trying to interfere.

    "Dagger and Wand?"

    Once again, Axel showed them through his actions that they should just stop thinking logically when he chose a knife and wand as his weapon.

    The mostmon weapon for a magic warrior in Antis is a Trident. It can be use for both Spellcasting and Meleebat, the range can also be adjusted, thus making it the standard weapon. Dagger? It''s just a supplementary Weapon!

    Now, people were beginning to have doubts.

    [3]

    [2]

    [1]

    As soon as the countdown was over, Axel was dropped into the war zone.

    Like a wolf entering a flock of sheep.

    ....

    A.N.: Next: Combat Master Axel and Castle under Emergency: Kraken''s Attack

    Next next: Seeing a Familiar Face

    Next next next: Identity Partially Revealed

    Next... Next: The ck Ops Division

    Come read ahead. Why resist? /Snollygoster

    <strong>VOTE</strong>

 Chapter 175: Castle Under Emergency

    Chapter 175: Castle Under Emergency

    The final stage of the trial began as Axel was dropped in the middle of the chaos.

    On the screen, the battlefield was disyed up close in high definition. It was an unrealistic scene where the two sides were engaging in direct, primal confrontation.

    Projectiles were fired, weapons shed, and screams erupted. Blood flowed like rivers and lives were lost every second.

    Standing in such a scene of carnage, Axel leisurely surveyed his surroundings. Not a hint of fear or panic could be detected from his face. On the contrary, he appeared... curious? Excited, even.

    Seeing that, many people were already impressed. No matter how bad it looks on the screen, it''s several times worse to actually feel it in the trial room, which can simte it infinitely close to reality. In such a situation, there are many who would start feeling nauseous or directly vomit.

    That is something really irritating to watch for the spectators, who like watching real fights. They know it''s difficult to do it in person, but they are still used to watching videos of veterans. In such a situation, Axel, who seemed not at all fazed from his surroundings, gave them hope that they might see a good show.

    "Not bad."

    "He''s taking it well."

    "At least not a wimp, huh?"

    "Well, you can''t say that until he kills."

    "Agreed."

    Indeed, the next most pathetic thing is not being able to kill your opponent. It''s a verymon weakness in many soldiers. Usually, those who are intimidated by war or those who aren''t able to kill, aren''t really med for it, since they are only human.

    But still, these people are looked down upon in the Frontline division. After all, if you are in the frontline division, killing is necessary, and if you are so averse to it, then why even choose to be on the frontline? Just for the high benefits?

    That''s why, these people are called wimps, and are not allowed to be in many of the frontline subdivisions.

    Now, all that was left to see was if Axel will fight well or not. While everyone was anticipating a good fight, their hopes were dashed when they saw Axel strapping his dagger and wand to his waist, keeping his hands empty.

    ??

    "What... is he doing?"

    "Has he already given up?"

    "Damn it, is he a wimp after all?"

    Axel''s actions were quite peculiar. If someone is dropped in the middle of a warzone, their reactions would be predictably filled with fear and panic.

    Axel, on the other hand, leisurely sheathed his weapons, as if he won''t be needing them at all. People couldn''t anticipate exactly what he was nning to do.

    "Is he going to run away?"

    "I don''t think so. Maybe he thinks it''ll be easy."

    "He won''t survive long if he underestimates the trial like this."

    "The difficulty level will increase very quickly. He should fight seriously from the start, or he''ll be surrounded and killed."

    Axel''s actions were now leading people to believe that he won''t be able to perform well in this trial after all. This is not an actual war, but a simtion designed to test one individual. In this trial, the challenger has to kill their way up. The enemies will keep targeting the challenger, and there is no running away.

    Furthermore, even though the starting difficulty is easy, the number of enemies and their power keeps increasing. If the challenger does not kill the starting enemies, their numbers stack up with the new, more powerful opponents. In the end, the challenger is overwhelmed quite easily and dies.

    Now that Axel has sheathed his weapons, it seems that he is not going to kill the enemies after all.

    On the battlefield, both sides shed against each other. Since Axel was dropped in the middle of such a battlefield, he wasn''t given much time to stand idle. A Kraken warrior attacked him.

    Axel just stood in his ce even as the man swung his Trident at him with an inhuman speed. At thest moment, he ducked low, going forward. He didn''t look back, but somehow, the man was killed by the spell of an Antian soldier who was right behind Axel.

    Walking forward, he picked up a fallen shield from the ground, which he used for blocking a spell that hade from the opposite side. He came face to face with the Spellcaster who had tried to hit him. Dodging another spell, Axel pushed the man aside, before he continued his stroll. The Spellcaster who was pushed aside stumbled into another Kraken member, both of whom were cut down by an Antian warrior who took advantage of the disturbance.

    Continuing his steps, he was now surrounded by Kraken soldiers. Suddenly seeing an enemy in their midst, the surrounding soldiers made Axel their main target.

    Walking up to a certain spot, Axel suddenly tilted his body sideways as a bullet and two spells whizzed past him. But his positioning was such that these ranged attacks instead hit other Kraken soldiers who were caught unprepared.

    The rest of the enemies attacked him, but within a few seconds, all of them were lying on the ground. The shooter had somehow shot the sword wielder, who happened to be standing right behind Axel. At the same time, the warrior who was trying to stab Axel with his trident got deflected and ended up stabbing the shooter, after which he ''identally'' tripped due to Axel''s foot and ended up falling on the sword of the fallen sword wielder, which was still filled with magic, thus cutting himself.

    Just like that, Axel was leisurely moving back and forth through the field, his opponents dropping one by one. Until now, Axel had not so much as tried to hurt a fly, and yet, those he faced were all incapacitated.

    "...????..."

    The people watching simply couldn''t understand what was happening. Is this still a war? Why does what Axel is doing look more like a leisure stroll in the garden?

    In such a situation, one of the students voiced out everyone''s doubt. "So, is he a wimp or not?"

    "...."

    The question was met with silence. A wimp is someone who is scared of violence and doesn''t kill his enemies due to ''morality''. But when looking at Axel, he does not, at all, seem averse to violence. As for not killing his enemies, it seems he''s just toozy to do so rather than sparing them out of mercy.

    The veterans, on the other hand, hand their own thoughts.

    "Battlefield awareness¡­" That was what they were seeing right now. Axel had not personally attacked anyone yet. But still, he had used the external factors to the fullest against his enemies. In the battlefield, your emotions are heightened, and your ability to think is inevitably dulled due to excessive blood flow. In such a situation, Axel being able to calmly deal with the enemy without even having to use his own power spoke a lot about hispetence.

    "But why...?"

    The only question was, why? Why was Axel not engaging in battle? Why is he not being offensive? Is he really averse to taking lives? Can he actually do it or is this his limit?

    "He hasn''t used much magic yet, has he?" A veteran keenly noticed. Axel was not using his own magic. Even in thest trial, he had used readymade bullets. It made one wonder if he really couldn''t use it.

    "It''s truly impressive, but it would be a pity if this is it." another veteran muttered. So far, Axel has disyed excellent abilities in every field. But, if this is the extent of hisbat skills, then he won''t be able to progress in this trial.

    Because, what he was facing until now was the lowest level threat in a war. In order to progress further, he needs offensive and defensive power that cannot be achieved through mere physical abilities.

    Sure enough, in the battlefield, Axel had to suddenly jump to the side, just as an explosion happened right where he was previously standing.

    "The second wave is here." Someone muttered.

    "Well, it was fun while itsted..."

    Many people thought that the trial would end soon now. They were disappointed, but no one thought less of Axel. With what he has shown, there are already too many subdivision who will be

    Meanwhile, inside the battlefield, Axel looked at the wizard who had fired the previous spell.

    The characteristic Kraken tattoos on this soldier''s body were much more prominent than others, even visible on the face. From beside him, another soldier with muscles that were abnormally bulging came at Axel, swinging his sword thatunched a sh that could travel through the air.

    Seeing the enemies who were definitely stronger than the previous ones, Axel got a bit serious now. But, he still did not draw his weapons.

    With unpredictable footsteps, he suddenly closed the distance between himself and the new soldiers. When the Spellcaster fired his next spell, his hand was redirected towards the warrior with building muscles.

    *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

    Simultaneously, gunshots were fired at Axel, who used the Spellcaster''s body as a shield. Five soldiers were still surrounding him. And the one who had fired the shots was a shooter who could fire rapid bullets.

    Quickly closing the distance, Axel went on the offensive for the first time. Raising his hand, he delivered a regr punch to the Shooter''s face.

    *Crunch*

    But impact could be heard even over the loud cheering of the spectators. The Shooter''s face directly caved in as bloodmist rose into the air.

    "OOOOOHHHH!"

    "Damn!"

    "He can even do that?"

    "Did he just kill that man with a single punch?"

    Since the beginning of this stage, his movements had been slow, and he hadn''t tried to attack the opponents himself. But now, Axel''s movement had gotten faster and he had also gotten more offensive.

    The 5 remaining soldiers in his surrounding, who were all warriors, attacked him with their weapons filled with magic. Axel seemed to be able to react easily to the attacks, managing to dodging with just a nick of time every chance. When faced with multiple attacks, one of the warriors would be used up as a shield.

    Outside, the people couldn''t believe their eyes. When they saw that Axel had not been using magic, they had thought that he wouldn''t be able to go on much longer without it. After all, without magic, he would have no offence. Then how...

    "What kind of punch is that?"

    As they saw Axel blowing his opponents away with his seemingly ordinary punch, they were left with a deep sense of dissonance.

    His punch was disyed up close in slow motion. They saw that the punch was ordinary, but at thest moment, just before making contact, the veins on his hands would pop out as his hand would blur. Along with that, his wrist would also flick outward like a whip. Allbined, it generates enough force to thoroughly shatter the target upon contact.

    Even with the difficulty increased, Axel fought the enemies bare-handed without problems. Punching was not Axel''s only offense. Sometimes, he would twist enemies neck, and sometimes he would target the weak spot with their fingers.

    While dodging multiple attacks, he would take down one enemy at a time, methodically killing them with no hurry. As if conserving his stamina, his movements were sharp and precise, and his speed would only increase when reacting to threatening attacks.

    At this moment, a shadow loomed over Axel. Without even looking up, he ran out of range as a Giant tentaclended, narrowly escaping. A new wave of soldiers attacked him, this time much more in number than the previous time.

    "It''s finally over, right?"

    "Yeah, but he''s been amazing so far."

    "He did great."

    Everyone thought that this was it. This is the stage where most people give up. After all, the existing enemies stack up with the new enemies. Then there is the involvement of those giant creatures.

    When it seemed that Axel would give up, he did something. He finally brought out his wand. And with a flick, the numerous weapons lying on the ground rose up.

    "Fuck¡­"

    "What kind of spell is that?"

    "Is he really going to¡­?"

    *Swish* *Swishswishswishswish*

    With another flick, hundreds of weapons were wereunched towards the enemies with great momentum. Among them were swords, tridents, spears, axes, all of whicu urately hit their designated Targets.

    In an instant, only the giant creature was left alive in the immediate vicinity of Axel, who hide could not be prated by normal weapons.

    Decimating an entire wave with just one spell¡­ this is not something a novice can do.

    "So, he was also a powerful Spellcaster all along."

    *Shiver*

    A shiver ran through the crowd when they witnessed this scene. Until now, Axel has not been using magic all, leading them to think that he really might not be good at it. But then he does this. It made people think just how much more was he hiding? Was what he has already shown really all he can do?

    "This guy¡­"

    "How much is he hiding?"

    "We''ll find out in the next wave."

    "Indeed."

    New enemies came forward, led by a Kraken soldier carrying a spear that was definitely at least a powerful sub-relic. Combined with the existing giant creature, it put Axel under a formidable pressure to deal with just his exposed abilities.

    "Go Chris!"

    "Yeah! Show us all this time!"

    The cheer grew incessantly. The excitement in the air was palpable. At this moment, Axel finally brought out his knife, causing the noise to reach a crescendo.

    But then¡­ Red lights red up in the Training Hall, as rm red. It was an emergency.

    Thus, due to protocol¡­

    """""""""NOOOOOOO!!!"""""""""

    With the unwilling yells and curses of the crowd, Axel, along with the rest of the trial room participants, were ejected from their trial rooms. Someone was going to pay for hanging them at this cliff.

    ....

    A.N.: This time, it''s not my fault. me whoever caused the Emergency.

    You can read ahead /Snollygoster

    <strong>VOTE!!</strong>

 Chapter 176: Chapter offer

Chapter 176: Chapter offer

    You can get a chapter right away. Just take me to the top ranking

 Chapter 177: Seeing A Familiar Face

    Chapter 177: Seeing A Familiar Face

    Chapter 172

    A.N.: Noice! Take the Early Chapter

    ....

    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

    Axel was suddenly thrown out of the Trial room.

    "Hm? What the¡ª?"

    And, he found himself surrounded by a huge crowd, which was currently filled with chaos.

    "No way!"

    "This can''t be happening!"

    "Continue the Trial!"

    rms were ring, the instructors were shouting, and the crowd was protesting.

    Axel blinked his eyes in confusion. What happened?

    At this moment, a pair of long legs came to a halt in front of him. ncing up, he found Sylthia standing over him. Currently, she was busily talking on themunicator on her wrist. After tapping her wrist, she turned her attention to him.

    "The trial has been temporarily suspended due to an emergency." Sylthia''s eyes heldplicated emotions when saying that.

    "Emergency?" Axel''s brows furrowed. "So, what happens now? Do I still have no hope of getting recruited?" He asked, repeating the question he had asked before entering the trial.

    "You¡­" Sylthia had no answer to Axel''s question.This question left her positively ashamed. Getting recruited? The higher ups will be fighting to recruit him.

    Recalling her earlier behaviour, she felt rather undignified. She had been repulsed by Axel''s ambitions when he was so young and hadn''t received royal education. But she hadn''t, in her wildest imaginations, anticipated his realpetence.

    "Just wait for the results. Those interested in your abilities will recruit you. For the time being, you will be treated as an academy student," she said, even while hermunication device was ringing. With that said, she vanished with a gust of air as if running away from him.

    Axel was left scratching his head. ''She did not give me a straight answer until the end!'' He realized, much to his chagrin.

    Sylthia Eryndor was already dumped in the "annoying" category.

    While Axel was still distracted with various thoughts, the prickling stares on him suddenly made him remember his current situation.

    The instructors were currently busy directing the students to their dorms. But still, who would want to go back to the boring dorms after being mercilessly hung on such a cruel cliff?

    "I''m not going anywhere!"

    "Me neither! I want to see the rest of the trial!"

    "It was just getting to the interesting part!"

    Axel found himself the focus of various heated gazes. The students were looking at him with looks that seemed to suggest they wanted to tear him apart.

    "???"

    While he was still confused, an older boy who looked to be around 19 came forward. "Excuse me?"

    "What?"

    "Uh, Sir Chris, I''m Tarmin. I have been assigned the task to guide you to your temporary residence."

    Axel shrugged. "Let''s go then."

    The High Authority individuals of the Military could do nothing but watch as Axel walked away. They were all nning to ambush him as soon as his trial was over, hoping to pitch their respective departments to recruit him. But now, due to this emergency, they all were different orders and had no choice but to suspend the matter forter.

    Tarmin walked stiffly, leading Axel towards the dorms of the Royal Academy. From time to time, he would cast furtive nces at Axel, but would immediately turn his head in nervousness. Axel nodded to himself in satisfaction. This is how it is supposed to be. Sylthia was just too arrogant for her own good.

    "Oi."

    Tarmin''s head jerked to face him when he was suddenly called out by Axel.

    "What was the emergency about?"

    Tarmin''s edginess decreased when his mind got diverted on this topic. "I don''t know. It''s an extremely rare event."

    "But¡­ I don''t think there''s anything to worry about. Antis is stronger than Kraken in every way."

    In the end, it didn''t seem like Tarmin could contain his curiosity. "Uh, Sir Axel, if I may ask, how old are you?"

    "16."

    The boy''s eyes widened. "How... how is that possible? How are you so good at everything at your age?!"

    "Practice."

    Tarmin could only shake his head in Marvel. "The outside world must not be as primitive as we are told."

    Observing the boy''s reaction, Axel was more urately able to gauge the appropriate amount he could show. It seems that he was right in holding back more.

    The current reaction seemed surprised, but notpletely out of the bounds, which is a good sign. If he had shown too much, then it would have rather aroused distrust, fear and suspicion rather than favorability.

    Tarmin seemed to have more questions, though he was making a conscious effort in not asking further. But in the end, it didn''t seem like he could control himself.

    "Uh, Sir Axel. A-Are you, perhaps, close with Miss Sylthia?"

    The guy lost the little good impression he had made with Axel with that.

    Axel casually swept his gaze over the guy, which caused him to flinch. "I just met her." He deadpanned.

    Tarmin could only look at him nkly. "But... you were able to talk so much with her. Sylthia doesn''t talk to anyone!"

    Axel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Why is she such a big deal here?" He finally asked. The general actually had eight stars, quite higher than Sylthia''s pitiful 6 stars. And there are other relic wielders in the castle too. Then why is she treated like a star here?

    The student looked at Axel as if he had questioned his religion. "How can you even ask that? Do you know nothing about her?"

    "Well, I don''t. I''m new here," he reminded.

    The guy nodded as if it was a matter of course. "That exins it. Let me tell you then," he said, looking like a priest of a cult. "First of all, she is from one of the six Septises."

    "The Six Septises?"

    "Oh, right. You don''t know. Then I''ll exin in detail. Antis has six Aristocratic Families that have been in existence since the founding of the empire. These families are called the Six Septises. Sylthia is from the Eryndor Septis."

    Azel nodded in understanding, "So basically, she''s nobility." he muttered. That exins her stinky attitude that reminded him of Malfoy. But he still didn''t think it was anything impressive.

    "Yes, but that is not a small matter! Each Septis has their own domains of specialisation. It''s members receive ndestine training and resources exclusive to the Septis. And the most important thing. Each of them possesses a Natal Relic."

    "Natal Relic..." Now this was information he knew a bit about. Natal Relics hade up in the basic information about Antis he had gotten from the system. Natal Relics are the relics that are designed for a specific person or bloodline. Since it is custom design only the designated people can be qualified to wield the relic.

    "Yes," Tarmin nodded. "The relics of these families are designed to synergize with the magic they already specialize in. That''s why, the Relic Wielders of these families are usually much more powerful than ordinary relic wielders. And the fact that Sylthia has been chosen as a designated Relic Wielder of the Eryndor Septis, when others take decades more, I believe she is the most talented prodigy of our generation," Tarmin stated with reverence.

    ''Okay...'' Axel would admit, it was a bit impressive. He had no idea she was only 18. If she''s powerful at a young age, then it''s indeed impressive. But simps like this guy have overinted the girl''s ego so much that she''s be insufferable.

    While talking, they had already arrived at the dorms. At this moment, Tarmin happened to see his watch.

    !!!

    He stopped walking when he saw what he saw. "N-No way¡­ there''s no way¡­"

    "What happened?"

    Tarmin didn''t answer immediately. He was too focused on finding out more about whatever it was that he had seen.

    Axel just read his mind to find out along with him. He was far above the stage of needing eye-contact.

    It seems that a big explosion happened in the city that caused some casualties. The reason it is so difficult to believe for Tarmin is the fact that it was considered impossible for a big explosion to happen in Antis due to the wards surrounding the entire Kingdom.

    Whenever a bomb explodes, the wards react and contain the explosion before the damage can spread out by much. And even that happens only after someone is able to bypass all the security measures that are in ce for the protection of citizens.

    And now, a massive bomb has somehow gone off, creating multiple casualties. No wonder there was an emergency. And no wonder Tarmin is unable to respond to Axel at the moment. After all, he is currently going through the list of deceased to find out if there is anyone he knows.

    As Axel looked around, he noticed the small things he was ignoring in the surroundings. The lively hustle and bustle of the ce had disappeared as more and more people found out about this matter. Like Tarmin, a lot of other people were also currently looking at their bracelets with anxious faces. Some were crying while some were shouting in anger.

    And it was understandable. Until now, they were thinking that they had the upper hand. But this¡­

    "This changes everything¡­" murmured Tarmin at the moment, voicing Axel''s thoughts. Until now, there was always a delicate bnce, but now, the scales could be tipping to Kraken''s side. This war¡­ has be dangerous now.

    But good and bade hand in hand. Another piece of news had arrived at this moment. The Shinobi reinforcement, which were much needed right now, had finally began arriving. And along with them..

    "Huh? She''s back?!"

    Tarmin got excited when he saw the next news.

    "Who?"

    "The Relic Wielder of the Tenebrous Septis, is back!"

    "Who is that now?"

    "She is the previous head of the Dark ops! She and her division have taken down at least 3 relic wielders of Kraken!" Tarmin had the same look on his face when he was talking about Sylthia.

    But this time, his reaction was definitely justified. Relic Wielders are equivalent to nuclear warheads, except, much less in number. Just one can change the course of a war. In such a case, taking down three of them from the enemy lines is a huge merit.

    "When thest members of her Septis died, she left Antis to explore the outer world. But now that we''re at war, she has returned!"

    ''Well, she has killed more Relic Wielders than me.'' Thought Axel as he nced at the picture that disyed on Tarmin''s bracelet.

    But his gaze froze as he soon as he saw the woman''s face.

    ''It''s her?!''

    The woman in the image was someone he had seen before. But, he still had trouble believing that this was the legendary Division Head of the ck ops.

    "Is this really the woman you''re talking about?" He asked for confirmation.

    Tarmin nodded his head excitedly. "It''s definitely her!"

    Axel still couldn''t believe it as he looked at the picture of Kurai Sensei, Mahoutokoro''s Stealth Instructor who hade to Hogwarts to teachst year.

    She was the only person to see through his low key demeanor and spot his stealth abilities. That too in just one ss. Right after the ss, she had him stay back after the ss and offered to give him some ''private lessons'' after seeing his talent.

    ''Fuck¡­''

    At that time, Axel was definitely surprised to know that someone had so easily seen through him. But he hadn''t thought much about it. And neither did he consider her offer.

    Since she had already pointed out the things that gave him away, Axel had decided to work on those ws. As for learning from her, she was just an instructor from Mahoutokoro while he had the system. What could she teach him? He could even see that she was quite weak in terms ofbat power. Rather, he just wanted to avoid her in case she found out that what she had seen was just 0.1% of his Stealth abilities.

    ''Really, fuck¡­''

    Now he realized. Being a division leader, being able to kill three relic wielders, and being a Natal relic wielder herself¡­. There is no way she is weak. Rather, she saw through his usual behaviour and spotted the stealth talent he had shown unconsciously, while he¡­ could not see through her at all, thinking her to be a mere instructor with extremely lowbat power.

    At this moment, Axel didn''t know. That another surprise was apanying the woman he had seen in the picture. And, it was a much more familiar face.

    ...

    A.N.: next :Indentity Partially Revealed

    Next next: The ck Ops Division

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 178: Identity Partially Revealed

    Chapter 178: Identity Partially Revealed

    Chapter 173

    Today, Antis has turned upside down. Right after the first explosion, there was a second one. And a third one after that.

    Ever since thest war, which had destroyed most of Antis, strict measures have been taken right from the start of rebuilding and restructuring of the Kingdom to emphasize public safety above everything else.

    Completely preventing every single type of destructive magic was impossible. So, the Technomancers added a new mechanism in the warding scheme of the city, which was programmed to constrict any type of destructive magic from spreading further as soon as it crossed a certain parameter.

    Due to this new incorporation, along with the existing and other new additions, there have been no major disasters in Antis for the past few decades¡­ until today.

    Day 23, Starfish month, year 5106 of the Marine calendar.

    This day was marked as an unforeseen and unprecedented disaster in the recent history of Antis.

    An explosion actually happened in a popted area in Antis that the wards failed to contain. Not long after, a second explosion took ce, and a third one after that.

    What is more spine chilling is the fact that there were more explosions that were set to go off after that.

    It was not an impulsive attack, but a nned strike that the Kraken had been preparing for a long time. Having no preparations for this kind of attack, Antis was caughtpletely off guard. Many of the Relic Wielders and other major fighting forces were already upied and couldn''t be immediately deployed. On the other hand, it was out of their capabilities to do much in this kind of situation.

    But it is said, in times of crisis, there exist Heroes who would step up to save the day.

    The previous leader of the ck ops division and the one with the title Relic yer, Kyrin Tenebrous, who had left Antis 6 years ago, returned to Antis and single handedly stopped further explosions from happening.

    But both sides know. This is just the start of the true battle. Antis has somehow survived this time. But with the addition of explosives in Kraken''s arsenal and the defenders having to protect the whole Antis, the battle is now in Kraken''s favour.

    That''s why, an important Council meeting is currently underway in order to solve the various issues that have now suddenly surfaced due to this move by Kraken.

    The attendees consisted of the Royal Princess, the Elders, the heads of important departments, and of course, the hero who saved thousands of lives.

    "Thank the sea gods that the worst oue was prevented," One of the Elders was saying.

    "Definitely. It''s thanks to you, Madame Tenebrous. You returned at the right time," another Elder said, looking gratefully in Mirai Sensei''s direction.

    The members in the meeting had already expressed their gratitude to her at least once, But the more they think about it, the more they thank her again.

    Kyrin Tenebrous, or ''Kurai Sensei'', only nodded indifferently. She hated the Elders. Most of them are power hungry fogies who only care about their own Septises.

    "It wasn''t a coincidence. I had gotten Intel from my spies that the squid were nning something big. That''s why I had the Japanese government shift our arriving date a bit early. It''s good that we made it in time."

    "More importantly, Kraken can now use wide area destructive attacks," she said, raising the major issue. "We have to take countermeasures."

    With that, the atmosphere turned serious.

    "I still can''t understand. H-O-W did they do this?!" The Elder from me Septis questioned.

    This was an important mystery to solve.

    "It should have been impossible! Even we don''t know how to bypass the constricting sequence! How did they do it?!" Another person voiced.

    The Technomancy Enve head stood up. "Our analyzers have been working non-stop to find out just that, so that we can fix it. So far, we have been able to confirm one thing." he hesitated, ncing at the Princess. "That¡­ The waves emitted from this explosion highly match the explosion that happened 13 years ago¡­"

    Silence descended upon the meeting room. The princess, who had been quietly sitting, turned her head sharply in the Thomancer''s direction.

    Actually, this is not the first time the constricting warding scheme has been breached. There was one other instance when it had happened, around 13 years ago.

    It was the explosion that caused the death of the Crown Princess of Antis when she destroyed the key that Kraken was using to bring chaos to Antis.

    This was an extremely sensitive topic, and that''s why, at this moment, no one dared to speak.

    "So, what you are saying is, they were able to somehow replicate the explosion 13 years ago."

    But, Princess Anti, who had been silent for until now, mourning the death of her citizens, spoke up, voicing the conclusion that everyone had arrived at. Her eyes were red due to the sadness caused by the deaths, but her slightly hoarse voice had steel in it.

    It was clear that she didn''t have the luxury to be sad. That''s why, she had to break her silence and steer the conversation further.

    "Y-Yes. That seems to be the case here, Princess."

    "So now, the question is: how do we stop this?" She asked.

    With the princess raising the main issue, everyone else was also able to remain focused on the urgent situation.

    "We have further tightened the security in the whole Kingdom. They can''t smuggle the bombs into the city by ordinary means now," said the security incharge, slightly sweating due to the stress. Even though no one expected this disaster, but there are still people who must take the fall. Being the head of security, he is definitely one of them. That''s why he is now trying his hardest to make up for it.

    In Antis, Teleportation was only possible through portals. And all the portals essible to the public have been temporarily blocked. Along with the strict monitoring, the Kraken can''t smuggle the bombs into the city through ordinary means anymore.

    One of the elders just shook his head. "That won''t help us much, will it? Nothing would work if we don''t stop ''him''. He would just start doing it himself after he is healed."

    The meeting came to a halt when this person was mentioned. Actually, the bombs weren''t pre-nted. The security around Antis is tough to begin with, so the chance of Antis finding out about this attack was quite probable. That''s why, the Kraken didn''t even waste any time. They directly used their ace.

    Cravix Marnix, or the Space Eel. He has the most annoying relic that allows him to control space. This guy has been giving the antians a headache for a long time. Due to his space powers, he can break through the anti-teleportation wards, making him a particrly troublesome adversary.

    With the help of this ability of his, the Kraken didn''t need to smuggle the bombs and pre-nt them. This guy could just drop them whenever he wants, wherever he wants.

    That''s why, in the attack just now, three bombs had exploded one after another in different parts of the city, dropped by the same individual. Kraken already knew that Antis currently had no one who could stop him.

    Fortunately, their ace relic hunter returned to Antis today. With her phenomenal abilities and quick thinking, she was able to ambush the space hopper, catching him off guard. Even though he''s not dead, he was seriously injured, inflicted by the Tenebrous Septis magic. This has bought Antis some time to think of the countermeasures.

    "That slippery Eel! I was this close to killing him," said Kyrin Tenebrous in frustration. If only she had killed him, things would have been much easier. But Cravix is not an opponent who can be killed easily, or he won''t be called the ''Space Eel''.

    No one could really me Kyrin right now. Because until now, no one had even managed to scratch the guy, let alone seriously injure him.

    "You are not to me, Kyrin. I will fight anyone who says otherwise," said Princess Anti, raising her delicate fist. "But I do me you for leaving without a word. I thought we were friends."

    "That..." Kyrin, who wouldn''t feel ashamed even molesting children, couldn''t meet eyes with the princess at that.

    "Anyway. We will have a talkter. Right now, we have to think about our next step," said the Princess.

    "It''s clear," said the me Elder. "We need to kill that slippery cervix."

    That drew severalughs from around the room. "Cravix to Slippery Cervix (pussy). It''s quite fitting," a division head agreed.

    The princess coughed. "Please refrain from vulgarities. But I agree. Cravix Marvix must be eliminated. But it''s easier said than done."

    The meeting room once again descended into silence. None of the elders and division leaders could speak at this moment. Because all of them were afraid that this task might be dumped on them.

    This was the w of Antian Rule right now. Everyone wanted power, but no one would want to wield it for the just cause.

    The princess sighed. She knew that even though she was respected, she didn''t really have the power to order the capable people to handle this task. The situation right now looks harmonious, but there are subtle undercurrents. And the current harmony is only achieved because they have amon enemy.

    Looking at the bunch of cowards, Kyrin scoffed in disdain. "I''ll do it," she dered.

    ?!

    Her announcement was met with relief and surprise, but no one directly objected to it. There was only one person who could do it. Kyrin Tenebrous. Her abilities were a perfect counter to the Cravix. They just didn''t have the guts to shift the responsibility on her.

    "No, It''s too dangerous..."

    Princess Anti definitely wanted to oppose it. She didn''t want her friend to put herself in danger after just returning.

    "No, I NEED to do this," said Kyrin, standing up. She swept her gaze over the meeting room. "I need to do this... because I can''t stand it any further. The great Kingdom of Antis, brought to such a state by a bunch of squids. Back in the days, we used to hunt for fun. They were nothing more than a way to pass time. I didn''t know that aftering back, things would have changed to this degree."

    She turned to the Princess. "Princess Anti, I formally request to return themands of the ck ops to me. This time, I''ll hunt down everyst one of them."

    ....

    On the other hand, not at all aware that he had been seen through yet again, Axel was currently in the room which had been temporarily allocated to him while the result of the trial and his recruitment was still unclear.

    The room was minimalistic, but extremely reposeful. The matress was made out of a material that made it seem soft and foamy, but at the same time, when resting on it, you would feel like you''ve sunk into water. It had the reclining mode, sitting mode, folding mode. There was a table that could retract into the wall, which contained a built-in transparentputer screen for study.

    The whole room was self cleaning and there was an ai interface that could do a lot of things for you like adjusting the temperature, opening and closing the window, drawing the blinds, etc.

    Overall, it was quite a ce to live. There were so many features in the room that it might take him the whole day to explore them all. But right now, Axel was in no mood to do so.

    He had too much on his mind. The kraken has already used their bombing tactic. And since he already knew about it from Theron and Nerio, Axel felt partially responsible for the lives that were lost.

    But, was there really something he could have done to change this oue? Even if he had tried to warn the Antians, the only thing that would have changed right now is that he would have been in more trouble.

    How would he have exined how he got the news?

    The alternative was revealing his identity, but that would have been even more dangerous to him. Currently, he can deduce from all the information that Kraken won''t be the only force unhappy upon knowing that there was a rightful heir to the throne who has been living in the outside world until now.

    Besides, the impact wasn''t too severe. Not many deaths were reported. If the matter was big enough, the system would have issued a mission rather than letting him handle the situation at his own discretion.

    In the end, Axel decided he should not think too much. For now, he had sessfully infiltrated Antis and (almost?) got recruited. Now he can slowly climb his way up. Once he has enough security and enough people on his side, he''ll reveal his identity and begin fighting for real.

    Things... never do go ording to his n though.

    The next day, he was pped with a recruitment offer.

    That wasn''t the problem. Rather, it was a good thing he finally got an offer.

    "ck ops..."

    He didn''t know there was a division like this here. Furthermore, the job description was: Hunting Relic Wielders, Infiltration, Assassination, Stealth operations, Subterfuge....

    It was filled with red gs. But, even this wasn''t the main problem.

    It was the letter that came attached with it. Funnily enough, it came in a scroll, written in English.

    <em>"Dear Axel Hunt (Or Chris Martin?), </em>

    <em>Fancy seeing you here. I was very disappointed when you rejected my kind offer and stoppeding to my sses. You''ve gotten more handsome in thest few days I haven''t seen you. I''m going to extend another offer to you. Don''t reject this time. </em>

    <em>Looking forward to meeting you~</em>

    <em>Lots of love,</em>

    <em>Kurai Sensei</em>

    ....

    A.N.: F for Axel.

    Next: The ck Ops Division

    Next next: Axel in High Demand

    Next next next: Meeting the Lady Boss

    Next... Next: Confrontation: Axel vs Kyrin

    Come read ahead. It''s a new /Snollygoster

 Chapter 179: The Black Ops Division

    Chapter 179: The ck Ops Division

    Chapter 174

    "What the fuck is this?" Muttered Kyrin Tenebrous, going through the specs of the avable candidates for recruitment.

    The ck ops is an elite unit that only takes the absolute best. Even though her loyal followers remained, her long absence had inevitably left the division undermanned, leading her to search for new members to fill the gap.

    "No, seriously, what is this?" She waved her hand, causing the screen to disappear.

    As soon as the notice of the ck Ops needing more reinforcements was sent out, many people had jumped at the opportunity to apply.

    But so far¡­

    "They''re all trash!"

    Kyrin had dered about hunting down high members of Kraken, but she can''t do it alone. A capable and well-bnced team is a must.

    "Has the education level also gone down in my absence?" She asked her deputy division head Estris.

    Estris is a calm and collected woman who has been a loyal follower of Kyrin when first joined the military. Her grey hair was arranged in a Bob cut, and her face, which still looked like a teenager, is usually expressionless.

    Estris gave a slight shake of her head to Kyrin''s question, looking unbothered by her boss''s frustration.

    "No. But due to the ongoing war, there''s a huge shortage of talents. All the major divisions are fighting to recruit them. Whenever anyone capable emerges, the divisions jump in like hyenas. So currently, most of the talents have already been recruited into long term contracts," she calmly exined.

    "Aki, it seems like you will be the only young member joining us this time. None of these are even half as good as you," said Kyrin as she stretched her back.

    Akiko Matsushima, who was standing on the other side of Kyrin, just nodded her head indifferently. Of course, the one she followed to Antis was Kurai Sensei aka Kyrin Tenebrous.

    For Akiko who wants to annihte Kraken, following Kurai Sensei is the best option. And Kyrin, of course, wouldn''t miss an talent like Akiko. That''s why, without the permission of her grandfather, she risked bringing her here.

    There was a barest hint of pout on Estris''s lips. Her boss went out but brought back this unfamiliar girl, giving her a simr treatment as Estris

    herself. Clearing her throat, she gave anther list to Kyrin.

    "As for the list of veterans you asked, here it is. Any of them would jump at the opportunity to work under you."

    Kyrin skimmed through the list of veterans. Most of them were all good. Really good. But... that wasn''t enough. The criteria for joining the ck ops division is you either show incredibly high potential as a trainee, or extremely high skills as a veteran. Just being good doesn''t cut it.

    In the end, she did find a few suitable candidates this time, but she needed more.

    "Send out the notifications to this one, and this one. I will recruit them if they pass."

    "Looks like we''ll have to make do with this much. And of course, the one you''ve been dying to show me."

    The deputy''s eyes widened before she just sighed. Like always, nothing stays hidden from the boss. "You are no fun, Leader."

    "If I really wasn''t, you wouldn''t have stayed. So, who is it? Some other hero who has returned? Some young talent from the 6 Septises who suddenly improved in thest few years? Or someone who got a nice sub-relic or relic?"

    "He''s none of those. He hasn''t even attended the academy yet. And, he''s only 16, just within your molesting zone," said Estris, as she disyed the image of a boy in the transparent screen in front of them.

    Kyrin red at her. "I''m not in the mood for your teasing."

    Even though her assistant is always expressionless and serious, she actually has a secret hobby of teasing her boss.

    The ck Ops is an advanced special division in which the members are usually seasoned veterans from other divisions.

    Even when they recruit talented trainees, it''s only after they have their basics thoroughly mastered after graduating from the academy and have a specialization that could be useful to the division. The ck Ops was a unit with extremely high requirements.

    A teenager with no academy training, not belonging to any of the Septises, and not even having any type of relic or sub-relic... there is no way such a person would fit the recruitment criteria at all. Even if the person might have extremely high talent, she simply didn''t have the time to teach the basics to such a person.

    That''s why Kyrin thought that her annoying deputy was teasing her again by showing her the image of a handsome teenager. "It''s not the time to be ying around."

    But when she said this, her assistant already had the slightly proud expression on her expressionless face that signified she had seeded in teasing her.

    Without saying a word, her assistant yed the video on the screen. It showed the footage of a boy casually warming up at the first stage of the trial.

    Both of them didn''t notice the change in Akiko''s expression when she saw the image.

    Kyrin''s eyes narrowed. "Those clothes¡­"

    "Yes, he''s an outsider."

    "An outsider? How did he get in?" Kyrin looked at the boy''s unfamiliar face and felt like she had seen him somewhere.

    The boy was wearing loose travelling clothes that hid most of his body. He had short onyx hair and eyes of a simr colour. And yes, he was indeed quite handsome. Enough that some perverted female division heads would want to recruit him just for his looks.

    "His name is Chris Martin. It''s said that he''s the Royal Princess''s guest. She gave him citizenship and allowed him to go through the trial after screening."

    "The Princess''s guest, huh?" Kyrin murmured, looking at the boy''s face. While she was still wondering why she found him familiar, the boy started jogging slowly. She could hear the jeers and disappointed exmations of the crowd.

    Even Kyrin herself had also already concluded at first nce that the boy had no potential. The only reason she had watched it was the fact that it was rmended by her cute deputy.

    But then¡­

    "Hm? How did he do it?" Kyrin suddenly leaned forward as she began seeing something extremely surprising.

    While everyone was seeing a boy wasting precious seconds in a trial, Kyrin... was seeing a transformation. In the beginning, she couldn''t find anything peculiar. The boy was just too unassuming. But that was slowly changing.

    What surprised Kyrin was the fact that his movements were able to somehow fool her observation. Even if someone is trying to hold back, she can see everything just by observing their movements exactly how good they are. But¡­ that wasn''t the case with this boy. She had already drawn a limit to the boy''s abilities from the start of the video.

    But she didn''t know how¡­ that limit was changing!

    "How is he hiding it from me?!"

    Kyrin was now fully interested in the video. She didn''t know how he was so good at hiding it, but she could definitely draw two conclusions from it. If he can hide it from her, then he was a master of disguise, and his limit¡­ was actually much much higher.

    And that turned out to be true. By the end of the trial, the boy was on a level that is unseen in his age group, and yep, she still felt that he was already at his limit.

    Kyrin had a look of hunger in her eyes. "We''re definitely taking him in."

    Estris still had an expressionless face, but her lips were slightly curled and her eyes were shining with an ''I-told-you-so'' light.

    "Are you sure? You haven''t even watched the rest," she asked, hinting the fact that there was more toe.

    Kyrin could already tell that the boy would easily clear the rest of the warrior path trial with no surprises. There should be nothing worth watching anymore. Unless¡­

    "Which path did he choose again?"

    "He¡­ has chosen all four paths."

    Even though Estris had a nk face, Kyrin just knew her deputy was gloating.

    Kyrin''s eyebrows raised. "Then¡­ don''t tell me, his trial has the War stage?"

    The war stage is only possible if the participant excels in the next stage as well.

    Sure enough, when the next trial started, Chris showed mastery in flying and shooting as well.

    Kyrinughed. She can only see the amount Chris is willing to show. It was quite refreshing. Every time she thinks she has seen it all, he shows her more. For everyone else, it would be quite normal to be surprised, but for her, who can see through almost everyone, it was a new experience. No one this young has made her feel this way, except that boy at Hogwarts.

    "Just who is this guy?" She wondered. Who in the outside world could be so skilled at such a young age? Until now, she has only seen one other person like this, but he was only thirteen, and his level was a bit inferior.

    ''But they are indeed quite simr...'' she thought. Just like this guy, Axel Hunt was also a mystery to her. The boy had somehow learnt to be stealthy on his own, enabling him to easily blend in with the crowd. And his flying skills with the broom were also exquisite.

    But that wasn''t the most peculiar thing about the boy. It was the fact that she could not see his limit at all.

    The only difference is¡­ she can see Chris''s limit, but it''s false every time¡­ as if he had deliberately crafted it.

    The rest, is almost the same. Even their appearance is almost...

    "Look what he''ll do now," said Estris, making her focus. In the screen, Axel was currently being chased by three aircrafts at the same time. It was a scenario that required for the target to enable the shield at the right moment in order for itst through thest trial. But what Chris did next made her stand up from her seat.

    "Fucking hell... is it actually...?"

    Axel disappeared from view while flying through the high-rise buildings, then appeared behind the aircraft to shoot them down.

    ''But the Stealth maneuvers he used...''

    In Kyrin''s mind, Axel''s movements on the broom in his Final match, when he had used simr maneuvers, ovepped with Chris''s movements.

    Now that she made the connection, she realized why she found him familiar.

    But still, when she watched thest stage of the Trial, she couldn''t help getting doubtful again. There''s no way someone so young can fight like that! Even when fighting such huge waves of enemies, he hadn''t even drawn his weapon!

    When he drew his wand, his limit suddenly increased dramatically. "That type of magic control¡­"

    Kyrin could not believe there was someone at Hogwarts who was hiding so deeply. Even more surprising, he did it while being the most high profile mutherfuker in the entire outer world. Kyrin watched the whole fight spellbound.

    The way Axel was fighting was art. Every move was made to eliminate maximum target while expending minimum energy. It was a symphony of strength, skills, coordination, and magic even amature could appreciate, let alone someone like her.

    But then, Axel drew his knife.

    !!!

    Kyrin got goosebumps.

    The limit¡­ It was increasing at a dramatic rate!

    But sadly, the trial stopped at this moment as Axel was ejected from the trial room.

    "What?! What happened?!"

    "The explosions happened. His trial took ce earlier today," said Estris.

    "Argh! Damn it Kraken! Of all the times, did it have to be now?!"

    Estris nodded. "Boss, I feel a deep sense satisfaction upon seeing your frustration. I''m d I showed this to you," she said with an expressionless face while putting a hand on her chest.

    Kyrin shook off her disappointment. She now came back to the previous topic. Is it really Axel? She didn''t think so anymore.

    He had no scars, and his face and hair were different. But those movements, that body, and that flying technique, all were simr. But all the ws that she had seen in Axel''s disguise were absent in Chris''s disguise.

    If he''s really Axel, then that would mean that improved all the previous ws she had mentioned to him in such a short time!

    Kyrin realized that there was an easy way to find out.

    "Estris, remove his clothes."

    "?!... What?" This time, there was actually a change in Estris''s expression.

    "Stop giving me that judging look and just do it! I know there is a feature like that!"

    There was indeed such a feature. Analyzing the movements, and scanning the structure, the Mermaid AI can draw a rough sketch of how the person might look without clothes. But the thing is, it''s banned, and it''s only used by perverts.

    Of course, with her clearance, Estris could ess it, who would want to bebelled a pervert just for their boss''s whims?

    But did she have a choice? Estris looked at Axel''s figure, and shook her head. "He''s only 16!" She protested. It seems that the rumours were true. Her boss is indeed a pervert.

    "It is an order. Also, while at it, do the same for this one as well," she said, tapping her bracelet on her head. Instantly, an image appeared on the bracelet''s interface which she transferred to the main screen in front of them.

    "Who is this?" Asked Estris, looking at the image of the handsome boy with scars. It was in fact, slightly more handsome.

    "Boss..."

    "Just do it."

    With no choice, Estris continued her work. Orders were orders. That was it. The tips of her ears were not at all red. Just as it was about to be done, they heard a voice. "Please stop."

    It was Akiko who had said so.

    Kyrin only now remembered that Akiko had a close rtion with Axel. "So, it IS him? I knew it!"

    Akiko sighed. She just couldn''t let these two perverted women strip Axel''s clothes in her presence. Axel''s disguise wasn''t that serious, to begin with. Now that Kyrin was suspicious, there were many ways she could confirm her suspicions. There was no need to go as far as removing his clothes topare his body.

    Kyrin turned back to her Deputy. "Estris, why did you stop?"

    Akiko frowned. "There''s no need. It IS Axel. I saw him off just yesterday."

    "That''s not the reason why I am doing it. It''s because I want to see his limits properly. Well, it does help that he has a killer body. Estris, do it!"

    As Estris was about to follow the orders, Akiko used her Trump Card. "His real age is thirteen," she told Estris.

    Both Estris and Akiko red at Kyrin, who had no choice but to give up. "Ungrateful subordinates¡­"

    "Anyways, Axel Hunt, huh? I wonder what he''s doing here?" She asked, looking at Akiko.

    "He has the same goal as me. Kraken''s destruction," said Akiko.

    "Then, we have a new member."

    Imagine the team that was forming up in her head, Kyrin grinned. "I have a feeling¡­ the Squid Harvest this time is going to be bountiful."

    .....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

    next: Axel In High Demand

    next... Next: Axel vs Kyrin (friendly confrontation)

    It''s a new month. Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 180: I am Back From the Dead

    Chapter 180: I am Back From the Dead

    My luck is as bad as Axel''s, so please understand when I say this, I was in deep shit. Anyways, I am back, after much difficulty. Please give me something to look forward to by continuing to read my fanfic andmenting good memes on every chapter and giving power stones.

    I''ll start posting regrly now.

 Chapter 181: Axel in High Demand

    Chapter 181: Axel in High Demand

    Unaware that a certain (perverted?) woman had set her sights on him, Axelid on the annoyingly cool mattress, trying to sleep.

    The soft mattress was cool to the touch, almost as if it was wet, and it was just the perfect mixture of foamy and bouncy that gave him the illusion that he was sinking in water. In such a mattress, he just kept shifting from side-to-side, marvelling at the unique feeling.

    In short, it was sofortable that he couldn''t sleep. That''s why it was annoying.

    With nothing to do, he just began to think about what he would have to do in the future.

    Now that he has sessfully Infiltrated Antis, the next step is to destroy Kraken, preferably while not revealing his identity.

    He has to admit that the power of both sides is far above what he had imagined. In such a situation, if he tried fighting the Kraken alone, he is not confident about his chances. It''s too risky and difficult.

    Borrowing the power of Antis would be the most optimal way to deal with the Kraken.

    Thus, it seems that he is going on the right route by applying to the army. If there is one problem, it would be that it''s too slow. Daphne would worry every day until he returns.

    But it''s also for the best that he hase here. If Kraken destroys Antis, it would turn its sights on the outer world next. That''s why, he had to bring the fight to kraken. He could not just passively wait for them toe for him at their leisure.

    So, he has no choice but to be away from her. Last time, when Theron and Nerio had kidnapped him, he had almost dragged her into danger when his magi-mirror was discovered. After that incident, he had decided he never wanted to be in such a situation again.

    Axel raised his hand, the one that was not cut. This hand had been holding Daphne''s hand for the past few days in order to practice Zen Focus. Her hand was so small and delicate, almost as if he could crush it easily.

    But he realized that, when holding hands with her, his sleep would be especially peaceful. Situation like not being able to sleep was impossible.

    Axel closed his eyes and imagined the feeling of her holding her hand. He imagined her lying beside him, looking at him sleep like she used to in the past few days. He imagined how she would sometimes snuggle up to him when she thought that he was asleep. He imagined inhaling her scent and feeling her heartbeat.

    As he imagined it, a sense of bliss slowly enveloped him, and he easily drifted off to slumber.

    Axel woke up in the morning refreshed and energized. He nced around and remembered that he''s in fact in Antis. But, training still couldn''t be skipped.

    ''System, am I being monitored in this room?'' He asked the system, just in case. He didn''t want anyone to see his training.

    [No.]

    Axel quickly began doing his routine. After so long, he had reached the advanced stage in many of his skills, making the progression a lot slower and the exercises a lot more strenuous.

    The exercises were so difficult that Axel was sweating within minutes. Magic power circted from around his body, and a heavy exhaustion fell on his body, apanied by a generous amount of pain.

    But Axel still persisted. As long as the final result was positive, he didn''t mind hardships at all.

    ''What?''

    Axel realized that today, he had far surpassed his usual limit, but somehow, he was still able to continue the training.

    ''How¡­?''

    [It''s because you''re in Antis] Answered the system.

    But Axel was still confused. ''What does that have to do with my increased energy?'' He asked.

    [You might have noticed that being in or near water has a few passive effects on you.]

    Axel nodded. It was true that water does have some positive effects on him. For example, he would be more energized when in water, or his injuries would be healed more quickly. But it used to be extremely slow and almost unnoticeable.

    But ever since he has arrived in this ce, he has been getting this feeling of having boundless strength on his fingertips, as if he could do anything.

    [It''s the same effect. But it''s magnifying with the awakening of your bloodline. Furthermore, now that you''re in Antis, hundreds of thousands of kilometers under the ocean, your bloodline is responding to it.]

    ''So, it''s like this.'' He realized that this was also true. Ever since he had gotten the skill [Water Bending], the effect of water was much more pronounced. And it only increased when it got upgraded to [Water Monarch].

    ''Is that the reason why you rmended soaking my body in cold water in the recovery n?'' He asked.

    In the recovery n for his body that the system had given him, he also had to soak his body in icy water two times a day. Axel had thought it was just to stimte muscle repair, but now he didn''t think so.

    [Affirmative. But that was just normal water. The water here is different. Trying it out is rmended.]

    Thus, when Axelpleted his daily routine, he went to the bathroom that was attached to his room.

    As he stepped into the shower area, a transparent screen popped up in front of him.

    [Full body Wash

    Hair Wash

    Partial Wash

    Healing Wash

    Muscle Rxing

    Customize

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­]

    There were many options for bathing. Axel just chose the first two options.

    [Please apply the breathing instrument to your nose.]

    A cab popped open which contained a few plugs.

    Axel put one on randomly. In the next moment, water gushed out from all sides. Within seconds, Axel waspletely submerged in cool water.

    This time, the effect was even more apparent. The soreness of his muscles, which is usually ever-present, slowly dissipated as a refreshing coolness slowly spread throughout his body. Axel felt a connection with the water.

    ''It''s indeed different...'' At this moment, stretching out his body, Axel thoroughly agreed with the system.

    [This is the magical water of Antis, your Kingdom. It will have an increased effect on you.]

    Within a few minutes, he was able to almost fully recover. Suddenly, Axel had an epiphany.

    ''If it''s like this, can''t I train infinitely?'' He wondered.

    [No.] The system poured cold water on his thoughts. [Your water affinity hasn''t awakened to the extent that you can train infinitely. At least not yet. But yes, you can definitely increase your workout by twice for now.]

    Axel was very happy with that. With this, he would be able to dramatically improve his rate of improvement.

    *Beep*

    But as he was about to resume his training, he heard a sound from his door. Looking at the interface, it was the same student who had brought him here, carrying a box in his hands.

    ??

    But when Axel opened the door, he was immediately taken by surprise by the scene outside. Right in front of his doorway, a huge pile of boxes, big and small had been gathered, making up a small mountain.

    "What¡­ the hell is this?"

    Tarmin, who had rung the doorbell, was also a bit speechless at the strange scenario. "These are recruitment offers," he exined.

    "Recruitment offers?"

    Axel wondered if he had finally seeded. "So, I don''t have to attend the academy?"

    Tarmin''s mouth twitched. "With those skills, you can even be an instructor. What will you learn in the academy?"

    "But isn''t it mandatory to graduate first?"

    "That rule isn''t absolute. It''s just that none of the divisions usually recruit cadets who haven''tpleted their education. But when they find talented cadets who have already surpassed the academy level, the divisions can directly recruit them if they want to," Tarmin exined.

    Axel looked at the huge mountain of boxes in front of him. "But, what kind of recruitment offers need to be given in such containers?"

    Tarmin shrugged. "The boxes have gifts. Your demand right now is extremely high. Those boxes have precious items that the divisions have sent to entice you into joining their division. Of course, they would also offer various other benefits as well, like higher position, higher pay, and so on."

    "All this, just for me? Isn''t this too much?" Axel felt that the situation was a bit exaggerated. He didn''t show that much after all. "Surely, there are students who are much better than me, right?"

    "I don''t think so," said Tarmin. "While there are indeed some cadets who are more powerful than you in a particr path, they are not necessarily better," he stated with certainty .

    While there are some who can run faster, some who can shoot more powerful bullets, and some who cast more powerful magic, Axel''s overall abilities in each path far surpasses all of the students. Those so-called inexperienced geniuses are useless in the real war scenarios.

    "Besides, you are currently going algal on the Dee. Your trial has been on the first ce in the trending list for a while. It''s rising very quickly. That''s another reason why the divisions are trying so hard to recruit you."

    (Algal=viral, Dee=Inte)

    There were various reasons, like Axel''s young age, his outstanding skills, and so on. But the effect is still too exaggerated. After all, there have also been videos of some 5 or 6 star giants casually doing the trial. But for some unknown reason, Axel''s trial is getting more attention than even them.

    If they have to put a finger on it, it would be that Axel''s trial is just too entertaining. He only reveals his cards one by one and there are a lot of "wow" moments that just leave the viewers banging their tables. Besides, there is a certain coolness and charisma in Axel''s every move that makes people want to watch it again and again.

    When he realized that he was already famous here, Axel put his hand to his forehead. It seems this is something he has thoroughly failed to avoid here as well.

    "Anyways, what does being famous have to do with the divisions wanting to recruit me?"

    "Well, there is something called the poprity perks. If a division has a popr soldier, it would attract more sponsors and recruits alike. You should already know, war requires a lot of funds. There are incredibly wealthy people in Antis, but making them loosen their pockets is another matter. So of course, someone like you is like a cash whale for them."

    In his mind, Axel decided to reject any and all invitations that had the intention of using him for this purpose.

    He looked at the box in Tarmin''s hand. "So, are you here to recruit me as well?" Surprisingly, even Tarmin had alsoe with a box in his hands.

    "Me? Oh no. No! I mean, I dide here to give you this." He said, handing him a box. "But it''s not for recruitment."

    "What''s this?"

    "Just a few essentials that every academy student gets."

    When Axel pressed the button, it scanned his face and unlocked with a click. Lifting the lid, Axel the first this Axel saw was a bracelet, one simr to what everyone around here has been using. It was resting on a Military enve academy uniform, a pair of training clothes, boots, gloves, and sses and various other essories.

    "It''s the standard academy gear. Everyone gets one on enrollment. Even though you are already graduating, you did clear the enrollment criteria, so here you are." Tarmin''s incredulity could be felt in his voice when he said those words.

    Coming to enroll as a novice, but ending up graduating as the top student. This was probably a first in the academy''s history. Naturally, even the Royal Academy didn''t know whether to treat him as a student or not. But considering his future prospects, he was allowed all the student perks.

    Tarmin left soon after while giving a wistful nce towards the recruitment offers. With nothing to do, Axel dragged everything inside and began opening the boxes one by one.

    Armors, Guns, Tridents, knives, there were all kinds of gifts. Along with them were tablets which contains their contract offers.

    As Tarmin had said, their offers were quite enticing. There were many divisions who offered him a high sry, some offered him a cut of the investments him would bring to the Division, and finally, some even offered him higher positions.

    Axel directly rejected all the materialistic offers. As a thief he didn''t have much use for money and items. Rather, he only wanted to smoothly climb through the ranks and get the chance to enter the main fight.

    Among those offering him higher ranks, almost none of them were Spellcaster rted positions. The best offers were only for the Warrior, Shooting, and Rider rted paths.

    When going through them pile, a particr offer caught his eyes.

    [Maverick Rider]

    A subdivision of riders that only choose the best of the best. The Riders get to ride the Neptunite Maverick model, the most powerful Neptune model currently avable, known for its extreme difficulty of handling.

    Authority: 3 Stars.

    Enclosed in the box was a miniature model of the Maverick, which looked quite appealing.

    This offer was one of the good ones. The main reason was that he really wanted to ride this Maverick, whose top speed is high enough to make him question reality.

    Axel put this offer aside and continued looking. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a particrly conspicuous box. It was the smallest among all of the boxes, and it was dark emblem on it which looked quite cool.

    Axel opened it and was surprised to see a ninja scroll inside. Opening the scroll, he found a Letter inside.

    "Dear Axel Hunt (Or Chris Martin?),"

    Axel''s blood froze when he read the very first line, which was written in a messy English handwriting. Fuck!

    "Fancy seeing you here. I was very disappointed when you rejected my kind offer and stoppeding to my sses. You''ve gotten more handsome in thest few days I haven''t seen you. I''m going to extend another offer to you. Don''t reject this time.

    Looking forward to meeting you~

    Lots of love,

    Kurai Sensei"

    "Fuck!"

    Axel wouldn''t say that he hadn''t expected it. But to see it really happened, he wouldn''t say he hadn''t panicked.

    His disguise was good enough. And he had also improved on the points which Kurai Sensei had mentioned to him thest time. But if he had to judge it himself, he would say it''s was too sloppy.

    And he had done it on purpose. It wouldn''t have mattered if he had to put on a temporary disguise, but in case of a long term disguise like this one, Axel didn''t want to pretend to be someone too different from himself.

    That''s why, his current disguise is almost like his original self, both in terms to appearance and temperament. He had only made sure to keep just enough difference that no one would associate his two personas together.

    He hadn''t thought it would impact him majorly. After all, he didn''t think anyone like Kurai Sensei, who had an abnormally sharp insight and had already observed his original identity in detail.

    In fact, it should have been fairly difficult even for Kurai Sensei to confirm his identity. He wondered what gave her the confidence to know for sure that he was indeed Axel.

    Axel sighed. Anyways, with his real identity exposed, it would be for the best if he doesn''t make an enemy out of Kurai Sensei, unless he is confident in killing her. But killing her is even more troublesome.

    Axel scratched it head. Why¡­ why can''t things go smoothly for once!

    Now that this Seven Star ck Ops Division Leader leader has given him the invitation to join her division, he has to say goodbye to his vision on riding a Maverick.

    But when Axel looked at the offer details, he doubted his eyes.

    [I''ll give you four star authority for now. The elders would made a fuzz if I give you more. We''re Hunting the Higher ups of Kraken. If you''re interested in joining,e to XXXXXXX.

    Ultimate goal is to annihte those squid down to thest member. It''ll be dangerous. Don''te if you''re a coward.]

    Axel''s ns of killing Kurai suddenly came to a halt.

    ...

    <strong>A.N.: next : Meeting the Boss</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Axel vs Kyrin</strong>

    <strong>Next next next: Secret to Kraken''s powers</strong>

    <strong>Next... Next: Touring Antis and Akiko''s feelings</strong>

    <strong>Next.... Next: Another Attack</strong>

    <strong>Come read /snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 182: Meeting the Boss

    Chapter 182: Meeting the Boss

    The Kingdom of Antis is always under pressure. After all, it''s a hundred thousand feet under the ocean. Obviously it would be under pressure of like, a few billion tons of water.

    But very recently a new type of pressure has been added on top of that. Due to the bombing, mass panic has spread throughout the city. People, who were already scared due to the ongoing war, are now panicked to the point of wanting to escape the kingdom.

    In such a situation, the group under most pressure was a division that most people don''t even know exists. It is called the Sustenance Division.

    Contrary to its ordinary name and anonymity from the general public, it''s actually a division which is crucial for the very sustenance of the kingdom, and which wields enough political power to even mobilise other Divisions and even the Relic Wielders when necessary.

    Its purpose? To keep the people of Antis happy. That is their work on the surface. But the deeper purpose is to stop Kraken''s influence from spreading further.

    That includes keeping people from talking about Kraken, thinking about Kraken, and wanting to leave Antis due to Kraken.

    In order to do this, they have been granted control over the news, media, social media, public leaders, almost everything that can influence people.

    Any sensitive news about Kraken can be censored, and anyone trying to spread Kraken''s ideology is taken into custody, no matter how important that person is. This is the extent of this Division''s power.

    But right now, this division is in shambles trying to control the public opinion.

    "Chief, a troller discovered! He already has ten thousand views!"

    "Another person demanding permission to leave the Kingdom!"

    "This one is basically telling everyone to join the winning side!"

    "There is inciting content in this video."

    "This one is criticizing the Royal family for their negligence."

    The chief, who had aged 5 years overnight, rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes.

    In the past, he used to love his work, and he was very good at it. He had the power to influence the whole Kingdom. He would promote good content, create hype, choose content to be shared on the Antis Official, the most subscribed channel in Antis, and so on. It was really fun.

    But right now, in the truest sense, he hated his job.

    How is he supposed to do his job if the Kraken keeps dropping bombs like that? This is no longer a small matter. The reliable protection wards have been by-passed, the security has been breached, and people have died. People are angry, confused and scared. How is he supposed to suppress this matter?

    If they keep trying like this, it would only make the public even more agitated.

    With his mind no longer working, the chief absent-mindedly browsed through his Oceagram feed. It was an old habit of his. He was, at heart, an addict who needs to keep consuming entertaining content. Too bad, he hasn''t been able to do so recently due to this emergency.

    "Hm?"

    The chief was surprised to see that there was actually something other than the recent tragedy being discussed.

    There were two such topics which were quite popr right now. First was the return of Lady Tenebrous, who had prevented the disaster. He already knew of that. But surprisingly, the other one was the trial of an academy applicant.

    What is this?

    This caught the Chief''s eye. Just how impressive was this Trial to be able to go viral at this point of time?

    Knowing exactly how peculiar this situation was, the chief opened the video. And when he did, he was blown away. Suddenly, all the noise in the surroundings was gone, and all the problems bothering him were gone. He got fully immersed in the trial, his thoughts only revolving around it.

    When it finally ended, the chief suddenly came out of his trance. With his years of experience and eye for content, he could see a lot of things that others couldn''t.

    ''This guy¡­ he has the ''it'' factor!''

    His senses were tingling. After seeing the video, and the news about Lady Tenebrous''s return, an idea was forming in his head.

    Usually, it would be impossible, but with these two, they might just pull it off.

    The more he thought, the clearer the image in his mind began to form. His breathing quickened, and a familiar feeling returned to him after a long time. It was a feeling of excitement, filled with motivation and anticipation. It was a feeling he gets when he gets inspiration for content. It''s the feeling that made him love his job.

    The chief stood up. "Alright everyone. New Orders!" he said, raising his voice.

    Instantly, hundreds of workers who were sitting in front of their respective screens all turn their attention to him. Their eyes, which were as tired and sleep deprived as his, looked at him with hope of finding a solution to this predicament.

    "First of all, we will stop the total suppression. Just level 2 suppression will do. Rather than that, focus more on pushing up the state''s response to this situation. The treatment of the injured, thepensation to affected families, restoration of the infrastructure, countermeasures and prevention, and so on. We will use the Distraction tactic."

    The Distraction tactic. It''s name perfectly describes what kind of tactic it is. Right now, panic and negativity is being spread throughout the kingdom through various content.

    What the chief intends to do is push forward the content that is even more attention grabbing than the current predicament. Something that would get the audience hooked enough topletely distract them.

    But, when he shared this idea, there were a lot of objections. For good reasons. It was true that total suppression of the news wasn''t helping, but the damage without it would be even more significant. The distraction tactic can''t really do much to mitigate it.

    The general consensus was: It can''t work. How can the public focus on something else after what happened?

    The chief raised his hand to the objections. "I know, I know, distracting usually wouldn''t work in such a severe situation. But, you guys have to trust me on this one. Saying so, he disyed two faces on the screen. "Make all the news rted to these two algal. " His words caused a stir with in the workers.

    ''Kyrin Tenebrous and Chris Martin...'' the Chief thought of the two people he had shown on the screen.

    He had not made his decision based on the current situation. Rather, he was betting on the certainty that their future actions and achievements would be big enough to attract the attention of the whole Antis.

    The graphs and charts ran through his mind, and with his keen intuition, he could only see them rising high.

    In the past, he used to be a fan of Kyrin. He had followed her every move closely. Hence, he knew a bit about her personality.

    ''She would be furious.''

    Kyrin Tenebrous he knew was someone who regarded Kraken as nothing but toys for her amusement. Seeing those insignificant beings being so brazen in her home, she would want to go on a rampage.

    In short, her actions would be like the revenge and assurance that the people of Antis needed right now.

    As for this new variable Chris Martin.... The chief himself had no idea exactly what he saw in him. But, he trusts his insight, which is screaming at him, that this kid will go big.

    "Monitor the actions of these two individuals. Post the content regarding them directly on the official channel."

    "The... The official channel?"

    The Official channel means the channel with the most number of subscribers in the whole Kingdom, Antis Ofc. Whatever news is shared on it guaranteed to be seen throughout the empire.

    .....

    Axel navigated through the confusing hallways of the Royal Academy, lost in thought.

    What he needed to do was clear enough. He had to go to the location mentioned in the letter and ept Kurai Sensei''s offer.

    After all, it was a good opportunity. The ck Ops Division, under Kyrin Tenebrous''s leadership, is going to aim for the high ranking members of the Kraken with the ultimate goal ofpletely destroying the Organisation, which is not much different than what Axel wants to do.

    But, he was still unwilling. If you ask him the reason, it''s...

    ''I didn''t like her tone.''

    it was too overbearing. It wasn''t really an offer, it was more like an order. It''s like, ''since I''ve given you the offer, you have no choice but to simplye to me like a dog and thank me.''

    That''s why, he couldn''t trust her. She seemed the type of woman who would want to tie him up and torture him for all his secrets.

    In short, he just felt a strange sense of dissonance from her.

    He would definitely want to join her division and work together, but only if his safety is guaranteed. If there''s the slightest bit of risk, he''d rather join another division.

    "It''s him, right?"

    "Yeah, it has to be him."

    "He''s wearing the academy uniform, so I can''t be sure¡­"

    "I don''t think it''s him. Where did all those musclese from?"

    While Axel was still pondering over the matter, he had inadvertently drawn a small crowd that had begun following his movements.

    When he stopped to raise his head, the noise intensified.

    "Fuck, it''s him!"

    In order to not stand out, he had changed into the academy uniform, he was a kind of one piece suit with armor on protective regions. Now that he was no longer wearing loose clothes, he looked quite different, causing the onlookers to be confused. But when his face was revealed, his identity was confirmed.

    "Chris, can I have a picture?"

    "Chris, go out with me!"

    "Chris, I''m your very first rem!"

    "Come to our division!"

    Instantly, Axel was surrounded. The crowd consisted of students who were asking questions, taking pictures and recording him, and alumni who were trying to recruit him to their divisions.

    Axel: "???"

    Axel looked at the crowd speechlessly. I only arrived yesterday, and only took one trial. How did ite to this?

    No matter what, the matter seemed quite fishy to him. It shouldn''t be this quick. Axel casually read some of their minds and found out the reason.

    ''What the hell?''

    He found that the main reason was because his trial had been shared on the most popr channel on Antis.

    But, now that he was reading their minds, he came to understand a few more things as well. The concept of ''social media'' and ''inte'' might be new for the muggle world and the wizarding world, but it''s really old here.

    Thus, it has been deeply entrenched into the society, having a powerful influence on all fields of the Kingdom.

    The celebrity culture is much more developed in Antispared to the Wizarding world and muggle world. Fame... is a type of currency here.

    That''s why, when he became famous overnight, it''s a big enough deal that so many people are now approaching him like this.

    Though Axel was a bit (a lot) ufortable with the situation, an idea to deal with his previous dilemma still came to him.

    "Chris, everyone wants to know, which division are going to join?!"

    "You have talent for all the basic paths! Can you tell us if you have gotten any offers yet?"

    "There has been a petition! People want to see the rest of your trial! Are you going to continue it?"

    The questions were still going on. Even though the wizarding world hadn''t yet gone as far that even students would be behaving like reporter, Axel was still fairly skilled in dealing with such situations by now.

    When he finally opened his mouth, the people surrounding him naturally fell silent.

    "I don''t think I''ll be continuing the trial¡ª"

    !!!

    This was already a bit statement. Everyone who had watched his trial had felt blueballed when it ended right before the climax. Their has been quite a rukus about wanting to see the rest of it.

    "¡ªBecause I''m already going to ept one of the recruitment offers."

    But this statement was bigger, causing them to focus on big news rather than the continuation of his trial.

    Of course, the next few questions naturally contain ''which division?''

    Axel smiled. "I''m currently going to an interview for the ck Ops. If everything goes well, I''ll join it."

    ...

    Meanwhile, in her office, Kyrin was sprawled out in her seat on her couch in a very undy-like posture while waiting.

    "He''s still not here," she muttered, checking the time.

    "Actually, he might note at all," said Akiko, who knew Axel to some extent.

    Kyrin gave her an ''are-you-stupid?'' look. "Don''t talk nonsense. Now that he knows about my identity, there''s no way he''d refuse," she said with certainty.

    "I''ve not seen you so eager in a while, boss." Estris said in her usual voice which contained no intonation. "I''m really starting to suspect something."

    Is her boss really into young boys?

    "Well, if you''re suspecting that I''ll tie him up and interrogate him, then you might be onto something¡­" said Kyrin, sitting up.

    When Akiko, who was discretely doing some normal training in the corner, heard this a frown formed on her face as she grew vignt. "What are you talking about?"

    This waspletely out of the script.

    "Well, that guy had mepletely fooled the whole time I was at Hogwarts. I never knew he was hiding so much power. I want to know, just how he was able to fool my perception like that," said Kyrin. She had a hungry look in her eyes. "Recruiting him is just my secondary goal."

    Akiko frowned. "Don''t do it." she advised seriously. She knew that Kyrin and Axel were on the same side, But if Kyrin even tried to cross the line¡­

    "You''ll regret it."

    Currently, in terms of power, she knew that Kyrin was actually a level above Axel. But¡­ Axel rarely needs power to win. And she will also obviously not stand by if he''s really threatened. But, she simply didn''t want Axel to get another dangerous enemy instead of a valuable ally.

    At this moment, a screen opened up in front of them, showing arge number of people gathering in front of their building.

    Kyrin frowned. "I thought this was one of our secret locations?" She asked Estric.

    Estric had a rare troubled look on her face. "That was indeed supposed to be the case," she said, as she began checking the situation.

    Soon after, the door opened and a bespectacled man with a mustache came in. "Miss, the guest you informed me about has arrived," he said with a bow as he stood aside.

    Walking casually behind the butler... was the guy whom Kyrin was nning to interrogate. "It''s been a while, Kurai Sensei," said Axel with a smile.

    He looked at the screen which was disying the huge crowd outside. "Ah, sorry for themotion. I made a few friends along the way. They''re curious if I''ve really gotten recruited into ck ops or if it''s just someone trying to kidnap me. I hope you don''t mind," he said, scratching the back of his head.

    The hidden meaning of words was clear: ''Bitch, don''t even think of trying anything funny.''

    Though, only now did he spot Akiko in the corner, who actually had a bright smile on her face.

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    Next:A xel Vs Kyrin

    NNext: The Secret to Kraken''s powers and First Mission

    NNNext: Akiko''s Feelings

    NNNNext: Another Attack

    Don''t wanna wait?e read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 183: Axel Vs Kyrin Tenebrous

    Chapter 183: Axel Vs Kyrin Tenebrous

    When Kurai sensei revealed her actual intentions behind recruiting Axel, Akiko had really panicked.

    Kyrin Tenebrous, or Kurai Sensei, is not exactly a good person. But, she can''t be called bad either. If she really has to evaluate her personality, then she would be good, but less good than Axel, and bad, but less bad than Axel.

    Axel is good to the people he is familiar with. Too good. To the point that youpletely forget he''s the same person who had you sign a ve contract when you were a stranger (Potential Threat) to him.

    Simrly, due to having known Akiko''s parents, Kurai Sensei has always been so good to her that she had forgotten that she could be someone who would try to find out Axel''s secrets against his will.

    That''s why, she was truly panicked and conflicted when she found out Kurai Sensei''s intentions. Her only constion was the fact that there was a high chance Axel will not ept the offer.

    Axel is really cautious. And the offer was filled with red gs. First of all, Axel always likes to have the initiative, as well as the upper hand. But that is not the case here. Kurai Sensei has the initiative, recruiting him with unknown intentions, and she has the upper hand, having seven star authority and home domain.

    Aside from this, Axel also doesn''t like being threatened. By exposing his identity and telling him to not reject her this time, she is basically pissing Axel off by threatening him. With his extreme petiness, if not today, he would definitely get back at her someday for this.

    Combining all this, Akiko didn''t think Axel woulde right now, which would give her time to mediate the situation.

    But her expectations were brilliantly contradicted when Axel actually showed up! But, in a very Axel-like fashion, ensuring his safety.

    With the situation like this, Akiko was at least sure of one thing: She was being stupid. She never needed to worry about Axel, who worries enough for himself.

    Feeling relieved, a genuine smile came upon Akiko''s lips.

    "What the¡ª?"

    On the other hand, suddenly seeing Akiko out of the blue, Axel thought he might be hallucinating. How else would he see her here in Antis?

    Just yesterday, he had bade farewell to her and thought he might not see her again for months. But now, here she is, smiling at him as if reuniting after a long while.

    "What the fuck are you doing here?" Even as he asked her that, Axel felt that it was a silly question. The answer was quite apparent to him. It was thedy sitting on the couch who was currently ring at him.

    It was clear that Akiko came here with Kurai Sensei. Kurai Sensei must have already known about Akiko''s ability and her hatred for Kraken. There is no way Kurai Sensei would miss such an opportunity, and there is no way Akiko would refuse such an offer.

    It also made more sense why this girl never once expressed her intention to tag along with him. She was alreadying on her own. Why would she need to go with him? She didn''t even tell him in case he tried to persuade her to not go.

    "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered, shaking his head ruefully.

    Akiko nodded. "You can''t me me."

    On the other hand, looking at the crowd gathered in front of her hideout, and the person she wanted to meet standing right in front of her, Kyrin gritted her teeth. Now that everyone''s attention was focused on him, there''s no way she could execute her n.

    Was it really a coincidence that this kid brought so many people here? The kid is either a goof running after fame, or a cunning and cautious fox.

    The former that can be easily eliminated. If he really liked to brag for attention, there''s no way he would have held back so much of his abilities. That means he is cautious to the point of anticipating her intentions and ensuring his safety just in case she had bad intentions.

    "I didn''t take you for a coward," she jabbed, causing Axel''s eyes to snap back on her. "Neither did I know that you have so little faith in me," she said, letting him know that she knew the exact reason why he came with such a huge entourage.

    Axel just smirked. "Trust me, it''s for your own safety."

    Kyrin raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" Suddenly, dark tentacles stretched out from Axel''s shadow and wrapped around him, binding him to the spot.

    "Tell me, how exactly is it for my safety?" She asked, crossing her legs.

    Axel was still calm. "Well, if you were really serious, that knife would have been buried into your head," he said, nodding at the space beside her.

    ?? Kyrin followed Axel''s line of sight, only to see a knife buried to the hilt right beside her head.

    "That would have ended our cooperation prematurely, would it not, sensei?"

    "¡­."

    Kyrin was in shock. For the first time in a while, she felt it. The threat of death. That knife throw just now was no ordinary move. Even with all her passive abilities, she was unable to detect anything. If Axel could increase the damage output of that throw, which she was almost certain he could, there was a chance she could have died.

    The bindings around Axel became tighter, and for a moment, she considered going further.

    "I would not if I were you," But Axel''s eyes seemed to prate her head, looking at her warningly. Suddenly, his hand was free of the dark tentacles as a knife twirled between his fingers. "You can try going further. But no matter what happens to me, I can''t guarantee your safety a second time," his easygoing attitude was gone as he warned her seriously this time.

    Axel still didn''t do much, but he didn''t need to. In Kyrin''s eyes, hisbat power had increased explosively.

    Axel and Kyrin stared at each other, their eyes glowing with magic. Then, Kyrin shook her head. "You''ve been hiding too much," she said, loosening Axel''s bindings.

    Sessfully threatening her in her own home? She was still underestimating him too much. She can''t be sure what he would do next. "It really makes me want to crack open that head to find out how," she muttered, casting a hungry gaze at Axel. If not now, then maybeter....

    Axel also smiled at that. "That''s why, for a long and sessful cooperation, I hope you would understand if I added additional terms for my safety in the contract I''m about to sign, sensei."

    This time. Kyrin was so surprised that sheughed. This kid¡­ no, this fox! First, he created a situation in which she can''t openly hurt him without half the Antis knowing, temporarily stopping her. Knowing it wasn''t enough, he showed her a little more of his abilities, making her wonder if he had something more up his sleeve. Then, he conceded working with her on the condition of having safety uses in his contract, thus keeping both parties interests.

    Axel must have been aiming for this from the very start. Because this was the best option for Axel. Even if he had rejected today''s offer, there was always a possibility of hering after him even if he tried to stay away.

    But now, by working with her, he is not only protecting himself from her using the contract, but also using her to achieve his goal of destroying Kraken.

    The fact Axel was still only thirteen years old made that situation so absurd that Kurai Sensei couldn''t helpughing out loud. "Hahahahaha.. hah..., I can understand why you like him, Aki," she said, wiping her eyes.

    "Alright," she said, nodding towards Axel. "You''re hired," she stated.

    Axel blinked. "Just like that?"

    "Yep." Kyrin nodded.

    It was simple logic. If he is like this at only 13, then there is no way in hell she would let this talent go. As for his secrets? Well, Kurai wasn''t much of a power hungry person, unlike the Elders. Between having Axel on her side, or ''trying'' to find out his secrets and risking enmity with him, the former is obviously a far better choice.

    Of course, the main reason was...

    ''He has Akikopletely wrapped around his finger.''

    If he goes, Aki won''t be staying either, which is really surprising, considering the girl''s single-minded devotion for revenge for which she even ignored her Grandfather.

    ''Indeed, love blinds people.'' For Kurai, only Akiko falling in love could exin her behaviour, which is so different from the usual Akiko.

    "Estris, give him the contract."

    Estris, who had already witnessed the whole situation, was already modifying the contract. After tranting everything into English, she flipped the screen around and pushed her hand forward, presenting it in front of Axel.

    "I have modified the contract and also added aplete security use. There should be no loophole. You can check the rest of the terms as well."

    Axel looked through the contract and nodded in satisfaction. This deputy was quite capable.

    Everything was perfect. The post was of four stars, while the benefits could bepared to that of 5 star authority officers. As Estris said, there was indeed no loophole, and the terms were flexible, meaning he would be promoted if he disyed abilities above his grade and gathered enough merits.

    "These are very generous conditions for a newbie like me," hemented while reading.

    "...."

    The threedies didn''t find his joke funny. Not at all. If Axel is a newbie, then would the veterans out there who are suppressed with just a nce of Kyrin be toddlers learning to walk?

    "Though, there is one more detail I''d like to add," Axel said as he typed one more line into it.

    Kyrin scoffed when she read it. "Do you think I''d get anything from revealing your identity? Your outer identity is inconsequential here."

    Indeed, the new use was about keeping secret the fact that he was Axel Hunt.

    Axel casually shrugged. "My identity might be inconsequential right now, but it won''t stay that way. Not after I be the most annoying person to Kraken under you. This way, I can also run away and continue my life in case ofplications," he said, making up a new reason.

    "Cunning bastard..."

    "That I am."

    ''But I am a royal bastard.'' Axel kept that to himself.

    On the other hand, Akiko''s mouth twitched. His outer identity is inconsequential here?

    Axel is the crown prince of Antis. Is this inconsequential here?

    She could only admire Axel''s cautiousness. With his real face exposed, there is a chance that Kurai Sensei would make the connection between Axel and Tristan. By extention, she might also find out about his identity as the crown prince.

    But, with thest use worded like that, Kurai Sensei won''t be able to reveal it do anything about it, even if she somehow finds outter.

    This is like an insurance to avoid future troubles.

    Unaware of this fact, Kurai sensei epted the term without thinking much.

    After confirming with the system for any traps, finally, Axel signed the contract.

    "Well, wee to the ck ops."

    "Wee, Axel." Estris also weed him, appearing neither happy nor sad. "Here is your badge. The rest of your gear will be delivered soon as well."

    I''ve also updated your information in the main server, so now your bracelet will have four star clearance. Don''t lose these two."

    Axel nodded, looking at Estris. How to say it? This girl, who appears to be a teenager, is extremely capable in her work. He could also sense a strange sense of danger from her. He was d things ended peacefully just now.

    "Anyways," Kurai sensei leaned forward. "Now that you''re a member, I''m going to give you your very first assignment," she said sombrely.

    "Already?" Axel raised his eyebrows. He didn''t expect to be given an assignment already.

    "Well, it''s an Elite Division. What did you expect? We don''t keep our members idle. Why else do you think you aren''t seeing the other members."

    That did make sense. This is the ck Ops division. Most of the members would already be doing some covert operations or gathering information.

    Filled with anticipation, Axel readied himself for whatever mission he will be given. Is it a test of his skills? Or were they already hunting targets? What would be the difficulty?

    "Your first mission: Familiarize yourself with Antis," said Kyrin with a go-away gesture.

    "...What?"

    "It''s as you heard. You''re really a fish here (noob). Go learn somemon sense. Familiarize yourself with the new environment. Learn as many things that are different here as possible. I don''t want your fish-iness to affect our serious mission."

    "Aki, you''re new too. You get the same assignment."

    "Yes, Sensei!" Akiko nodded. Even hough she didn''t have much of an expression, she looked happy. Kurai only shake her head murmur things like ''love'' and ''it''s good to be young.

    Akiko was indeed happy, but for a different reason. Things had actually ended up fine! There was no bloodshed! With Axel''s bad luck for trouble, she was already preparing her actions after things would go wrong.

    If she shielded Axel, Kurai Sensei would have no choice but to let him go. So, that''s what she was nning to do.

    Unexpectedly but fortunately, things actually ended smoothly, and now Axel and Kurai Sensei, two formidable individuals, were going to work together to destroy Kraken.

    She was definitely happy.

    Kyein couldn''t watch it any longer. "Now, off you go. I have more interviews to take."

    While leaving, Akiko silently RIPed the next interviewee who was going toe. Kurai Sensei''s frustration from this interview will definitely be transferred to the next individual.

    "Don''t take more than a day. You two have ck ops sses tomorrow," Kyrin called out to the two ''love birds'' who were leaving¡­

    ¡­Not knowing what trouble they''ll get into in this ''outing''.

    ....

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>

    Next: Outing

    next next: Akiko''s feelings

    Next next next: Another Attack

    N...next: Axel Crushing Mobs

    Next... next: Dire /Snollygoster

 Chapter 184: The Secret to Krakens Power

    Chapter 184: The Secret to Kraken''s Power

    A day had passed after the bombing. Yesterday, the situation had deteriorated to the point of causing riots and protests.

    But now, the fear and agitation of the citizens is slowly decreasing and the situation on the inte is also gradually stabilizing.

    This is mostly due to the presence of two individuals.

    Chris Martin and Kyrin Tenebrous.

    First of all, Chris Martin. This person came out of nowhere and put up a phenomenal performance of speedrunning through a 5 path trial like a breeze.

    The skills and abilities he disyed were amazing. But, what was more astonishing was that the views on his trial began increasing at a rate faster than even the most popr videos, which contained content like relic wielders in action, who are considered existences leagues above Axel.

    After all, Axel''s power level is still far below them. That''s why, the rapid poprity caused a bit of a stir.

    But, that would have been it. The rapid burst of poprity would have slowly died down after those interested would have seen it.

    After all, it was just a trial in the academy. There was a limit to the number of people who find it worth their time to watch a trial, thus preventing them from even knowing how special this trial was.

    But, things changed when Antis Ofc., the biggest channel in Antis, actually posted an original high definition stream of the trial, fully edited with a fast pace bgm and the spectator''s reactions. It being the official channel that only shared attention worthy content, viewers flooded in, not even checking the title and thumbnail of the clip.

    That¡­ was when the true traction was achieved.

    If the trial was perfect before, it had reached a level even above that. People couldn''t stop watching and sharing it again and again.

    This time, with the right push, the clip really began breaking all records of the previous clips shared by the channel, with its poprity showing no sign of dying down.

    "Omg, check out this video! Why in the abysmal trench is it so addicting?!"

    "Wtf! Why did it end before the climax?"

    "I want more!"

    "Who is this guy?"

    "SO COOL!!!"

    "I came to see why the video has so many views. Now I''m left hanging on a cliff."

    "This guy is so funny! Every time you expect him to die, he busts out yet another brilliant skill."

    When looking through the thousands ofments, the reason for the clip''s meteoric rise was apparent. The main reason wasn''t the insane skills Axel showed. Neither was it his fighting power, which seemed above even three star level soldiers. It was simply the fact that the video was too entertaining to watch.

    That''s right. The more powerful individuals won''t necessarily be the most popr. People only want to have the thrill and enjoyment. And Axel''s video fulfilled all the conditions for that.

    The situation had turned peculiar now.

    "Get him to continue the trial!"

    "I want more!"

    "MOOORRREEE!!!"

    "Who is this guy? Are there any more videos of his fights?"

    "Which division will he join?"

    "With his skills, I think he can even drive a Maverick. Maybe they''ll recruit him."

    "There is a shortage among snipers¡­"

    The situation now was that the people were now hooked. They wanted more of Axel. Questions rted to him were being asked everywhere. Lengthy discussions and arguments were taking ce about his trial and his future recruitment.

    This, resulted in somewhat distracting people from the grim situation that the kingdom had recently faced.

    On the other hand, the presence of Kyrin Tenebrous impacted the people much more directly. Kyrin was a hero who had almost brought Kraken to its knees in revenge when two of her high ranking subordinates had died at the hands of Kraken.

    There was massive respect and adoration for her in the hearts of people. So, when they heard the news of her arrival, waves of celebration and relief swept through the kingdom upon the return of the vengeful hero, who had returned to her kingdom in the time of crisis.

    The feeling was further solidified when the Official channel shared her contribution in prevention of the recent bombing attack and her deration of another killing spree against the Kraken. The channel also shared the fact that she would be recruiting new members for her divisions, thus igniting the passion of many young men and women to join the army in order to apply for her division.

    The situation was already going the best ording to the Sustenance division, but then, an event out of their expectations happened!

    Chris Martin¡­ was offered recruitment by Kyrin Tenebrous!

    This was a surprising but very wee ident for the division. As soon as they shared the news on the channel, it caused a huge stir.

    Martin and Tenebrous were the two main targets they were betting on to attract people''s attention with their actions. Them working together was like a cob between two big celebrities.

    The effect was as the Chief of the Sustenance Division had intended. The angry, panicked, and grief-stricken public had epted the news with great enthusiasm, and everyone was already looking forward to their next actions.

    And closely monitoring all this, the members of the sustenance division were celebrating in their office.

    "It''s actually working!"

    "Chief, you were absolutely right!"

    "You''re a genius, Chief!"

    "Did you really anticipate this?"

    Of course, the person who stabilized the situation so quickly, the chief who had somehow predicted the reaction of the public to the news of these two individuals and instructed them to share their news on the main Channel.

    Even though all his subordinates were still praising him, the Chief didn''t appear much happy with the results. Rather, he was focused on keeping an eye on the events happening in the kingdom to look for anomalies.

    "Is something the matter, Chief? You don''t look very happy." Seeing this, his secretary naturally couldn''t contain his curiosity.

    The Chief sighed. "Well, we did what we could. But... it''s a pity," he murmured to himself.

    "What''s wrong, chief?"

    The Chief looked at his young secretary. This boy was new here, so of course, he didn''t know.

    "Well, these are troubled times, so it''s better that you know," he decided.

    "...Know what, Chief?"

    "The secret about Kraken. Have you ever wondered why our division has so much power? Why we take our work so seriously? After all, there should be no need to block every bit of information about Kraken."

    The young secretary nodded immediately. "All the time. It''s really confusing to me when there are better alternative solutions," he said honestly.

    He couldn''t understand the purpose of this division. Its main aim was to prevent people from discussing, seeing, or even hearing about Kraken. He couldn''t understand why the Kingdom was so strict on this when it''s causing more damage than good.

    Chief nodded. "Have you also wondered why we are called the Sustenance Division? What is so "sustaining" about our work?"

    "Yes¡­ yes! Chief¡­ are you reading my mind?"

    The chief waved his hand dismissively. "These aremon questions raised by the new members of the division."

    "Well, the reason is due to a secret information that we hide from the public. I can''t tell you everything, so I will only tell you this: The power of Kraken increases with the increase in people''s awareness and fear towards it."

    The secretary slowly paled as the information sunk in. He couldn''t believe it, but all the facts pointed out that it was true.

    The Chief nodded. "It''s the reason why we are so serious with our work. After all, the sustenance of the Kingdom itself depends on it."

    "No wonder¡­" the secretary murmured.

    Everything made sense now.

    If the members of Kraken really get stronger the more they terrorize the people, then their frequent attacks now make sense. As do the kingdom''s attempts to block all information regarding the Kraken, only revealing them to be a minor threat.

    But, he simply couldn''t understand one thing: How?

    How is it possible they all be stronger if people fear them more? Is it some magic that is taught to every member?

    But then, the image of the glowing blue markings on the members shed in his mind and he understood.

    "Then¡­ the bombing¡­?" The secretary''s eyes widened. Until now, due to the quick response of the divisions, Kraken has only seeded in aplishing minor attacks.

    But this bombing incident had a huge impact on the kingdom and the fear this time is real.

    The chief nodded as he sighed. "Now do you understand? Even though we did our best, the damage has already been done. That''s why you won''t see the high ranking members celebrating. Because we know, this is just the beginning."

    Now that the power of Kraken has increased, this is just the quiet before the storm. They don''t know what the Kraken will do now.

    "Now that you understand, help me monitor the situation. There has never been such a huge spike in the fear in recent history. Things are about to get messy."

    ¡­.

    Axel and Akiko were suddenly given their very first assignment.

    Axel looked at Akiko, who was fidgeting.

    "Let''s go. We have a lot to talk about." he said meaningfully, his eyes promising a scolding.

    "Hm." Akiko followed him obediently, looking like a child who was caught stealing a cookie.

    [Mission Complete: Join the ck Ops Division}

    As Axel exited the room, the system notification shed in front of his eyes.

    This was just one of the casual missions the system was issuing him in order to create better Akashic records. There was no reward.

    Axel didn''t pay much attention to these missions. These missions aren''t that reliable. Getting more records doesn''t exactly equate to being safe. That''s why, he''d still walk his own path. If these missions can bepleted along the way, then fine. But if it causes inconvenience to his ns, then he''ll ignore them.

    Coming out of the building, they were greeted with the sight of a huge crowd that had gathered, which consisted mostly of Kyrin''s fans. When they saw himing out, he was instantly bombarded with various questions.

    Axel sighed.

    This crowd was his insurance in case Kurai really wanted to detain him. But due to that, now that things actually worked out, he can''t just leave them unnoticed like he usually would.

    Axel simply smiled at the crowd as he raised a fist in triumph. "It''s a sess!" He announced, like a doctor who haspleted a surgery.

    *Cheers*

    Instantly, the venue exploded into celebration. Of course, Axel wouldn''t waste any more time on this, so he minimized his presence and slipped out of the crowd while dragging Akiko. Of course, with their skills, escaping a mob was no big deal.

    Axel and Akiko walked through the streets in silence. They had arrived a fair distance away from the ce after shrugging off the pursuers, and Axel had now lowered his presence, thus avoiding people''s notice.

    ¡ªnce

    As they walked, Akiko would peek at him from time to time. Even though her face was nk, her actions revealed her nervousness.

    "Are you angry?" She finally asked.

    Axel looked at her, causing her to flinch. He sighed as he shook his head. "No, just a bit disappointed. You could have told me if you wereing."

    Akiko averted her gaze. "I was afraid you would want to stop me. Like my grandfather. And if you really tried to stop me¡­"

    Unlike her grandfather, if Axel really wanted to stop her, there would have been nothing she could have done to resist.

    Axel nodded his head, understanding her clearly. "To be honest, I really didn''t want you toe," he confessed. "I suffered some serious injuries thest time due to your presence. You also get way too emotional when ites to Kraken, which clouds your judgement." He said straightforwardly, causing Akiko''s lips to go into a downward arc.

    But, it was true. When Voldemort unleashed his true power, Axel got seriously injured due to Martina and Akiko. Axel would rather work with people he can sacrifice. That''s why, he didn''t want her toe.

    "But¡­" Axel shook his head. "I guess it can''t be helped. If anyone tries to stop ''me'' from my revenge, they would be the first ones I will attack. Besides, never having had parents myself, I can''t really judge you for your desperation."

    Due to this, Axel decided to let the matter drop here. He wasn''t cruel enough to order Akiko to leave now that she was already here.

    "Anyways, how do you know her?" Asked Axel into the silence. It was clear who he was asking about. There was a hint of hostility in his tone when he mentioned Kurai.

    "For a long time. My parents used to work under her when they came to Antis. When they died, they made her promise to ''look over me''. Whether it was due to that or for other reasons, she left Antis after that to settle in Wizarding Japan. She has taken good care of me from then on. She taught me a lot of things," Akiko had a soft expression on her face when talking about Kurai Sensei.

    "... Fuck¡­" After hearing the story, Axel wrinkled his eyebrows. "I couldn''t have imagined her to actually have some humanity." This was making it difficult for him to hate Kurai.

    Akiko sighed. "She''s actually not that bad. She''s only bad to strangers, just like you."

    Axel frowned. "How am I bad to strangers?"

    "You are. You have a habit of making ves out of any stranger who knows your secrets," said Akiko, referring to their very first meeting.

    "....." Axel had nothing to say to that. Indeed, if he counts now, the number of people he has done that with is more than 2.

    Fair enough." Axel clicked his tongue.

    This ve is getting cheeky.

    "Though... I don''t hate it," murmured Akiko in a voice Axel could not hear.

    "What did you say?"

    "...Nothing. How do we do our assignment?"

    It was only then that Axel remembered that they were out on an assignment.

    "Familiarize yourself with the environment, huh?" Honestly, he didn''t think it was a bad task.

    They were indeed noobs here. They were unfamiliar with the geography, They didn''t know the customs, didn''t know the terms and saying these people used, and didn''t know a lot of other things. This would indeed be a hindrance when doing missions.

    But the problem was, how to solve this problem? They couldn''t just visit every ce and read all the information regarding this in just one day, right?

    "Don''t worry. Kurai Sensei was just messing with us when she gave us one day," said Akiko.

    "Well, it''s still manageable," said Axel as he stopped walking. They were in a bit of a crowded area right now.

    [Legilimency: Max]

    In a moment, the minds of multiple people became essible to him, connected with invisible Legilimency threads that no one could see. And a huge influx of information entered Axel''s mind.

    [lumency: Max]

    Then Axel used his lumency to the limit, filtering the useful information while leaving out the rest.

    Going through memories using the mind is an extremely fast process, at least for Axel. The whole thing only took around one minute, and that too because Axel was doing it for the first time.

    A silver thread extended out of Axel''s head, which he wrapped around his finger.

    "Here. All the information we need to know about Antis."

    Akiko nkly looked at the thread and only then remembered that Axel was a Master of Mind Arts.

    Under Axel''s control, the memory naturally got transferred into Akiko''s head.

    "There. Assignment over."

    She who had been thinking of travelling the whole city: "...."

    It can also be done like that? Akiko pouted, not knowing whether to be happy or not.

    "Do we go back then?" Actually, she was secretly looking forward to seeing Antis like this with Axel.

    Axel nodded nonchntly. "Yep, what''s the point of being out?"

    Though at this moment, Axel got another mission, causing him to frown.

    "In retrospect, it won''t be bad to look around a bit." He said, causing Akiko''s face to brighten up.

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>!

    Next: Touring Antis and Mission

    Next next: Attack on Tourists

    N.... next: Water Monarch for a reason

    Next... next: Dire Situation

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 185: Touring Atlantis

    Chapter 185: Touring Antis

    "In retrospect, I think it''s better if we still take a look around," said Axel, causing Akiko''s face to light up. "Even if we get the knowledge by going through the memories, we still need to adapt to it practically."

    "Hai!" said Akiko, nodding her head repeatedly. Whatever the reason might be, Akiko was d with the decision anyway.

    "First of all, let''s try this," said Axel, tapping his bracelet.

    With the new found memories, Axel tried using it for the first time. This bracelet, which he now knows is called the ''E-brace'', is THE most useful device in the kingdom. It just has too many features. Even more than the magi-mirror.

    For now, he opened the map feature, and a 3-d structure of their location was projected into the air.

    "!"

    Akiko looked at the map with some astonishment. Since her lumency isn''t as fast and as readily usable as Axel, she hadn''t gone through the memories Axel had transferred to her.

    Noticing her reaction, Axel nodded. "Fancy, huh? We have to get used to using this thing first and foremost," he told her as he navigated the interface. "Let''s see. We''re in the inner part of the Royal Academy, so we need to go here to exit the castle."

    The two of them looked like country bumkins, trying out technology for the first time.

    "Bigger than Mahoutokoro¡­" Akikomented, realizing just how much distance they''ll have to cover.

    "Yeah, bigger than Hogwarts too."

    The royal castle was like a small city in itself, and it was really inconvenient to travel on foot. That''s why there were various modes of transport avable.

    Most of the students were using the sidewalk, which actually moved forward like esctors in muggle malls. Many also traveled on what seemed like a hoverboard that could smoothly glide on low altitude. Otherwise, there were also airbuses, aquanites, and more.

    Now that Axel knew it all, even though they could run at inhuman speeds, Axel felt it would be better to try something else. "Let''s try an airbus."

    Axel went through the memories. "I think it''s done like this," he muttered as he tapped the bus feature in the corner and entered his destination. Within a few seconds, the next airbus stopped above them. Then, a tform dropped to their level, which was still connected to the bus.

    "Let''s go." Axel dragged Akiko to climb onto the tform.

    The tform retracted back into the airbus and the two of them sat on one of the empty seats.

    Akiko was bewildered. "So convenient¡­"

    "It is, isn''t it?" Axel felt that traveling was indeed a better choice. He wouldn''t get this experience through the memories.

    The speed of the airbus was quite fast, and they arrived at the exit within minutes. The airbus wouldn''t go further than this.

    The main Entry/Exit of the castle consisted of four passages. Casual, Official, Emergency, and VIP.

    In order to enter or exit the castle, clearance is needed. If it''s a casual outing, you''ll need to get permission from one of the supervisors (if you''re a student), and your superior (if you''re a worker).

    But since it was actually an official assignment and they were members of ck Ops, they could leave just by scanning their bracelets through the ''Official'' passage.

    "How are we going to go?" Asked Akiko. The castle was surrounded by water, and their destination was the city. Akiko was asking which mode of travel they were going to use.

    "Well, let''s try something else this time," said Axel, walking towards a ce where a lot of Aquanites were parked.

    Akiko''s eyes began shining. "Can we really¡­?"

    Axel smiled. "Of course. We can rent one."

    The Aquanites were stationed near the exit for workers who have an urgent need for them due to official business. If you need one, just sh the bracelet, enter the timing, and take it away.

    They approached one of the Aquanites and Axel began fiddling with the interface of the stand that was holding it. After shing his e-brace, a green light shed on the interface and the Aquanite became essible to Axel.

    He nced back at Akiko, who was still standing there cluelessly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Unlock another one already."

    Akiko blinked. "It''s two...?"

    "Yeah, so?"

    The shine was gone from her eyes. Akiko hesitated. "I... I don''t know how to ride one."

    "It''s easy. It''s just like flying brooms."

    "I''m... not good at riding brooms either."

    "Well, then let''s just go with one."

    Thus Axel mounted the Aquanite and Akiko sat behind him. It was a bit of a tight fit, but Akiko didn''t seem to mind.

    "Hey, those aren''t allowed for students!" someone called out, finally noticing them and attracting others attention as well. Axel was wearing his academy training outfit so it indeed seemed like a student ying around.

    Ignoring the onlookers, Axel powered the engine and zoomed out of the royal castle through the official passage.

    Axel and Akiko finally left the Royal Pce, flying above the crystal clearke surrounding the castle. Axel flew the bike low, and the high speed and propulsion of the Aquanite caused water to be sshed everywhere.

    Akiko gripped him tightly, as if afraid to fall. He turned around to actually find her smiling happily.

    Axel was surprised. Akiko rarely smiles, let alone smiling so widely. And this was the second time he was seeing her like this today.

    Since she was having fun, Axel increased the speed further and pulled off a few more maneuvers. Even though the speed of this Aquanite wasn''t as fast as the one in the trial, it was still several times faster than a broomstick, so they reached the city very soon.

    He had to. There was just so much to see in the city, and thest time he couldn''t see anything since the general was flying his chariot very fast when bringing him to the castle.

    He had to once again admit, Antis was beautiful. And overwhelming. Antis was a three dimensional city. Unlike the muggle and the wizarding world, where there was only forward and backward to travel, here, the buildings were so huge that there was also the feature of travelling up and down.

    Most of the people traveled in airnes, rather than the groundnes. Many shops andmercial centers were opened in mid air, with the citizens arriving and leaving on their personal air vehicles.

    The structures of the buildings here were also very unique. It could be circr, spiral, cylindrical, and a lot more.

    The two of them flew high and low, making sure to enjoy every sight.

    One thing was apparent, the security had been increased sincest time Axel passed by here.

    "What are those?" Asked Akiko, pointing at one of the drone-like objects flying around.

    Axel actually didn''t know this. It was not in the information he had obtained so far. Axel pointed his bracelet at one of the drones and searched what it was.

    The information about the drones came up quickly, but...

    "Fuck..."

    "What happened?"

    Axel looked at the drones warily.

    "Those are called scanners. They''re scanning through anything and everything in order not to let anyone smuggle any bombs. They can even scan storage devices."

    Axel got worried about the storage ring on his finger which Martina had made for him, and Akiko''s hand also subconsciously went to the pendant around her neck, which was also likely a storage device made by Martina.

    "Are we going to be in trouble?" She asked.

    The two of them definitely had all sorts of questionable equipment packed in the storage space that they had smuggled in.

    "I think it''s fine. They''ve already scanned us earlier."

    Akiko blinked. "Then, does that mean...?"

    Does that mean Martina''s invention can actually beat Antian technology?

    Axel nodded. "Yep, we can even smuggle bombs like this. If Martina was on Kraken''s side, Antis would be fucked. She really is a genius."

    Akiko felt that Martina was being praised too much.

    "But... she''s weak, and a bit pathetic," she uttered, remembering how she would sneak into Axel''s bed out of fear after thest incident.

    "Yeah well, she really is very easy to kidnap, kill, or coerce. I''m just d it''s you here rather than her."

    If Martina had some extremely high parameters, she also had some extremely low parameters as well. Sure she would have been helpful here, but she would also be very prone to danger, which is not what Axel wants.

    Akiko felt better when Axel said that, and they continued their tour.

    While flying, they passed through an area where a number of shops were lined up in mid air, with a lot of air traffic. A delicious fragrance was wafting from the ce, even reaching them.

    "What is that? Antian Street food?" Axel muttered. But there was no street here, so it can''t be called that.

    Behind him, he heard Akiko gulp.

    "Let''s try it out," said Axel.

    "Do we have money?"

    "Don''t worry. Estris transferred me a generous signing bonus?"

    It was weird that the Crown Prince needed to check money for street food, but it was what it was.

    So they tried out the food of Antis, which was, of course, sea food.

    Sharks, skates, rays, sawfish, sturgeons, andmpreys; crustaceans such as lobsters, crabs, shrimps, prawns, and crayfish, ms, oysters, cockles, snails, abalones, scallops, these were just the creatures that Axel knew about. Other than this, there were also a lot of magical creatures as well.

    There was just too much to try, so they dug in, buying one serving of every store.

    "Fuck, this is good," Axel muttered, trying out some type of seaweed pasta. It had a creamy, garlicky vor with the distinct marine taste of seaweed.

    "Try this," said Akiko, offering him a bite of the blue crab meat that she was eating.

    "Damn." Axel smacked his lips. The soft meat was mixed with Antean herbs and a hint of citrus, pan-fried to golden perfection. It had a fresh, tangy vor with an herbal note.

    "You try this too," said Axel, offering his pasta, to which Akiko just opened her small mouth. Rolling his eyes, he fed her himself.

    Akiko''s eyes curved. "It''s delicious."

    "Isn''t it? I would have saved this Kingdom just for food. Too bad, my diet won''t allow it."

    They ate while buying more things. At one point they had taken too many things, and while eating, Axel dropped one of the tes.

    *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

    It seems they had broken some sort of rule, because the rm started ringing, causing people to look around.

    "Fuck!"

    Axel dumped everything into his storage ring and sped off.

    "Hey! Halt!"

    They raced the inspector that gave chase while Axel refined his flying skills. When the inspector finally gave up, realizing that Axel was just ying with him, they paid him the fine and resumed the tour.

    In the middle of the city, there was a gargantuan statue of a man holding a trident, which was so finely carved that it looked alive.

    "King An the first. The first king of Antis." Axel remembered the man''s identity through his memory.

    "He looks a bit like you."

    Axel frowned. For a moment, he was worried. Would others also notice the resemnce? "Really?"

    But Akiko shook her head. "Not at all. He''s too ugly." she giggled.

    "..." Akiko¡­ actually joking? Is this real?

    "You''re different today," Axel observed. Akiko''s face is usually emotionless and she speaks very little, often only speaking in words rather than sentences. But today, she has already spoken and smiled a month''s worth of her quota.

    "I¡­ am happy. I''m happy to finally be here," Akiko smiled. "Coming here has always been my goal, but it wasn''t easy," there was a hint of mncholy in her voice.

    "Okaasan and Otousan used to tell me all sorts of amazing things about this ce." her grip around him tightened as her voice cracked a bit. "That''s why, I''ve always wanted to see this ce for myself. I wanted to know, if it was really worth it."

    Axel could understand now. She''s always wanted toe here. But it was never going to be easy, was it? Her grandfather had always opposed it, and no matter how much talent she had and the hard work she put in, she had to agonizingly wait for years till she was old enough.

    And now, after so many years, and so much grueling training and effort, she''s finally here. She must be feeling freed from a heavy load she had been carrying for years. No wonder she''s different from her usual self.

    Axel felt happy for her.

    "Then, I am d to be here too," said Axel as he patted her hand. Axel was just d she didn''t have to see the city alone. There was someone she could share her feelings with.

    Akiko''s fists bunched around his clothes.

    "Axel?"

    "Hm?"

    "Arigatou."

    It was a sincere thanks. There were no fancy or cheesy words, but the feelings behind it were heartfelt.

    "Don''t mention it," Axel replied.

    "Also¡­"

    "Yeah?"

    "I think¡­ they were¡­ happy here. It''s a good ce," her voice was a bit hoarse. "I''m so relieved¡­" A hand temporarily left his side as Akiko wiped her tears.

    Axel let her cry on his shoulder.

    "Of course they were happy. Whose kingdom do you think it is?"

    Akiko smiled. "You''re right."

    As if suddenly remembering something, Axel checked the time. "Shit." He increased the speed, changing their direction.

    "Where are we going now?" Asked Akiko.

    "To one of the most popr ces here," replied Axel.

    A few minutester.

    "A zoo?" Akiko murmured, bewildered as she looked at the ce.

    "No, it''s a Magical Biopark," Axel insisted.

    It was a glorified zoo. Unlike the outside world, where people have ess to both the sea and the wildlife, Antis is a ce with no chance to see the wildlife. That''s why, this ce, which held all types of normal and magical creatures from the outside world in their natural habitats, was quite popr here.

    "You know, it even has magical creatures which are already extinct in the outside world!"

    Even though he defended the ce, inwardly, he was also wondering, just why would the system give him the mission to be here?

    ¡­.

    <strong>Powerstones!</strong>

    Next: Another Attack

    NNext: Terrifying Water Affinity

    NNNext: Dire Situation

    NNNNext: Axel vs (Spoiler)

    NNNNext: Savage goes at it again

    Come get instant /Snollygoster

 Chapter 186: Another Attack

    Chapter 186: Another Attack

    Chapter 180

    In the Organisation''s Hideout.

    The Higher Ups of Kraken were currently having Meeting.

    "Are the preparationsplete?"

    "Yes, 1st. I already had my men do it a year ago."

    "Good. We''ve been hiding for too long. ''Master'' finally has enough power. Today, a significant amount will be spent, but we''ll gain more when ''they'' break out. We can now start revealing our cards." Said the entity called the first in an aged voice. "How is Sixth?"

    "Still recovering. Kyrin truly did a number on him."

    "Hm...Kyrin... We''ll have to deal with her. For now, order sixth to stay put in the base. It would be troublesome if we lost his relic."

    "Yes, 1st. But he never listens to¡­"

    "Discard him if he disobeys. We can "enlighten" others to wields his Relics."

    "Yes, 1st."

    "Is there any news about the Seventh and Eighth?" Someone else asked.

    "No updates, but it seems that the British Ministery is involved. We''ve heard that their minister had led a huge force into Hogwarts on the day of their disappearance."

    "So the variable¡­?"

    "The Variable is reported missing. The British Ministry is also trying to find him. Our estimate is that those idiots at least did their job and killed him before they died."

    "The orders¡­ were to bring him to me." The first said at this moment, causing the rest of the members to flinch.

    "This matter is not over yet. But we''ll temporarily suspend it till the end of war, which won''t be a long time. Especially after the disaster that will take ce today."

    ¡­..

    The Biopark of Antis. It was built after the end of the Last Antian war, which resulted in Kraken''s defeat.

    It''s an old ce that has been in existence for quite a few centuries. Externally, it spans over a vast space, but that can''t hold a candle to how big it is from the inside due to the space extension magic. It''s almost as big as a small country.

    It''s the only ce in Antis where these sea-dwellers can experience the nature of Earth. That''s why it''s quite a popr visiting spot among the Antians.

    Many elderly peoplee here regrly, schools hold educational outings here, and it''s a perfect pic spot for families.

    Axel and Akiko were currently standing in the za, waiting for their turn. Around them, they could see the catalogue of animals they could see.

    "There is an aquarium too¡­" Akiko''s attention was attracted by the mesmerizing glimpses that were shown of the aquarium.

    "Well, it''s Antis. You can''t really be surprised," Axel said with a no-shit look.

    But he could understand why Akiko was surprised. Even though it''s being publicized for its wildlife sanctuary, but from what he could see, the aquarium was far more impressive.

    The reason is still the same: It''s Antis. Everything rted to the ocean is overused here. On the other hand, even the normal day to day creatures of the outside world seem ''exotic'' to them.

    When they got the ticket and finally entered, they were taken aback by the view.

    They were on an elevated ce. In front of them, vast greenery stretched as far as the eye could see. Birds could be seen the flying in the sky, and a gentle breeze of fresh was blowing, ruffling the trees.

    "So¡­ real." Akiko was only expecting some kind of zoo with animal cages, but clearly, this was not it.

    Axel whistled. As it happened, he had never been to a fucking zoo, so he had nothing topare it with. But still, this ce was beautiful. It was the kind of ce Daphne would like.

    Only, there was one problem. The power increase he had been feeling while being in Antis had lessened upon entering this space. It was because they no longer had water over their heads, but simted a sunny sky. But oh well, why would he even need it here?

    He wouldn''t, right?

    "Everyone, please board the train. We hope you have a pleasant experience." An announcement was made at this moment, as they heard a horn.

    "What¡­ is that?"

    It was only then did they see it. A train was stationed not far from them, which the people were currently climbing into. They hadn''t noticed earlier, because it was transparent, and there were no visible tracks.

    "Well, let''s go."

    The two of them boarded the train and sat on the see-through seats. The interior was Luxurious and much more spacious from the inside. But one thing was weird: Almost everything inside was transparent. It was odd, but

    this type of train was indeed perfect for a wildlife safari. The train set off, its eleration extremely fast and smooth, and his e-brace chimed.

    {The Antian Wildlife Sanctuary was to send you a file.}

    {ept/Reject}

    Axel epted the file, which turned out to be aplete guide of the ce, along with the summarised version. Axel flipped through it and found out more about the ce.

    The Biopark was partitioned into three separate zones. Zone 1 contained all types of non magical attractions, zone 2 contained magical creatures and nts, and zone 3 had the aquarium.

    The train will take you through these zones one by one, and there are a few safe spots where you can alight if you want to and look around on your own.

    Along with the guide, there was also a map feature. When Axel essed it, aplete 3-d map of the whole ce was projected from the bracelet. Upon zooming in, you could see the live location of the creatures, and the safe area boundaries were also highlighted, which you could travel if you desired.

    After a while, the train slowed down to around 10 kmph as they heard an announcement.

    [We have reached the non-magical forest. On your right, you can see the exotic animals called cows. In the outside world, these animals are known for their milk, which contains high nutritional value.

    On your right, you can see the animals called Monkeys. The tree they are sitting on is the extremely rare apple tree, whose fruits are luxury goods in Antis.

    Since you have chosen the premium ticket, you will be served with the fresh servings of the fruit.

    "¡­." Akiko and Axel felt their grasp with reality slipping.

    Watching people get excited upon seeing cows and eating apples was a bizarre and funny experience at the same time.

    The ride continued, and even though Axel and Akiko didn''t find the non-magical nts and animals much interesting, the delicacies which were provided from time to time kept them upied.

    Soon, another announcement was made. [The non-magical area is about to end. The tourists who have applied for the indepth experience, please alight. Those who did not can still upgrade their ticket.]

    The ''in-depth'' experience, as the announcer put it, is just a tour into the forest on foot or some open air vehicle in order to experience the nature more closely. While getting their tickets, they hadn''t opted for it.

    Axel and Akiko looked at each other and both shook their heads.

    it seemed really foolish to be spending so much money just to be able to go through a normal forest.

    When they entered the magical forest, the atmosphere instantly changed. Suddenly, the trees were taller and thicker, and the lighting through lessened, creating a darker vibe.

    [We have now entered the Magical Forest area. To your right, you can see the creatures called Hippogriffs. These magical creatures have the front legs, wings, and head of a giant eagle and the body, hind legs and tail of a horse.]

    To their right, they could indeed see Hippogriffs, but...

    "I didn''t know they could be violent," said Akiko. That was the case. The Hippogriffs were currently breaking into violent scuffles.

    Axel had already seen Hippogriffs plenty of times in the Forbidden Forest. But none of the ones he had seen were fighting among each other.

    "They do seem much more aggressivepared to the ones in hogwarts," Axel shrugged.

    Since he hadn''t had the Care of Magical Creatures yet, the creatures they saw from then on were all new to Axel. Bowtruckle, Demigods, Augreys, Billiwigs, Murps, there were a lot.

    But then,

    [Now, we''re about to proceed into the Territories of the Dangerous Magical Creatures.]

    It was from then that they started to notice something fishy.

    [The creatures you see on both sides are called Griffins. They are powerful creatures which are extremely rare in the outside world.]

    They indeed saw the Griffins, but these Griffins were also fighting among themselves, just like the Hippogriffs.

    "Mommy, why are they fighting?"

    "I... don''t know honey."

    "Hey, staff! Why are these creatures so aggressive today?!"

    This time, not only Axel and Akiko, but many of the other tourists also found this odd.

    [The animals are indeed experiencing some emotional changes right now, but please be assured that your safety, and the safety of the animals is guaranteed.]

    It was true. As one of the Griffins tried to charge at the iing train, it couldn''t evene near it, blocked by an invisible force field. This forcefield was covering the entire track, and the safe zones, so that no animal could cross them.

    The animals were installed with tranquilizers that can be activated any time, and they could see a lot of them calming down one after another.

    "Hey! Don''t stop them! This is a fun event! I''ve never seen anything like this before!"

    "Haha! I''m already streaming it live. This is jackpot!"

    "This is also fun to watch!"

    Of course, many people had nothing toin about. In fact, they even found it enjoyable. How many times can you see magical beasts fight? For these people, this was indeed an exciting development.

    And, they weren''t disappointed. A lot of creatures they encountered after that were showing signs of aggression or agitation.

    The Nundus, the Cockatrices, the Chimeras... seeing these XXXXX Level threats fighting among themselves was enough to entertain them and get cause a sensation online.

    By now, it seemed that the matter had reached the attention of the Biopark''s authorities, and most of the animals had be sluggish or fallen asleep due to the sedatives.

    The problem became serious when there were still a number of creatures who didn''t show any signs of stopping.

    [We''re about to enter the Drakonian Territory now. Dragons are territorial creatures, but please be assured of your safety.]

    A giant column of fire was shot at them, fizzing the protective shield around the track.

    "What the¡ª"

    They saw a huge dragon ring down at them for entering it''s territory. Its size was so huge that it could cover the Quidditch pitch.

    [What you are seeing is a Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon. These creatures, now extinct in the outside world, are the biggest known dragon species on earth.]

    "So, that''s a dragon..."

    Axel looked at the creature with interest. If he had to name the one magical creature about which he had heard the most, it would be Dragons. While alive, a dragon is a force to reckon with, and while dead, they are a treasure trove of resources. And he was seeing so many of them outside.

    He had to admit, Dragons had a different kind of majesty to thempared to other creatures.

    The Ukrainian Ironbelly was just the beginning. They saw at least 6 different species of Dragons, all of which looked quite intimidating.

    Since they were trespassing, they were of course attacked by many Dragons, and many, like the giant Ironbelly, had started chasing them. But that was just one of the Main attractions of the tour.

    After a while, they arrived at the safe zone of the Magical Forest, and a lot of passengers who had applied for the In-depth experience began getting up from their seat in order to alight.

    "Let''s go! I want to see it up close!"

    "Quickly! Before they all go to sleep under the tranquilizer!"

    Axel looked at Akiko. "Do we go as well?"

    The magical forest turned out to be much better than expected, and there were still many creatures on the catalogue that they hadn''t yet seen, either due to their rarity here, or their habitat and territories not being in the track.

    And even if he didn''t tell Akiko this, he also wanted to alight in order to check something.

    While Akiko was hesitating about whether to go or not, someone else made the decision for them.

    "Hm? Why is it not stopping?"

    "Hey! Stop the train!"

    "The safe zone is already left behind!"

    [Dear passengers. Due to a situation, the in-depth experience has been cancelled for today. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Those you have applied for it, will all be refunded]

    "What?!"

    "No!"

    "I wanted more!"

    "Go back!"

    While the people were stillining, Axel, who had already began to have an ominous feeling, frowned.

    "Was that Ironbelly always that big?" He noticed that the Dragon that had been following them since the beginning now appeared evenrger and vigorous than it had appeared in the beginning. The fire it breathed seemed to have a hint of blue colour in it, which was causing slightly more fluctuations in the shield.

    While he was still pondering this, their train sped up again, leaving the dragon behind. In thest glimpse he caught of the dragon, Axel felt like he saw a hint of something blue glowing on the dragon''s skin.

    ''What is that?''

    "Something is wrong," murmured Axel, sitting up.

    "I feel it too." Akiko also had an uneasy expression on her face.

    "We are now entering the third Zone, the deep sea area."

    Axel saw that there was water up ahead. Without any warning, their train plunged into the water. Instantly, Axel felt empowered. The water buff had returned, and this time, much more pronounced.

    They felt no impact as the train moved seamlessly into the water. After travelling for a while, it slowed down and they saw the scenery outside.

    The first thing that captured your attention was the vibrant coral reef. It was like a bustling metropolis of marine life: delicate, branching corals in shades of pink and orange, massive brain corals with intricate patterns, and waving sea fans that rhythmically dance with the currents. Tiny, brightly colored fish darted in and out of the coral''s nooks, their scales shimmering like jewels.

    Schools of different fishes swan by them, the description of eaching onto their interface.

    On the seabed, they could see small andrge ms with their mouths open, glittering pearls testing in their mouths. Soon, they were reced by different types of crabs, prawn, octopuses, and then more.

    It was like watching a kaleidoscope, with the scenes shifting into different type of beautiful patterns.

    Axel just sat in his seat, feeling a strange sense of the connection with the water. He had already decided to ignore the earlier disturbance. After all, it was none of his business. When he closed his eyes, he could actually sense the creatures swimming the water.

    But he soon sat up, his eyes staring up ahead.

    [Now we have entered the Magical Sea range.]

    Up ahead, the scene of violence was once again there. But unlike thest time, the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

    Large creatures were creating chaos up ahead. Fighting among themselves, moving erratically, or attacking the track.

    But...

    Axel''s eyes were drawn to the glowing blue patterns on their skin and their rapidly increasing size.

    ''Fuck.'' He cursed under his breath. He understood now. Those creatures which are showing erratic behaviour. They have been actually going through a transformation.

    And he knew the exact reason behind this.

    ''Kraken.''

    If the animals outside had also gotten like this, then he was truly fucked. He now understood why the system had given him the casual mission. To think he actually thought of the possibility that the system might have given him the mission to let him enjoy his day.

    ''System, I hate you.''

    *ding*

    As if to respond, he got a special Mission at this moment.

    ...

    A.N.: Action in the next chapter

    ¡­.

    <strong>POWERSTONES! I have extra on P¨¤treon so, Extra chapter this week if we''re #1 by andslide. </strong>

    NNext: Terrifying Water Affinity

    NNNext: Dire Situation

    NNNNext: Axel vs (Spoiler)

    NNNNext: Savage goes at it again

    N....next: Fighting (Spoiler) and New Skills Unlocked

    Read /Snollygoster

    Edit: new cover->

 Chapter 187: Extra Chapter offer

Chapter 187: Extra Chapter offer

    Extra chapter if we''re #1 by andslide

 Chapter 188: Trapped

    Chapter 188: Trapped

    Chapter 181

    [Special Mission: Prevent the creatures from escaping into the city.]

    Axel''s attention was focused on the unique situation of the sea. He could sense the strange changes that were happening throughout the artificial ocean.

    By now, most of the creatures had been put into inactivity by the safety mechanism, But still¡­

    ''They are resisting!''

    Some creatures were able to resist these anesthetics due to their ongoing transformation, which had now gone into full swing. The size of these few sea animals had started increasing, and they had turned more violent and ferocious, attacking the creatures around them.

    But what was truly shocking was the final change: Blue markings had now started appearing on the skins of these creatures.

    "H-Hey¡­ what is that?"

    "Aren''t those¡­ blue tattoos?"

    "Fuck!"

    "Mommy!"

    "Could it really be¡­?"

    "It''s Kraken, isn''t it?!"

    Axel and Akiko weren''t the only ones who noticed the change. The blue markings of the Kraken were infamous throughout the Kingdom. There''s no way they won''t make the connection upon seeing it.

    Instantly, this matter turned several degrees more serious. The panic had started to settle for real among the passengers. Even those joking about it and those live-streaming it could no longer keep their calm.

    ''System, what the hell? What are those blue tattoos? How is the Kraken doing this?'' Asked Axel.

    [The information on this topic is restricted. Here is what you can ess at the moment: there are some entities that can be so powerful that they can share their power with their followers. One such Entity is behind Kraken.]

    ''Share their power?'' Axel''s brows furrowed as he looked at the jacked up creatures. What kind of power does one have to have to do that?

    ''Hey! How the fuck am i supposed to beat someone like that?'' He protested. If the Kraken is really that powerful, then how is he going to fight them?

    [Axel, the entity is sealed, and its ways of exerting its powers are limited.]

    ''Sealed?'' Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle starteding together to Axel. From what the system has been able to disclose without breaking thews of the world, the organisation is controlled by this identity. He recalled how Theron and Nerio described being ''enlightened''. Now, he was beginning to understand what that meant.

    It also seems that this sealed entity is restricted in ways in which it can exert its influence, hence having the Organization.

    What he couldn''t understand was¡­ ''Why? Why go this far? Those zoo animals can only kill civilians even if they''re released.'' he asked. Even the bombing incident a few days ago seemed like a waste. It didn''t really do any significant damage on the Kingdom''s forces.

    [The Entity gains power through negative emotions.]

    ''Fuck....'' Axel instantly understood, and his headache increased. If fear is who it wants, then a bund of crazy animals roaming throughout the city will definitely make it happen.

    ''What have I gotten myself into?'' Axel was disconcerted. With this, it was clear that he wasn''t dealing with small fries that he could just rush into confronting.

    "Dear passengers, please stay calm. The animals cannot break through the protectiveyer. I repeat, please remain calm..." an announcement was made. While Axel was busy contemting, the situation of the train was getting more and more precarious.

    They had now reached a part of the ocean where dangerous magical creatures were supposed to start appearing. And the threat level of these creatures was further amplified with their transformations.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Originally, for passengers'' convenience, there was sufficient lumination throughout the artificial ocean, and the train would glow in this dimly lit surrounding, attracting the creatures from all around intoing closer to the train. But now, that was backfiring as these creatures had now begun targeting the protectiveyer around the track in order to get to the train.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Ripples spread throughout the surface of the shield as the creatures repeatedly threw themselves at it, as if possessed.

    "H-Hey, isn''t this getting a bit dangerous now?"

    "What the hell? Is this another attack?"

    "Don''t worry, these mindless beasts can''t break the barrier. We''re safe," some said with confidence.

    "Yeah, they would have stopped the tour if the barrier was really going to break."

    The protective barrier was something that has been in ce for centuries. Even the best of the Antians will have trouble breaking through it, let alone the magical creatures who can only use brute force.

    "BOOOOOOM!"

    And at this moment, a huge impact was heard, which even caused the train to shake violently.

    "....W-What?"

    A huge explosion had taken ce up ahead, causing the protectiveyer around the area to start fizzing out.

    "Damn it, did they actually pre nt bombs here?" muttered Axel incredulously. There was no other exnation.

    As if taking advantage of the opportunity, a giant silhouette which invoked a feeling of terror in just a nce rushing towards the ce of explosion. It was a massive sea serpent, with glistening ck scales. Blue markings could be seen glowing throughout its body, which had been expanded to a ridiculous degree.

    "BAAM"

    When the giant sea monster made the impact on the weakenedyer, this time, cracks appeared on the barrier.

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    There was a pause in the train, after which,screams erupted from everywhere as even the people who were still having fun suddenly realised that this is no longer a fun event to watch.The danger¡­ was real.

    "Are we going to die?"

    "What is going to happen?"

    "Everyone, please calm down. Due to the emergency, the tour will have to be suspended now as the train will start the return journey."

    The announcement did not do much to alleviate the panic. Because as the cracks appeared in the barrier, more and more creatures started to swarm the area.

    Soon, the barrier was broken as the train had already started to retreat.

    "Are we saved..?"

    Whoever said that raised the g. Because in the moment, the train violently shook, as if impacted by something surprising.

    "What is that?!"

    "Mommy!!"

    "AAAHHH!"

    "We''re going to die!"

    "Call for help!"

    "I''m trying! But the signal is dead!"

    "My inte is also down! Damn it, I was beginning to get a lot of views!"

    Thest one was from a idiot, but overall, everyone was terrified now. Ever since the explosion thework was down for reason, something they had never experience outside this Biopark.

    But... this was just the beginning of their troubles.

    Before the train could make it far, a tentacle had wrapped itself around the train, slowing it down.

    !!!!!

    The people screamed like little girls this time. The sight of a tentacle wrapping around the transparent train was truly frightening. Its colour was a mixture of pink and purple. The suction cups present on it immediatelytched onto the ssy surface of the train, scaring the shit of the passengers. And of course, it had glowing blue markings all over it.

    *Pop* *Popopopopop*

    Another tentacle came before the train could free itself, then another. By now, a lot of big creatures had surrounded the train. The train entered max eleration in order to not let the creatures attack.

    Of course, it seemed a futile act at this point. These creatures were in their home domain, and they were strengthened to a ridiculous degree by the blue markings. There was little chance the train could leave after being surrounded like this.

    But surprisingly, the resistance slowly decreased as the train started to move forward. But that did not at all mean the end of the danger.

    Because now the train had more passengers. A sea serpent, the sea dragon, the giant octopus, these XXXXX danger level creatures were already visible since they had wrapped themselves around the train. And more creatures weretching on to these creatures to join the free ride.

    "Axel..." By this point, even Akiko had decided that the situation was bad. Even for them. She turned to Axel, who was silently watching everything unfold like a bystander.

    "Hm?" Axel turned to look at her. There wasn''t a hint of panic on his face. There was only annoyance.

    Seeing hisposure, Akiko calmed down as well. "What is happening?" She asked.

    She wasn''t asking the obvious, she was asking Axel''s opinion on the matter. The whole situation was fishy. The creatures suddenly started to go wild, and attack each other, and now, instead of trying to attack the train, they''re clinging onto it.

    "Their target isn''t the tourists. It''s the city," said Axel, looking at the creatures. What the creatures were aiming for wasn''t just to terrorise a bunch of tourists. They were being controlled to escape this ce and go into the city. Only then will this all be worth it for the Organisation.

    That''s why, only those creatures havetched onto the train which can move and breathe onnd as well.

    "What do we do?" Asked Akiko, looking at the creatures which were holding on tightly even when the train had already elerated. The obvious choice was to attack the creatures hanging onto the train, but that was an impossible task.

    The suction pumps of that octopus and the iron coiling of the sea serpent. At the slightest sign of disturbance, these creatures can easily crush the train.

    Axel closed his eyes and took in a deep breath in exasperation. After which, he just shrugged. "Well, our fun day ends here."

    History repeats itself. Whenever he gets a little bit of peace and quiet in his life, something always happens to fuck it up.

    When he opened his eyes, they were glowing. "Don''t worry about the ones in the sea."

    *SQUASH*

    Red blood bloomed all around the train as the creatures holding the train started to burst apart one by one.

    Going against him in the middle of the ocean? They might as well be fighting against the gods.

    The sea serpent, the giant octopus, the sea dragon, and whatever creatures were attached to the train were torn apart like red confetti burst in celebration.

    Axel casually dusted off his hands.

    "Now, we only have to worry about the creatures abovend," Axel muttered, trying to think of a solution.

    Land was not going to be as easy as the sea. First of all, he didn''t want to show too much when facing the monsters. It would be more than what he used to show in Britain since he''s in an alternate identity, but still, he can''t expose all of his cards yet. Second, he couldn''t use the water affinity to the fullest. Water affinity is the affinity of the Royal Family. He doesn''t want to raise any suspicions. With these handicaps, it was going to be difficult to handle those creatures.

    Even though they were free from the grasp of the creatures, but now people were even more terrified for some reason. Axel casually killed all the other giant creatures in the ocean which had undergone the Transformation. People were screaming and crying, absolutely horrified by the way the creatures just exploded into smithereens.

    Even Akiko was looking at Axel with her mouth slightly agape. "You¡­"

    Even though she knew that Axel''s water affinity was stronger than his lightning affinity, THIS was not what she was expecting. She realised that Axel had once again gotten stronger.

    The train began travelling towards the entrance as fast as possible, but the speed had lowered drastically. Axel tried to kill the monsters as carefully as possible, but it had still damaged the train somewhat. Along the way, they could see numerous creatures with blue markings, all making their way towards the entrance. The speed of the animals now was just a little bit slower than train, making everyone anxious.

    "Fuck... just how many are they?" Muttered Axel, looking at the huge number of creatures.

    "If they somehow entered the city¡­" Akiko''s voice trailed off, and Axel nodded heavily.

    "Then it''ll be simr to the explosions." It would be chaos through and through.

    When they finally reached the entrance, the passengers who had alighted all scrambled their way towards the exit while Axel and turned turned to face the iing mob of monsters.

    "Huh? Why is it closed?"

    "What?!"

    "Why can''t we go any further?!"

    Hearing the panicked voices from behind them, Axel and Akiko looked back to investigate, only to see the passengers banging on a new barrier that was not present when they had entered had entered the ce.

    While everyone was still in confusion,ining and calling the staff, Axel had already realised. The Biopark can''t afford to let those animals go into the city. Because that would be a catastrophic event which would lead to a lot of deaths.

    The better option is to lock the ce down, so that the creatures can''t break out.

    Evacuation had already taken ce while they were in the ocean.

    As for the remaining tourists in thest train? They were most likely left to die when the barrier broke.

    Axel sighed. "These fools..."

    As if the creatures could be blocked by the useless barrier.

    ....

    NNNext: Dire Situation

    NNNNext: Axel vs (Spoiler)

    NNNNext: Savage goes at it again

    N....next: Fighting (Spoiler) and New Skills Unlocked

    Read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 189: Dire Situation

    Chapter 189: Dire Situation

    It didn''t take long for other people to also realize that they had been left here to die, which made the situation several degrees more chaotic. Many people began screaming and crying while many started attacking the barrier in hope of getting out.

    Looking at the people lining in front of the barrier, Axel cursed under his breath. He was having a bad feeling about this.

    It''s true that the crisis can be averted if the final barrier could really stop the beasts from rampaging further. There''s a high chance that it would stop the creatures long enough before proper help arrives.

    But, there is a problem with that n: This is a pre-nned strike. Meaning, the Kraken has already nned for this attack even before the bombing incident a few days ago.

    Axel looked at the hundreds of people lining up in front of the barrier. "Shit."

    Axel began running towards the barrier. "Akiko, follow me."

    Akiko suddenly had a feeling of deja vu. A chill ran down her spine as she realized that the way Axel rushed forward was simr to the time Voldemort had surprised him with his full powered spell. Akiko didn''t waste any time. Casting a jutsu to enhance her speed, she followed him at full speed. "What next?!" She asked urgently.

    "Charge in a Raigen Field. Repulsive. Wide area," said Axel without looking back.

    Raigin Field is a jutsu that creates an attractive or repulsive forcefield around the caster. Axel wanted her to make preparations for casting it in a wide area with a repulsive charge. Akiko had no time toprehend the reason for Axel''s urgence. But, there was no need to.

    Both of them charged up the jutsu just as they reached the front of the barrier after going through the crowd of the panicked people.

    "Cast it over the barrier, as wide as you can," Axel instructed as he did the same. Lightning had gathered in their hands by now, attracting the attention of several people in their vicinity. Everyone thought that the two of them were going to attack the barrier.

    But, the jutsus Axel and Akiko created was not for that purpose. Upon casting, their forefields ovepped, and a strong opposing force was created over a wide area.

    *Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

    Everyone who was trying to go through the barrier were suddenly struck by a huge force that pushed them several meters away.

    "What the¡ª"

    Everyone was understandably bewildered by the sudden series of events. As they tried to go towards the barrier again, they felt a strong resistance that pushed them back.

    "Hey! What did you guys do?!"

    "Stop it! Are you trying to get us killed?!"

    "Why did you do it?!"

    The crowd''s fury was now redirected towards Axel and Akiko, who were culprits who had blocked them.

    "Get ready to reverse the direction," said Axel, making more hand seals.

    Akiko did as he asked. "Why are we¡ª?"

    "Reverse it!"

    *BOOOOOMMMM*

    Before she couldplete her question, an explosion happened just as Axel made her reverse the force of the field. The energy of the explosion, which was about to reach them, got reduced considerably due to the electric field, preventing them from serious harm.

    "...."

    Looking at the damage, the people felt a chill down their backs.

    The ce where they were standing just a few minutes ago now had a huge crater, and the front of the Biopark was already blown away, exposing them to the city where the Antian defense forces were gathering.

    It was clear that they would have be part of the fireworks if not for Axel.

    Needless to say, no one dared to criticize Axel after that. Not that Axel cared even a little bit.

    Right now, he had a bigger problem.

    A huge ck silhouette was approaching them at high speed.

    It was a ck dragon. Bigger than the size of 3 normal dragonsbined, having blue markings over its body.

    And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the dragon, the sky had turned ck due to the number of flying magical creatures.`

    "Fuck¡­ Just how many creatures were hiding here?" Axel had noticed that only a minority of the creatures were turned and yet, their number were enough to overwhelm the whole city.

    Among the creatures who had been converted, a majority were flying type creatures. And those who couldn''t fly were species which could move extremely fast onnd.

    That''s why the monster hoard had already reached them.

    With the barrier gone, forces which were gathering outside returned to the barrier quickly rushed in to make another line of defense inside the Biopark.

    On the other hand, most of the trapped tourists fled right away, taking out their flying vehicles and flying away. But some idiots decided to stay and record.

    The monster hoard was already upon them, so the military forces set up their equipment. Aircrafts and Neptunites which had reached the area flew towards the hoard.

    "Captain, permission to engage."

    "I have visual."

    "Turrets set."

    "Cannons ready."

    A man sitting on a sharp and sleep vehicle zoomed into the biopark at this moment. He was riding a Maverik, the fastest and most powerful vehicle of the neptunite series. "Fire!" He ordered.

    At once, hundreds of shots were fired at the iing hoard, blowing them into smoke.

    "Heck yeah!"

    "Destroy them!"

    For a moment, the situation did not seem so bad anymore, which prompted many people who were fleeing to stop in their tracks and start cheering. But then, a loud roar sounded which shook the sky.

    !!!!

    When the smoke cleared, the dragons emerged again appearing more pissed that harmed.

    "W-What¡­?"

    "How did it not work?!"

    "Fool! Have you not studied?! Those are dragons! Their skin is resistant to both physical and magical attacks!" yelled the captain riding the Neptunite. Dragons are scary creatures, to begin with, but they were under the buff of the Organisation right now, something which can grant a huge multiplier to their natural abilities.

    The captain already knew the severity of the situation. That''s why he had ordered for the lockdown despite the chance of the tourists returning alive from the sea tour getting trapped inside.

    This attack was thoroughly nned. The Biopark is located at the centre of the city. They enhanced the creatures, nted bombs to break the barriers, and took out all took control of the authority figure, ordering him to keep things silent.

    No one really understood the severity of the situation until the creatures escaped. By the time the royal central realized how bad the situation was, the creatures had already almost reached the gates.

    Even the formation of the creatures was careful arranged. They put the dragons in the forefront, which would block all attacks and take the minor resistance. And one they enter the city and start dispersing...

    "Damn it!" The captain cursed.

    "Axel, what do we do now?" Asked Akiko. She already knew that the two of them were going to have to step up. But she had no idea how. At this point, to her, it seemed they have to focus on minimizing the danger as much as possible.

    Axel started upon hearing Akiko''s words.

    ''What DO I do?''

    Abandon the mission?

    In order to stop all the creatures, water affinity is important. An insane amount too. He would directly be exposed as having simr abilities as those with the Royal bloodline.

    But if he held back, the monsters would flood into the city in no time. Those magic resistant dragons are tanks that would easily take on any amount of fire power and disperse all the hastily gathered forces outside.

    Even a relic wielder won''t necessarily be of much help against this number.

    Once the frontline dragons disperse the forces, the rest of the creatures would spread throughout the city. After that, the only way to stop them would be to individually chase and subdue each and every one of them throughout the city Even the elite force which would have arrived by then would bepletely useless.

    By the time the monsters are cleared,the damaged caused might be even more than the bombing. And all this is after they already eliminated the XXXXX creatures of the sea that were going to arrive by the train.

    Axel clenched his fists. This won''t do. There is no way he would lose to a bunch of animals. What''s the reason? He does not have the power or abilities to handle this situation? SInce when has he started to depend so much on power or skill?

    Back when he didn''t even have the system thus having no magic power, or back when he was a cripple, thus having no system skills, he was still able to aplish his objectives without fail.

    Right now, he is neither a weak little boy, nor a cripple. With the huge number of cards at his disposal he has to be able to find a way.

    Axel checked his storage. Martina had put in a lot of weapons and enchanted gadgets in it. But Axel knew that there was nothing that could directly stop the massive hoard of monsters.

    This situation cannot be solved with force. He has to be creative, understand the exact situation, identify the cards at his disposal, and use them in a way that most effectively stops this situation.

    Axel took out the Neptunite that they had borrowed. "Hop on."

    "What''s the n?" Asked Akiko and sat behind him.

    "Still working on it."

    Going into the air, Axel just hovered the bike at a high point.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    First thing he did was to get a good look at the situation. The number of creatures, their species, their capabilities, etc.

    With all the information in his head, Axel closed his eyes.

    [lumency: Extreme concentration]

    Axel entered a mode of extreme focus as he quickly began to go through all options, simting his actions to find the right away to deal with the mob.

    Axel opened his eyes. "Akiko, you still have threads, right?"

    Akiko nodded her head. Being a ninja, Akiko always keeps a bunch of threads on her.

    They were light, extremely durable, and even had varieties that could conduct electricity. Akiko, of course, had the kind that conducts electricity. She doesn''t use threads too often since they are really difficult to use and there is a high chance of messing up.

    From within her storage space, Akiko produced a few bundles of threads that glistened under the setting sun. These were special threads the ninjas made through centuries old secret methods.

    Akiko wanted to warn Axel about the difficulty of using them, but thought better off it after recalling his insane dexterity, and the fact that this was Axel. "What are you going to do with so much?" She instead asked.

    "Sigh¡­ just something really troublesome. You focus on what I need you to do. I think using Dark affinity is alright here, right?" Kurai Sensei also had dark affinity and she was a goddamn hero here.

    "Of course."

    "You must have already thought of this, but do this:" Axel told Akiko her part.

    Hearing what Axel need her to do, Akiko shook her head. "I did think of it, but it will only stall them, and that too even fornd creatures."

    "Yep, that''s exactly what I need you to do." Axel grinned. "Leave the rest to me." With that, Axel faced forward and flew the Neptunite full-throttle straight towards the flying monster hoard.

    Akiko knew that it was a reckless n, and one young man iming to handle the huge hoard of flying monsters was insane, but sitting behind Axel, Akiko felt that his back was extremely reliable.

    "Wakatta. I''m ready."

    Axel had an ironic smile on his lips. ''I was as sure as you are about my sess.''

    When they reached the flying hoard of monsters, Axel pulled up the Neptunite and jumped, leaving the controls to Akiko.

    Axel fell on top of the biggest Dragon, which was covered with spikes, while Akiko skillfully maneuvered the Neptunite to fly towards the ground hoard.

    Lying on the huge back of the dragon, Axel spat. ''Knew she was bullshitting back she imed she couldn''t fly it.''

    ....

    A.N.: Back when they going to rent two Neptunites to tour the city, Akiko had insisted on sharing one due to the excuse of not being able to fly one.

    <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>!

    Next: Axel vs the monster army

    Next next: Insane Odds

    Next...next: Emergency Meeting

    Next... next: Attracting Upper Echelons''

    Come read ahead /Snollygoster

 Chapter 190: Axel vs Monster Army

    Chapter 190: Axel vs Monster Army

    As Axel and Akiko flew up to implement their grand n, the firing momentarily stagnated due to sudden intervention of two alleged civilians who were rushing into the danger.

    "What?!"

    "What are they doing?!"

    "Hey! Stop!"

    "The couple riding the bike! By royal authority, Imand you to stop and return!"

    Themander repeatedly tried shouting out to Axel and Akiko, but the twopletely ignored his words, as if not listening to him at all. The captain gritted his teeth. As if the situation wasn''t bad enough, these two idiots have nowe into the middle of firing range,pletely disrupting their attempts.

    When the Neptunite reached the front of the hoard, the dragons tried torching the two in their mes. These weren''t any ordinary mes, either. They were draconic mes, enhanced several times due to the Dragon''s having been awakened by Kraken.

    Fortunately, the couple flew high at thest moment, saving them from the tragedy. But then, the boy had the brilliant idea of jumping off the Neptunite, onto the back of the biggest dragon.

    "Captain, what do we do?"

    The Captain clenched his fists. "Continue the attack! A lot more people will die if we don''t stop as many creatures as possible."

    "Um,,, Captain, isn''t he Axel Hunt?" One of the soldiers couldn''t help voicing out after getting a close up look in his scope.

    "What?!" The captain''s head jerked in the direction of the soldier who had spoken.

    He

    Meanwhile, as hend on the Dragon''s back, a searing sound was produced when Axel''s shoes touched the blue markings on the Dragon.

    Axel didn''t waste any time and got into action right away.

    [Riding]

    He quickly made his way over to the neck of the dragon.

    [lumency: Max Concentration]

    [Magic Hands]

    [Trap Setting]

    Axel''s fingers began moving at blurring speeds, weaving the thread while he ran up the length of the dragon''s spine. Once he reached the top of it''s neck, Axelunched the thread forward, repeatedly looping it around the dragon.

    ''Alright, here goes nothing.'' With that, Axel pulled.

    *ROAR*

    The dragon let out a loud roar of anger as it''s head tilted upwards. With the headpletely trapped in threads, Axel flexed his fingers to the side, the dragon''s head tilted to that side, then he snapped his fingers the other way. This went on for several seconds while the dragon tried it best to shake Axel while twisted its neck.

    [Learnt the Skill: [Dragon Riding]

    "Bingo!"

    Soon, Axel was able to control the Dragon''s movements.

    His fingers pulled on the strings again, and the dragon''s jaw was forced open this time.

    [Lightning Style: Electric charge]

    *ROOAARRR*

    When Axel sent out the high voltage electric charge into the dragon''s face, a column of mes was shot out if its mouth as involuntarily as its facial muscles convulsed.

    "Sweet!"

    Axel grinned. He now had the dragon under his control.

    How did he do this?

    First of all, As soon as he hadnded on the Dragon, he had activated the skill: [Riding]. It was skill that not only applied to riding brooms and Neptunite, but also other things. Dragons are technically creatures that can skill be ridden. As soon as he started, the further knowledge in the skill was unlocked, and Axel quickly found out the correct method.

    Then, [trap setting]. This was one of the first skills he had unlocked from the system.

    It gave him knowledge rted to all kinds of traps. And the most basic category is the rope trap, which gave him a lot of knowledge rted to weaving and knots.

    Then, with [Magic Hands], he boosted the specs of his hands to a degree that would make them a relics on their own. With high dexterity and concentration, he wove the threads around the dragon, making highly sophisticated reigns.

    It took time in adjusting, but Axel had roughly gotten the gist of it.

    And that is how, Axel took control over a dragon mid flight within a matter of seconds. Other than him, no one else can do it. No one else has the gut to jump on a dragon, the knowhow, or the dexterity to bind the threads while the dragon is still moving and resisting. And, even if they did all this, it would still all be for nothing. Their fingers would be cut off clean as soon as the dragon pulled its head. Even Axel can only do it because his fingers are currently coated in magic due to the skill [Magic hands]

    But, Axel was not done yet. Now, it was time for phase two.

    Axel harshly pulled on the reigns, turning the dragon to one direction. They got dangerously close to bumping into the dragon flying adjacent to them.

    Then, Axel quickly looped the thread around the head of the second dragon, thus also taking him under control.

    ''Two down.''

    But, Axel still wasn''t done yet.

    He pulled on the reigns of the both the dragons and directed them towards the third dragon. His casting technique got better, and he was able to wrap the threads with a considerable distance.

    Now, Axel had three dragons under his control. In order to increase the durability of the thread, he had to ovep them several times, and he had to do it for three separate dragons. Overall, that''s a lot of strings to string along.

    Furthermore, all the threads were coated in his water affinity magic to make it resistant to the dragon fire, and an even better conductor of electricity.

    In short, his mind and his fingers were under a lot of strain and his extreme dexterity was showing its effects.

    But, he was far from done.

    Axel wove more and more strings. Within the next few seconds, Axel casted thread all over the ce, taking control over the rest of the dragons.

    By the time they reached the exit of the Biopark, Axel had over 31 huge dragons under his control, all straining against the strings and his hands were moving at speed that would be difficult to follow even if show several times slower.

    One saving grace was that he didn''t have to handle them individually. He could pull all the strings to one side and all the dragons would follow that direction.

    But¡­

    "They''re going to snap off." His fingers, even when coated with dense magic, getting more and more bloody.

    And his work was still far from over. Even though the dragons were already under his control, the problem was still not solved yet.

    Axel looked back. Thousands of winged creatures were following him. There were griffins, hippogriffs, winged chimeras, and many more. All the creatures had been enhanced, with their bodies bulked up to an enormous degree and blue markings glowing on their skins.

    Even without the Dragons protecting them from the front, these creatures are still capable of breaking through the blockage to reach into the city.

    That''s where the phase 3 of his nes in.

    Axel pulled on the reins and made the dragons turn around. Making the strings loose, he formed a single hand seal.

    [Lightning Style: Thunder Stream]

    A tremendous amount of electricity was discharge from his hands, which spread through all the threads.

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Axel''s eardrums almost ruptured from the sheer intensity of the roars that the dragons produced. And of course, high intensity mes dyed the sky sky blue, washing over the iing hoard of flying creatures.

    ''Fuck yeah!''

    Axelughed. This was the phase three of his n: Multiple muzzle draconic me thrower!

    He was d that it worked, because this did not work, he would have had to go with phase four: The Web of Death, trapping all the creatures and electrocuting him all with all the amount of Lightning he and Akiko could get.

    Even when the strain on his fingers increased, Axel made the dragons fly forward in the direction of theing creatures and once again passed on the electric shocks, making the dragons involuntarily blow out mes again.

    Meanwhile, the people who were watching from below were leftpletely bbergasted.

    What¡­ in the ever drowning fuck?

    They couldn''t believe that what they were seeing was true and no a part of made up movie. When they had seen Axel jumping onto the dragon''s back, they had expressed their exasperation over his foolish act, cursing him for throwing away his life and making the situation more difficult for them.

    But now the boy had gotten himself the most powerful cremation device, which he was using to burn away all the flying creatures. Since the dragons were juiced up with blue markings, he didn''t even need to worry about running out of fuel any time soon.

    "This is¡­ SO AWESOME!!!"

    "HolyShit!"

    "Tell me someone is recording this!"

    The sight of one person riding a dragon, leading an army of other fire-breathing dragons against a huge hoard of monsters created an impact scene straight out of the legends.

    The Soldiers who were already prepared themselves for a bad oue had their hearts fished out of dispair as they realised that the guy they had dismissed as an suicidal maniac was now single-handedly turning the tides of the hopeless situation.

    "Hey, look over there!"

    "What''s that?"

    "Fire?!"

    "Why is it ck?"

    That''s right. While everyone''s attention was focused in the air, ck mes had spread on the ground, reaching quite high.

    It spread widely in a way that caused the creatures to detour around it, dying them considerably.

    It was only then did they see Akiko zooming around in her Neptunite, controlling the mes.

    *Thump**Thump**Thump**Thump*¡­.

    Akiko had to repeatedly move her Neptunite to dodge, as burning monsters literally rained down from the sky.

    These creatures were heavy, and falling from such height gave them a tremendous amount of momentum. Also¡­ the area they fell soon ovepped with the area of ground-monster hoard.

    So¡­

    A lot of crushed monster-meat double-patties were created.

    After Axel annihting most of the sky hoard, he brought his Dragon army to the ground, in order to finish the job. The smell of burnt meat filled the air as Axel led his me breathing monstrosities in circles.

    Some monsters, especially those who were XXXXX threat level, were either me resistant or had thick skin, so they took extra work. In the face of firepower of over 30 enhanced fire breathing dragons, there was little even those powerful creatures could do.

    The stragglers or escapees were handled by the military, thank gods they weren''tpletely useless.

    Akiko looked at the scene with silent awe. She had no words to describe her current feelings. Upon seeing the situation, she had already given up on trying to search for ways in which they could have aplete victory.

    Even when taking all of her and Axel''s abilities into consideration and even adding a considerable amount of Antis''s forces, and even with the chance arrival of Kurai sensei, she had felt that the situation would be difficult to handle.

    But what did Axel do? Not only did he single-handedly subdued almost all of the sky hoard (the most dangerous), and subdue most of the ground hoard on his own, but he also managed to hide his water affinity, his super agility, his phenomenalbat abilities, and so on, only revealing abilities that people can''t evenprehend.

    Akiko looked up at the sky. Her lips curved upwards as she saw Axel riding the biggest dragon while controlling the rest. She shook her head. There is a limit to how cool one can be. Axel has already crossed it several times over.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Ah, happy new year, everyone. What are your resolutions? Mine is starting an original book in continuation with ArcaneThief and make it much better than other books on the tform. Let''s see how it works out.

    Next: Finished

    Next next: Emergency Meeting

    Next... next: Higher ups'' Surprise

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 191: Fighting Dragons and Rewards

    Chapter 191: Fighting Dragons and Rewards

    While Axel was doing his thing, a considerable amount of forces had gathered at Biopark. Among them was also a relic wielder, a stocky man with a big beard and matted hair. He was wearing a cloak that seemed to flutter on its own.

    All of these people gathered, and yet, they were doing¡­ nothing. There was nothing for them to do in the first ce. In the face of the absolute destruction Axel and his wild methrowers were causing, they would just be getting in the way even if they did anything.

    "Hahahaha! Who is that boy? I didn''t know we had gotten another Relic Wielder." Said the man in the cloak. His name was Asphor.

    The rest of the people, who had already seen Axel''s trial multiple times, exchanged awkward nces. "That''s Chris Martin. Uh¡­ he''s not a Relic Wielder."

    "What the¡ª? No Relic?" The man looked back at Axel who was controlling an army of rampaging dragons, hisughter gone. "Then, how the FUCK is he doing that?"

    ''Good Question.''

    The rest of the people had idea.

    How WAS he doing it? There is no way it can be as easy as he is making it look. No matter how much they thought about, they couldn''t find the answer.

    "Sir Asphor, we are also currently un clear about that. Chris attempted his academy trial just yesterday so have no idea about his¡ª"

    "Academy Trial? How are you talking about?"

    "Um, academy trials are test to enroll into the academy¡ª"

    "I know that! I''m asking why that is trying into the academy?"

    ¡­.''Good Question, yet again.''

    "Well, he''s 16, so he first had to¡ª"

    "SIXTEEN?! Are you telling me that guy is SIXTEEN?"

    "Y-yes, that''s how it''s known."

    "Which of the Six Families?"

    "¡­He is actually an outsider."

    That was it. The Relic Wielder no longer had any words.

    "So, a 16 year old guy is fending off the giant monster wave and we are just here leisurely fishing?"

    The Captain shook his head firmly. "I''ve been monitoring the situation. And it seems, that his control over the dragons is slipping. We have to save him when that happens and kill the dragons. This boy is an amazing prodigy. We can''t let him die."

    Asphor nodded. It was understandable that his control would eventually slip. It was more unbelievable that he held on for so long. "Let''s be ready then."

    ¡­

    No matter how cool he looked from the third person perspective, in reality, Axel was indeed struggling.

    The dragons were directed to go into the city and destroy everything in sight. When he suddenly changed the direction of their flight, there was actually a huge amount of resistance.

    No matter how strong he was, Axel was still an ant against thebined might of so many enhanced dragons. Controlling the dragons in such a situation was simply impossible.

    But, Axel had already anticipated that. And he had a solution. He may not be able to beat so many dragons in terms of physical strength. But... in terms of mental strength? That''s his domain.

    In that aspect, even if he was up against so many dragon, he was ''hold-my-beer-Imma-do-this-shit'' level confident.

    He targeted the minds of the Dragons, attacking them repeatedly. In this way, he managed to make them turn around. Axel was hoping that they would no longer follow the orders of the Organisation and hopefully get under his control.

    The result was, he did manage to make them forget about trying to escape, but the price was that he had to keepunching collective mental attacks on their minds, effectively rendering them into a stunned state in which they can instinctively react to his direction. Their anger was building up, and Axel''s mental energy was draining fast, so there was no way he would be able to keep this up for long.

    So, the dragons went on a rampage while Axel held on to the reins for dear life, trying his best to steer them, continuously giving them electric charge to make them keep attacking.

    This process was extremely straining for him. For one, his fingers had to move at unimaginable speeds as the dragons would try to turn from time to time.

    Also, keeping track of so many string and pulling and letting loose at right time to prevent the fingers from snapping off at the same time attacking the dragons? Well, his mind wasn''t doing too well either.

    But the persistent bastard he was, Axel managed to pull it off in the end. Now, the situation is like this: He is already at his limit, the monster hoard has been cleared. He has even managed to unlock a few new skills: [Puppeteering] [Taming]. So it has been a rewarding experience in which he found new ways to deal with the situation instead of relying on his existing skills.

    But¡­

    ''What to do with these dragons now?''

    With nothing left to destroy, and him being unable to control them, the dragons are about to go on an absolute rampage.

    There is a saying in the wizarding culture: riding a dragon. It''s used when someone enters a dangerous situation because it''s appealing and rewarding, but then they find themselves unable to get out and about to die any time.

    Right now, Axel was literally in that situation . He was riding not one, but a lot of dragons. If that wasn''t bad enough, they were also about in a berserk state with him as the target. And if even that wasn''t bad enough, their abilities have been enhanced several fold due to the blue markings.

    As soon as he loses control of the leashes, Axel is going to be Hunted like an animal.

    But, running away and leaving it to the rest of the forces is also not a good n. He hase so far, only to run away in the end and leave the final merits to someone else? That is no go.

    ''Well, whatever. Juste, you mindless beasts.'' Axel clicked his tongue. He''s just going to fight them.

    When someone goes through as much as he has, this situation doesn''t exactly seem intimidating, especially when he is still in a condition to move.

    But, how exactly is he going to fight them? His magical limit has almost been reached. His mind is also pretty drained after attacking all the dragons'' minds and also handling so many threads.

    Attacking with just physical power without infusing magic into his attacks wouldn''t leave a dent on these Dragon-hides. Water affinity might expose him as a royal, thus a target of assassination for many, so he''s not using that.

    So then, how is he going to do it?

    Sometimes, the solution can be very simple.

    Axel stopped controlling the dragons.

    !!!!!!!!!!!

    Loud roars reverberated all around as the dragons came to their senses.

    Dragons began struggling to get rid of the strings, going into opposite directions.

    Axel didn''t try to stop them. He couldn''t. He let the strings loose, letting the dragons pull as much as they wanted. Instead, he took out all the remaining strings and began running on the big dragons body.

    [Arcane Footwork]

    Very quickly, all the dragons focused on him as the culprit who had been leading them around by the noose. Fire rained down on him, but Axel was faster, so it could never reach him. Instead, the one to suffer was the Giant Dragon that he was riding.

    Now, one thing to be noted is that even though dragons are highly resistant to mes, there is a limit to that resistance. When so much fire power gathered on one dragon, it was bound to suffer damage.

    Another thing to be noted is that dragons aren''t above attacking their own kind when pushes to shove. So, extremely furious, the Giant ck dragon also attacked the nearest dragon.

    Meanwhile, Axel had already jumped onto the next dragon after traversing the body of the big ck dragon, thus shifting the aggro to this one.

    While the dragons all attacked the second dragon, Axel had already jumped onto the third dragon. The strings in his hands were getting less and less Axel travelled from one dragon to another. This process went on for a while as Axel jumped from one dragon to another.

    By the time he reached the final dragon, he wasn''t even being attacked anymore as the dragons had started fighting among themselves.

    Finally, Axel stopped letting the dragons pull more strings and bounded it all on thest dragon.

    THRUM

    With the continuous supply of strings gone, all of a sudden, hundreds of thousands of strings went taught all at once as all the dragons were rendered immobile, as they found themselves bound in a huge web of strings.

    Most of them could no longer even p their wings. Roaring madly, the dragons all began plunging down in a spiral.

    The strings that had bound them were ovepped tens of times. These strings imbued with magic and made from secret Japanese techniques were extremely durable, to begin with, but when ovepped multiple times, these measly strings could produce durability that could rival the dragons'' might.

    BOOM

    The heavy dragons fell to the ground, still tangled in the web. On the other hand, Axel lightlynded on the ground after casting an arresto momentum on himself.

    Axel shook off the blood from his finger, walking towards the exit without giving the tangled mess of dragons a second nce. There was no need to. Even though the fall wasn''t enough to kill them, when bound like that, they would kill each other without him having to lift a finger.

    Ding

    [Mission Completed]

    [Congrrattion! You havepleted an insane level difficulty mission]

    [Reward:

    Mana+

    Custom Skill: Mana Threads]

    Axel''s eyes widened as the mana depletion gone.

    ''What¡­ what the hell?''

    Akiko zoomed in, riding the Neptunite. Even before the vehiclended, she jumped off,nding in front of Axel. "Are you alright?"

    Axel shrugged. "Yeah, nothing big."

    Akiko checked his fingers, and her brows furrowed. "We have to get them treated." Rummaging through her space pouch, she produced a jar that contained a jellylike substance. "Here, this will help," she said as she took his hand and began applying it.

    A cooling sensation spread over Axel''s finger as his wounds began to close down.

    Their eyes met and Akiko looked away. "You were really¡ª"

    "Chris Martin."

    *Znnnn*

    Before she could finish her sentence, someone interrupted them. A high tech vehicle arrived by their side. The low humming sound it produced was enough to show its high power. This was a Maverick. Every rider''s wet dream.

    Riding it was a man Axel had not seen before. 5 stars proudly gleamed on his shoulders. There was a man beside him who was levitating while fluttering his cloak.

    Behind him were other officers, some of them were also riding a Maverick.

    "Yeah?"

    Looking at Axel, the captain and the rest of the soldiers felt mixed emotions. The things this guy just pulled up were nothing short of Legendary. And yet, it made them feel bitter just trying topare themselves to him.

    "Kid, how did you do that?! Are the kids outside all this amazing now?" It was the man in cloak who started talking.

    Axel shrugged. "Is it necessary to answer that?"

    The captain beside the man shook his head. "No! Not at all! We just wanted to express our gratitude for what you did. Young man, you''ve saved a lot of lives today."

    Axel nodded. "So, I''m not in any kind of trouble, am I?"

    "No no! Why would you think that?"

    Axel didn''t want to exin it, but being always on the wrong side ofw, he was ufortable being surrounded by armed uniformed officers. It felt like he would be pped with some kind of charges.

    "Well, can I leave then? I want to continue my sightseeing."

    ''I did nothing wrong. I''m just an innocent tourist. Also, whoever tries to arrest me will die.''

    "....." x everyone

    Axel didn''t wait for the response. He picked up the Neptunite they had rented and Akiko sat behind him without a word.

    "Well, see ya then," He said as he casually saluted them with a three-finger trident sign.

    With that, Axel then flew his neptunite on low-level, going through the blockade of soldiers and civilians, who created a path for him almost in reverence than respect. On his way out, Axel patted one of civilians who had witnessed the whole incident. "Good job."

    The guy had recorded everything.

    ...

    A.N.: POWERSTONES

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 192: Emergency Meeting

    Chapter 192: Emergency Meeting

    "Uh¡­ Captain, are we just going to let them leave like that?" Asked one of the soldiers as they looked at Axel and Akiko flying out of the Biopark.

    The usual procedure after such an incident is to report everything in detail to the high authority so that they can judge whether your actions were correct or not. In this case, Axel did create a massacre of so many protected species, so this is an extremely controversial matter.

    If your actions were not under supervision and done on your own initiative, that is also a separate headache inducing procedure.

    Other than that, there is also the matter of answering to the media and all kinds of other things. In short, this was aplicated matter that cannot end with just doing whatever you want and leaving.

    The Captain cleared his throat. "It''splicated, Soldier. Don''t try to second guess my reasoning."

    The man wearing the cloak, Asphor, justughed. "You should be honest. You''re just scared to offend him," he said, exposing the truth.

    Someone just exterminated so many creatures in front of them like pests, and then even killed those scary dragons which even the M345 Magic Missiles couldn''t put a dent on.

    No matter what, it created an impression. So, when Axel casually asked if he could leave, as if he was going to leave either way, the Captain instinctively let him leave. You could say that his survival instincts were good, unlike some people.

    The Captain sighed. "You still haven''t changed, Asphor," he said as his teamughed at him. He was the elite Maverick rider, but this friend of his was not at all considerate about making fun of him in front of his subordinates.

    "Well, to be honest, no one can me you for your reaction. The kid was¡­ something else." said Asphor as shbacks of Axel''s savagery shed through his mind.

    The subordinates surrounding them had to agree to that, as some of them even shuddered. Anyone who witnessed the previous incident would have the same opinion: Don''t mess with that guy.

    "Anyway, I''m gonna go now. I was pretty useless here anyway."

    The Captain shook his head. "Don''t even say that. You knew that demotion would have been the least of my worries." Said the Captain. In the absence of Axel, the Captain would not have been able to handle the monster hoard. Monsters would have flooded the city before the arrival of help. In that situation, he would have had to bear most of the burden, even though his only crime would have been that his division is the fastest due to their Mavericks.

    Knowing this, Asphor came to him for the sake of their old friendship. With Asphor, a relic wielder, they would have been able to reduce the damage considerably.

    Of course, that all turned out to be useless due to a monstrous 16 year-old, but the gesture still counts. Having a friend who can go through thick and thin with you is great.

    "Those two¡­ they remind me of us from back then," said the Captain, recalling Axel and Akiko. The girl was not to be underestimated. She perfectly coordinated with the boy, first dropping him on the dragon''s back and then creating that fire.

    "That''s right. Except you aren''t a beautiful girl like her." Said Asphor distastefully.

    ...

    Coming out of the Biopark, Axel once again lowered his presence to not get recognized. But, it turned out to be useless since the area outside had already been cleared by now. That turned out to be useless too since Axel had already solved the monster hoard problem.

    "So,what do we do?"

    "First, we get your hands treated," said Akiko seriously.

    "Rx, my hands arepletely fine. They aren''t as fragile as you think." Axel''s hands were, in fact, quite strong. Especially when he uses [Magic Hands], a skill he has mastered to an extremely high degree. The only reason his hand got chopped off by Nerio thest time was because it was an attack from a relic, and he had no magic left to use [Magic Hands]. He was lucky to only lose his hand.

    Right now, Axel didn''t actually suffer much damage since the [Magic Hand] was activated, and he was repeatedly using [Heal] on himself, a skill which might not be powerful, but still handy on minor injuries.

    At this moment, they got a message from Estris, who had given the address of the new base since the old one''s location had been leaked by Axel. That reminded Axel of the watery foamy mattress ofst night, which reminded him that he was, in fact, fucking drained.

    Turns out that destroying a monster army can be tiring. Really tiring.

    In the end, they decided to call it a day. They had been touring for the whole day and it was already evening. Of course, there is no sun here, but the city still brightens and darkens as if there was a real sun above them.

    "Oh, you guys also returned?" On the new Base, they were greeted with the sight of a blood-covered Kurai Sensei, who was sitting on the couch, in the process of removing her shoes. It seems that she had also just returned from wherever she had gone. "I thought you would spend the night."

    Kurai Sensei waved her hand upon seeing them looking at the blood she was covered "Don''t worry, it''s not mine."

    Axel noticed that she still didn''t mention how she got it. Whatever, it seems that she also had a busy day.

    "Forget about that. How was your day? Did you guys have fun?" Even though she included both of them, it was clear that the question was intended for Akiko, who had emotional value in finally visiting Antis.

    "It was¡­ really, really good. I had a lot of fun." Akiko, whose face is usually nk, had a bright smile on her face. It is at moments like this that one realizes that Akiko has a surprisingly cute and innocent looking face.

    Seeing her smile, Kurai sensei''s eyes softened imperceptibly. "Is that so? That''s good then."

    Kyrin has always med herself for Akiko''s parents'' death. So moments like these make her feel that she had done something to atone for the past. Akiko already knew this and she has already expressed that she doesn''t me Kurai Sensei but she doesn''t listen.

    "So, tell me, what did you guys do on your date? Did you guys kiss?" Kyrin asked, back to her naughty demeanor.

    "K-Kurai Sensei!"

    "Oh, look at you blushing! Our Aki is all grown up now." Kyrin justughed, and Axel also didn''t mind it.

    Kurai Sensei was like a parent/older sister figure in Akiko''s life. He could see that this was pure teasing that is used between families. Even Akiko didn''t really seem to hate it, judging from the small smile on her lips.

    "Come to think of it, did you guys encounter any trouble while out? I heard something big happened a few hours ago."

    Axel shrugged. "It was no trouble."

    Kurai Sensei finally turned to Axel, as if just finding out about his existence. "Oh. you''re here too. Well? Did youplete the assignment? Or were you just out to have fun? And why have you not greeted your superior yet?"

    A vein popped out on Axel''s forehead. He''s officially taking back his goodwill. This discriminating boss is simply intolerable.

    "I did have fun."

    "As expected, you didn''t do¡ª"

    "But I also managed toplete the assignment."

    "¡­ What?"

    "I said, I havepleted the assignment. I have learnt most of the general knowledge about Antis that is essible to the public. I know the culture, the basic technology, ongoing trends, media, high profile figures, geography, everything."

    Kyrin looked at him like he was a rare animal. Axel knows it because he has seen the same look on the faces of many people at the Biopark today,

    "¡­ What the fuck? What''s the point of lying point nk to a dangerous and unhinged beautiful youngdy like me?" Asked Kyrin in puzzlement.

    Axel''s eyes twitched at the ''young'' part. "There are several things wrong with that statement, the most ring one being that, I am in fact, telling the truth."

    "Hm? Is that so? Well, tell me then. What is the name of the tallest building here?"

    "I believe it''s called Alsanar. It''s located in the western part of the main city."

    Kyrin frowned. "What''s the most popted ce in Antis?"

    "The Kasindrova Commercial area."

    "The forbidden ce?"

    "Altica Trench. But there are too many contradictions about that ce. I believe¡ª"

    "Stop."

    Kyrin now seemed angry. "Did he ruin the trip for you by spending his whole time searching for useless knowledge?" She asked Akiko.

    "He didn''t."

    Kurai sensei turned her attention back to Axel, looking peeved.

    "Boss, even if he did do that, it would only be because you ordered him to." Estris, as always, was the voice of reason. Of course, Kyrin already knew it, but¡­ she didn''t like it.

    Because, Aki is getting a bit too involved with this guy. It makes her burn with jealousy and protective instincts. This guy is stealing her Aki''s heart, but he also has the time toplete the impossible assignment, and also act effortlessly cool while at it.

    "So, can I go rest now? I''m pretty tired."

    "Already? We''ll have to work on your stamina."

    Axel stretchedzily. "Can''t argue with that. Well, I''m off."

    "Pleasee. I''ll show you your amodation."The old butler from earlier showed led the way.

    After Axel left, Akiko soon followed, leaving only Estris and Kyrin.

    Kyrin sighed tiredly. "I''m already missing the outer world. Things have gotten troublesome here."

    "It wouldn''t have been so intense if you hadn''t left," countered Estris. "The seal has been weakening rapidly now. Being a Relic Wielder, you have to put in the work."

    "I am, aren''t I? In fact, I quite enjoyed the killing. But I wanted to be there with Aki today. Instead I had to leave her with that brat. He used it to get close to her," said Kyrin while grinding her teeth.

    Estris tilted her head. "Is he not good enough?"

    "¡­Of course he''s not." Kyrin knew Axel was good. The trial was proof of that. But she just wasn''t willing to admit it. "Did you see him just now? He was so pale and he couldn''t even keep his eyes open properly, yawning every few seconds. He got tired from just one outing. He can''t match Aki''s energy."

    "Besides, I don''t think he''s a good person. He''s too selfish. I mean, just by looking at him I can tell that he''s evil¡­ and maniptive. I mean, how the hell did he make Aki look at him with those eyes? Aki is the kind to keep her distance from everyone. Back when rumors about them started, I had thought that it was all the media trying to milk her fame. Even if there was something, I thought it''ll be gone when she leaves for Antis. But the brat has now followed her here and even somehow gotten himself a citizenship from the princess¡ª Hey! Are you listening?!"

    Kyrin suddenly realized that Estris had started watching something on her E-brace at some point, tantly ignoring her.

    Estris looked up with a serious expression. "Boss, it''s a Royal summon. We have to go."

    "At this time?" Kyrin looked at Estris with an ''are-you-for-real?'' expression. "Well, this better be good."

    Reaching the meeting room, they found everyone else waiting patiently. It was the same as before, on the head seat sat the princess, with the General guarding her by her side. The Council of Elders, Major division heads and a few other high Ranking individuals. The noticeable addition was Asphor, the relic wielder wearing the cloak.

    "You''rete as always, Tenebrous," said the me Elder.

    Kyrin ignored it. "What''s the fuss about?" She asked the princess directly.

    That made many people in the meeting room cast meaningful nces at her.

    "Come on, stop pretending, Tenebrous," said the representative of the Lightning Septis. "As if you don''t know." He was one of the people who did know what the meeting was about.

    "You must be feeling quite smug right now. But this is not funny," said another member.

    "What in the fishing hell are you talking about?"

    The Princess tilted her head in puzzlement. "You really don''t know?"

    "...First tell me what this is about. I have a lot of things to be smug about."

    "So, you really don''t know," concluded the me Elder. "So much happened and you don''t even know."

    "Well, it''s better if we show it to everyone directly," said the Princess. "After all, it''s already going algal on the dee. In the middle of the room, a 3-d video began ying.

    ...

    <strong>A.N.: Powerstones!</strong>

    Next: Axel surprising all Bigwits

    Next next: Fighting For Axel

    Next next next: Reward

    Next..next: Intense Fight

    <strong>Aside from these, guess what the name of thetest chapter is? "Identity Revealed"</strong>

    <strong>Come read /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 193: Surprising All Bigwits

    Chapter 193: Surprising All Bigwits

    The algal footage was yed in the middle of the meeting room in 3d projection.

    It showed a transparent train moving underwater. There were a lot of panicked cries of the people and the camera was shaking quite a big.

    "It''s from the Biopark, right?"

    "So, it''s about the small incident that happened today."

    Of course, the footage was very fresh, so very few people among the people present had gotten the news and seen it.

    Everyone had heard of the matter. There was a big fuss, as everyone had been called to the scene, but before they could make it, there was another report that the situation was under control.

    Of course, there were some who had already reached the ce to witness the incident first hand, but those were very few.

    The footage shifted to show the scene outside the train, and it was only then did they all see the huge amount of creatures with Blue Marking outside.

    "Those creatures are... converted right?"

    "How is this possible?!"

    "They could even do that?!"

    Upon seeing the blue markings, there was a stir in the meeting room. The fact that Kraken could also directly control the sea creatures came as a surprise to them.

    The princess paused the clip. "As everyone can see, the Kraken can control the creatures without needing to do anyplicated procedures like we thought. We don''t know yet what kind of process is involved but we believe that it''s not easy and is most likely a lengthy process."

    Kyrin looked at the footage clearly. "This looks more serious than I thought," shemented. When she heard that the matter was resolved without much loss, she had just thought it was a minor incident. But, looking at the footage, it didn''t look minor at all.

    "I never thought they could control creatures like that." said the Thunder Elder.

    "Actually, it is possible, if they start the conversion process months prior. The creatures have weaker willspared to humans," said one of the Division heads.

    Kyrin felt that the situation was absurd. The fact that they could actually control the creatures of the biopark must have been an important card of Kraken. Kyrin couldn''t understand why they decided to reveal it now. "Are they idiots? They should have used this on a bigger scale to catch us off guard. Just scaring a bunch of tourists with underwater creatures is such a waste."

    From what she had heard, the matter was resolved with rtively negligible damage. So this just seems like a silly move from the Organization.

    "Ah¡­ but actually, they did catch us off guard. Completely," the Princess interjected. "Watch further."

    The video resumed, and they saw the creatures trying to break the barrier. When the bomb exploded, it was met with intense exmations from the members.

    "What was that?!"

    "Was that really¡­?"

    "How¡­?"

    "That was indeed an explosion from the Kraken''s new bomb. Since the security measures have been taken since thest bombing, it''s assumed that bombs were pre-nted," said the princess.

    A wave of murmurs spread among the attendees. If the bombs were indeed pre-nted, then it seems that the Kraken has been nning for this incident for a while. Usually, what the Organisation ns this meticulously, it doesn''t end well for the Kingdom.

    As expected, things started getting worse in the video. The creatures wrapped themselves around the train, to them exploding and damaging the train. But the members only realized the magnitude of the attack when the train reached thend.

    "What in the devil''s trench¡­?"

    "So many¡­"

    "Sweet As¡­"

    The huge army of monsters really surprised the people.

    Gasps and exmations ensued.

    Just how the fuck did they avoid this catastrophe?

    "If even a margin managed to make it into the city¡­" Someone trailed off. But it didn''t need to be said. Everyone understood¡­ if even a margin of the creatures reached the gate, it would have caused a huge impact.

    Since the matter was resolved, until now, they were thinking that the conversion must have been only in the sea. But now, seeing the huge army of creatures, they only had one thought in their heads.

    "How... was the matter resolved?"

    The princess sighed. "Indeed, as everyone can see by now, this was a major attack by Kraken which was aimed to deliver another huge blow to the Kingdom. It would havepletely caught us off guards.

    It is only through one lucky factor that we''ve managed to pull through without paying a huge price. Things ahead will be exined by the Maverick Division captain Demanis, who was the first to arrive on the scene.

    The captain of the Maverick division was overwhelmed by the sudden attention from so many high ranking individuals who usually wouldn''t even give him a second nce. Usually, this would be a good thing for him, but¡­

    ''Those looks¡­''

    They were all looking at him like he had made a great achievement and yed a huge role in stopping the invasion. With a throat full of anxiousness, he began exining theplete set of events.

    "The incident happened at around 6 pm in the evening. I got the call by the Guardian department to take all forces I could gather to the Biopark and check out if something was wrong. I gathered my men and reached there. But we found a huge hoard of monsters which would have already reached the exit within 5 minutes."

    This raised a doubt in everyone''s head.

    "Why were you the only one called to the scene?" They couldn''t understand this. It should have taken a considerable amount of time for the creatures to cross the non magical creature territory.

    The authorities should have sent the maximum force right from the start.

    The Head of National security answered that question.

    "The enemy had taken measures to make sure that the authorities wouldn''t be alerted till the hoard was already out. Since the Biopark is apletely separate space disconnected from the kingdom, thework there is maintained through a signal tower. The enemy blew it uppletely, thus essentially cutting off all contact from the outside world.

    Furthermore, they had alsopromised the Head of Management of the Biopark, who ordered aplete shut down beforehand, thus preventing the people from escaping out and spreading the news," he said gravely. "It was only because of a few livestreams that had gone viral before the total shut down that we suspect something was amiss and sent in emergency support."

    The Captain of Maverick subdivision nodded. "When we got there, the ce was sealed, and people were mouring to be let out. All trains had already arrived except for one, so we quickly evacuated everyone. It was then that I found out about the emergency barrier. So, even if there was one train which hadn''t made it back, I decided of activating the barrier," said the Captain regretfully.

    None of the members present criticized his decision. The train was far past its scheduled arrival and the creatures had already arrived.

    "No one is ming you. It is only thanks to the barrier that the creatures were contained, right?" Someone said, to which those who what happened snorted.

    Drawing several nods from the members.

    "Yeah. It''s a pity that the people from that clip couldn''t make it, but it was the best choice, given the circumstance.

    The Captain almost died from embarrassment. "Actually, that is not the case¡­"

    The princess saved the poor man by resuming the clip. Even those who had already seen it looked with full attention. Because no matter how many times they see the next part, it will never be enough.

    The clip was cut to the part where the train reaches the exit and the passengers all rush out, only to be locked down by the barrier.

    "Don''t tell me¡­ there was also a pre-nted bomb here?!" Someone actually guessed. It wasn''t a difficult conclusion to reach in the first ce, considering the fact that the attack was nned to the degree that they even took over the top management and pre-nted bombs on the connection tower. There is no way they would let this loophole go unnoticed.

    "There actually IS a bomb there." the me Elder confirmed, making several of the members turn pale. Just when they were expecting to see those panicking people getting blown up, a waved rippling wave spread over the barrier, pushing everyone several degrees back.

    "What?!"

    It was only at this moment did the camera focus on two individuals, whom the camera man had somehow ignored until now.

    "Isn''t that¡ª?!"

    "Trial Boy! That''s the boy from the trial!"

    "Yeah, I''ve seen that video too."

    There were several division heads from the Military Enve who instantly recognized Axel.

    "??????"

    On the other hand, Kyrin''s eyes twitched when she saw her two new recruits among the people whom she had already concluded to have to be doomed to die. ''What are those two doing there?!''

    The me elder didn''t miss the moment as he captured her reaction in his E-brace while chuckling.

    "It''s not further enough!" Someonemented. Indeed. The distance of the people from the field was still not further enough. They were hoping to see the people getting some sense and creating further distance, but instead, they all began charging forward. Fortunately, what force had pushed them back was not letting them back in.

    "Reverse it!" (Axel)

    BOOOOOMMM

    At this moment, the predicted explosion actually happened, which made the cameraman fall on his butt as the camera once again pointed at Axel and Akiko, who were making hand seals. Just when the mes were about to reach the camera, they were literally stopped by some force and sucked back in.

    "What¡­ was that?"

    "They actually managed to do it."

    "Wasn''t it ninja arts?"

    It was an impressive feat, even from the standards of the people present here. Especially from two young individuals.

    "It''s Lightning Arts. But I''ve rarely seen someone cast them as proficiently as those two," said the Thunder Elder. Since his Septis mainly dealt with Lightning arts, he knew just what the two had done, and how they had done. But that only made him appreciate it even more.

    "So, that boy was still holding back when he attempted the trial¡­" one of the Military division heads remarked. As shown, Axel had not at all used Lightning Affinity in his trial at any point, meaning the terrifying talent was still holding back when attempting a trial of that difficulty.

    "And the girl wasn''t bad at all too. Furthermore, they had the presence of mind to predict the possibility of another bomb and themitment to act on it."

    Now, everyone wanted to find out: What happened next?

    "So, were they able to escape?" Asked someone.

    "It should be possible. The barrier is already down. They should be able to escape through a vehicle."

    "The rescue must have arrived... it would truly be a pity if we lost these talents here."

    "Yeah, I think I saw a glimpse of Asphor in the clip."

    They began to specte on their own. No one mentioned anything about them staying back to protect the people further. There are limits to what an individual can do. The monster hoard was too huge.

    Those who had already seen the video had a ''can''t-me-these-ignorant-souls'' look on their face.

    !!!!!

    By now, the army had taken positions, so they fired their shots. But¡­

    "What the¡ª"

    "This¡­"

    "The Kraken''s enhancement is as crazy as always."

    "Those dragons are better than our fighter aircrafts right now."

    It was only now that the actual threat of the creatures settled into the minds of the members. The dragons had shrugged off the concentrated fire of some of their very dangerous artillery and came out rtively unscathed.

    This¡­

    "How the hell¡­ did we escape this catastrophe?" Someone asked.

    No one was dumb here. By that one confrontation, they could tell that the situation was almost hopeless. It was already toote for even further support to arrive. Even Asphor wouldn''t be able to do much.

    It made everyone wonder just what sort of miracle saved them. Did the General actually make a move this time?

    Meanwhile, Kyrin was still gritting her teeth. What the hell? She gives them permission to go out for one day, and another attack happens. Not only that, the ce and timing also coincided perfectly. How bad was this boy''s luck? He''s gotten Aki in trouble on her first day into the Kingdom.

    Furthermore, recalling how casual the guy was acting would have you wonder whether any of this was real. Right now, she was frantically recalling if Aki had any kind of injury when she had returned. Kyrin knows her ward all too well. There is a high chance she might have tried to help the people further.

    ''Well, they didn''t have a speck of blood on them.'' Soon, she rxed as she confirmed that Aki was unharmed and as she saw Axel taking out a Neptunite from his storage space. ''The brat must have had her run away at this point.'' She realized.

    Now it made sense why he looked tired. The little boy must have been too scared after the incident.

    ?!

    While she was still thinking about that, Axel and Akiko had already set off¡­

    ¡­In the direction directly opposite to the exit.

    !!!!

    "Go Chris!"

    The cameraman cheered as Axel flew forward. This guy was a fan, so he focused the lens solely on Axel, following his every movement.

    "Oh? He''s a brave one," said a woman, licking her lips. Despite her young and charming appearance, she was one of the elders. This was her first time watching the clip, and she was impressed.

    Flying head first into a group of rampaging dragons is not something someone would do on a fly.

    "You haven''t seen even half of it, Lady Garmos," said the Lightning Elder, who had already seen the whole clip.

    On the other hand, there was someone who wasn''t as excited to witness the scene.

    "Motherfu¡ª" Kyrin cursed under her breath. Her heart almost came into her throat when she saw Aki being brought into a dangerous situation. ''This brat!''

    Even after reaching the hoard, Axel did not stop at all, still flying full throttle.

    "What the hell are those two doing?!" Some members couldn''t help voicing their concern. Just as it seemed they would be devoured by mes, Axel pulled the Neptunite up just as dragons blew out mes. Then, a few momentster of vertical flying, he jumped!

    Those who had high hopes for Axel''s future potential all were hit with a wave of anxiety while Kyrin looked at Axel in a new light. One thing was clear: The kid had guts. And he was foolish.

    Everyone was expecting to see him pierced by the dragon spikes or get devoured, but Axel somehow managed tond right between the Spikes, avoiding getting pierced by inches.

    !!!!

    There was a wave of exmation on the wonderfulnding. The camera, using the brilliant Antian technology, zoomed in on Axel, who could now be seen running on the dragon''s back while his hands started to move at high speed.

    "What''s in his hands?"

    "Are those¡­ strings?"

    ....

    <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>

    A.N.: Next: "I want Him!" Fighting for Axel

    Next next: Reward

    Next...next: No choice but fight

    Next...next: Savage Action

    .

    .

    .

    .Nex... next: Identity Revealed

    Come read ahead /Snollygoster

    Vote??

 Chapter 194: Fighting for Axel

    Chapter 194: Fighting for Axel

    "What''s in his hands?"

    "Are those¡­ strings?"

    The projection quality of the Antian royal meeting room couldn''t be questioned. In the dimly lit room, the members could see everything in 3-d structures as if the miniature versions of Axel and the dragons were actually present in front of them. They could see Axel''s hands rapidly crisscrossing a bunch of threads. At first, they could still somewhat see what he was doing, but soon, his hand-speed got so fast that they were having difficulty even following his movements.

    "W-What''s with that speed?"

    "What is he trying to do?"

    By now, everyone was on the edge of their seats while watching the clip. It seemed that Axel knew what he was doing. He looked calm andposed, and his movements were quick and precise.

    Soon, Axel reached the neck of the dragon and cast forth the strings, wrapping the dragons head with it. The dragon roared, shaking its head while deviating from its path while Axel seemed to hold on for dear life.

    !!!!

    The people in the meeting room could now somewhat see what Axel was trying to do. It seemed he had decided to go against one of the dragons alone, even when it was crystal clear that he wouldn''t be able to even put a scratch on that dragonhide.

    In these moments, which were most likely going to be hisst, his thoughts seemed to radiate from his stubborn face: ''Even if I die, I''m taking down at least one of them with me!''

    "This kid¡­"

    The watchers felt their blood-boiling. At this point, every single person was impressed. The kind of will and daring you need to have to pull off something like this, no matter how foolish, had to be respected. The situation seemed like there will be a lot of casualties. And taking this step while clearly having the cowardly choice to run away¡­ there was no way they could call him foolish or reckless now. Instead, they could only respect his choice to die a hero''s death.

    At this point, they were simply hoping for this talent to somehow survive this catastrophe. Otherwise, it would truly be a pity.

    But soon though¡­ something peculiar started happening.

    "The dragon''s resistance¡­" someone observed.

    "Yeah¡­ it''s decreasing, right?"

    Yep, no matter how you see, the dragon''s struggles were decreasing, something which should be impossible, given the situation. Within a matter of a few seconds, the dragon''s struggles had disappeared. Axel now pulled the strings to one side, and the dragon miraculously moved to that side. He then pulled the string to the other side, and the dragon actually moved to that side. Then they saw a blue electric charge travel through the strings¡­ and the dragon blew out mes!

    "?????????"

    The members weren''t able to understand what transpired just now.

    "Is he¡­ actually controlling the creature''s movements right now?"

    "It seemed that way!"

    "Preposterous!"

    "How?!"

    How indeed. That was the biggest question. Everyone here knew that these creatures were under Kraken''s control, meaning they won''t be following anyone''s orders right now, especially ones that interrupt them in their task. Then¡­ how the hell is Axel doing this?

    No one seemed to know the answer.

    It seemed that Axel might actually survive while leading the dragon away from the gate. The diminution of even one dragon would significantly reduce the damage.

    But. Axel seemed to have no n of doing that. Instead, his dragon flew dangerously close to the dragon next to it.

    "What¡­ the hell is he trying to do?"

    "Wait¡­ don''t tell me he''s¡ª"

    Before they could even deny the possibility, Axel had already cast the strings.

    "He''s trying to control another dragon!" Some had thought he would lead the dragon away, some had even thought that he might try fighting other creatures using the dragon. But no one had predicted that he would try to control another dragon at the same time.

    While they had yet to figure out how Axel was even controlling the first creature, he had already cast the strings onto the next dragon.

    "No way he can actually do it!"

    "His fingers will snap off!"

    "There will be too many strings to keep track of."

    The strings Axel was already controlling must be difficult to handle. When the dragon turns its head, he has to loosen and tighten the strings appropriately. Also, the strain on his hands must be no joke. In such a case, it is already surprising enough that he''s handling one. But two at the same time? That would be pushing it.

    *ROAR*

    The second dragon struggled, but that was only for a few moments. Its struggles were gone much quicker.

    "....."

    "This is¡­ really incredible." One of the elders acknowledged.

    "What do you think, Rethon?" Someone asked the shooting division chief, After all, his dexterity was one of the highest in the kingdom.

    The Shooting Division chief Rethon nodded his head seriously as he watched the clip with his arms folded. "It''s incredible indeed. He has achieved the peak of dexterity. It took me decades to reach where he is."

    "Holy Atas! He can actually match you in terms of dexterity?!"

    Fervent discussions had ensued among the members when Axel was controlling two dragons at the same time. But they had no idea¡­ in terms of Dexterity, where their boundaries ofprehension ended, were just the starting point for Axel.

    Without wasting time, Axel had cast the third and fourth harnesses, capturing two more creatures.

    "...."

    The shooting division''s chief had his jaw dropped hanging open, all air of expertise gone.

    "Four dragons¡­at the same time."

    "He''s really pushing it."

    "He''s ying with fire,"

    "This guy can even handle polygamy."

    "This has to be it! ¡­ Right?"

    Somehow, the tense atmosphere was receding the more they watched Axel. Instead, a funny feeling of absolute incredulity was rising, as a result of events that would have you question reality.

    "He''s going for another one!"

    "And another!"

    But¡­ even now, the surprises were.. Just beginning.

    "He''s casting multiple harnesses at the same time now!"

    Indeed. During this time, Axel had quickly gotten the hang of the new skill he had unlocked [Puppeteering] [Taming]. His dexterity and mental ability, the two basics requirements of these skills, were already mastered to an extreme level. Thus, when the knowledge settled into his head, his proficiency rate skyrocketed by real-time application.

    So now¡­ instead of losing control of the creatures, slowing down, or messing up so many threads, he was only getting faster. The glistening of the threads around him increased as he began taking control of multiple creatures at once from a distance using the distance-casting technique he learnt from [Puppeteering].

    Very soon, he had the whole brood of dragons under his control.

    "I can''t believe it¡­"

    "The whole dragon army¡­"

    "This clip can''t be real."

    People had now arrived at the final stage: Denial.

    Something so absurd that it must be fake. Right now, even the chances of the clip being fake and the princess jumping up and saying "IT''S-A-PRANK!" seemed much higher than the possibility of this clip being real.

    At this moment, the General, who had been silently sitting behind the princess, cleared his throat, attracting everyone''s attention. "There are no doubts about the validity of this clip. Whatever you see is what happened not long ago."

    The general rarely speaks, unless it''s a serious matter. So when h confirmed the legitimacy of the clip, everyone had toe to terms with the fact, that this impossible thing actually happened.

    "What¡­ What is he doing now?"

    They now saw the whole army of dragons flying into an arc, turning into their direction of the flying creatures.

    "No way¡­"

    The soldiers present on the field cheered as the dragons, which had almost reached the exit, turned away at thest moment, and the members in the meeting room felt the same. So many dragons¡­ and he had gotten them all.

    Axel stood on the back of the gigantic dragon, leading an army of dragons towards the iing monster hoard. His bloody fingers, wrapped up in hundreds of thousands of strings, stopped moving for a while as he formed a single handseal.

    Just as he reached the intersection with the rest of the hoard, the camera zoomed in on his face, only to show it warping into a grin. "[Lightning Affinity: Lightning Stream]"

    *Bzzzzz*

    Blue Lightning ran through the thousands of strings connecting the dragons, and scorching mes painted the sky red, extracting dying screeches from thousands of creatures at once.

    Standing on the back of the dragon while panting slightly, Axel looked over the scene like an apostle executing divine retribution.

    !!!!!

    Goosebumps prickled up on the skins of every member present as they watched the scene unfold in awe.

    "Oh my~" Lady Garmos murmured, crossing her legs.

    The scene was so awe-inspiring that it was scorched into the minds of everyone present.

    Another member let out a breath. "So, this is why¡­" This is why the emergency was canceled all of a sudden.

    "He''s actually turning the tides single-handedly!"

    "At this rate, he might solve the whole problem on his own!"

    "But... the ground hoard¡­"

    ""Oh¡­" When someone mentioned, it was only then did they realized! The ground hoard should have already reached the weak line of defense, which would have a tough time blocking it!

    It was at this moment that the camera followed the bodies of thousands of falling creatures to show the situation on the ground.

    "What?!"

    They saw that the ground creatures were all taking detours, obstructed by pitch ck mes that were spreading rapidly on the ground, courtes of Akiko, who was flying over the ground while casting them.

    "Isn''t that¡­?"

    "Darkness mes¡­"

    Seeing those mes, at once, the attention was focused on one person present in the meeting room: Kyrin Tenebrous.

    But Kyrin was too preupied at the moment to pay attention to them. She was looking at the clip with a somewhat lost/pissed look on her face. No one had the guts to bother her at this moment, so they just watched the clip too.

    "So¡­ this is how¡­"

    This is how the catastrophe was avoided. Just two individuals managed to aplish something that would be out of bounds for even arge military force.

    "The creatures are currently in the kracked state, meaning they won''t run out of fire even if he obliterates the whole army!" Someone observed.

    Whenever the blue markings on the kraken members start glowing, they are said to have entered the "Kracked" state. Of course there are various downsides to this state like loosing lifespan and such, but it still boosts the users abilities by a huge factor while also giving them a huge amount of energy.

    This terrifying buff is one of the reasons why Kraken had managed to contend so long against the Kingdom. That''s why the members have always hated those blue markings.

    But right now¡­

    "To use those damned markings to destroy their own ns¡­ I like this kid!" Said the me Elder, looking at the massacre with a grim satisfaction visible on his face.

    "Indeed. Who would have thought? That unreasonable power is now backfiring on those bastards¡­ literally." said the Lightning elder.

    "But¡­ can HE really keep this up?" Asked the wind Elder. The wind elder was the oldest and most knowledgeable member of the council. He is usually quiet and doesn''t speak much. But whenever he does, his opinions are valued.

    It was only then did the members noticed, Axel indeed seemed to be struggling. Blood was dripping from his fingers, which were still moving at unbelievable, his face was going pale, and he was continuously supplying lightning current to keep the dragon to breathe fire.

    Magic exhaustion, mental exhaustion, or physical exhaustion (Hands). Axel seemed to be approaching his limit in all three.

    "I don''t think he''ll be able to keep this up. He''s only 16." Someone said, but that just made the situation seem even more absurd as everyone realized Axel was only 16.

    Everyone watched while on the edge of their seats Axel wiped out theplete hoard of the sky.

    "He did it! He actually did it!"

    "All on his own, he wiped out all the sky creatures!"

    "But¡­ is he going to be alright? It does seem that he has crossed his limit several times over."

    As everyone looked at Axel now, they couldn''t help worrying about his well-being. Every second, they could only feel their concern increasing as Axel''s hands kept getting worse and his face paler. It seemed like he would fall any time.

    "But... What is he doing now?"

    "As''s trident! This boy is mad!"

    "He''s going after the ground hoard!"

    It seemed that Axel didn''t know the meaning of "giving up", because he had now decided to even go for the ground hoard.

    "How is that possible?"

    Even the Princess, who had already seen the clip, still couldn''te to terms with the situation. "Aqua, analyze Chris Martin''s possibility of continuing the hunt." She asked.

    Aqua was the main AI of Antis. Its use had restricted levels but since this was the Royal princess, she could naturally ess the highest version.

    "Analyzing¡­ analysispleted. The possibility of continuation 0%."

    But contrary to what the AI generated, Axel did not stop at all.

    "How¡­"

    The AI seemed to recognize it as a question. "The target is conserving his magic and only healing the necessary part of his damaged fingers. He has exceeded the maximum limit of pain tolerance and magical control."

    Still continuing even in this situation¡­

    As the members watched Axel burning down the struggling creatures even while he no longer seemed to have any strength level in him, a chill settled in their hearts.

    Merciless on the enemy and himself. This guy¡­ would be a terrible enemy to have.

    Everyone watched with slight horror as Axel methodically flew the dragons over each and every corner and killed all the creatures as if exterminating pests.

    In the end, the beast invasion was finally over, but the dragons were starting to struggle now, and Axel really didn''t seem to be able to handle it anymore.

    "He seems to be in trouble now."

    "Indeed. The dragons are slowly turning hostile towards him."

    It seemed that whatever method Axel was using to control the dragons was now running out as the dragons were now struggling against the bindings.

    "Captain Demanis, I take it you had him rescued at this moment and exterminated the dragons?" One of the high ranking division chiefs asked.

    Demanis, the Captain of the Maverick troop, swallowed his saliva.

    "Actually¡­ I was really about to. But¡­"

    Before he couldplete his sentence, the dragons in the clip suddenly went berserk, all attacking Axel.

    "No!"

    "He''s done for!"

    "This can''t be happening!"

    "Is he¡­ really going to die?"

    Everyone who hadn''t already watched the clip stood up from their seats. It couldn''t be helped at this point. While watching the clip, they had already integrated Axel as one of "their" people. Imagine their disappointment when this guy is killed by something like this after solving a problem that even they would have trouble handling alone.

    It was only then did Axel show his incredible agility and footwork.

    Within a few seconds, the dragons were lying on the ground in a heap as Axel indifferentlynded in front.

    "...."

    What just happened?

    Lady''s Garmos was the first to speak as she parted her lips. "I am recruiting him." she dered, her breathing slightly uneven.

    Thus began the war for Axel.

    ....

    A.N.: Next: Reward

    Next next: ck Ops Training

    Next... next: Axel Vs Kyrin, Serious Fight

    .

    .

    .

    Next: Identity Revealed

    Next: Nephew

    Best time to Sub. /Snollygoster

    VOTE ????

 Chapter 195: Reward

    Chapter 195: Reward

    ''What just happened?''

    Everything had happened so fast that they didn''t even have the time to see exactly how the dragons ended up in a heap. When the dragons first attacked him, Axel had somehow managed to slip away in just a nick of time.

    The threads shed as he appeared on the body of another dragon, and then he skipped over to the next. After that, he had just be a blurr, shing from one dragon to another while the Dragons began fighting among themselves. It was only when he stopped loosening the strings and bound the rest to thest dragon did the members realize that the dragons had all be a tangled mess, unable to even fly in the sky.

    The dragons collectively fell to the ground in a heap, while Axelnded lightly and casually walked away without needing to look back.

    "He¡­ managed to take them all down."

    "While he was in that state¡­"

    The dragons which could survive concentrated power of the whole emergency force. The dragons which would have definitely breached the defenses to deal a amount of considerable damage to the city. The dragons which had extremely tough and resistant hide which could defend against both physical and magical attacks¡­

    Those dragons, were taken down in a matter of minutes by a 16 year old guy, while he was in a state of physical and magical exhaustion. Said 16 year old had already destroyed the rest of the hoard using those dragons.

    "¡­I am recruiting him." The scene was just so cool that Lady Garmos had instantly dered her intentions.

    Lady Garmos had no idea that Axel was taken. Being a recluse, she was even seeing him for the first time. If she wants someone, there aren''t a lot of people who can say no. So, when she saw him do all those panty-dropping things, she naturally dered her intentions of recruiting him, ready topete with other contenders who wanted him.

    "Whaleshit!" Eximed me elder.

    Lady Garmos snapped out of her daze as she felt the whole meeting room ring at her like she had tried to kill their puppies.

    "What? He has aptitude for our Septis''s magic. Naturally, he should train under me."

    "In your illusions!" Said the Lightning elder. "You think he would go to the charm Septis when he has such high lightning talent?"

    "I think, he would make a goodmander."

    ?!

    That line was said by the General of the Antian army, the highest authority equal or below the princess.

    ''Him too?''

    The atmosphere suddenly tensed.

    "General, he is only 16."

    "He hasn''t received formal training."

    "He is an outsider. How can he be trusted?"

    The general participating in the discussion would only make this moreplicated and increase thepetition. Thus, the elders first united to kick the wind elder out of the discussion.

    "He managed to do what even the best trained elites couldn''t do EVEN when he''s 16 and hasn''t received formal training. He was able to urately assess the situation ande up with the best solution. As for him being an outsider, I didn''t see anyone else putting as much effort as him into saving people when he could have easily left it for other forces to handle the situation."

    That stumped the elders. The General''s reasoning was sound and their arguments werepletely invalidated.

    Suddenly, the situation had be tense, with none of the members willing to relent. This was a time of war. A time of opportunities. Taking advantage of the turbulence, the various Septises and factions have the chance to increase their forces indefinitely in order to deal with the external threat. In this time, those who gain the most will wield the real power over Antis.

    In such a time, Axel was definitely a strategic resource that they were not willing to give up on. That''s why the situation had turned out like this, where all the powerhouses were fighting over one person.

    The princess cleared her throat at him moment, putting a stop to the statement. "I think we are getting sidetracked here. The reason I''ve shown this clip is because this is another attack from the Kraken, one that was almost as sessful as thest bombing, despite our best safety efforts. We had to rely on a young boy to solve it.

    What we need to do right now is to carefully analyze the attack, understand where we are going wrong, and understand why a 16 year old managed to do what so many of our men couldn''t."

    This instantly sobered up the members.

    "Besides, the boy everything is trying to recruit is already taken. It has been confirmed that he already signed the contract."

    !!!

    "What?!"

    "How is that possible?!"

    "Princess, how can you believe everything Tenebrous says? What about the probationary and judging period?"

    "Yeah! Even if there is indeed a contract, then she''s clearly taking advantage of him!"

    "Indeed. Knowing he was new here, she managed to snatch him with poor terms just because he didn''t know any better."

    In Antis, usually, when a trainee is recruited, they first need to work on a probationary period, so that both parties can judge thepatibility. The contract is only formed after the period ends, and terms offered are based on the quality of work the recruit did in this period.

    If Kyrin indeed had already had the contract signed, she must have offered very low terms to such a talent.

    The princess sighed as she projected a contract on the projection. "Well, here is the contract that Kyrin''s Deputy sent me minutes after the start of the meeting. If anyone thinks it''s unfair and provide better terms, they can step up."

    ...!!!!

    The terms caused amotion in the meeting room.

    "4¡­ star? Directly?"

    "Direct promotion upon meritorious actions?"

    "Flexible working hours?"

    "Full permission to act independently?"

    "Look at the sry! She''s just abusing her huge inheritance at this point!"

    It is unprecedented for anyone, let alone an outsider to be directly recruited as a four star officer. Between each star, there are a number of posts, meaning one has to gain multiple promotions to increase their star ranking. At most, a new recruit will be offered two stars from the beginning. But after that, you have to rise on your own.

    Before each promotion, there is a huge time interval. Direct promotion upon meritorious service means that time period can be skipped.

    Full permission to act independently, meaning Axel could even go as far as killing someone in the name of ck ops, and Kyrin will be responsible for his actions.

    Atst, the sry was definitely higher than even 5 star authority figures. Kyrin was extremely wealthy, but to splurge so much on a new recruit is unheard of.

    "Tenebrous? What is the meaning of this?"

    "Are you mad?"

    "To offer such outrageous terms to an outsider¡­"

    After reading the outrageous terms, everyone turned their incredulous expressions towards Kyrin, the person who had offered them. But, Kyrin didn''t seem to hear them at all.

    ''What¡­ is going on?'' Currently, her mind was filled with other thoughts. She had yet to recover from the clip she had watched.

    That brat¡­. he hade back yesterday, looking like he had thoroughly enjoyed touring Antis and casually went to bed.

    As if, he had not at all been attacked by XXXXX level creatures underwater. As if he had not just saved hundreds of tourists from the bomb st at the exit. As if he had not just controlled numerous dragons and annihted an entire army of monsters. As if he had not just saved the city alone.

    As if¡­ this was just a daily urrence to him. The bastard didn''t even bother reporting to her. Neither did Aki.

    ''Tired already? We need to work on your stamina.'' Recalling her earlier words, she felt so frustrated. After what the boy had done, OF COURSE he was tired!

    "Are you listening?!"

    ??

    Kyrin turned her attention back to the situation around her. These people are questioning her on why she offered such generous terms.

    Well.

    They weren''t meant to be. In the beginning, she was just nning to ckmail the boy into agreeing with mediocre terms. But she couldn''t resist Aki''s puppy dog eyes, so she ended up offering much more generous terms. But, even after that, the brat actually came and reverse ckmailed her in her own base into further adding some additional causes, resulting in this contract.

    Of course, she wasn''t about to reveal that to these people. Kyrin crossed her legs as she arrogantly swept her gaze around the room.

    "I gave him those terms, because I have something that is called Foresight. Now looking at the clip, can any of you seriously say that he doesn''t deserve those terms?"

    "¡­." No one could object to that.

    "I don''t me Kyrin. That boy can''t be judged based on ordinary standards," said Lady Garmos, surprisingly in favor of Kyrin. "Right, Kyrin?"

    Kyrin was suspicious of the sudden change in the chameleon''s colors, but she still nodded nheless. Disagreeing would mean epting that she had been the one who had been duped in this deal.

    "That''s why, I would like to offer even better terms to him. I am also willing to pay the full severance fees of the contract." Said Lady Garmos.

    !!!

    Lady Garmos simply smiled, ignoring the appalled expression of everyone. "I hope you won''t mind. After all, we both want the best for the boy," she said, flicking her luscious pink hair back.

    Kyrin''s eye twitched at the tant poaching of her employee, whose worth had suddenly skyrocketed. She was, of course, furious because no matter how annoying, Axel was already hers. And she didn''t like it when someone covets what''s hers.

    But, Kyrin calmed her anger, taking a moment to think. She had some idea on what Lady Garmos was going to try. The terms were already as good as they get. If she can offer something, it would be the benefits that only Charm Septis can provide: honey trap. She would most likely try to seduce the boy over to her side by using some of the girls from her Septis. No matter how much it annoyed her, if the boy actually got seduced and left, Akiko would at least recognize him for the pig he is and stop obsessing over him while she would be paid handsomely for it.

    No matter what, the deal definitely had some merit, if it can get him away from Akiko. Thus, Kyrin just shrugged. "You guys can make the offer to him. If he agrees, I have no objection."

    That concluded the matter, as Lady Garmos smiled like she had already won ownership of Axel.

    "Now, can we finally get to the point? Why did we have to be saved a 16 year old in the first ce?" Asked the Princess.

    The question made everyone ashamed. It was hard to ept, but it was a fact that they would have suffered major losses, if not for Axel.

    "Most of our forces are also busy with the Trench. The standby forces just weren''t enough to deal with the threat." One of the Division heads spoke up, trying toe up with an excuse.

    "So, what you''re saying is that the emergency forces couldn''t do together what a 16 year old did alone?" Asked the princess.

    This time, no one could argue.

    In the end, the general was the one to break up the silence. "It is not our forces that are weak. That''s why the Kraken wasted so much power and their hidden card in order to catch us off-guard. The abnormalities are those two individuals who managed to stop it on their own."

    That was the point. Their forces have been trained andposed using the centuries old well established system. They are, by no means, weak. Even the Kraken knows that, that''s why they hadn''t expected their attack to be stopped like this.

    "Controlling the dragons¡­ how did he even manage to do it?" Asked me elder. "What do you think, Wind Elder?"

    Wind Elder stroked his beard. "Of course, the key factor was his ability to handle so many strings at once," he said, drawing several nods. "I never thought such a level of dexterity was even possible."

    Everyone had to ept, Axel had monstrous dexterity. The way his fingers moved, handling all those threads was simply godly.

    "But¡­ that doesn''t fully exin why the dragons didn''t struggle to turn around. After all, they were under Kraken''s control. Lady Garmos, do you have any conclusions?"

    Lady Garmos, being from the Charm Septis, had several techniques to control targets that were simr. But,dy Garmos simply shook her head. "He did not use anytype of skills rted to our Septis. I think¡­ what he did line more with the methods of ''that'' Septis."

    A hush fell over in the meeting room when ''that'' n was mentioned. The princess''s lips pressed into a hard line. The Septis in question was the Mind Septis. It is a taboo subject in Altantis.

    "Has anyone investigated the kid''s background?"

    Kyrin shrugged. "I know him from the outside world. He''s alright. Kept a terribly low profile though."

    The princess nodded. "I also vouch for him. He doesn''t have bad intentions towards the Kingdom. Anyways, the fact remains: He has done a huge meritorious deed. By the time the other forces would have arrived, the creatures would have already spread throughout the city. By that time, even Relic wielders wouldn''t have been much help. He must be rewarded handsomely."

    No one had any objection to that.

    "Also, let''s not forget the contributions of the Shinobi girl that was apanying that Martin boy. I am really impressed by her Lightning affinity," said the Lightning Elder.

    "Not to mention she used Darkness mes. What is your connection with her?" Asked the me elder.

    Once again, covetous gazes were cast in Kyrin''s direction. But this time, the atmosphere of the room darkened several degrees. "She is Akiko Matsushima. Daughter of Akihiro Yamazaki and Haruko Matsushima." Kyrin just said one sentence.

    Those who had intentions of poaching Akiko suddenly felt a chill down their spines. Akihiro and Haruko¡­ these were Kyrin''s two subordinates whose deaths she had avenged by killing three of Kraken''s member''s top members. If Akiko was their daughter, then god help whoever tries to covet that girl.

    The princess cleared her throat. "Well, now that you mention it, I do see the resemnce. It seems she has also inherited her parents'' bravery. She will also be rewarded."

    After that, the meeting went on as the members endlessly discussed countermeasures for preventing further attacks and misceneous points. Which, Kyrin simply slept through. All she could think was: ''I wanna punch that brat for some reason.''

    /.

    The next morning, Axel woke up after a pleasant sleep on the watery mattress that he is quickly starting to identify as the best thing in his kingdom.

    He looked at his hands, which were still feeling a bit sore. The injuries from the previous day were almost all gone, leaving a simr feeling as having done too much dexterity training.

    *Crack-crack-crack*

    As he clenched his hands in a fist, his fingers produced crisp cracking sounds, after which they started to function normally.

    Axel got up. Today is the day Kurai sensei would finally teach them what the task force really did. But first, he had to check out yesterday''s harvest.

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones.

    Next: Training

    Next next: Axel vs Kyrin, around 50% power revealed

    .

    .

    .

    Latest: Axel Hunt: The Crown Prince of Antis

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 196: Training

    Chapter 196: Training

    The harvest this time was quite good. Since the situation wasn''t life threatening but just extremely high-difficulty, it stimted him into pushing himself and trying out something new.

    Though it was really a pain, but it paid off in the end, as now he has gotten new skills thanks to that.

    First of all, [Puppeteering]. He had gotten this when he tried to make the make-shift harness to bind and control the dragon. Of course, he had only made a basic one in the beginning using his existing knowledge of knots. Though it was by no means enough to control the dragon, it was still at least enough to unlock the puppeteering skill on ount of his high dexterity and existence knowledge from [Trap Setting].

    Upon reaching significant mastery in this skill, he can control not only puppets, but also living beings by transmitting magic through special magic-conducting strings once they are bound.

    The power the manipte strings, and by extension, things connected to those strings? That can be extremely overpowered. It just has a few downsides, like the strings needing to be made beforehand usingplicated time-consuming processes, and, of course, they are still just strings. They can be cut down.

    ''Let''s try it out.''

    Axel took out some left over string fromst night.

    [Puppeteering]

    At once, the strings rose up, as if having life of their own and started moving around. Axel tossed his knife into the air and moved the strings to stick the knife.

    But¡­ that was all he could do for now. The strings couldn''t hold onto the weight of the knife, and thus, the knife slowly sank to the ground.

    Axel frowned. That should not have happened. But, he instantly realized the problem. ''The strings¡­''

    These were Akiko''s strings, which, though were excellent conductors of electricity, but the same couldn''t be said for their magical conductivity.

    Axel couldn''t properly control them since his magic wasn''t being properly transmitted through them. He will need special strings made from the methods given in the skill information to get some results. The more mana conduction, the more difficulty he will face at making those strings.

    Axel moved on to the next skill, [Taming].

    When he tried making the dragons listen to hismand, it didn''t exactly work, but it did indeed make them enter a mindless state, in which even the Kraken couldn''t control them.

    That was all he had needed too since he was then able to control their movement through the strings. Doing even that much was an extremely difficult task, and it was, fortunately, enough to help him unlock the skill [Taming].

    ''Ah, this is the stuff,'' said sighed in satisfaction.

    This skill gives him all sorts of knowledge and techniques to make living beings submit to his will. The methods can range from simple psychological stuff to slow mind corruption to instant control. For Axel, who has been using the primitive and crude means like contracts to do exactly that, this is like heaven sent. Of course, for now he only had the basic stuff unlocked, so he''ll have to train it to get to the real stuff, but still, this skill is going to be useful.

    Andstly, the special skill [Mana Strings].

    !!!

    As soon as Axel checked the skill information, all the sleepiness was gone as he sobered up.

    Since this is a special skill given by the system, its tier is much higher than the previous two skills he unlocked. Axel has noticed that, though the system doesn''t show it, but there is a clear tier difference in most of the skills.

    Most of the skills he unlocks are simple in the beginning, providing little to no benefits, but they do start to be more and more powerful as he trains them.

    On the other hand, there are some skills, that are clearly on a different level, right from the very beginning. Like most of the special skills given by the system. These skills are useful and powerful right from the start, and only get better as the proficiency increases. Axel has found that while it is really difficult to increase the proficiency of these skills, they need a lot of difficult training and resources, but the benefits they give are well worth it.

    And [Mana Strings], Axel felt, was a skill that clearly belonged to this category. He can tell just by the quality of magical knowledge that is crammed in his right in the beginning stage of this skill.

    The requirements of this skill are crazy, needing a lot of dexterity and magic control. Axel felt that he would have had a lot of difficulty using it if he had gotten it before training [Zen Focus].

    But, as difficult as it is, its uses far outweigh the difficulties.

    ''Here we go.''

    [Zen Focus]

    [Mana Strings]

    A string of blue coloured magic emerged from Axel''s finger. This was a durable mana string. Its uses? Well, for one, it is extremely durable. He can bind anything using these and won''t have to worry about them breaking as long as the magicsts or as long as he can continue supplying magic. Other than that...

    [True Invisibility]

    [Lightning Affinity]

    The string turned invisible and crackling sounds of electricity could be heard. Yep, he can cast any magic through them. But, most importantly.

    [Puppeteering]

    This time, when Axel tossed the knife into the air, he easily caught it using the string and was able to easily wield it.

    This was what he found the best. [Mana Strings] itself is not a skill that focus much on the movement of the strings. But, this synergizes perfectly with [Puppeteering]. also oveing the string rted shortings of puppeteering.

    Right now, the skill proficiency was low, the string dispersed after a while. But Axel was not discouraged. In his mind he could already see the myriad of possibilities unlocking.

    ''Hm?''

    While Axel found that while he was still geeking over his skills, it was almost reporting time for today''s training. So, after taking a bath, he went out. One thing to be noticed about Kyrin''s bases is that both of them weren''t too big from inside, and furnished with a high-end interior.

    He found everyone in the dining room, having breakfast. Kyrin had dark circles underher eyes as shenguidly sipped a cup of steaming hot beverage. Akiko seemed to be getting home treatment, having Japanese food with chopsticks and all while Estris was daintily eating her breakfast with a mini trident(Fork). The old gentleman who seemed to be the bulter was serving the food.

    Upon seeing him, the sleepiness seemed to vanish from Kyrin''s eyes as she red daggers at him.

    "Morning. You okay boss?"

    Kyrin raised her eyebrows in incredulity.

    Morning sted, lying mastered, and the sheer audacity of this bastard.

    Her nostrils red. "Am I still your boss? You didn''t even bother mentioning what you did yesterday."

    "What happened? We toured, had fun, and ended it early when a minor distraction urred. I didn''t know I had to report that," said Axel, sitting beside Akiko and picking up bowl and chopsticks.

    Bang!

    Kyrin mmed her mug, spilling more than half of it. "Minor distraction? You call that a minor distraction?"

    "Uh¡­ yeah? Don''t worry. I handled it quickly. I did ask the dude who seemed in charge, and he said I was good to go. I don''t think it was a big deal," replied Axel, as Akiko served him breakfast using her chopsticks.

    To be honest,pared to other times when he has either gotten seriously injured, or overdrew his limits, this time, when he didn''t even have to use all of his cards, let alone limit break, anding out of it only with minor injuries, it seems like a walk in a park.

    "Oh, so it wasn''t a big deal, huh?"

    Kyrin''s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well, due to handling this ''minor distraction'' of yours, you''ve suddenly be the center of attention throughout the Kingdom. Last night the higher ups had a meeting in which they talked about you half the time! You tell me if that is not a big deal!"

    Kyrin seemed to want to tear her hair out. "And you also didn''t think to tell me?!" She asked, turning to Akiko.

    ?? Akiko, who was happily eating her breakfast, suddenly blinked her eyes at Kyrin as she stopped chewing. She then just turned her head to the side and continued chewing. Her message was clear: Leave me out of this.

    Looking at her cuteness, Karin didn''t know how to be angry at her. Thus, she turned her anger back on Axel.

    "Fortunately, you got away with it this time." She shook her head. "I am your superior. Would it have killed you to give me a heads up so that I at least know what to expect?"

    Axel rolled his eyes. "No, but it wouldn''t have ended with just that, would it? You''d have had a hundred more questions. Besides, if I have to report every time I get into trouble, trust me, there would be too many reports."

    "Hm." Akiko also gave her assent while eating. That was indeed true, looking at Axel''s past record.

    "So, you''re on HIS side now." Darkness began oozing out of Kyrin. But before she exploded, Estris decided it was time to intervene before a world war started.

    "I think, what the boss is trying to say is that this is not a small matter, Axel." she said, trying to mediate the situation. Estris projected a screen in the air that showed the video of what happenedst night. She scrolled down to show the statistics and reactions of the public.

    Then she showed the top social and media tforms, and all of them had the same video on the top of the Rising Tides lists.

    "Your previous trial was still a small matter. But that is no longer the case now. You''ve suddenly be the center of attention throughout the kingdom. And attention can often be a double edged sword. Your actions were too arbitrary this time, you were not following any protocols, and you left without properly reporting your merits."

    In this Kingdom, attention can be a double edged sword. Fortunately, this time Axel somehow didn''t ruffle many feathers with his actions so the situation is easy to handle. But in case certain people had decided they didn''t want him rising, things would have been different.

    Axel knew exactly what Estris was talking about, and he knew that even Kyrin was annoyed half out the bad things that could have happened. In the end, he sighed. "Alright, alright, I''ll stop pretending to be dumb in front of you two, okay?"

    "To be honest, I did know something like this would happen. I do know what I did was a big deal. And I did in fact do it with ulterior motives while calcting the effects and not out of the kindness of my heart."

    Kyrin''s and Estris''s mouths were left open upon hearing that.

    "So, let''s analyze my actions for a moment. Option 1: I could have run away, but you know that would have gotten me nothing, and I would have been mocked if the word got spread.

    Option 2: I could have followed the protocol and tried helping out in limited capacity while trying to get permission to act. There would have been a huge number of casualties, and since someone needs to take responsibility, I could have been among scapegoats.

    These two options are shit. So of course I had to go with option 3: Doing everything on my own to save the day.

    Once I began exterminating creatures, I still had options. I could have let some escape into the city, gotten ''injured'', or I could have just quit after it seemed that things were under control. But. I chose to do everything by myself.

    Why? I have already broken protocol and gone this far. Might as well take all the credit so that no one canter belittle my achievements.

    So now, I have saved the day. What do I do? Go report my actions? It would annoy a lot of people if I cockily say I did everything on my own being a 16 year old outsider while your people didn''t do shit.. So, I just pretended I didn''t care about the credit, while stealing the bracelet of the guy who had been recording everything on my way back. Aftering out, I uploaded the clip and dumped the bracelet. That''s about it.

    Now¡­." Axel titled his head. "Is there anything I could have done better? If yes, I will report my actions to you in future."

    Axel had to let them know that he was not dumb, lest these two would keep trying to restrict his movements. Plus, these two were so stuck up to mind if he wasn''t morally upright. As long as they''re on the same side, it''s all good.

    "...." Kyrin and Estris looked at Axel as if looking at him for the first time, What a lying, maniptive, sleazy bastard!

    Kyrin blinked. Then she turned to Akiko. "Aki, are you looking at this guy?"

    Akiko nodded, smiling. "Isn''t he awesome?"

    Kyrin deeply regretted letting this girl go to Hogwarts. She has been corrupted.

    On the other hand, Estris''s eyes were shining. "You will go far," she said, giving him a nod.

    Kyrin didn''t want to admit that there was nothing Axel could have done better, so she got up. "Alright, it''s time. Everyone to the training room."

    The training room turned out to be the most spacious of all ces in the base. And Axel could tell there were a lot of features simr to the Royal Academy training room with various equipment, weapons, and machinery.

    "So, what are we going to be doing?" Asked Axel as the four of them stood in the open space in the center.

    Kyrin now had a serious expression on her face, much more professional than when Axel saw her teach as a Sensei in Hogwarts. "What''s the ck ops division''s job? In fact, the answer also rtes to what the rest of the relic wielders and a lot of other forces have been doing all this time."

    Kyrin began stretching. "I will answer. But first you have to prove your worthiness. This division has no ce for weaklings. Furthermore, we''ll be going through life and death situations. So it is important that we gauge each other''s abilities.," she said, cracking her knuckles while looking at Axel. "Now, I''ve tested Akiko several times in the past. So it''s your turn now."

    Axel clicked his tongue. He knew it wasing. But he still wanted to avoid it if possible. "Did you not watch the trial and yesterday''s video?"

    Kyrin rolled her eyes. "That trial was for two-star level soldiers. Tell me how many stars I offered you again? You have to show more than that to pass here. As for yesterday''s video? I didn''t see anything that can be used in directbat."

    Axel couldn''t deny that. Maybe he shouldn''t have held back so much after all. He sighed. "Alright, but must we do this? There are other ways to find out, right?"

    "Nope." Kyrin shook her head, grinning. "From my abundant experience and high authority, I can confidently conclude that this is the best method."

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones

    Next: Axel vs Kyrin Serious Fight

    Latest: The Crown Prince Grew up in an Orphanage

    Come read ahead: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 197: Axel vs Kyrin, serious fight

    Chapter 197: Axel vs Kyrin, serious fight

    ''Bullshit!'' Axel knew Kyrin was full of crap. Just from the way she''s looking at him, Axel can tell all she wants is to give him a good beating.

    What can he say? He has that effect on some people. Too many people. But Axel can''t agree to fight. Though she might not look it, this woman is one the most powerful people in this kingdom. Reaching seven star authority despite that horrible personality, it only means that she''s just that strong.

    In the past, she managed to kill three members of simr level to Theron and Nerio at one time. And Axel had a feeling that unlike him, she didn''t use trickery. It was understandable why Axel didn''t want to fight such a madwoman.

    Kyrin smirked. "Alright, don''t be scared. I promise I will properly hold back."

    Axel''s lips twitched. ''What a familiar line.'' It''s what he says when going against small fry.

    "I will even hit ''gently'' and not seriously injure you."

    Did he even have a choice?

    "Well, you said it." Axel didn''t reject those conditions. "But when will it end?"

    Kyrin shrugged. "When I''m satisfied. Can we start already?"

    "You''re still not specific enough, Sensei. You need to give me a baseline which, if done, will end the test. Otherwise you might just keep hitting me," Axel patiently exined.

    "Oh? Then.... justnd 3 hits on me." She said, giving him a seemingly easy and yet impossible task.

    "¡­Alright."

    ''Better than nothing,'' thought Axel. Kyrin seemed to be the kind to y to win, and in case of defeat, to continue ying until she wins. So, in case she doesn''t get the satisfaction to properly beat the shit out of him, there''s a chance she might just keep attacking him until she is satisfied.

    Knowing that more concessions won''t get him anywhere, Axel stepped into the fighting space.

    Estris stood between the two. "So, this is a friendly spar to get familiar with each other''sbat abilities. Boss will only be using at most half of her abilities. Serious injury will immediately result in cancetion of the spar. The spar will end when either Boss is satisfied or when Axelnds 3 hits."

    "Participants. Get ready."

    Axel took a defensive stance. He was wearing the training suit that he found among the supplies in his room. They werefortable, durable and easy to move around.

    Kyrin, on the other hand, stood in a rxed posture. She was wearing a dark night gown that appeared stark in contrast to her pale white skin. It reached only her thighs and also left a whole lot of shoulders and cleavage exposed. She wasn''t even wearing shoes, and her feet were only covered in stocking. In Axel''s opinion, it was extremely impractical forbat.

    "This is going to be fun." Standing across him, Kyrin gave him a sinister look.

    "Start."

    Kyrin didn''t move. But, she didn''t need to. Dark tentacles appeared out of thin air, attacking Axel. These were razor sharp, and made out of destructive darkness. One touch was enough to injure.

    [Arcane Eyes]

    [lumency: Maximum Concentration]

    [Evasion]

    The tentacles seemed to pass right through Axel, but he somehow managed to evade them. But it also has to be noted that Kyrin wasn''t serious yet, as she was thinking this is going to be one-sided beating.

    Kyrin raised her eyebrows. "So, it wasn''t a fluke. You really do have monstrous reflexes," she muttered, suddenly increasing the intensity.

    Knowing that with her perverted tentacles, she would be in advantage in long range, Axel decided to close the distance.

    [Arcane Footwork]

    Kyrin''s attention went to Axel''s feet as she once again saw those strange illusive movements. In the next second, Axel was already in front of her, trying to punch her face.

    SMACK

    A loud sound rang out as the attacks from both sides stop for a moment. Kyrin had caught Axel''s punch cleanly, with no recoil whatsoever.

    ??

    Axel''s brows furrowed. It felt like he had just punched a wall. ''Just what kind of physical strength...?''

    Kyrin gave him a tight smile. "You think I reached the top just like that? I have gone through 5 body enhancements. " She said as she twisted his arm.

    As her shoulders creaked in protest, Axel realized that Kyrin did have great physical strength. But...

    "Too bad, you just had to grab my hand."

    *CRACK*

    In terms of pure grips strength of fingers, her numerous body enhancements don''t mean shit.

    At once, Kyrin''s fingers were all bent at weird angles, making her yelp. Axel''s punch was just about to reach her before he was flung away with a burst of pure darkness.

    "What the fuck?!" Muttered Axel, staggering to the ground.

    Estris quickly came to his side. "Are you alrig¡ªWait, how are you fine?" Estris was puzzled. Boss had really made a powerful attack all of a sudden. When she had seen the burst of pure darkness, she had thought that Axel would have to be taken to the Royal infirmary, since the attack was so sudden. But looking at Axel, even though his training gear seems to be damaged, the rest appears just fine.

    "I almost got hit," Axel muttered. He was no longer bare-handed, having had to make a lightning-fast draw in order to save his life. If not for the hastily cast shield, Axel would have already received some serious damage right now. He red at Kyrin. "You said you''d hold back!"

    He really wasn''t expecting it. Even though he had managed to avoid getting injuries, his training suit had gotten singed, and was now melting away.

    Kyrin was letting out a string of curses of her own as she shook her painfully throbbing hand.

    "Hold back?! but how the FUCK do you expect me hold back when you absolutely crush my hand all of sudden, you little shit?!"

    Hands have the most sensory nerves among all body parts, and It has been a while since she has gotten even a simple injury, let alone getting her hand absolutely mangled. So of course she ended upshing out on instinct.

    Kyrin looked down at her hand. The flesh and bones had beenpletely mangled, looking simr to a meat patty being crushed by a sledge-hammer.

    She clenched her jaw. What the hell is up with that insane grip strength?

    Body Enhancement is an extremely painful process through which Antean soldiers undergo a series ofplicated treatments in order to increase their physical stats. Usually, one is enough to make a soldier have superhuman physical abilities. And that is their limit.

    Kyrin has gone through five. Her physical body can survive relic attacks.

    That''s why, she had already gotten used to not feeling pain now.

    Then, ines this 13 year old brat and absolutely demolishes her hand like it was tofu. She couldn''t understand how. One moment, she had his fist locked in her grip, twisting his arm, and the next moment, an unstoppable power suddenly burst out from his hand, and her hand got crushed instead.

    Axel scratched his head, looking at Kyrin''s hand. "Uh¡­ sorry, Sensei. I thought it would be more¡­powerful." Since it''s just a spar, Axel really didn''t want to hurt her this badly. But he didn''t expect that even after so many enhancements, her grip strength would be so weakpared to his.

    "Oh¡­ so I''m just too weak, huh?" Kyrin finally turned to look at him. And gave him the widest smile he had ever seen. Her gown fluttered, and her hair rose up in the air like tendrils of darkness.

    !!!

    rm bells rang out in Axel''s head.

    "It''s good you aren''t seriously injured, yet." She said, darkness wrapped around her hand, snapping her bones back into ce.

    Her concern might have sounded sincere if not for that ''yet.''

    Axel began to slowly back away. "Uh, Sensei. I think we should st¡ª"

    Before he couldplete his sentence, Hundreds of tentacles attacked him from all angles.

    "Don''t even think about stopping now. You''ve onlynded one hit. And I¡­ am far from satisfied.

    !!!!

    Axel had no choice but use another card to run for his life.

    [Lightning eleration Jutsu]

    Suddenly, Axel became a blur. Shields erected around him, blocking the tentacles, while the rest, he managed to dodge with inhuman speed.

    ???

    Kyrin''s jaw dropped.

    "Is that....?".Kyrin looked at Akiko like looking at a traitor. "You... You''ve taught him your n''s secret forbidden jutsus?!"

    Is something wrong with this girl''s head? Teaching such dangerous and precious knowledge to this imbecile! If Haruko saw this, she''d be rolling in her grave, and if her grandfather found out, he would bury Axel into a grave!

    What was more surprising was the fact that this brat seemed to be using that dangerous and hellishly difficult Jutsu casually andfortably, as if casting basic magic.

    "How did you even manage to learn that?!" She questioned, sting him with attacks.

    "I¡ªhad a really good teacher," he replied in the midst of his rapid movements, making Akiko smile.

    No cap, it was a really difficult jutsu. Though he had learnt it long ago, he was really sloppy at it, leading him to not use it much. He has only gotten proficient after mastering [Zen Focus].

    With the new speed, Axel was able to somehow make it thorough alive, but Kyrin wasn''t going to let him off so easily.

    "You''re good. Really good. Your speed means nothing in front of absolute power." She muttered, raising her hand. Hundreds of thousands of tentacles simultaneously attacked Axel.

    This time, his shields were easily broken through, and the tentacles left nowhere for him to go.

    ''Fuck...''

    Axel sighed. He''d have to get serious.

    SLASH

    Lines formed in the air as all the tentacles in his immediate surroundings were immediately shed in pieces.

    Kyrin paused her attack as she looked at Axel with a triumphant gaze. "So, you finally show yourself," she muttered, looking at Axel who now held a knife glowing with residual magic power. In her eyes, hisbat power right now was soaring like a tsunami.

    From then on, any number of tentacles were instantly cut down by Axel''s de as soon as they came near.

    "This is so unfair! How the fuck did you be so strong at this age?" Kyrin felt that the world wasn''t fair anymore. Having that kind of power at such a young age, shouldn''t there be a limit of being talented.

    "Well, I just¡­ pay attention in ss andplete all my assignments." Replied Axel. He was panting a bit at this point. Darkness has natural debuffing effects. By now, the training clothes hadpletely deteriorated on the ces where they had made contact with the darkness.

    The upper part of his training suit started falling off, so Axel removed itpletely, revealing his torso.

    For at least two seconds, Kyrin and Estris could not take their eyes off Axel. Unexpectedly, Axel was totally jacked under the loose training suit. He was already 5''7, and his whole body was full of ultra-defined sculpted muscles whose ratios seemed to have measures on a scientific calctor. With each movement, the muscles contracted as if filled with explosive power. Furthermore, all kinds of scars were scattered over his body, ranging from scratches and abrasions to shes and stab wounds.

    "You¡­" Kyrin no longer felt it was unfair. The muscles were a clear indicator of just how hard he trained, and the scars spoke in lengths about the hardships he must have been through.

    At this moment, Akiko, who had been watching the spar with interest, walked up to Axel, blocking the other two women''s view. "Wear this." She said, offering him a t-shirt.

    "Oh, thanks." Ufortable by the stares, Axel was just about to take out something to wear but Akiko did it before him.

    Akiko nodded.

    "Win."

    She was also routing for him. Even if Kurai Sensei was stronger, that shouldn''t be a problem for Axel.

    Though, Akiko didn''t know that her action had only increased the aggro on Axel. Kyrin red at Axel. She is the one who got hurt, but Aki is still routing for that guy.

    Also, why did it seem like Aki was used to looking at Axel''s naked upper body? How far have these two gone?

    *Shin*

    Out of nowhere, Kyrin produced a de that radiated darkness as she finally took a stance. "Well, now that you''re serious, shall we begin the real fight?"

    Axel held up the knife which started to glow with magic. "Fine. Let''s end this."

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones

    next: Third Hit

    Next next: Identity Revealed

    Next next next: Nephew

    Come read /Snollygoster

    Vote ??

 Chapter 198: Third Hit

    Chapter 198: Third Hit

    Chapter 191

    Axel and Kyrin faced each other, both serious this time.

    Both were waiting for the right time to act. In his mind, Axel was formting his moves while anticipating Kyrin''s responses. His advantage was, he still had a lot of cards left. But the disadvantage was, so did Kyrin.

    She had the darkness affinity, and she was a relic wielder. A scarybination. What''s scarier is the fact that she has only used mainly one skill [Tendrils of Darkness]. She hasn''t even used her relic yet.

    So, if they ended up in a drawn out battle, he''d be fucked. He has to end this while she''s still not using everything.

    Not wanting to waste much more time, Axel stepped forward, appearing directly in front of Kyrin.

    Kyrin already anticipated that. And Axel knew she knew. That''s why he had considered all of her responses and their counters.

    But Kyrin did somethingpletely out of Axel''s anticipation. She sank into the ground, as if sucked in, Axel''s knife uselessly passing over her head.

    In the next instant, she suddenly emerged from the ground behind him, shing at his ankles.

    ''Wtf?!''

    ''What kind of ability was this?!'' Thought Axel, thrown off bnce literally and figuratively.

    Axel''s whole mass was center forward due to attack and he wasn''t in a condition to move his feet in time.

    [Launching Boom]

    Magic burst out from his feet, propelling him away, just as Kyrin''s sword shed through his afterimage.

    ''It''s shadows?''

    He realized that Kyrin was using his shadow as a medium for travel. This was a truly cheated ability, something she must be doing with the use of her relic. The ability to travel through Darkness¡­ how overpowered is that? Most likely that''s why she is a perfect counter to that space ability guy. Because Kyrin''s can''t be restricted unless you remove all darkness.

    ''He dodged?! How?!'' On the other hand, Kyrin was also surprised that even going as far as using one of her core abilities didn''t already end the fight. She had timed her move perfectly, so that Axel would have no leeway to dodge, but somehow, in thest moment, there was a burst of magic power that propelled him out of her range.

    Kyrin wasn''t given time to think about that, as a hundred weapons came out of Axel''s storage space and attacked her. While she blocked and deflected them with her darkness, Axel once again appeared in front of her.

    Kyrin parried, countering by twisting her sword and shing him in an arc. ''Faster!'' Axel dodged and attacked again.

    Within a few seconds, hundreds of blows were exchanged. Kyrin''s brows furrowed at the technique Axel was using. It was foreign, but there were familiar parts mixed in. It didn''t seem like he was too proficient yet, but somehow, he was able to perfectly counter all her moves.

    ''You''re only this much?'' Axel''s eyes seem to convey.

    ''This little blighter¡­'' Kyrin was getting more and more annoyed, looking at the taunting look in Axel''s eyes, as if knowing that she wouldn''t be able to beat in a match of pure skill.

    She couldn''t understand why Axel was able to counter her so perfectly. Kyrin had decades worth of training and experience, and her sword technique was one of the best. Though Axel was strong, she could see that he clearly wasn''t putting as much skill and finesse into fighting as her. And yet, without relying on her darkness, she is unable tond a single hit on him despite putting everything into every swing.

    "My turn." Suddenly, Axel''s technique changed as he went on the offensive, dramatically increasing the intensity of his attacks. This time, as their weapons shed, Kyrin''s sword got deflected as Axel''s knife continued to be thrust towards her chest. Kyrin obstructed his hand with darkness, but the knife suddenly appeared in his other hand and shed straight through.

    !!!

    Kyrin was caught off guard as she backed away, but Axel just followed, his knife shing from one hand to another. The tides of the battle shifted dramatically as Axel brought his insane dexterity into y, leaving Kyrin usable to even follow which hand his knife was in while he continued to somehow perfectly deal with all of her attacks. It was almost as if he already¡­

    "Thanks for teaching everything to Akiko," said Axel with a smirk.

    !!!

    Kyrin gritted her teeth upon connecting the dots.

    ''Aki! She taught him all of my techniques too!''

    Kyrin taught everything to Akiko. That included her sword arts. Akiko, of course, taught it to Axel. Even though Kyrin is a level above Akiko, but Axel is able to handle it easily since he''s already very familiar with her style while Kyrin has never seen the [Knife Wielding] he got from the system.

    Too bad, Kyrin realized it toote.

    "It''s the end," said Axel, suddenly stomping his foot while Kyrin was stillpletely focused on his upper body.

    *Baam* Second hit!

    "Ouch!"

    Suddenly, Kyrin''s foot, which was still unprotected except for a silky stocking was suddenly stepped on by Axel, catching herpletely t-footed. As Axel had expressed, it was really impractical for fighting.

    ''Where would you run now?'' thought Axel in victory as he delivered the finishing third blow while Kyrin was still dibobted.

    But¡­

    ''What the¡ª?''

    The knife passed right through Kyrin, as if she was intangible!

    Kyrin had a really annoyed look on her face as she nursed her foot. "First my hand, and now my foot. This is really getting embarrassing."

    Kyrin was more ashamed than furious at this point. Though close quartersbat may not be her strongest suit, and she has gotten rusty after not practicing in much in thest decade, it still, it was a thirteen year old she was fighting up against. To actually lose in a contest of pure skills¡­

    "You¡­ you''ve proven yourself with that much. I am impressed." She acknowledged.

    ''Oh¡­? Why don''t I believe that?'' Thought Axel, having an ominous feeling.

    "That''s why," Kyrin continued. "I will stop holding back now, and treat you like a real opponent."

    ''Fuck!'' The hair on the back of Axel''s neck stood up as he began taking distance. But, it was already toote.

    Kyrin spread her arms. "Darkness... Domain," she whispered.

    The space around them began getting constricted as Axel felt himself getting sluggish. The whites from Kyrin''s eyes vanishedpletely as her eyes turned pitch ck. A long dress made out of darkness covered her body as her feet rose up from the ground.

    Axel once again used all of his weapons to attack Kyrin while alsounching different types of spells, but it was all useless. The weapons seemed to pass right through her, and magical attacks were all blocked by her cloak.

    "This ends now," dered Kyrin, raising her hand as she looked down at Axel like the goddess of death. "[Kiss Of Darkness]."

    Endless, formless darkness attacked him from all sides, leaving him from escape.

    !!!

    Darkness engulfed Axel, as if trying to crush him.

    "You fought well," Kyrin muttered, grudging respect seeping into her voice.

    Kyrin quickly dispelled the darkness, so as to not kill Axel. Akiko quickly rushed forward to check his condition. The darkness slowly dispersed, revealing whaty beyond.

    ???

    But it wasn''t what they were expecting.

    "Huh?"

    Axel was nowhere to be found, Leaving just a depression in the ground.

    "Where the hell is he?" Kyrin had definitely controlled her power, so there is no chance the darkness would havepletely vanished him from existence.

    In this instant, Kyrin felt a searing sensation against her throat, which clearly cleaved through darkness surrounding her.

    "Third hit," said Axel, appearing behind her, holding the knife in a reverse grip.

    "NOW, it''s over." He dered.

    ????

    For a moment, Kyrin just stood there, trying to fathom what in the devil''s trench just happened here.

    She¡­ actually lost.

    That much was pretty clear from the blood dripping from her neck. The question was¡ª

    ''How¡­?''

    She had clearly used one her most powerful moves just now. There was no way Axel could have escaped that. And well, even if he did, how the hell did he appear behind while escaping her notice in her domain?

    And, even if he did somehow escape¡­ how the hell did he manage to actually injure her! She was currently in an invincible state. Her dress made out of darkness protects her from all magical attacks, and she''s currently intangible, meaning physical attacks should pass right through her.

    ''Is that¡­?''

    Kyrin noticed something unbelievable at this moment. "Light¡­ element?" She muttered in disbelief. Yep, that was definitely a light element that was burning through her skin right now. And one strong enough to actually cut through her darkness.

    Not to mention the Stealth with which he creeped up on her in own domain. That level of stealth was simply impossible to understand.

    So, this guy, who is incredible at close quartersbat, has the ability to remotely attack using hundreds of weapons, insane dexterity, also had such a powerful light affinity all along, that is a perfect counter to her. Not only that, he also had a stealth that could escape her senses easily.

    But, he just did not use these abilities until the end of the fight. Why?

    because he didn''t think she was worthy enough until thest moment?

    Just because it seems she wasn''t worthy enough to warrant it? That does seem to be the case. He had almost won even without them when he stomped her foot, if she hadn''t used her relic to turn intangible. So, in the end, who was holding back more? Who was going easy on whom?

    She still hadn''t quite figured out just how he was able to protect himself from the [Kiss of Darkness].

    So... how much more was he still holding back?

    Kyrin shivered. Aki... just where did you find this guy?

    ??

    As Axel retracted his de, he felt that the look Kyrin was giving him was much more scarier than when she used to re at him with utter hatred.

    "Congrattions, you pass with flying colors. Now you are a real member of the ck ops," Kyrin smiled. "Don''t even think about leaving."

    Axel felt cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He did win, but...

    ''She''s scary...''

    Thatst attack. He had to bring out of his water affinity and light affinity in order to counter that. He is in Antis, and there is a special buff for water affinity here, and his wand is made of an extremely high light affinity wood, so he was able to protect himself by covering in water and light affinity barrier, otherwise he would have been in trouble.

    This is how dangerous Kyrin Tenebrous is. And now this woman is looking at him with scary eyes.

    ''What... have I gotten myself into?''

    "Now, let''s move on to what main job. What does the ck Ops do?" Ignoring Axel''splicated feelings, Kyrin continued the meeting.

    "You guys might have wondered. What have the been the forces of both sides doing all this while? Where are the relic wielders? Where is the war?"

    "Well, the answers are all linked with Altina trench."

    ''It''s that again.'' Thought Axel.

    Altina Trench, or the Devil''s abyss. From the research he did when reading the minds of general popce, this is known as a taboo ce in Antis.

    "What is this ce?" He asked curiously.

    "It''s the ce where the entity behind the Organisation is sealed. It''s also the ce where the Organisation is currently hiding."

    ???

    So, it was like that. He did always wonder just where the Organisation''s base was. A

    Axel''s brows furrowed. "Both are there? Isn''t it just a trench? Why don''t we blow it up?"

    Kyrin shook her head. "You don''t understand. That is not an ordinary ce. It has existed even before the founding of the Empire. It''s simr to the ce called the Bermuda Triangle. Time and Space work differently there. It might seem like just a trench from outside, but it''s a whole different world inside."

    Axel nodded slowly. "So, that is the ce where the real war is taking ce?"

    "Yeah." Kyrin nodded. "That''s also where most of our relic wielders and fighting forces are stationed. But the main target of both the sides is the Seal itself. The seal is located in the inner most region of the ce, and extremely difficult to reach. Both sides are currently in a race to reach the seal. The Kraken, in order to unlock it, while we are trying to fortify it since it has weakened."

    "So, that''s what we''re going to do? Reach the seal?" Asked Akiko.

    "No. Fuck that." Kyrin grinned. "Our mission is to track and kill as many Kraken higher ups as possible."

    ....

    Meanwhile, the General of Antian Forces, one of the highest authority of Antis was currently given an important task by the princess.

    He had to... get her the background of a certain 16 year old kid that is currently a hot topic in the Kingdom.

    It was a trivial task, one that should not be handled personally by an individual of his capacity, but the princess is entric that way sometimes.

    For some reason, ever since seeing that clip, no, ever since seeing that that boy for the first time, the princess has been acting strange.

    Anyways, the General himself was also curious who this guy was, so he decided he was going to see just handle it personally.

    ....

    A.N.: <strong>Power stones!</strong>

    Next: Identity Reveal

    Next next: Nephew

    Next...next: The Prince Grew Up in an Orphanage

    Next.... next: Situation with Daphne

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 199: Identity Revealed

    Chapter 199: Identity Revealed

    Axel slowly digested the information he had gotten just now. So, to sum things up with the intel he already had, there''s a super powerful entity behind the Kraken whose purpose is destruction. The entity is sealed in the trench and there is currently a war for reaching the ce.

    But, that doesn''t really exin much. He still has so many questions!

    Axel shook his head. "I don''t understand. What is this entity? How did this entity end up sealed here? If this entity is strong enough to control an entire army of monsters on its own then why the hell is it only doing that now? Why did it¡ª"

    "Alright, alright," Kyrin raised his hand tiredly. "Estris, exin everything in detail," she muttered as he went to rest at the side.

    Estris looked at Kyrin with some doubt. "Everything?"

    "Yup, all that origin bullshit," Kyrin agreed, wincing as she healed her injuries. "Fuck you, Axel."

    Estris shook her head, wondering why she was even surprised. The information is top secret and revealing it is against thew, but¡­ seriously? Kyrin following thew? That''s like whales flying.

    Estris, Akiko and Axel also went to sit beside Kyrin as Estrisunched into her exnation.

    "The origin of Antis is actually not Earth at all."

    The starting line of Estris was already a banger. Antis''s origin was not Earth?

    "I know this might be disorienting, but we''re originally from a world which we called the Aether."

    "Aether?" Axel had to pretend to be shocked. But inwardly, his reaction was one of realization. ''Why am I not surprised?''

    The mysterious Aetherworld. It finallyes. He knows a bit about the Netherworld, as it is the ce where Voldemort currently is, but he knows next to nothing about Aetherworld.

    Estris nodded. "Yes. Aether. The truend of magic. I will keep things brief. Aether was a peaceful and prosperous ce, where different races lived in harmony. People pursued the secrets of magic, many obtaining powers beyond our imagination.

    But it was threatened by an Entity that even their magic could not destroy. They realized that as long as there was magic in the world, the entity was unstoppable."

    "At this point, they already knew about the existence of the Netherworld, from where they could summon dark magic, and¡­ the "barren" called Earth, with negligible magic in its surroundings. Among them, Earth just happened to be the perfect ce for their n."

    So they decided to seal the monster on Earth. But¡­ there was a problem. How are they going to power the seal? Since there was little magic on Earth, they couldn''t supply it with power. And with the absence of magic in the surroundings, even the more powerful sorcerers couldn''t really exert their powers."

    "So, they came up with an idea. Why not give our people the ability to draw magic from Aether, even when they are on Earth? Almost nothing is impossible with their deep knowledge of magic. After a lot of tries, they managed to connect several of their people''s souls to the Aether and Nether," exined Estris.

    "And that¡­ is how the very first wizards came into existence," Kyrin revealed .

    "Fuck¡­"

    "Fuck indeed. These people were used as the mediums for powering the seal. They were called the Antians, which in Aethernguage, means the "guardians"."

    "Holy fuck." Axel''s and Akiko''s brains were bursting at this moment.

    So, the very first wizards turned out to be people from the Aether world, modified to be able to use magic on Earth.

    This had so many implications!

    "So¡­ these wizards outside Antis are¡­" Asked Akiko.

    Estris nodded. "Yes, they are mostly the descendants of Antians who deserted Antis."

    As it turns out, the wizarding poption throughout the world has originated from Antis. This solved the mostmon question among the wizards, where did wizardse to have magic?

    "Of course, you would also understand why leaving Antis is forbidden. The seal is no longer effective if you escape the range, and the less people there are, the weaker the seal," Estris exined.

    "So, that moronic motto of Destruction¡­ now it makes sense!" murmured Axel in realization.

    Kraken''s motto has always been quite nonsensical to Axel. If they really want destruction, why the hell are they trying to only destroy Antis? There is a whole fucking world out there above the sea, which happens to be much easier to destroy. Why go for only Antians, who are protected by the failsafe measures of the all-power magical means of Aether itself?

    "Indeed. The seal is connected to the people of Antis. Even their emotions can weaken the seal, let alone their deaths. That''s why the lives of Antians are valued immensely. We try to avoid any and all situations which might result in mass destruction. That''s why even our usual weaponry is not too strong. In case someone under kraken''s influence goes rogue with them."

    "Oh? And pretty well that''s working out for you," muttered Axel sarcastically.

    Due to their weak weaponry, they couldn''t even take out the animal hoard. And avoiding deaths? From what he knows, there was bombing the very day he arrived.

    They''re just letting Kraken walk all over them.

    "Yep," Kyrin didn''t disagree with him at all. "The kingdom is bing more and more pathetic. It''s about time we hit back."

    "So, do you two have any more questions?"

    Axel thought about it. "Yeah. It''s about the Altina Trench. What kind of ce is it? Why is it that both parties can''t reach it?"

    "That¡­ is a ce tooplicated to exin. But the reason why both the parties can''t reach the seal is because that''s the way it was designed by the Aetherians."

    "What? Why?" Axel''s brows furrowed in confusion.

    "The Entity is able to take over people''s minds. That''s why they have made the seal extremely difficult to reach, so that people under the Creature''s control can''t reach it in order to free it."

    Well, that makes sense. Even if, say, they made it so that only those who aren''t under the Entity''s influence can reach the seal. Well, now that you''re so close, it would be that much easier for the Entity to take control over you. So, the people designing the seal decided it would be best if no one approached the seal.

    But the disadvantage is that, now that it has weakened, the Antians can''t even reach it in order to fix it.

    "Well, that will be it for the Q and A," said Kyrin as she stood up. "We''ve already told you almost everything. The rest, you''ll learn by directly going into the Trench. Let''s go."

    ?? "What? Right now? I thought we were first going to go through the ck Ops training?" Asked Axel.

    Kyrin rolled her eyes. "That, I only said for YOU. I''ve already trained Aki. And SHE, had the foresight of teaching everything to you. So, what''s the point of training now?" She said, ring at Akiko with eyes of betrayal.

    "Besides, if a monster like you can still be called unprepared then I don''t know what to teach you," she said, swatting Axel''s back with considerable force.

    Axel was even able to go toe-to-toe with Kyrin, one of most monstrous existences in Antis. Even though Kyrin was still holding back a lot, but so was Axel, and he beat her.

    It is clear who is the bigger freak among the two, considering Axel''s age.

    "Go get ready. We won''t be going deep, since we have toe back soon for your rewarding ceremony."

    "Rewarding ceremony?" Asked Axel in surprise, rubbing his back where Kyrin had pped him.

    Kyrin clicked her tongue. "Don''t pretend to be surprised. I bet you were aiming for this, you sleazy bastard."

    Axel smiled bitterly, already regretting revealing his true thought process about saving the day. In actuality, he had not thought the Royal family would make such a big deal out of it, even enough to have an emergency meeting. But now, after knowing everything, it makes perfect sense.

    He had saved a lot of lives, and that was extremely important, not because those lives mattered, but because he prevented the seal from weakening further while Kraken wasted a lot of energy for nothing. Of course it was a big deal.

    Sighing, he got up and went to change.

    Within a few minutes, Axel, Akiko, Kyrin, Estris, and the old butler boarded the jet to leave for the trench.

    It was Axel''s first time flying in an Antian aircraft, so it was a unique experience. Due to space expansion magic, it was quite spacious from the inside, and the controls seemed a bitplicated.

    "When will be my Reward ceremony?" Asked Axel as he sat strapped to a seat, already unable to wait.

    Kyrin shrugged. "No idea. It could be tomorrow, or it could take a few days. Really depends on the Princess''s mood really."

    "Tomorrow? Will wee back by then?"

    "Of course. Most likely."

    "... Most likely? What does that mean?"

    "It means that the Trench is an unpredictable ce. There are¡­ factors which may dy our return," exined Estris.

    Kyrin rolled her eyes. "Don''t listen to her. Those things rarely happen. We''ll be back in a few hours max."

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, deep in the main castle, the princess sat in her room, looking at the same video for the umpteenth time.

    There were dark circles under her eyes since she had not slept the whole night, but her eyes still sharply looked at the holographic projection of Axel riding the dragon.

    "Just what is it?!"

    The princess was at her wits end now. She didn''t know why, but she just couldn''t stop looking at the video.

    There were strange things, which were leading her to strange conclusions. And some things weren''t adding up.

    "Princess."

    At this moment, the general knocked on her door, making her pause the video.

    "As you asked, I had the Technomancy Department do a background search on the boy."

    "What did you find?" Asked the princess eagerly.

    The General pursed his lips. "We found no match for any boy named Chris Martin."

    The Princess closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh of disappointment. "So, he was lying."

    The princess just wanted to know more about Chris in order to find out why she felt such discrepancies with him. So, upon finding out that he had lied about his identity, she felt disappointed not only because he had broken her trust, but also because she couldn''t find out the answer to the questions she had.

    "Why?"

    Why did he lie? He could have at least told her his real name.

    Looks like she''ll have to ask him herself.

    But¡­ the general wasn''t done with his report yet.

    "Princess, have a look at this," he said, recing the paused projection of Chris Martin riding dragons with another image.

    The princess was a bit perturbed, but when she saw the image, all thoughts vanished as she instantly recognised the person in the projection.

    "Tristan Hunt¡­" She muttered, her voice containing venom. But soon, she frowned. This isn''t right. The person in the image looks much younger than the Tristan she knew. So, a childhood photo? That wasn''t it either. This person''s face was fairly different from Tristan''s, and he had a scar of over one of his eyes and one over his cheek.

    "Who¡­ is this person?" The princess was clearly lost now. The topic was about Chris Martin. Then, why the hell is the General showing her an edited image of Tristan?

    The General yed a video next. In this video, the same person suddenly teleported into the frame. Since it was a 3-d video, the person''splete surroundings were also visible.

    "This is¡­ Anopolis?" The princess recognised the city built above the ocean.

    The General nodded. "Yes, but please watch what happens next carefully."

    Suddenly, the air seemed to ripple with magic as the person knelt down to the ground while wincing. Behind him, the sea churned, huge waves rising which even shook the ind.

    "What?!"

    Then, the person, slowly opened his eyes.

    And at this moment, they were glowing a royal blue.

    !!!

    The Princess''s eyes, whose color matched with the person in the video, widened to the highest degree.

    "No¡­ Way¡­"

    But the video wasn''t finished yet. Shaking his head, the person closed his eyes once again. Within a few seconds, his face began morphing.

    !!!!!!!!!

    Soon, the princess found herself looking at the very familiar face of Chris Martin.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!

    Next: Nephew

    Come Read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 200: Nephew

    Chapter 200: Nephew

    ...

    "... Most likely? What does that mean?" Asked Axel.

    "It means that the Trench is an unpredictable ce. There are¡­ factors which dy our return," exined Estris.

    Kyrin rolled her eyes. "Don''t listen to her. Those things rarely happen. We''ll be back in a few hours max."

    Axel frowned. "What kind of factors?" He asked, ignoring Kyrin.

    "There are many. Just to name a few, first of all, the time flow is different in that ce, the deeper we get, the lesser the time ratiopared to Antian Standard Time. There are Space Turbulences, due to which objects get pulled deeper into the trench, there are times we fall victim to one of the traps set by Kraken, we might also be attacked by high ranking members, there are also obstacles set up by the Kraken, furthermore, there are times when the Entity takes control over people, making them voluntarily go deeper¡­"

    The list seemed to go on and on.

    "..."

    "¡­ Can we wait until I get my rewards, or you could leave me behind?"

    "No way." Kyrin looked at Estris in annoyance, before turning to Axel and Akiko. "Don''t listen to her nonsense. Those things are probable only if we go deep to hunt Kraken high members. Right now, we''re only going into the shallows just to get you some training."

    Akiko looked at Axel with some panic while Axel just nodded slowly, as if epting his fate. "Then, it seems we''re in for a difficult trip." he muttered.

    "What the hell are you talking about?"

    Axel shook his headmentably. "You don''t understand," he said, while Akiko also sighed, beginning to prepare her equipment, getting ready for what was toe.

    In his life of 13 years, Axel has learnt one thing for sure. The world is hell bent on screwing with him. He gets into trouble even actively not looking for it, and even when trying to actively avoid it. So, going to such a ce and not getting into trouble? Well, that''s like jumping into sewage hoping to not get dirty.

    Even Akiko, who has only known Axel for a short period of time, has begun to feel that things do never seem to go normally with Axel. But since it''s Axel, he does manage to pull through every time. She just has to try and be less of a burden this time.

    Kyrin, of course thought that the kids were talking nonsense. "Listen. This is just going to be a boring ss in which we take to safe areas of the Trench and train you in the basics. As much as I want to take you deeper, we can''t since you haven''t gotten your mental blocks yet."

    "Mental Blocks?" Asked Akiko in confusion.

    Kyrin waved her hand off handedly. "Estris, go back to exnation mode."

    Estris''s emotionless look was still able to convey her annoyance to Kyrin. But she still began to exin dutifully.

    "The deeper you travel, the more influence the Entity can have over your mind. Mental blocks are mind barriers to protect one''s mind from the Entity''s influence. Every person going into the deeper parts usually has a few mental blocks as precaution. Otherwise, there is a chance they might sumb to the Entity''s influence."

    "Then, why don''t we have mental blocks yet?" Asked Akiko.

    "Because boss wants to naturally raise your resistance against the Entity first. Also, metal barriers are unnecessary for the shallows. You can just use Psylocks." said Estris, giving sses that could protect their minds.

    Looking at Akiko''s worried face, Kyrin shook her head. "Aki, you, at least don''t have to worry about this."

    "Oh? And I do?" Asked Axel. Even if it was an overpowered entity, Axel at least felt that he could have confidence in protecting his own mind.

    Kyrin shrugged. "You might already know this, but Aki is incredibly gifted in mind arts. She can make do even without the barriers." Kyrin bragged.

    Axel was silent for a moment. "...Mind art?" lumency? That''s it? He was worried for nothing.

    "Oh, I forget that the mind arts are obscure in the outer world. They''re for protecting and strengthening our minds. Very useful skill." Kyrin gloated. "Though, it would take you decades to reach a sufficient level, so you should obediently get the blocks when we''re ready to go deeper."

    Somehow, Kyrin was feeling quite exhrated upon this fact. "You know, all that talent is a waste if you can''t protect your mind."

    Axel''s lips twitched. ''So petty.''

    This is exactly why he doesn''t want to reveal all of his cards to this bitch. She''s unnaturally immature in some aspects.

    Axel shrugged. "Well, as they say, you can''t be good at everything. Imagine if Mind Arts was my strongest forte..." he shook his head. "Oh... how I wish it was true."

    Kyrin red at him. "It''s already too unfair."

    "Of course, of course. I''ll just obediently get those mental blocks as soon as possible. Something wrong, Akiko?"

    Sitting in the front seat, Akiko''s shoulders were shaking fromughing silently.

    "We''re here." Announced the old man butler who had been flying the aircraft. This man seems to be the real master of stealth, always making people forget about his existence.

    "Damn, where even are we?" Asked Axel in astonishment, looking at the scene outside.

    Now this is how a ce embroiled in war should look like.

    In front of them was a huge wall, extending quite far on both sides. Numerous aircrafts and neptunites flew back and forth in the sky while was ground seemed to be crawling with soldiers.

    Not far beyond the wall was the ending of the barrier that marked the end of the Kingdom.

    "We''re behind the Royal Castle, at the very edge of the Kingdom. This is our final line of defense."

    "Damn. How does Kraken even cross onto this side?" Asked Axel in astonishment, looking at impressive defence of Antis.

    "They usually can''t. But there are always ways to let a small number trickle past." Answered Estris.

    That was indeed true. Even in muggle world, there are ways people cross borders, let alone in a magical world like this.

    Axel looked at the hundreds of thousands of soldiers below. If they have so many, then it makes sense that the Kraken also will have a simr amount on their side.

    "How does the Kraken hire its members?" Asked Axel curiously. "I mean, sure some soldiers might get corrupted, but since you have preventive measures in ce, it shouldn''t amount to much, right?"

    "Most of their members are acquired from the outer world. This is just one entrance to the trench. There''s another at the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil''s sea, the Nevada Triangle and several more. Furthermore, they buy the ves in bulk from the ve traders like the Mikhailovs from time to time."

    "Fugg¡­" Axel whistled. The ces Kyrin had named were ces on Earth which were famous for strange phenomena and disappearance of people. "So, they actually have a numeric superiority against us?"

    "Of course. It would be no fun otherwise." said Kyrin.

    "They don''t only have a numerical superiority, but their soldiers are also enhanced through inhumane procedures, given the entity''s powers, and also used in sacrificial warfare. It''s extremely disadvantageous against us, who can''t afford to lose a single soldier. That''s why we also started asking for outside help," said Estris.

    "Of course, the outer world soldiers aren''t disposable either," said Kyrin. "At least to most of us,"

    ''That is obvious.'' thought Axel. She not only took bloody revenge, but also left the kingdom to take care of Akiko for herrades. Few people would go that far even for their own people.

    Their aircraft went through the security procedures and finally flew over the huge wall to show the scene on the other side.

    "So, this is¡­ the infamous Altina Trench."

    Axel looked at the huge depression in the ground that had no end.

    "Yep, that''s it."

    "So, how do we enter it?"

    "Well, we just go down."

    "What''s below? How long will it take? Don''t we need like, climbing materials or something?"

    "It''s not as you think," said Estris. "As you go down, you will be teleported to a separate dimension. Think of it as a portal."

    "Ready?" Asked the old man pilot. "In we go," he muttered dryly, as if doing it for the million-th time. They began to descend at a high speed.

    Axel shifted in anticipation. He knew there was a high chance that things might go wrong yet again, but this time, he was feeling positive for some reason.

    ''That''s right, I''m not that unlucky.'' He thought.

    ''Let''s go in, enjoy,e out and get that reward. Who knows? I might even get a relic."

    Just when Axel was daydreaming about what kind of relic he''ll get, something happened.

    His ring started vibrating. It was the storage ring that Martina had given him.

    ''What the¡ª?''

    Axel checked its content, only to see his pendant glowing for some reason.

    ''What''s up with this thing?''

    !!!!

    Suddenly, the spaceship shook, as rms began to sound.

    "Uh¡­ is this normal?" Asked Akiko.

    "No fucking not." Said Kyrin. "Estris, what the fuck is happening?"

    Estris had a strange look on her face. "It''s¡­ a space turbulence."

    "Fuck!"

    "Already¡­?" Axel only sighedmentably.

    The trip ended up getting screwed up before they even began.

    ¡­.

    The princess stood in her room, looking at the face of Chris Martin in absolute befuddlement.

    Bloodline Invocation.

    Those striking blue eyes, and the huge disturbance in the sea¡­ there was no doubt. It couldn''t be anything else. That was definitely the invocation of none other the Royal Bloodline!

    And this was not a dormant or weak bloodline usually found in distant rtives.

    "Who¡­ How¡­" The princess''s mouth opened, but she seemed to havepletely lost the ability to articte meaningful sentences.

    Who is he?

    How can he have the Royal Bloodline?

    Why does he look like that?

    Why did he hide his real appearance?

    Where has he been until now?

    Her mind waspletely overloaded right now, thousands of thoughts, emotions, and contradictions going through all at once.

    "It is indeed a lot of take in, Princess." The general had an extremely solemn air around him him. He had also received a simr shock when he seen this clip. Such is the magnitude of this wave. That''s why he gave her a few seconds to process the information before beginning to exin.

    "The Tech department searched far and wide, but they found no information about Chris Martin. They had already reported their failure to me. But in thest ditch effort, when running a search through our own system, they unexpectedly happened upon this footage, where it was revealed that Chris Martin was actually just a disguise."

    "And when they ran a search on this new face, they were instantly flooded with a lot of matches."

    The princess raised a trembling hand towards Axel''s hologram. "Who¡­ is he?"

    "His name is Axel. Axel Hunt." The General took a pause. "And it would seem that he is your nephew."

    ....

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    Next: Axel Hunt: The Crown Prince of Antis

    Next next: The Prince Grew up in an Orphanage

    Next next: Situation with Daphne and Martina

    Next next next: The Princess''s Fury

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 201: Axel Hunt, the Crown Prince of Atlantis

    Chapter 201: Axel Hunt, the Crown Prince of Antis

    Chapter 194

    "Ohe on! Are you kidding me?!" Kyrin pped her chair in frustration. There is usually little to no chance of such a situation happening. Are they really unlucky enough to encounter it just when they are not prepared for it?

    "Boss, this is an I-told-you-so moment," said Estris, even as she started to prepare counter measures for the situation."

    Kyrin gritted her teeth at the unprofessionalism of her assistant. "Not the time, Estris. Willis! Get us out of this!"

    "I''m trying." said the old butler.

    The aircraft shook vigorously, goingpletely out of their control as the space to warp around them.

    "Alright, this is bad." Kyrin epted. A space turbulence can dump them anywhere in this ce. Usually, it wouldn''t be this big of a deal, but this was Axel and Akiko''s first time here, and they were not prepared to face the dangers thaty in the depths of this ce.

    Naturally, Kyrin was frustrated,

    "Sigh" Meanwhile, Axel just sat in his seat in destion even as the agitation of the rest of the crew increased.

    ''The fuck is going on, system?'' he asked in his head.

    [The key you have in your hand is part of a pair. Since the two keys have been separated for long, and the other was destroyed in this location, it is obvious that it is reacting sensitively. Unfortunately, you happened to be in a ce where the space where is unstable, causing a space turbulence.]

    ''Oh? Well that''s bloody understandable,'' responded Axel sarcastically. ''But, you know, if you already know this then wouldn''t a warning be helpful?! And also, what the fuck do I do now?!''

    Axel was pissed right now. If it was just him then it was still fine, but he doesn''t feel right having the whole crew also be victims of his bad luck.

    [It is not rmended to leave the Key anywhere, meaning that this situation was unavoidable. You can only wait and hope to fall in a less dangerous ce]

    ''That''s real useful of you, system. Real useful.''

    Though Axel was annoyed, he had been in much more screwed up situations, so he just waited patiently even as the rest of the crew made a big fuss.

    *BOOOM*

    With a huge jerk, they escaped the space turbulence, but due to considerable damage to the system, they ended up crashnding.

    "Fuck" Kyrin shook her head, shaking off the vertigo. "This day is getting worse and worse."

    Just losing to Axel in front of Aki was bad enough, and and then getting embroiled into this mess when she has Aki and another first timer with her this is really

    "We''re out!" Suddenly, with a final shake, the aircraft suddenly stopped shaking like a leave in waves, but then they started to go down, hard.

    "Willis!"

    "Miss, I can''t control it! The damage is too much!"

    "Prepare for a crashnding!"

    "Everyone, seatbelts on!"

    With a huge impact, the aircraft made contact with the surface, and then continued to roll forward to break the momentum.

    The whole time, Axel just sat in his seat in a deadpan look, knowing that it was all because of him. He moved his head sideways in annoyance as a sharp piece of the broken aircraft lodged itself just where his head used to be.

    ''Seriously, this is nowhere enough to faze me anymore. You should try harder,'' Axel thought to himself, responding to whatever higher power (if any) that was trying to make his life miserable.

    "Is everyone alright?" Asked Kyrin while personally checking on Akiko.

    The ship was currently upside down, Axel unlocked his seatbelt and dropped to roof of the aircraft with a flip. "Fine."

    "Fine too." (Akiko)

    "I think these old bones will live." (Willis)

    "I''m unharmed as well, boss." (Estris)

    After confirming the member''s safety, Kyrin sighed. "Alright. This is not so bad, is it? Estris, where are we? Willis, what are the damages?"

    "The ships'' wrecked. It would take several days to repair," said Willis the butler, delivering the first bad news.

    ''Well, well, well there goes my Rewarding Ceremony.'' Thought Axel. Not really a surprise. Deep down, he knew he was just day dreaming when he thought he might get a relic as a reward.

    But Kyrin, who had still been hoping to salvage the situation, sucked in a deep breath. ''Alright Alright. It''s not too bad. A few days would give them extra training.''

    "Estris, where are we?"

    Estris was just looking at her screen, as if she had not heard Kyrin at all. She slowly turned to look at Kyrin. "It''s the red area."

    "MoTHerfuKKer!" It was the moment Kyrin knew, they were fucked.

    Kyrin banged her fist, causing more damage to the ship.

    "What''s the red area?" Asked Akiko.

    Kyrin quickly unstrapped herself as well. "No time to exin. We have to leave this ce immediately." said Kyrin, opening the hatch door.

    *BOOM*

    Suddenly, the aircraft shook violently, causing Kyrin to curse. "Come out quick!"

    All of them quickly exited the ce, only to find tentacles gripping the aircraft.

    "Off my ship, you bastard!" des of darkness manifested in the air, cutting the tentacles.

    "What the hell is this ce?" Muttered Axel in wonder while Kyrin decimated the creature messing with their transport.

    Below their feet was solid ground, while the sky seemed to beposedpletely of. . .

    "Water?"

    That''s right, the sky seemed to be entirelyposed of water. He could see silhouettes of creatures swimming in it. Huge tentacles came out of the water body, heading straight for them.

    It''s not like he didn''t expect there to be water here, hell, he could feel it when they hadnded. It also makes perfect sense for there to be water here, what with this ce having various entrances at the bottom of the sea, but he didn''t expect it to be like this.

    "This ce is in a separate dimension. It has its own set of naturalws," exined Estris. "For one, the gravitational field here is two-way. So if you go high enough, you will ''fall'' into the sky."

    "Cool."

    "Professor Estris, could you please continue your lesson at a more suitable time? We''re in bit of a situation here," said Kyrin, putting the aircraft in her storage space as more tentacles emerged from the sky. "Right now, we''re too badly fucked to be wasting time."

    She then turned to check on Axel. "You''re not hearing the voices yet?"

    "What voices?" Asked Axel in confusion.

    Kyrin turned her attention back to the creatures. "No time to exin. Just take this and knock yourself out," she said, tossing him a vial as she continued to cut down the tentaclesing to the sky.

    "What''s this?" Axel looked at the bottle in confusion.

    "Simple anesthetic. It''ll knock you out."

    "??? Uh... No thanks?"

    Excuse him, but why would he willingly knock himself out, not mentioned in a ce like this? What a weird request to make. Of course, Axel refused straightforwardly.

    While dealing with monsters, Kyrin turned to re at him. "It''s not a request. It''s an order. Now, are you going to obediently knock yourself out or am I going to have to do it for you?"

    Axel was ggerbasted. ''Bold of you to assume you can take me on in terrain, bish.''

    "Well, you can try," he replied, a faint flicker of blue passing through his eyes.

    There was a fucking ocean right above them. He really wanted to see her try.

    Estris sighed. "That''s why exnations are necessary, boss."

    "Axel, the boss means you no harm. We''re in the middle of the red zone, the most dangerous area, and the area where the creature''s influence is at its highest. In the absence of mental blocks, if you don''t shut down your mind right now, your mind would quickly be corrupted by the entity."

    "Oh." Axel understood now.

    "So say it like that from the beginning, damn it." Axel muttered, as the faint flicked of blue vanished from his eyes. Now the annoying buzzing in his head was making sense. Turns out it''s the entity trying to corrupt him. Of course, for him, it was just

    ''Too weak.''

    He didn''t really need to knock himself out. At all. But how does he exin it to them, who think he''s not good at lumency? Well, he could think of several easy ways, thest of which was simply revealing his lumency to be strong enough to deal with the creature.

    "But the psylocks" he began, taking out the sses that Estris had handed them in the beginning, but was cut off.

    "Are too weak to be of use here. They''re only useful if we''re in the green zone, where we were originally going to take you."

    ''Alright,''

    Now, should he reveal that he also has excellent lumency and that he has not bothered to reveal that until now because he doesn''t trust them? Well, there''s one other option left before he does that.

    "Will these make a difference?" He asked, taking out another pair of specs.

    Instantly, both Kyrin and Estris widened their eyes, recognizing the item.

    "Where did you get those from?"

    They were Nerio''s annoying sses which had managed to block his lumency.

    .

    "His name is Axel. Axel Hunt. And it would seem that he is your Nephew."

    "Nephew" the Princess murmured the words, too overwhelmed to even fully grasp the situation.

    How is this possible?

    The princess just stood there as a tidal wave of thoughts rushed through her head. Slowly, the puzzles were starting toe together.

    Why she felt an odd sense of familiarity with him.

    Why she looked at the clip hundreds of times.

    And also, why he would have the Royal seal.

    It was because he was a Royal, to begin with. He was

    "My Nephew" She murmured, unable to believe the reality. But the General is not someone who would pull a prank so cruel. This has to be real.

    Rewinding the video, she looked at Axel''s face carefully.

    ''This is sister''s son,'' she thought, as her hand slowly rose up to touch the hologram.

    He looked a lot like that hateful Trickster Hunt, but, there was a difference. "He has sister''s high cheekbones, and her nose. And also, the way he purses his lips also like her!" Now that she was looking at the orginal, unaltered face, everything wasing together all at once.

    That''s why she found him familiar. Because even if he had managed topletely alter his face, some things were still reminding her of her sister, making her feel like she had seen him before.

    "Also, this incident" she realized, opening another hologram beside Axel''s picture.

    It showed the scene of the sea creatures exploding one after another in the artificial sea of the Biopark. The princess got goosebumps. "Is it him? No way How did he even awaken the Royal Bloodline to this extent?"

    It was a scene that could only be exined by the presence of the Royal Bloodline. But even if he has it, how did he awaken in the outside world, and that too to such a high extent, without going to any of the procedures?

    "Also" the Princess''s brows wrinkled as she traced her fingers over the scars on Axel''s face. Growing up in the Royal castle, she and her sister and not suffered a single scar on their body, provided with the best care possible. It was the norm for any prince or princess, a Royal birthright.

    "These scars? Are they also fake?" She asked hopefully. He has the ability topletely alter his face. Surely, these scars are also

    The General was silent for a moment. "Princess, there is a lot of information readily avable about Axel, no, about the crown Prince. And" the General paused.

    "You aren''t going to like what we found."

    .

    A.N.: Next: The Prince Grew up in an Orphanage

    Next next: Situation with Daphne and Martina

    Next next next: The Princess''s Fury

    Next....next: Busted?

    It''s a new month! Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 202: The Prince Grew up in an Orphanage

    Chapter 202: The Prince Grew up in an Orphanage

    Axel raised his eyebrows, putting on the sses. "From a friend. Why? Are these also no good?"

    "That''s whaleshit!" said Kyrin. A "Tell me honestly, where did you get it?"

    "What''s the matter?" From what Axel could recall from Nerio''s memories, several of the Kraken members had this item, meaning it can''t be that rare.

    "Axel, that''s not an ordinary sub-relic," said Estris, while Kyrin dealt with the creatures attacking them from the sea.

    "The sub relic you''re holding is an extremely raremodity in Antis. Its production blueprints have long been lost, and now only Kraken has the Technology to build them. After all, along with having a built-in ai that has lots of features which are useful in this terrain, it also has the most precious benefit of protecting the mind.

    So, there is no way that someone just ''gave'' it to you."

    Axel shrugged.

    "So, in short, I don''t have to knock myself out anymore?" He asked,ing to the point.

    "..."

    Does this guy not feel any sort of obligation of telling them how he got it? Both Estris and Kyrin felt helpless.

    ''That fucking contract.''

    Kyrin looked at Axel with narrowed eyes. The curiosity is just killing her. Someday, she simply wants to strap this guy to a chair and spill all his secrets using truth serum. But of course, that is not possible due to the contract and Aki being so protective of him.

    "... Whatever."

    Kyrin hadn''t forgotten that they were currently not in a situation to have the luxury of pondering on these matters. Their crash seemed to have attracted a lot of attention as a number of creatures were now approaching their location at once.

    The ground began to tremble, indicating the approach of other creatures. Meanwhile, the creatures from the sea were also starting gather.

    [Darkness Camouge]

    Kyrin''s darkened and darkness coated all of them. "This should do it for now."

    They remained in their ce as the threatening presences in the area increased. Waves started churning the ocean. And then, huge figures emerged from the water.

    It was an army of creatures, all of theming towards them at a fast pace. But its constituents

    "What what the fuck are those?" Asked Akiko, looking positively creeped out.

    It would not be fit to call it an army of creatures. It was an army of abominations. Twisted body parts of different creatures, grotesquely joined together with machinery. That''s what it looked like.

    "Fuck" Whispered Kyrin, upon getting a clearer look. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck what is HE doing here?!" She muttered, looking at a fat man sitting on a particrlyrge dinosaur like creature.

    Axel, who could see the situation even more clearly, thanks to his sses, narrowed his eyes. "What is SHE doing here?"

    "Who?"

    It was only then that everyone''s attention focused on the small figure that was moving in front of the huge hoard of monsters.

    "Sylthia?" Estris''s eyes widened.

    "That''s her?!"

    Yep, it was Sylthia Eryndor, of the Relic Wielder division. Both Estris and Kyrin seemed rmed upon seeing her.

    "Where is the rest of her unit?" said Kyrin in confusion. Being a Relic Wielder of the Eryndor n, there is no way she would move without sufficient backup.

    Estris pursed her lips. "Boss"

    "I know, I know." Kyrin knew what Estris was hinting. The only reason why Sylthia would be alone at this point would be because she was in trouble. "Don''t worry. I know she''s your friend. We''ll help her. Besides, I do have some scores to settle against that disgusting guy."

    It mighte as a surprise, but Estris and Sylthia were actually kind of friends. And even if they weren''t, Kyrin was still going to try to help as long as it was someone on their side.

    The only problem was

    Kyrin nced behind at Axel and Akiko. The only problem was the fact that they had some dead weights with them right now, making things much moreplicated.

    If she made a move, she would also be exposing Axel and Akiko to danger. Though Axel and Akiko are great, but they are still young and inexperienced, while this is a relic wielder level affair.

    If she made the wrong decision, she could end up losing this once in a lifetime gem Axel, that is filled with potential, or worse, it could end up hurting Akiko.

    "Who is the guy chasing her?" Asked Axel.

    "A sick bastard. We call him the butcher," said Kyrin, disgust apparent in her tone.

    "He''s one of the relic wielders of Kraken. His relic is BioTech rted. He likes to experiment on humans and animals in order to make them create abominations that can be called living beings anymore," said Estris. "He usually doesn''te out personally, opting to remain safe within the confines of hisb. If he has been mobilized then that means that the Kraken is making a big move."

    "This guy won''t be easy to handle. Axel, he can disable your sses. You stay bac." Kyrin turned to Akiko. "You too. Stay inside the camouge. We''ll handle this."

    Axel shrugged. He didn''t mind cking off. Akiko on the other hand pouted, also wanting to join the fight. Right now, Akiko was also trembling with energy. With the enemies she''d wished revenge upon so close to her, she was raring to go. So, trying to hold back at this moment was really torture.

    "Aki, listen to me. This is not a normal situation. We''re too deep into the enemy territory. I was nning to train you for a few more years before you''re ready."

    Akiko was still pouting, but she nodded unwillingly. Kyrin turned back to face the iing army.

    "Estris, keep an eye on them."

    "Of course, boss. But please hurry. Sylthia seems to be having trouble."

    Kyrin looked again, and her rxed attitude vanished, "Fuck, it does seem like that. There''s no way an Eryndor would be that slow."

    Sylthia Eryndor has always been someone who can handle herself. That''s why Kyrin wasn''t in a hurry. But upon closer inspection, she realized that Sylthia seemed to be struggling to even stay afloat, her clothes were disheveled, and her flying speed was quite slow.

    "Let me go check her first." Darkness gathered around Kyrin as her feet rose from the ground. [Darkness Domain]

    The old man Wilis produced a staff and touched it to Kyrin''s back, chanting words in a low voice. In a couple of seconds, the darkness around Kyrin intensified. And then, she disappeared under the shadows, emerging instantly from Sylthia''s shadow.

    Meanwhile, Estris brought out a huge rifle from her storage space and took aim.

    ''A shooter?'' Axel had wondered what Estris''s abilities would be. After all, with her small and delicate frame, he couldn''t picture her fighting close range like the lean and muscr Kyrin.

    It does make sense that she''s a shooter. As for the old man Wilis, he seems to be a spellcaster. Despite having passed the Trial for the path, Axel doesn''t know much about the Antian spellcasters. But from what he could see, after the old man cast his spells on Kyrin, he could feel the threating from her increase by several times.

    ....

    Sylthia Eryndor was NOT having a good day. She and her team were making their way towards the seal, slowly but surely reaching closer to their destination, but they were ambushed by a team of Kraken''s relic wielders.

    Usually, this wouldn''t be much of a problem. The Relic Wielder division is extremely strong. Enough to take down arger number of enemy relic wielders. But this time, something was different.

    ''How in the devil''s tentacles did they manage to do it?'' Sylthia wondered, horror still gripping her upon having the shback.

    To think Kraken was hiding such a powerful card up their sleeves. Their group would have beenpletely annihted if they hadn''t all fled in different directions.

    Unfortunately, Sylthia wasn''t lucky enough to escape unharmed. She was poisoned, and now she''s unable to exert her strength, or even run away properly.

    "Hey little birdie, how long will you fly?"

    And of course, just her luck, the worst one of the group decided to chase her. With a half robotic, and half obese body, one artificial eye glowing red and other having a monocle, this disgusting being was none other than the Butcher, known for having a passion of capturing live prisoners to experiment on.

    "Stop, little birdie! I promise I will turn you into the most beautiful art! Even better than these babies!" Yelled out the obese man, giving Sylthia goosebumps.

    Not for the first time, Sylthia considered killing herself. She didn''t have many options at this point. The poison had made it incredibly difficult for her to run and her body was giving out.

    Dying right now andpletely erasing her body would be much better than what would happen to her if she is captured alive, or dead with her body intact.

    But, Sylthia was not resolved! If she died now, she would be losing the Family''s relic here to Kraken. Not only that, if she dies now, the rest of the team is also going to be in danger, not to mention the fact that she hasn''t even passed on the intel to the Kingdom yet.

    In her dazed state, she felt that she heard the sound of a crash, and her flying direction changed, going towards the sound. It may be some on their side, or someone from Kraken''s side.

    But it seems that it wasn''t something she needed to think about, as she reached her limit long before she could make it.

    *Hiss*

    Another wave of long ranged attacks poured out from the army, and this time, she was unable to avoid one of them, making her groan in pain. Another wave of vertigo hit her, making her fall to the ground, no longer able to fly.

    "It''s over now, little birdie. You''ve been quite a difficult subject to capture."

    Sylthia kept wondering what went wrong. She has been the most talented and most hardworking person in the younger generations of Antis. She has be as strong as anyone her age could be.

    ''Well, maybe not the most talented.'' she thought with some annoyance, as the image of a boy shed in her mind. But whatever. She was still the most talented person overall, considering that she could control a relic.

    But in the end, it would seem that it was all for naught, and she''s going to die like this, at the hands of such a despicable person.

    Sylthia got up with difficulty and began gathering her remaining energy. She''s going to die, and she''s going to take down as much as she can with her.

    But at this moment, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her soften. A silhouette emerged from beneath her feet, catching her off guard.

    "Hey there."

    She was met with pitch ck eyes of a familiar person.

    !!!

    As the rest of the body of the person emerged, Sylthia froze as the recognition dawn in her muddled brain. She simply couldn''t believe her eyes. "You You are"

    Kyrin.... Tenebrous.

    There''s no mistake! This is the legendary Kyrin Tenebrous! Sylthia has seen all her clips. Especially since she is the supposed Mentor of Estris!

    Kyrin with her eyes pitch ck with no whites, Kyrin gave Sylthia a wink. "Estris sends her regards."

    *BOOM*

    Behind her, darkness swept over the huge army of creatures.

    .

    "What What do you mean?" Asked the princess, having a bad feeling. She looked at Axel again.

    The general hesitated. "The prince he grew up in a small orphanage, and"

    "Wait" The princess put a hand to her forehead, stopping the general. This was too much to take in at once. For the first time in her life, the princess was feeling that her brain capacity was not enough.

    She had just found out that her sister''s son is alive, and he had been in the outside world till now. Chris Martin, or Axel Hunt, is her nephew. But this information creates more questions rather than answers.

    And over that, the absurd information that she just heard...

    The princess really hoped she had a few more brains so that she could process this shock better.

    She took a deep breath. "Orphanage? Did I just hear you say Orphanage? Are you sure he did not live with his uncle Thorin?"

    "...I''m afraid not, Princess."

    The princess looked to the ceiling. "Gods of the sea an orphanage" The Royal prince of Antis grew up in an orphanage if father heard this, he might directly pass on.

    The General had a strange expression on his face. "Princess, it might be for the best if you don''t know the rest."

    "No," the princess immediately shook her head resolutely. "I must know everything about his life."

    This was her sister''s child. She has already missed his whole childhood. What kind of aunt would she be if she doesn''t even know what it was like?

    Recalling the scenes of him talking to her with grace and also destroying the monster hoard easily, she felt a bit more prepared. Considering that he has grown to be such a fine young man worthy of being the crown Prince of Antis, his upbringing can''t be that bad, can it?

    The general scrolled through his bracelet and disyed several images and videos in the projector, all featuring a kid Axel.

    Instantly, the princess''s heart dropped.

    ....

    A.N.: Exams are finally over! I can finally sleep now! And also post more chapters! Since it''s a cliffhanger, the next chapter will arrive quick. Well, I''ll try

 Chapter 203: Situation in Britain

    Chapter 203: Situation in Britain

    Chapter 196

    "It''s only been three days! Three-fucking-days! Can I not handle myself for even three days without him?!"

    "Calm down, Daphne."

    "Calm down? How can I calm down?! Everything is turning upside down, and I have no clue how to handle it. What will I say to him when he finds out?"

    "Why are you talking like it''s your fault? How could you have known that someone would do this?" Asked Martina.

    The two of them were currently (hiding?) in the secret hideout at Hogwarts where Axel used to sleep.

    Daphne sighed. "If I ever get my hands on this woman, I swear I would kill her!"

    "Don''t worry, we''ll find her," said Martina, and even if she might not go as far as killing them, she damn well wanted them to suffer.

    Martina looked at Daphne''s magi-mirror that was ringing non-stop, then looked at the inte that waspletely flooded with Axel''s name, and then Daphne, who was slowly getting more and more panicked.

    "Sigh...."

    For the umpteenth time, she hoped he would just... appear here and solve everything, like he always does.

    How did it end up like this?

    Well, not longer after Axel had left, something happened that took the whole world by surprise.

    The night Axel had left, a book was released on the magihive by an anonymous another named Lady Gossip. There was publicity, no advertisement, no promotion. Just one statement: This book is going to take the Wizarding World by a storm.

    Just one book and such arge impact... Is something like that really possible?

    Well, with this book, it has happened.

    The book was aplete expose on Axel, containing detailed information on his whole life, including the things he had been hiding until now, which the anonymous writer had somehow dug up.

    Axel''s disappearance was still being discussed, and his fame was still at its peak. At this time, an exclusive biography of his life, containing all the things he had gone through in his childhood came as aplete drug to people. It sold like hot cakes.

    Before they knew it, It was already all over the inte and containing it was impossible.

    The title of this book?

    ''The Life and Lies of Axel Hunt''

    "How did this person even find all this information?" Asked Daphne. Looking through the chapters of the book. "His past, his injuries, his crimes she even knows he ki! And, and she even has this shirtless picture of him!" She eximed, showing the image of a shirtless Axel holding onto a very flustered Daphne.

    Right now, countless girls throughout the world might be thanking the anonymous writer for this, but Daphne was absolutely murderous! (even though she had also saved the picture on her magi-mirror)

    Martina''s eyes strayed towards the picture.

    "She obviously did a lot of digging. I''m fairly certain it involved a lot of illegal activities. I mean, how else could she get his hospital records and this picture?" She deduced.

    "That''s why she hasn''t revealed her identity. Because she knows she''ll be dumped straight into Azkaban for the number ofws she has vited."

    Daphne clicked her tongue. "I get that it is possible to get the information about his past from stealing memories and medical records through some means. But how did she even manage to avoid Axel''s detection when taking that picture? Wait..." Daphne suddenly paused.

    "Maybe... maybe she didn''t leave. Maybe he knew she was there all along and he was shirtless and then I walked in" Daphne gritted her teeth. "Who was this bitch?! Was it that Patricia after all? Or one of the other girls?"

    "Daphne! You''re overthinking again. Let''s think logically for a moment. If Axel was really aware, do you think he would let anyone witness how close the two of you actually are? Besides, it can''t be anyone who can ess Hogwarts, or they''d have had a lot more pictures than what happened just in the changing room of the stadium which outsiders can barely ess."

    Daphne recalled the times they had met up in the greenhouse and realized there was some truth to Martina''s words. Right now, only one image of her with Axel has been released, painting her as just another rich girl who hooked up with Axel. People have no idea how deep their rtionship actually is.

    "Then, who could it be? Axel had some really good senses," said Daphne in confusion. Axel would know if someone was spying on him, even when the person is trying to be very discreet. Heck, he even caught her looking when he was sleeping beside her.

    Martina sighed. In fact, she already had a pretty good idea who this person might be. After all, she was a reincarnator who has read all the books.

    First of all, the "Life and Lies" part of the title was a dead giveaway.

    The name is Lady Gossip, which suggests that the author is someone who has a strong desire for gossiping. And their writing style and actions of making a biography without the person''s consent while the person is still alive suggests a strong thirst for attention and influence by hook or by crook.

    Yep, that pretty much matched the description.

    Also. the "Life and Lies" part of the title was a dead giveaway. It was Rita Skeeter, the annoying reporter of the fourth part. The reason why Axel didn''t pay attention to her in the changing room when holding Daphne must be because she was in her bug for at the time.

    "Don''t worry. The person will be caught soon enough. What we have to think is what we need to do now." said Maritina.

    "As if that is easy," muttered Daphne, looking at her Magi-mirror that was continuously buzzing with notification. ''The inte was currently going crazy with the huge amount of hot gossip they had just gotten. It is difficult to figure out just what to do in a situation like this.

    Various articles were now popping up everywhere on the magi-hive, all rted to Axel, Lady Gossip, and the biography she had just published in the most popr hivesite of books, E-tomes.

    "Axel Hunt: A Thief?"

    "Crimes of Axel Hunt."

    "Prolonged Exposure to the Crutiatus! Experts'' statement: How is Hunt still sane?"

    "Was Axel Hunt really Sane?"

    "Axel Hunt: Shirtless Photo revealed! Thousands of Scars!"

    "Axel Hunt''s Insane Physique! Experts im: ''it can''t be natural''"

    There are so many articles! Daphne read the top trending one which talked about the new book that had beenunching the summary of its main content.

    "The wizardingmunity throughout the world has been thrown into a frenzy after the recent release of an autobiography of Axel Hunt, currently the most searched person on the inte. Axel Hunt (13), is famous for being known his godly skills in Quidditch, showing expertise that no other can hope to match.

    (Click here for more info. on Hunt)

    This boy has managed to impress every person who has ever seen his y, whether they like the sport or not. Many clips of his y have already hit over a 100 million views worldwide, meaning that it is safe to assume that almost 99 percent of the wizardingmunity has watched him y.

    This has generated a terrifying demand for more information on the person, leading him to be the most searched topic on the inte this year.

    With this kind of terrific influence, chaos was guaranteed when an anonymous person calling herself "Lady Gossip" became the first person to release aplete biography on Axel''s Life, revealing shocking secrets that have the readers inplete disbelief.

    In the biography, It has been alleged that the young genius has been caught doing petty thefts multiple times. The author even managed to print memories as proof.

    Lady Gossip has explored further in Hunt''s street life where he ended up in confrontations with various muggle gangs. One such encounter also have a gruesome recorded memory, in which the leader of the Gang is shown shing Hunt''s face, giving him the scars that he is now infamous for.

    The author also mentioned the that the leader of this gang also allegedly vanished as soon as Hunt went on Christmas Holidays after learning magic at Hogwarts. And there is evidence of Axel fighting against the rest of the group.

    Furthermore, Hunt''s detailed hospital record has also been revealed, showing the extenuating injuries his body has suffered, including an extremely prolonged exposure to the cruciatus that had effectively had him crippled with no hope of recovery by any known means.

    The author also published pictures of Hunt''s bare upper body as proof, which does still clearly contain gruesome scarring from his many injuries.

    Until now, no one has been able to deny the authenticity of the various ims in the book, which is really terrifying. Because that would indicate the fact that the facts written in the book are most likely true."

    With articles and videos such as this covering the whole inte, talking about the details revealed in the book, the book has already been shared throughout the whole world and it is impossible to keep people from reading it now.

    The Forums are getting flooded, because everyone wants to talk about the insane things that have been revealed in the book.

    Thread title: Axel Hunt is a Legend

    [Photo.jpg]

    (Axel''s jacked picture)

    Solemnsly:

    Just read the whole book and whole Holy dungbombs! This guy has had some life! 10 minutes of crutiatus, crippled body and still able take on the best of Mahoutokoro? This guy has to be the baddest mf alive. Did are guy look at that body? No wonder even Ninjas were child''s y for him.

    Witchinheat008:

    Ohmymerlin, Soooooo hot!

    AxelFangirl696969:

    I''m creaming!

    User0283239

    Who is that girl sticking close to him? So jealous! >.<

    User1084828

    Daphne Greengrass. She''s just another in the list. Don''t dream. Hunt only hooks up with rich girls.

    Ugandiantroll11:

    @Witchinheat008 @Axelfangirl696969 stop drooling over him, He did not work so hard so that hags in heat like you can get off from it.

    Don''tJinxIt_666:

    @Ugandiantroll11 True. Look at the sheer number and types of scars. After reading his medical report, the healers are iming they have no idea how the guy can even walk.

    Felixfeces:

    Yeah, I hear that people trying to find him have quadrupled. But most of them now are now doing it because of the bounties on him.

    User1032443:

    Wait, why does he have a bounty on him?

    Witchbewitcher545:

    That''s obvious, The guy is worth millions now. There are too many ways people who want him. Do you know how many people are suffering from overuse of Crutiatus? The statistics might shock you. Just because its illegal doesn''t mean criminals don''t use it. Healers and Magical researchers would really want to experiment on Hunt to know how Axel recovered. Plus,e on! he''s Axel Hunt, he''s like a golden goose. There are tons of ways people can make money off him if they just have him under their control. Quidditch is just one of them."

    Darkunicorn223:

    I think this might be the main reason why he disappeared in the first ce. He became too high profile. As they say, it is always the bigger dragon that''s butchered first."

    User12583493

    My man suffering from sess fr.

    PeniSchr77:

    Poor boy. I hope he is alright, wherever he is.

    ....

    Daphne looked up from her magi-mirror.

    So, such was the situation. Axel''s past, including his petty crimes in the muggle world have been revealed, and he is now one of the most wanted people in the world.

    It is safe to say that the little ''normality'' he had in his life is now effectively gone.

    And her?

    She has been degraded into just another girl who got lucky. Which only hurts more because she still hasn''t gotten ''lucky'' at all! Her ''luckiness'' is still intact, for good or for bad.

    But that is besides the point. The question is, what should she do now?

    Martina was also pondering over this matter right now. "Well, we would start by denying things that ARE false" said Martina, ncing over at her.

    Daphne suddenly raised her eyebrows. "What? No! I''m not going to deny it! If they are making assumptions about me and Axel, I am perfectlyfortable with that."

    "Why? Nothing happened between you two, right? You''re only 13 for god''s sake."

    "Hey! Are kind of muggle nonsense are you talk about? This is wizarding world. We don''t really pay much attention to age here. Daughters of noble houses get engaged or even married at this age. Besides, we''ve even slept together. Their assumptions aren''t far off."

    "You''ve what? Well, never mind." Martina shook her head. She has to let it go. No matter what, it''s her and Axel''s business. It shouldn''t bother her. "The thing is, there is not much we can do at this point. The silver lining is, it shouldn''t affect him much since he''s going there with a different identity. Even when hees back, is there anyone who can even try to use him of anything? He''s has the full backing of my family, yours, and the Minister of Magic."

    Daphne was lost in thought. "It really won''t affect him, right?"

    Martina shook her head. "It shouldn''t."

    Daphne clenched the magi-mirror in her hand. Thoughts were clouding her head right now.

    What would he say to her when he knows about all this? Would he be angry at her? What is doing there in Antis? Is he alright? Why has he not called her yet?

    More importantly, what should she do now?

    "It would have been better if you didn''t leave me here." She murmured, already missing him to death.

    "You better be safe."

    A.N.: Next; The Princess''s Fury

    Next next: Axel: Secrets Revealed?

    Next next next: Pitiful Princess

    Next.... next: Axel Killed Theron Nerio?!

    Come read ahead. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 204: The Princesss Fury

    Chapter 204: The Princess''s Fury

    A.N.: Sigh... Stuff happened. I''d borate but it''s really not anyone could help me with. I''m sorry for the dy. Here is a double release. I think I''ll be able to post regrly now.

    ....

    Axel zoomed in at the abominations that were gathered behind the butcher, and even with his rtively apathetic outlook towards most things in life, he was disgusted.

    Most of the army consisted of humanoid creatures, but none of them actually were. Some had more metallic limbs, some of them had different body parts of different creatures. Some were gigantified, having an abnormal body symmetry.

    Axel recalled the bizarre creatures and fighting force in the war scenario of the trial and now understood where that came from.

    "This guy is sick." If Axel is calling someone that, they''re really messed up in the head.

    Estris nodded. "He is. He likes to call himself an artist, and likes to view his sick creations as art. We call them biomatons. Each one of these is dangerous in a different way, each having unique features.

    He is also the main contributor to the fighting force of Kraken. Every living being who ends up in Kraken''s captivity is sent to hisb, where he molds them to tools and killing machines for the Organisation''s use. That is why, eliminating him is really important," said Estris, cocking her rifle and taking aim.

    ''Can she even handle the recoil of that thing?'' Thought Axel. He really didn''t think this petite teenage looking girl could do much.

    "Are you sure you don''t need me to help?" He asked.

    .

    "What is going on..?"

    Sylthia Eryndor was questioning reality right now. One moment, she was about to die, and in the next, she was seeing Kyrin Tenebrous emerge out of her shadow to defend her.

    "It''s you" The yfulness had vanished from the face of Dr. Butcher, even as a shield manifested tobat her darkness.

    "Long time no see, Karlock," said Kyrin, calling her the Butcher by his actual name. "Sorry to interrupt your fun time, but I have a deluxe death service pending for you." she said, her feet rising off the ground as she gathered her darkness.

    Karlock, aka, Dr. Butcher unconsciously had his dinosaur-like mount retreat a few steps. Encountering Kyrin is not something most of the members would find weing.

    But then, he regained hisposure, regarding Kyrin with the same leer that was directed towards Sylthia. "You should have nevere back, Tenebrous. Things have changed now." he said with a sneer, no longer afraid. "You haven''t interrupted my hunt. You''ve joined it."

    Kyrin really had tough at that. "You think? I know thirteen year brats who can wipe the floor with you."

    "Underestimating me will be yourst mistake, Kyrin of the Darkness. Unlike organic lifeforms such as yourself, I can upgrade myself endlessly."

    "Well, don''t disappoint me then." The darkness had filled up the skies by now, all of it centered around Kyrin. As she raised her hand, sharp projectiles of darkness rained.

    Kyrin looked back at the stupified Sylthia. "What are you still doing here?"

    "Retreat. You will find Estris not far behind. Leave this fatglob to me."

    "Y-Yes Commander!"

    Sylthia gathered her remaining energy and made to flee.

    "Not on my watch!" The number 6 of Kraken wasn''t going to let his prey escape. Metallic whirring noise was heard as sters emerged from different segments of the artificial monsters.

    This time, the attack was serious, and Sylthia was in no condition to avoid it. But before the attacks hit her, shields were erected in front of her, blocking the attacks.

    Wilis had flown over in the time Kyrin was talking to Karlock.

    "Of course, you would be here too," said Karlock in frustration as Sylthia escaped further.

    This time, flying biomatons all rushed at Sylthia, their speeds multiplied by propellers at their backs.

    *Boom*

    *Boom*

    *Boom*

    Suddenly, all of the flying biomatons rushing towards her turned into bloodmist and junk, and Sylthia instantly recognized the familiar scene. Up ahead, she saw a small head peeking out of the darkness shroud, beckoning her.

    A smile surfaced on Sylthia''s face. "Estris."

    With all senior members of the ck ops protecting her, Sylthia made it to the shroud.

    Upon seeing her friend, Sylthia instantly hugged her, tears of relief flooding her eyes. "I thought I was going to die."

    Only now that she had some semnce of safety did Sylthia allow herself some reprieve. She had almost died, or worse, gotten captured. This was the first time she found herself alone in this ce, let alone in a deadly situation like this. Sylthia was really scared.

    Thankfully, she was saved.

    Estris''s face was still nk, but she patted Sylthia on the back soothingly. "You''re safe now."

    "Fuck Estris, what kind of shooting was that?" Muttered Axel at this moment,ing out of his shock. He couldn''t even SEE the bullets. That''s how fast they were. There is nothing special with Estris''s rifle, then that can only mean that it was her ability that made the bullet shoot off like that.

    ???

    It was only now that Sylthia realized that they hadpany. "YOU??!!"

    What the hell is this outsider doing here?! Shouldn''t he still be in the academy?!

    Sylthia and her team had entered the trench soon after the trial. She had no idea what happened after.

    Axel blinked. "Uh, Hi?"

    "You two know each other? This is our newest member, Four star officer AxeChris Martin."

    Sylthia nkly looked at Axel, then at the four-star authority badge on his shoulder.

    4 stars? Is this a joke?

    "How How many years has it been outside?"

    How can this noob reach four stars?

    ..

    "What"

    Princess Anti''s breath hitched as soon as she saw the multitude of pictures of Axel. Almost all of them seemed to tell apletely different storypared to what she was expecting.

    "These pictures have been spread all over thework of the outside world, along with all the information rted to him," exined the general while the princess looked at the pictures in shock.

    "Why how?"

    The princess couldn''t understand how this was possible. How could someone treat a child like that? Are orphanages in the outside world all like this? In Antis, they make sure that every single person is at least provided for and not abused, let alone the children, who are the foundations of the future of the kingdom.

    Then why why does it seem that he didn''t even get the basic necessities that every human should get?

    "Princess, do you still want to find out?" Asked the General.

    The princess blinked her eyes rapidly, using mind arts to control her emotions. "Yes. I need to know everything."

    "As you wish." The general arranged the pictures based on age. "In 1981, he was left in a Native Orphanage," he said, as the project showed a 3d image of a baby with bright Amber eyes.

    "What? It was a Native Orphanage?!"

    The word Native referred to the original people of this world, meaning those without Magic. From what she had read, these people didn''t wee people with Aetherical abilities.

    "Why? Why would she leave him there?" Wondered Anti. This was the main question. It wasn''t like they couldn''t take care of him here. No matter what differences her sister had with the royal father, Anti would have made sure that the prince was well taken care of until her sister returned.

    "I am simrly stumped on the question. Maybe they thought they were confident they woulde back safely. There is also the fact that the crown princess wouldn''t have been allowed to leave if she dide to the Royal Castle for help. But you were to ask me, a major factor could be her pride."

    Yes, how could she forget? Her sister and her headstrong and reckless nature. Her sister never liked the bindings that came with her being the crown princess of Antis. She wasn''t allowed to do much on her own and her future had already been decided for her. It''s one of the reasons why she left in the first ce.

    "So, my Nephew...?" It was bad enough that he didn''t grow up having the Royal Privileges. But did he also go through further trouble on top of that?"

    "Indeed. His life in the orphanage wasn''t good," said the general, confirming her fears. "In the beginning he was treated the same as the rest of the children there. But as he aged, his Aetherical powers began to manifest, resulting in a change of treatment."

    "It included bullying and shunning from the children and reduction in meals and such from the managers," said the general, as the images changed to the ones feature a malnourished kid Axel with several bruises on his face.

    The Princess''s heart broke upon seeing Axel in such a state. Ever since she had met him, she had already felt an affinity with him. And after finding out that he was actually her sister''s son, she had already begun regarding him as family. The only one that she had left.

    Antillia''s eyes glowed. "They dare..."

    The general continued. "In response, the prince he fought back the bullies and stole their food in order to fulfill his appetite."

    "That doesn''t make it better. My sister''s son having to steal food in order to survive?" The princess was beyond enraged. "Tell me it gets better?" she asked imploringly.

    "I''m afraid not if anything, it gets way worse. The prince was kicked out of the Orphanage at the age of 8."

    "What?! How could they?!"

    "Actually, full story is this: one of bullies at his primitive academy made a rude remark about the prince''s parents leaving him. When the prince retaliated, the bully''s parents, who were rtively affluent in the area, had him kicked out of both the academy and the orphanage."

    The princess had to try really hard not to blow things up. "What happened next? How did he survive?"

    "About that"

    "He had to live on the streets searching for jobs while stealing to survive."

    !!!

    The general showed various images and videos of a homeless kid being beaten, stealing, running, and sleeping on the streets.

    "No No Nononono!"

    The princess slowly scrolled through the pictures. In each picture, Axel''s face became more and more gaunt, and the childishness and nativity seemed to vanish from his eyes, making him look like an adult.

    Orphanage, then an abusive orphanage. But now, streets?

    Anti looked at the images in horror. The most important person in the world, the person who should have been sleeping on the softest of beds, eating the best and most nutritious delicacies of Antis, prepared by royal chefs.

    That person is sleeping on those dirty streets, eating stale food, suffering from starvation and abuse.

    "And in case you were still wondering about his scars" said the General, as he yed a particr video.

    "You fucking streetrat! You should have known your ce and obediently worked under me!"

    It showed Axel being beaten up by a group of gangsters as a man with a disfigured face taunted him while standing back.

    "No." Anti stood up. "He''s just a child" she whispered.

    "Hold him down for me" said a man with the disfigured face.

    "What the fuck is wrong with you? Let me go!" Protested a nine-year-old Axel.

    But, instead of freedom, he got a punch to his face that broke his tooth from one of the men holding him down.

    "Stop struggling you little fucker! My balls are still aching from the kick you gave me earlier!"

    "You had iting! What did I ever do to you?!" Replied Axel hotly.

    The princess clutched her heart, which was aching. The video was making it much more vivid and real just how much her sister''s son had suffered.

    "You''ve been stealing in our area without paying us protection money! Now take your punishment!" Said one of men in the video.

    "Bullshit!" Said Little Axel.

    The scar faced man chuckled as he casually squatted down as he looked at the struggling Axel.

    "It is indeed bullshit, little rat. The real reason is that arrogance of yours that has made you rejecting under me multiple times," he said, taking out his knife.

    Axel looked at the knife in horror.

    "Why do you keep bothering me?! There are so many willing people in the world!"

    The man shook his head in disappointment,

    "You don''t get it, kid. You don''t get it!" He said, twirling the knife and pointing it at Axel.

    "I saw potential in you, kid. No one else saw it, but I did! And I could have taken you to great heights if you hade under my wing. But now that you''ve rejected me, I have to show you exactly what you are without me," he said, bringing the knife closer to his face.

    "No! At least give me a fair fight, you bastard!"

    Axel struggled with all his might as the knife slowly descend.

    The man just chuckled as he slowly ran the t of the de along his cheek.

    "Get this in your little head: The world is unfair, you cheeky fucker. You are nothing but a rat right now and I''m the hunter. I''m the one with the power so I can do whatever I want. You want fairness? Bullshit," he spat, before turning the de in his hand.

    And Axel''s screams began.

    The princess removed the video, no longer able to watch further. She was crying. "How could they do this?"

    Calling her Nephew nothing. Calling him a a street rat! Cursing him, Beating him, torturing him!

    "It seems there is no need for the outside world to be independent after all," said the Princess, wiping her eyes.

    The sweet boy whom she met just a few days ago he had to go through THIS. What kind of ce is the outside world?

    "Treating Royalty like that we should have shown them their ce long ago," she said, magical waves roiling off her.

    If the outside world is like that, it is no wonder that her Nephew came here asking for citizenship.

    "What happened next? How did my Nephew escape this hell?"

    "That" The General wondered how to exin what happened next without bringing destruction to the whole outside world.

 Chapter 205: Busted?

    Chapter 205: Busted?

    "Alright, now you''ve sessfully angered me." with Sylthia having escaped, Karlock was furious. It was as if the delicious meal he had been cooking for a while was suddenly taken away from right under his nose.

    Kyrinughed. "So what? Gonna cry, you bulbous piece of metal junk." She taunted Karlock as

    she attacked him with her darkness. But the barrier around the guy was too strong, making her attacks useless.

    The red light in Karlock''s artificial eye intensified. "After I capture you, I''m going to take extra time in your transformation process."

    "Just try, small fry."

    The army of biomatons got in a formation and began a synchronized attack on her and Willis. Various types of sters sprouted out from some of the Biomatons, being extremely high powered or extremely concentrated, while many of the biomatons rushed to engage in Meleebat.

    Willis protected her from the various attacks while Kyrin drew her sword. Her darkness instantly attacked the long ranged ones while she sent out shing to the melee units.

    But

    "What the heck?"

    None of her attacks actually managed to do much damage. There was another unit mixed in among the army. These biomatons were either extremely bulky, or had almost all of their energy focused on creating barriers.

    Most of the Biomatons shifted their positions, blocking Kyrin''s attack while the rest were protected by these ''meat shield'' units.

    Karlockughed. "How it is? I am not the same person I used to be, Kyrin of the darkness. My army is aplete unit that can amplify its capabilities through supplementation. And with the enhanced processing power of my brain, I can control each of them at the same time."

    "Fucking madman."

    Kyrin cursed under her breath. So, that''s what''s up. This bastard has even converted his brain into something like aputer processor. He can pay individual attention to the movement of each unit at the same time, which opens myriads of attacks and defense strategies.

    That''s why, he has customized his army ordingly, distributing powers and specialties in a way that theirbined might be will (3*3 = 90 rather than (3+3 = 6).

    Kyrin cursed under her breath.

    Why is everything just getting worse? They are in this dangerous and ursed ce where conserving energy is a must for dangerous situations. But now, she''s having to spend her energy on trash like this guy.

    ..

    Large shockwaves rippled through the ground as Kyrin fought against Butcher, the number six of the Kraken.

    In the distance, panic and confusion was apparent on Sylthia''s face as she looked at Axel who was casually spectating Kyrin''s fight while sipping some beverage.

    "How many years has it been outside since I came here?" Asked Sylthia seriously.

    This ce is so deep into the Kraken territory that only the best of the best get the honor of venturing here. Sylthia has had to train since she was a kid in order to reach here. And here is this guy, looking like he is on a field trip when he just entered Antis.

    "Two to three days. Might have increased after we got here," Replied Estris in all seriousness as she checked Sylthia''s condition. Time flow was different in the trench. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes it is slow. So, for all they know, a few days might have already passed in the outside world in the few minutes they have been here.

    That''s also why Sylthia thought a long time must have passed in the outside world. But Estris''s answer was simply out of Sylthia''s expectations.

    "What?! Three days?!" Sylthia thought that she might be hallucinating due to the poison and injuries. "How can you bring him here in just three days?! Cough COugh" Sylthia coughed up blood. Literally. The poison was really killing her.

    "Can we focus on recovery first? Your condition is serious." said Estris, taking out a diagnosis scanner to run the tests. Her brows furrowed. "This is bad the poison has spread throughout your body."

    Estris quickly gave her the antipoison elixir, but it didn''t seem to work. If anything, Sylthia''s coughing instead intensified, even giving her seizures.

    "What''s happening to her?" Asked Axel with her annoyance, not wanting to be distracted from the fight.

    "This poison Karlock has managed to synthesize one that can''t be cured through our elixirs," she answered, busy running tests.

    An elixir is something that can be considered even better than phoenix tears. But being a maniacal genius having a Biotech relic, Karlock was actually able to synthesize a poison that was impervious to them.

    Estris turned her attention back to Sylthia. "Sylthia, brace yourself. I''m using my powers."

    Sylthia shook her head. "No! caught Reversing is... cough too taxing!"

    "There''s no other choice now." Said Sylthia, raising her hands.

    "What is she talking about?" Asked Axel.

    "Well, my powers... let''s just say they can only be used in very limited amounts," said Estris, even as gray energy began revolving around her. "Hold her down for me," she said, gesturing at Sylthia who wouldn''t let her use her powers.

    "Wait," said Axel, stopping her. "Let me get this straight. All you need is her poison cured?"

    "Of course." For the first time, Axel saw the barest hint of annoyance and impatience on Estris''s emotioness face. "Now, can we do it? I don''t have much time."

    Axel''s brows furrowed. This could be an opportunity. He handed Akiko the bottle of protein shake he was holding. "Move aside. I''ll do it."

    ???

    "It''s just poison, right? Just let me handle it," he said.

    "??? No you can''t." Refused Estris, looking at Axel with her ''Are-you-an-idiot?'' eyes. "This poison ispletely out of your league."

    "Just trust him," said Akiko, whose concentration waspletely on Kyrin''s fight. "You have no idea about his league."

    "That..." That might actually be true. Estris had only known Axel for a short time. But someone who can go toe to toe with Kyrin at 13? Nothing can be said about the limits of such a person.

    Estris just watched as Axel got to work. Taking out his knife and a ss vial, he made a cut on Sylthia''s neck artery, which had already turned purplish due to the poison and collected it in a vial. And then,

    "What are you d"

    Before Estris could even understand what was going on, Axel had already drunk the purplish blood, smacking his lips as if determining its taste.

    "What have you done?" Estris could only look at Axel in stupefaction. Now she''ll have to use her powers on not one, but two individuals.

    "Trust him." repeated Akiko, still watching Kyrin''s fight worried.

    "Rx, Poisons are useless against me," said Axel, analyzing the poison.

    He had the special skills [Poison Arts] and [Poison Immunity].

    Poison Arts involved synthesizing potions, along with their antidotes (Becausee on, what would you do if you poisoned the wrong person by mistake.)

    And poison immunity? It involved increasing your poison immunity through various means, which also included ingesting poison. Poison had always been something Axel was helpless against.

    So, ever since he got this skill, he has been ingesting any poison he encounters or makes through [poison synthesis] in order to increase his immunity.

    As soon as he ingested the poison, his natural immunity began to neutralize the little amount of poison that was in the blood. His skill proficiency increased rapidly, as new information was unlocked.

    ''Sess!'' This was Axel''s main aim for stepping up. [poison arts] and [poison immunity] are special skills, meaning they are extremely difficult to level up. He had already done as much as he could through normal poisons, so he needed something more dangerous for getting further.

    "Hm give me a minute," he said, taking out the potion equipment and a few ingredients from his storage space and began concocting an antidote.

    With Axel''s dexterity, he had the vial filled with the antidote in no time. "Here, this should do it."

    Estris had watched the whole process with scrutiny. Even though Axel did seem to have some skills and knowledge, but she didn''t really think he could synthesize an antidote that could detoxify a poison that even Elixirs couldn''t heal.

    Axel rolled his eyes. "Come on. If it doesn''t help then you can always use your powers, whatever they are."

    Sylthia was fed the potion, and very soon, her coughing eased up, making it easier for her to breathe.

    Still in disbelief, Estris ran the tests again.

    "It... it actually worked," murmured Estris.

    ....

    On the other hand, Kyrin had changed her battle tactics, getting a little bit more serious. Darkness began to converge on her, forming a protective suit that hugged her body. She drew her obsidian de and charged into the fray of biomatons.

    Whatever attacks came at her, would pass right through her as she went around individually cutting down her enemies.

    Willis just stood back, buffing her powers and sometimes hintering the biomatons.

    Karlockughed triumphantly.

    "How long can you keep this up? You''ll get overwhelmed soon. Individually, I ept I might be a ''small fry''. Butbined with the army that I have customized for myself over the years, I can even take down existences like you."

    "You know what?" muttered Kyrin as she just focused on clearing the horde. But what Karlock did not notice was the increase in the chilling darkness energy with each Biomaton she killed.

    "You talk too much, fatbrain." With that, Kyrin disappeared into the darkness, emerging from right under Karlock.

    [Death de]

    ??!!!

    The de charged with death energy that Kyrin had been gathering easily cut through the barriers that had sessfully blocked all of Kyrin''s previous attacks. Before Karlock had the chance to get in another word, Kyrin''s shed, and shed again several times more, for good measure, cutting the grotesque man into pieces.

    The entire army suddenly came to a stand still as their controller was suddenly hacked into pieces.

    "So what if you can control an army? I just have to off you, right?" Said Kyrin, wiping her de off the remains.

    But in the next moment, those remains suddenly moved, quickly moving to grab onto Kyrin''s body.

    "What the?"

    Before Kyrin could do anything, Karlock''s body exploded. At the same time, the rest of the army also attacked, dealing a lot of damage to Kyrin.

    Kyrin appeared beside Willis, but she was injured.

    "Are you alright?"

    "Damn it, I got injured. And poisoned," she muttered, drinking an Elixir.

    "I''m sorry, Mistress. I couldn''t cast the shield in time."

    "It''s my fault. I let my guard down."

    Estris''s long ranged backup would have helped out a lot right now.

    At this moment, Karlock''sugh sounded from one of the Biomaton. "I got you."

    Kyrin looked over at the automaton in surprise. "What the fuck? How is this cockroach not dead?"

    "Hehe, your power was indeed too frightening. But did you really think someone as important as me would take the risk of personally venturing into this dangerous ce?"

    Kyrin''s brows furrowed in realization. "It was fake," she murmured. That made all the work donepletely useless. She has wasted so much precious energy and they can''t even kill this monster.

    Karlockughed. "Yes, that body was just a fake. My real body is still safe within the confines ofb. I can now remotely control my biomatons with the same efficiency. The body you destroyed was a clone. A biomaton I made to look exactly like my original body. It was quite a masterpiece too, loaded with high level attacking and defensive abilities. Too bad you destroyed it in one go."

    "But that''s it. It''s over for you, Kyrin Tenebrous. You''ve been inflicted with my new creation. It can''t be detoxified by the standard Elixirs. The same as that Eryndor girl. She''s probably already dead as we speak."

    "And if you haven''t noticed, the rest of your team will also quickly follow suit." It was only then that Kyrin noticed that the flying creatures were already flying towards the darkness shroud at full speed.

    Kyrin and Willis weren''t even given the chance to stop them as they were once again attacked with the same intensity. While fighting, Kyrin staggered, and the darkness around her started decreasing as the poison spread through her body.

    "Haha, struggle as much as you want. But the poison"

    Before the words could be finished, a knife got buried to the hilt right into the head of the automaton that had the loudspeaker.

    "Did anyone ever tell you? You talk too much," said Axel, walking over.

    The flying creatures that were heading for the Darkness shroud were all swept up by a windstorm, courtesy of a recovered and extremely pissed Sylthia. The rest were shot down by Estris. Akiko had her sword out as well as she attacked the ground units.

    "How?"

    Karlock was still unable to understand how the hell Sylthia wasn''t dead yet.

    "Why the hell did youe out?" Yelled Kyrin, looking at Axel. Once Axel''s sses are rendered useless, he will be useless as well.

    "Don''t worry." said Axel, taking off his sses. "My mind arts just fine."

    When Karlock looked at the person who had dared to insult him, he found himself looking at a young kid of around 16. Furthermore, he was wearing a sub-relic that only Karlock knew how to make in the whole Antis.

    "Wait" The whole army suddenly paused as they all focused on Axel at once.

    "How the hell do you have HIS sses?"

    The registered user for those sses was someone he knew very well.

    ...

    A.N.: I know, I know, you want the princess''s reaction. It''s in the next chapter

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 206: Pitiful Princess

    Chapter 206: Pitiful Princess

    Chapter 199

    Not knowing that she hadn''t even heard half of it, the princess was already fuming with anger.

    "General, I need you to send our army there right now. I am going to have none of these people get away with what they did to Axel."

    At this point, she was simply writing down names. Each and every person the general had mentioned was going to have hell to pay.

    Anti was, by no means, a cruel or vengeful person. In fact, she''s rather a kind of ruler who would try to personally resolve her people''s issues, whether big or small.

    But it''s a different matter when ites to family. Axel had done nothing wrong. He was just retaliating. And yet, those unreasonable people had him kicked out of his academy and Orphanage. Due to them, Axel had to live on the streets at the tender age of 8. At 8, a child hardly even lets others take care of him, but at that age, her Nephew, the heir to the Royal Throne, had to struggle to obtain food, struggle to find shelter, struggle to remain even warm, and in the process. suffer a lot of abuse.

    Well, if those people could abuse their paltry privilege, then she''s going to show them what privilege actually means.

    And then there was that man with the disfigured face. All Axel had done was refusing to work under him. But that weak and insignificant native''s ego and pettiness was so high he made life hell for Axel for daring to oppose him. Does that man think he''s some Royalty? Well, SHE was royalty, and she sure knows this is not how the real Royalty behaves.

    What had he said?

    ''You are nothing but a rat right now and I''m the hunter. I''m the one with the power so I can do whatever I want.''

    Well, the princess never thought of it that way, but ording to his logic, isn''t the situation now reversed? So now, should he be the street rat now, while Axel the hunter? So it should be fine to do whatever she wants to that man, right? Like giving him a dose of painifera. Or would that be too much?

    The General researched the information and the results managed to draw a subtle tug at the corner of his lips. "Princess, it doesn''t seem like we have to interfere," he said, bringing out the information on the people.

    The Princess frowned. "And why is that?" She asked, her temper ring.

    "It''s because, it would seem that the Prince is not one to let things slide without proper payback."

    "This is the information on the family that had him ousted from the Orphanage."

    The princess looked at the information. "The family has been robbed clean three times, home, business, and even bank ounts emptied every time. The thieves behind the act have never been caught but the family repeatedly insisted that it was an 8 to 10 year old adolescent who was the mastermind behind this. The family now lives in poor condition, the father has suffered depression while the wife can''t sleep for more than a minute before getting up and checking everything in the house"

    "What the"

    Anti''s increasing anger paused. This

    A small smile broke out on her face due to the sheer absurdity of the situation.

    "Axel... did that?"

    She knew her Nephew had some skills, heck, she had seen them first hand right in Biopark and Trial Clip, but to do that at the age of 9 or 10.

    Satisfaction and pride arose in her heart upon knowing what her Nephew did to the family. That''s what you get for messing with the Royal family.

    "As for the person who is responsible for scarring his face..." continued the General. "The prince''s revenge on him was much more direct."

    Another memory was yed in the projector, disying a vi.

    Loud music yed in the background, guns and drugsid everywhere. The men seemed to be chilling, many of them having cheap hookers on theirps.

    But loud banging noises came from outside, causing the men to curse and draw their gun, thinking it was a gang war. Soon after which the door burst open as And a lone figure walked, with his wand drawn and carrying a bundle of weapons and shields.

    "Axel!" Even though the person in the footage was wearing a mask, the princess could still recognise him as her Nephew. But

    "Why are his movements so stiff?"

    As soon as he was in, Axel dropped the bunch of weapons he had been carrying to the floor.

    "Man, that was heavy," he muttered. His hands were continuously shaking. In fact, his whole body seemed was stretched taut, tremors spreading from time to time.

    "Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Shouted someone even as more and more of the gang started toe into therge hall of the vi.

    The number of guns pointing at Axel kept increasing. But he didn''t flinch as he kept waiting.

    At this moment, the princess saw a familiar and hateful man with disfigured face strut in with a cigar in his mouth and a gun in another.

    "Gentleman, what a rude way to enter someone''s home. I assume you are prepared forpensation?" He asked calmly.

    Axel''s grip on his wands tightened when he saw the bastard."I''m indeed here forpensation, you bastard."

    The hate and ruthlessness in his voice sent chills down the Princess back. She couldn''t believe this was still the sweet and innocent boy who hade here looking for a citizenship.

    Axel pointed his wand at the stack of weapons lying on his feet.

    "Oppugno Totalis!" He muttered after gathering all of his focus.

    At once, all the weapons started to shake. After which they began to rise individually, making all the men present startled.

    "Put him down!" The man ordered, getting serious.

    At once, gunshots began to be fired at Axel from various directions, making the situation chaotic.

    "Toote," said Axel as the rectangle shields he had carried assembled in front of him with a wave of his wand.

    He stood there as the shields assembled themselves in front of him, blocking all the bullets. The veins around his temple became visible due to the strain. But he wasn''t done yet.

    Peering through the gaps of shields, Axel was somehow able to see the situation on the other side precisely as he controlled the knife and daggers to shoot out in different directions at once, stabbing into different victims with pinpoint precision. .

    "Bullets aren''t working! Stop shooting and rush in!" Ordered Scars as more and more men fell very rapidly.

    The hail of bullets stopped and men were now able to close the distance to bring fight to close quarters.

    But anyone who approached close enough was taken down either by a knife or a spell from the other wand in his hand.

    Soon, dozens of men were taken down, but Scars slowly slipped out of the room.

    "Nope, not a chance," Axel dered as he took down thest few stragglers unhurriedly. He stepped on one of the shields and controlled it to fly after the bastard while the rest of the shields were still assembled around him.

    The person whose memory this was remained motionless as Axel and Scar vanished from the room, no longer appearing in the video. But soon, a blood curdling scream rang out, which could be heard clearly even in the hall where the rest of the gang was lying.

    "Arrrrrrrrrrgghhh!!!"

    "You...! Why"

    "Why didn''t I give you a chance? Is that what you want to ask?" Came Axel''s voice. "Haha! How naive are you, Johnny? You wanted a fair fight? That''s quite riching from you."

    "You gang up on a nine-year-old and torture him for no reason. And now you want a fair fight?!" Came Axel''s voice, who seemed to beughing.

    "You really are one hell of a hypocrite, man. Oh sorry I forgot, you are no longer a man!"

    "No! This isn''t happening you can''t do thisplease... stop!"

    "What? You want me to stop? Why would I stop? I am now the hunter and you are the rat. I''m the one with power so... I can do whatever I want," he said, using the same words that were used on himself as shing sounds rang out.

    And the screams of the scarred man began.

    The princess was feeling goosebumps all over her body. "That... That was Axel?"

    "That would be seen to be the case, Princess."

    Gods ... what kind of savagery...

    the maternal part inside her was extremely satisfied and proud with the way Axel had handled the situation. But at the same time, she was also concerned.

    The princess sighed. She can''t expect him to be a kind-hearted and forgiving person, given what he has gone through. If anything, it only made her hope she had been there for him, so that he won''t have to be like this.

    But, something else was wrong.

    The princess rewound the video, once again ying his entry. "His movements they don''t seem natural. He seems to be in pain."

    The General sighed, with her keen insight, he had already expected her to notice this.

    Knowing that he could no longer avoid this topic, the General began to speak tentatively.

    "Despite his repeated setbacks, the prince had managed to keep himself afloat for three years in that ursed ce. But then, something happened."

    The princess remained silent for a while after hearing that. ".... There''s more...?" She asked. It wasn''t really a question. It was more like a futile hope of this being the end of it. Because she couldn''t bear to hear about more of his suffering while controlling her anger.

    The General knew that this particr tidbit of information couldn''t be hidden no matter what.

    "Princess, in the outside world, there is something called the Crutiatus curse. Its effects are simr to the venom of the Painifera."

    Anti nodded, remembering having studied about the existence of such a spell. The sting of Painifera is something every person in Antis wishes to never experience.

    "I know. It''s one of the forbidden spells, right? But why would you" She paused.

    "No...." Anti slowly put her fingers to her temple. There is only one reason why the General would tell her this. "By the sea gods... don''t tell me..."

    "Yes, I''m afraid that is the case."

    There is a part of the royal education that Anti absolutely hated. There are situations in which the royalty might have to bear immense pain. That''s why, their mental fortitude and pain tolerance is first increased through Royal rituals. The princess was alright with that, but for thest test, when the heirs turn 18, they have to go through a simted process of the painifera sting.

    Even though the pain had been lessened multiple times due to the training of mental fortitude and pain tolerance, Anti still has tremors whenever the subject is brought up. Both her mind and body haven''t been able to quite forget just how bad it was.

    "No! It can''t be! He hadn''t even gone through the procedures!"

    Axel hadn''t received the mental fortitude and pain tolerance training. And to go through that kind of experience without that, the princess didn''t want to ept it.

    "That''s right, I heard that this spell is actually much weaker than the painifera sting, isn''t it?" said Anti, grasping onto the straws. She had read that a powerful cruciatus curse can only be cast by a limited number of people. By people who have an evil nature and some proficiency in dark magic.

    The general took a deep breath. "Princess, the next bit of news is something that is unbelievable and appalling."

    "What?"

    "It is of such magnitude that I had to consult with the highest authority menders beforeing to you," said the general, checking through the records.

    "The usual damage from a painifera sting is 2000 gpu. The damage it causes depends on the age of the bearer. It can be fatal to those below 18 even when provided with the antidote, and to full grown adults, it can cause severe nerve damage and insanity."

    The princess began feeling nauseous, having an ominous feeling. "... Where are you going with this?"

    "I had the Menders quantify the damage."

    "Oh" The princess was afraid to even ask. "....How much?"

    Is it is it actually more than 1000? For god''s sake he wasn''t even 18!

    A number was projected in the air.

    !!!!!!!!

    And seeing the number of zeroes, Anti''s mind went nk. Augh escaped her lips upon seeing the absurd number.

    "This this can''t be"

    It wasn''t 100. It wasn''t 1000. Heck, it wasn''t even 10,000.

    "More than a hundred thousand?!"

    This was simply impossible! She had seen her Nephew just a few days ago, okay? And he was still perfectly alive. (Though he WAS missing an arm for some reason.)

    "Usually, it is indeed true that the Crutiatus is less potent than one sting of painifera. But that is only if we''re talking about the normal case, when the Crutiatus ends within seconds. But the prince...

    He was held under the curse for around 10 minutes, causing the damage to stack."

    !!!

    Anti''s stomach lurched. If she had eaten something for thest 24 hours, she would have already vomited out now. "I don''t believe it."

    That''s all she could do now: deny. Because the alternative was far too horrifying to even think about.

    In response to this, A medical report was also projected, disying the exact situation of the patient in extensive detail. And along with that, pictures and videos were projected of a boy walking, no dragging his body into a hospital with blooding out of his eyes, nose, ears, and skinpletely red due to numerous nerves having a burst open.

    Tears pooled in Anti''s eyes at the hair-raising sight. "No no. Royal father royal sister mother"

    The general took a deep breath. "Complete and permanent destruction of all nervous faculties, brain permanent damage to mind due to the sheer amount of pain, severe muscle atrophy due to continuous spasming, a possible heart failure"

    The General tried to describe it as emotionlessly as possible, but even his voice shook due to the profound disbelief he was feeling.

    "For all intents and purposes, the Prince should have been should have been dead. But he managed to cling to life for more than an hour. It is unexinable how he managed to move his body in that condition to reach the hospital, or how he still had a brain that was functioning enough to think of going there."

    .

    A.N.: Powerstones.

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 207: Axel is in the Trench?!

    Chapter 207: Axel is in the Trench?!

    "For all intents and purposes, the Prince should have been dead. But he managed to cling to life for more than an hour. It is unexinable how he managed to move his body in that condition to reach the hospital, or how he still had a brain that was functioning enough to think of going there." Disbelief was apparent in the general''s tone. But such was the situation.

    The Princess couldn''t take it anymore. Covering her face, Anti wept bitterly.

    The Pain.

    It was back.

    The same pain she felt when sister died. The same pain when she thinks about father''s health.

    Why did it hurt just as much?

    She hadn''t even met him until a few days ago, and she didn''t even know he was her Nephew.

    ''Then why... why does it still hurt like this?''

    The princess didn''t know, but she had been unconsciously longing for family. Her mother passed away early, and Royal Father had always been busy. In such a situation, her sister had been the one to actually raise her and take care of her.

    The loss of her sister had been a huge blow to her.

    So, when she realized that Axel was actually her sister''s son, she had already thought of him as herst family.

    That''s why, upon listening to the harrowing details of Axel''s past, its impact on her could be imagined. The more shees to know about his past, the more vividly she can feel the same pain he must have been through.

    And yet, she can''t stop. Not yet. She has to know more. She has to know it all. After all, there are things that need to be done after that.

    The princess took her time, trying to regain herposure. After a while, she wiped her tears.

    "Pardon my weakness, General. You can continue."

    "In my opinion, you''re showing incredible strength right now, Princess."

    Princess Anti was a really empathetic person. She can''t even stand to see a stranger suffer, let alone if the person is of her own blood.

    "Through some divine miracle, the prince survived," continued the General. "But, it was at a high cost."

    Antillia''s gloved hands balled into fists. "What were the damages?" She asked, already knowing it wasn''t going to be simple.

    But since he was in just a great condition right now, she decided there shouldn''t be anything serious.

    "In this situation, the damage depends on three factors. Mind, Treatment, and Age," said the General as the princess nodded, listening anxiously.

    "First of all, he suffered no damage to his mind. Not even a little bit."

    The princes gasped. "No damage to mind...?" She repeated in disbelief.

    Since the Kraken members often use Painifera, and due to her special ''pain resistance'' training, she has some knowledge of these situations.

    Usually, when Painifera, or the Crutiatus of this degree is inflicted on a person, the recipient of most damage is the mind. It is because the pain caused is so unbearable that the victim''s mind simply can''t bear it. It is far past the pain threshold of most of the people. So, even after a Painifera sting victim is administered with the antidote, they still can''t escape some degree of mental damage if their minds are weak. It depends on how fast they''re relieved from the pain.

    But what Axel experienced, was far, far more intense degree of pain than the Painifera sting, and for a far longer time. And that too, when he had no training in mind arts.

    The General nodded in affirmation. "Indeed. He was of sound mind when he woke up. He even showed no panic when he found out about the results."

    "That''s... that''s...."

    "Unbelievable? Mind boggling? Sea drowning?" The general supplied, also quite shocked himself. "It is, indeed. His pain tolerance has reached a degree where no injury can make him flinch."

    Such a skill was quite useful on the battlefield. Pain is something everyone feels. Even the most powerful people. But him being immune to it opens quite a lot of fields in his.

    "... Heart breaking." finished the princess. Anti knew that Axel''s mind might be stronger due to his genes. But that and pain tolerance arepletely different fields. Most of his pain tolerance is due to the harsh situation he faced from childhood and his strong determination to live. Moreover, he took the situation calmly, as if this was a normal urrence to him. That''s what''s most heart-rending to her.

    "What about the rest of the damages?" She asked, drawing a shaky breath.

    The General shook his head regretfully. "I''m afraid he wasn''t as lucky in terms of the other two. The other reasons that make his survival unexinable are his Treatment and Age."

    "First of all, since he somehow had to drag his own body all the way to the Sanitorium, there was a dy in treatment, which caused a lot of damage.

    He lived in a kingdom called Britain. Its magical counterpart has made several strides in development, but in the medical field, it is still quite primitive. So, even though the Hospital went above and beyond in the Prince''s treatment, unfortunately, with the damage that had been done, there was little they could do to heal him."

    The Princess looked at the horrific projection of Axel after the torture. Oh how she hoped she could have been there.

    If only she had known, if only her sister had told her, if only she could somehow prevent it, she would dly sacrifice anything.

    "And thest factor is... his age. He was too young," continued the General.

    "...That''s right, he''s only 16 right now!" Anti realized. Age is an important factor. There is a reason why she was only trained to experience pain after she was 18.

    Teenage years is the time period of rapid magical and physical growth. Their body gets stronger, and their magical quality experiences a huge leap till their maturity.

    Usually, in situations such as these, the only reason the wizards are fine after the Crutiatus or Painifera is because their magic unconsciously protects their bodies from serious damage. The older you are, the less damage you''ll suffer from the curse. Even a few months can make a big difference.

    "When did this happen? Tell me, when did this incident happen?!" She asked urgently.

    "It happened around three years ago, princess."

    "Three years?! That means he was only 13?!" Anti gasped.

    That is such bad news! It means that there is no way his body would have been able to handle that level of torture.

    The General hesitated. "Princess, about that, the Prince actually lied to you about his age. He was actually born in 1980 in the outside world calendar, meaning that he is only 13 years old right now."

    "What?!" Anti''s brain short-circuited. "How is that possible?!"

    He is only 13 years old right now?! How is that possible! It made no sense.

    How can a thirteen year old look that old? How does a thirteen year old have those skills? That power, dexterity, magic? That maturity? For god''s sake, he destroyed an army of Monsters single handedly. How could he be only 13? If anything, he should be far older!

    "Princess, the Crown Princess only left Antis 14 years ago, and there was no way the prince could have been born before that without anyone''s notice. Also, the orphanage records can clearly prove it. There is no doubt that the Prince is only 13 years old."

    Anti realized that she had overlooked the dates. Her sister had indeed only left Antis 14 years ago, and there is no way Axel could have been born before that. That can only mean

    She blinked, her eyes zing over. "This means he was only 10 when it happened?!"

    Gods of Sea! He went through all that at that age?! That would have totally destroyed his body!

    The General sighed.

    "That''s why it is so surprising that he survived. But the prince hadn''t even reached his magical maturity yet, which resulted in his magic quickly running out not long after the torture began, meaning he had to survive the rest on his own.

    And since his nerves, tendons, and muscles weren''t developed enough to handle the destruction spell without the protection of his magic, his body received severe damage as well.

    After staying unconscious in the Hospital for three days and three nights, he woke up in the morning of the fourth day. But, since the right treatment couldn''t be provided at the right time..." The general sighed. "He was, in essence, permanently crippled." he said, as the results after the treatment were showcased.

    "???What???"

    "It is true. Anyone else with his condition should not have been able to move. All the nerves in his body were fully corrupted with the curse''s magic. Each movement would have felt like a minor painifera sting. In the report, it is clearly written that the patient is rmended "full-time bed rest and full-time house-elf service", basically advising to not move at all for the rest of his life and have a servant take care of all of his needs."

    How is this possible? Anti just stared nkly at the word that had been tranted into Antian text. She couldn''t understand at all.

    "But then how is he?"

    "Still able to move? That''s why I used the words ''anyone else with his condition''. The prince had already taken pain far higher degree than this."

    Only Axel was able to do it, because he was the one who could. He was the person who has already survived the damage of more than a hundred thousand gpu. Thus, the pain was moving, without make an ordinary person simply pass out with effort was quite easy for him. This is also one of the many reasons why the General evaluated his pain tolerance in high regard.

    "That''s why, the prince decided he was not going to stay bedridden even if it meant enduring unimaginable pain."

    The princess shook her head. "No that can''t be right" she murmured, once again in denial.

    She had thought that the pain was only temporary, and then he was somehow healed. After all, she HAD seen him show an extremely high level of physical abilities in the trial that happened just a few days ago. "There is no way he was permanently damaged, is there? He seems to be in top condition right now. How was he able to clear the Academy trial in record time if he was crippled?"

    The princess was simply too confused as she brought up the picture of the bloodied Axel and the ripped Axel just a few days ago. "If his body was really permanently damaged, how did he transition from this, to this?" She asked,paring the two pictures of Axel.

    The General shook his head. "That''s what I tried to find. For all intents and purposes, this should have been the end for him. But the Prince did not give up. He went to a local Mage academy called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

    The Princess''s brows "What? In such a condition?! Won''t using spells be..."

    The General. "Using any use of aetherical power would be extremely impossible. And that did seem to be the case," he said, bringing up all of known information on Axel''s first year.

    "In the beginning, he could even cast the basic spells that other students could easily do. Despite the pain, he would practice extra hard in order to master each spell. Somehow, he managed to avoid drawing attention to himself throughout the first year. But when seeing through the videos, his condition is apparent."

    Anti looked through various videos of Axel''s first year. In most of them, he was apanied by a blonde girl. In each of them, even though Axel seems to be trying his best to hide it, it can clearly be seen that he is in pain, his movements stiff and slow. "How long did this go on?" She asked.

    How long did he have to bear this pain? How long did he have to cast magic in that condition? How long did he have to suffer?

    "Around one year. Somehow, the prince was able to heal himself after that."

    "One year?! A fresh wave of tears flooded Anti''s eyes. "How did anyone not notice?!"

    "It may be due to the abilities the prince developed during his days on the street. But it seems that the prince has tried his best to keep his distance from people."

    So, not only did he have to go through that torture, he also had to bear the continuous pain throughout the year while having no medical help.

    Just because someone decided it to torture an eleven year old for their sick satisfaction.

    Anti finally wiped her tears. This was it. She had controlled herself to know about all of it. Now, it was time. The water around Antis seemed to churn, bubbles rising everywhere.

    "Who was it?" That''s all she asked, her voice eerily calm, as opposed to the water outside.

    Who was this or who were they? What could they possibly get from torturing her Nephew? Just what had done to incur such a punishment? No matter what, no living being deserves to be treated this way.

    The General lowered his head. "I.. could not find that out yet, princess. Since the prince is now famous in the outside world, someone had dug up all the information on him. Every memory that had witnesses has been uploaded in the outerworld dee, But, there is no information about that event. It would seem that there are no witnesses alive."

    "But" The General hesitated. "With the Prince''s personality and his nature, I doubt the perpetrator is still alive. With his currentbat power, there are very few people in the outerworld who could be his match."

    Anti bit her lip, calming her anger as she recalled what had happened to the scar-faced man. Her dear Nephew had definitely not shown mercy for that one, taking his sweet time torturing the man before killing him. He is a boy, no.. a man who can take care of himself. He has been for the past 13 years. It would be presumptuous of her to think he would need her help when he is already strong enough to take his revenge for himself.

    "Nevertheless, please do send out investigators. Even if there are no witnesses, that doesn''t change anything for us. I want to know exactly what happened, and who the perpetrators were, no matter if they are alive or dead."

    "I have already made arrangements, princess."

    The princess sighed as she finally got up. "You have my gratitude for all this information, uncle," addressing him informally like she usually does. "There is still a lot I would like to learn about my new Nephew, and there is a lot that needs to be done now that we have a new heir to the Royal throne. But for now" the princess shook her head. "I can no longer wait."

    "I need to meet my Nephew."

    The general smiled, nodded encouragingly. "I will have Division Head Tenebrous personally apany him here this instant."

    The General made a call, but it couldn''t connect. "What?"

    The General''s eye twitched, suddenly realizing something. There are very few reasons why a call doesn''t connect. "One minute, princess." In order to not rm the Princess, the General excused himself in order to make a few more calls.

    "What''s the matter now?" The princess was very extremely jittery. She couldn''t wait to see Axel. She was already wondering, what would she say to him when she does meet him? How would he react? Does he already know that he is her Nephew? If yes, then why did he not tell her? Why did he decide to stay here?

    "Uncle, why is it taking so long?" Asked the Princess, wondering if she should go meet Axel instead of summoning him here. But, at this moment, the General returned to the room, his face extremely grave.

    "AhemPrincess, there has been a situation."

    ....

    A.N.: Poor princess

    Next: Real Strength of Kraken''s Sixth

    Next next: Search of Nephew

    Next... next: Separation

    Next... next: More Relic Wielders

    New month! Come read /Snollygoster

    Vote

 Chapter 208: You Killed Theron And Nerio?!

    Chapter 208: You Killed Theron And Nerio?!

    Sylthia''s consciousness was blurry. She knew she was dying. From poison, of all things.

    ''What a pathetic way to go...''

    Since birth, her body had been administered with the best treatments and procedures in order to make it as strong as possible.

    Whether it be a physical, magical, mental or a biochemical attack, her resistance had been increased to the max. Ordinary poisons couldn''t even put a dent to her immunity. And of course, there were always elixirs which could instantly cure the venom if needed. So, getting poisoned to death was not the way she had ever thought she would go.

    Maybe that''s why she got careless.

    In the sudden ambush, all of her focus was put into defending against the Kraken''s new weapon, ignoring Karlocks sneak attack.

    As a result? Now she had been inflicted with a poison which couldn''t be contained by her immunity or elixirs.

    There was only one way of dying to be saved now, using Estris''s ability to the extreme. But since she knew her friend''s ability well, she knew it was going to cost Estris. She wondered if it was really worth it.

    Synthia coughed, blooding out of her mouth. Her immunity had almost been consumed. The poison was just too strong. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, cutting off her air supply. Her heart beat was gradually weakening. She was having difficulty processing information, and her vision was getting blurry.

    She could barely make out the conversation that was taking ce between Estris and Chris. The brat was iming he could save her.

    In her final moments, Sylthia wanted tough. ''Yeah, little guy. Of course you can.''

    Under different circumstances, Sylthia would have exined to the naive boy exactly why that was impossible, that is, if she wasn''t so busy coughing her lungs out and dying.

    But somehow, Estris actually agreed to let the boy have a try. Sylthia wanted to yell at her friend. This was dangerous! If the boy is identally infected by the toxins, it would be really bad.

    Just when she was hoping for Chris to keep his distance, the guy did something that even made her forget to cough for a second. He swallowed her blood!

    What a way tomit suicide. WHY would he do this?!

    Great. Now they will have two dead people here.

    ''A pity''

    That was thest thought she had before ''died''.

    "Oi, wake up already. It''s not the time to sleep." Sylthia awoke to a p on her cheek.

    Opening her eyes, she realized that the coughing was gone and she could breathe again. "What happened?" She murmured, utterly confused. "Why am I not dead? Estris, did you use your powers?! I told you not to! And why aren''t YOU dead?! Estris, did you use your powers on HIM too?!"

    This time, it was Estris who pped Sylthia. "You need to calm down. And breathe. I did not save you. He did," she said, nodding towards Axel.

    ??

    Sylthia turned to look at Axel in shock. She couldn''t believe it! This boy this this outsider! HE saved her life? "He did?! How?!"

    "I don''t know. He just tasted your blood, then made up some weird concoction and fed it to you. Before I knew it, you were breathing stably again."

    Sylthia slowly shook her head. "How how is that possible? Even the Elixirs had no effect. It was a new synthesization. How did he manage to detoxify it?"

    "Actually, I would like to know that as well," said Estris, turning to Axel.

    While going through the knowledge he had just unlocked, Axel was pricked by the curious and disbelieving gazes of Estris and Sylthia, causing him to pause.

    Axel clenched his jaw. He knewing down here was a bad idea. It seems like he''s being forced to reveal all of his secrets here one after another. Well, no matter. He decided that poison mastery is thest secret that is going to be revealed on this trip.

    "Alright, I can exin. But are you guys sure you want to know right now?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he gestured towards the battlefield not far away from them. Suddenly, the girls turned their attention back to the fight, only to see that Kyrin did seem to need their help.

    "Oh no, boss has been poisoned too," said Estris.

    "What?! NO!" Sylthia panicked. "What do we do?!"

    Both thedies turned to look at Axel, who had already sessfully detoxified Sylthia. "Axel, no Chris, can you"

    "Cure Commander Tenebrous too! Quickly! She''s about to die!"

    Axel shrugged, leisurely spectating the battle. "Well? I don''t know if I can. It''s not an easy task, you know. Especially when you receive no gratitude for saving the person."

    Sylthia blushed, realizing the huge blunder she hadmitted. She had forgotten to thank her savior! Everything had happened so fast that she barely had time to process it. A few seconds ago, she was about to die. With a lot of regret and unwillingness. But then, she actually survived! And it was just a 16 year old who saved her, one she would consider to be thest person to be able to do so. Then she found out that her idol was also poisoned. In all this, shepletely forgot to thank the person due to whom she was still able to breathe.

    "I"

    "Yes?" Axel leaned his ear forward, as if to hear her more clearly.

    "I" Sylthia knew what she had to do, but she was having a real struggle actually doing it. Just a little while ago, when she first met him, she had thought that this guy was just a nobody, even beyond nobody. A primitive person from the outside world. Even after he had shown off his talent in the trial, she had refused to acknowledge it. So what if he''s a little athletic and good atbat? He''s still a primitive guy who has not received Antian education. As for beingpared to her? Without a relic, he''d always be an insignificant bug.

    But now, that same person had actually saved her life. She felt extremely humiliated and defeated. And that''s when Chris hadn''t even tried to bother to see her aspetition. Even when she had repeatedly put him down in their conversation, and had instead saved her life.

    Maybe, that''s what made it worse. She had been making all sorts of assumptions about him, getting jealous of his talent, being petty, seeing him in contempt and what not, while hepletely ignored her existence, like she was not even worthy enough for his attention. Instead of taking her rudeness to heart, he even saved her life instead.

    Just how... noble is that?

    Even now, looking at him sitting on the ground, he gave off a strange aura of dominance and indifference that made her feel small and transparent. There was only one other person she had gotten the same feeling from.

    The Princess....

    ''Sigh... I lost.''

    Sylthia finally gave up on theparison.

    Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to bow her head. "I''m really sorry, I didn''t express my gratitude. I will repay this life debt one day."

    ''Sounds familiar.''

    Standing beside Axel, Akiko just shook her head in pity. If she can tell anything from the past, rather than being able to repay, she would instead end up with more debt.

    Axel, on the other hand, nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. So you do have some conscience after all. Now, quickly admit that I''m much better than you and you''re sorry for ever being rude to me."

    "...W-What...?!" Sylthia looked at Axel as if looking at him for the first time.

    "What''s wrong? Do you not want me to go save Kyrin?"

    "You....!"

    Is this guy for real? What happened to the Noble and Indifferent person who doesn''t get offended and is always the bigger man who looks at the bigger picture?

    She is taking her thoughts back. This guy is the most narcissistic, selfish, petty, and egoistic bastard she has known!

    It seems, he did take offense of her words. But the bastard had just been waiting for the right time to get back at her!

    ....

    A few momentster

    All the Automatons had turned their focus on Axel, specifically, on the sses he had just taken off.

    "How the hell do you have HIS sses?" Asked Karlock, using another Automaton''s loudspeaker tomunicate.

    Axel''s head went nk. Fuck...

    ''Did he actually find out?!''

    Did this guy find out that these were Nerio''s sses?!

    How?!

    Axel grimaced. This is bad. If this bastard knows that these are Nerio''s sses, then he is busted. Because the person who has the sses will be behind the death of Theron and Nerio.

    Axel gritted his teeth. When taking out the sses, he didn''t think they would be encountering Kraken high-rankers so soon. And when he learned that many of the Kraken members use the same device, he thought no one would recognize them. Who would have thought that they would encounter a Kraken higher up right away, one who would be a specialist in technology at that?

    ''Yep, this IS bad.'' He confirmed.

    Axel''s mind worked furiously, trying toe up with ways to prevent this disastrous oue.

    Whoever has Nerio''s sses would be behind the death of Theron and Nerio. Theron and Nerio had been dispatched to bring the Crown Prince. If this bastard connects the dots, he''d know that Axel is not Chris Martin the noob, but Axel Hunt the heir to the Throne.

    What''s worse is that they can''t even kill Karlock right now to silence him, since his real body is not here. Once Karlock reveals this information to the higher ups, all hell would break loose.

    Only a second had passed, and Axel''s lumency elerated brain had processed all this information. But he still hadn''te up with a suitable solution.

    "Oh? Whose sses are these?" He asked, trying to buy time, and also trying to confirm that this guy had indeed realized the identity of the original owner.

    "Who else ?! They belong to my friend Nerio!"

    !!!

    "Nerio... Krosak?"

    "The Seventh Hand?!"

    The name elicited an instant response from the rest of the people present.

    Old man Willis erected barriers all around them, Kyrin turned intangible, Sylthia summoned a wind storm around them, while grey energy glowed into Estris''s eyes.

    Nerio Krosak, the Unseen Death. Not the strongest among The Hands, but definitely among the most feared ones. He is actually one of the major reasons why the Kraken Territory is so dangerous.

    Imagine dying instantly out of the blue, not expecting it, not knowing it, and not even realizing it. That was Nerio, the Unseen death. His relic, the Aerenterous, can shoot through almost any defense, if put enough power.

    The only saving grace is that the guy doesn''t have much of a defense, so he is only dispatched on extremely important missions.

    Though, that didn''t do much to alleviate his threat, since he could kill you before you even know where he is, let alone approach him. If that wasn''t bad enough, he is also apanied by his bodyguard Theron, also known as the Unkible Urchin. No one could break through his defense of his coral armor. And the harder you try to hit, the harder he''ll hit back.

    ....Absolute offense.... and Absolute defense....

    The duo together make a terrifyingbo.

    That''s why, just the name was enough to rattle everyone.

    Everyone except Akiko looked at the sses in Axel''s hands in shock.

    "Seventh''s sses?!" Asked Sylthia in shock.

    How can they belong to the Seventh?! If that manes looking for his sses, then this messy situation would take a turn for the worse.

    On the other hand, Axel still needed more time, so he pretended to be surprised, looking towards the Biomaton which had spoken. "What the hell are you talking about? How can you be so sure they belong to that guy?"

    That was something he genuinely wanted to know.

    "Khekhekehkehkhe"

    But the question seemed to amuse Karlock as they heard his creepy aesthema-ticughter from the automatons. "Who brought this kid in here? Do you know nothing about me?" He asked.

    "I MADE those sses! Only I have the blueprints for that subrelic! If that doesn''t tell you enough, you should also know that I had to make special modifications in that piece to fit a sniper. There is no way I wouldn''t recognise them. Now, tell me, how in the Entity''s name do YOU have them?! And how did Theron and Nerio die?!"

    "What?!"

    The words drowned the Antians in shock. Theron and Nerio dead? WTF?????

    The duo has been a real pain to the kingdom, extirpating a multitude of the kingdom''s forces in the past few years. There have been serious meetings about making ns to eliminate them but none have been sessful so far.

    Theron''s defense is too strong, and Nerio''s shooting is too dangerous. Even if they really send out their major yers to eliminate these two, it is guaranteed that they would lose a lot more than they will gain.

    That''s why, hearing about them being dead came as something too inconceivable and dibobting to them.

    "What... do we do?" Asked Akiko in a whisper, standing beside Axel. She, of course, knew exactly who killed those two Kraken higher ups. Heck, she had even seen their dead bodies herself.

    She knew that the situation was critical. They were in the middle of enemy territory. If they found out that the person holding the sses was none other than Axel Hunt himself, then it could be really dangerous.

    Axel cursed inwardly. The situation was bad. Karlock was already catching up. Just a little more time, and he would realize who the boy he was talking to actually was. Also, Kyrin, Estris and the rest were also getting more and more confused. Fortunately, since Karlock, being the geek that he was, was so talkative, Axel had gotten enough time to think of several solutions.

    Two of the most dangerous people of Kraken dead? And the spoils ending up in the hands of a boypletely unrted to the matter? This didn''t add up. Axel realized that he just had to add some clues so that the situation makes sense.

    He looked at Kyrin. "Hey Boss. Did you really kill them?"

    Kyrin: ???!!!???

    "Why did you give me some dead guy''s sses?!" He asked, not giving Kyrin the time to refute.

    Yup, he had considered several options, but this one turned out to be the best one after all. Simple yet masterful.

    "You!" Sure enough, all the automatons'' focus turned to Kyrin, shock and realisation sounding in Karlock''s voice. "It was YOU! Damn it, who else could it be?!"

    The situation suddenly made perfect sense. How did the boy get the sses? Because his boss gave them to her. How did she get the sses? Wasn''t it obvious?

    Everyone at the organization was shocked when they came to know about Theron and Nerio''s deaths. How could those two die in the fucking outer world when even the best of the Antian forces were helpless against them?

    "You have been in the outside world all this time!" Muttered Karlock in realisation. "You found out about them, didn''t you? I should have known from the beginning!! You have killed Theron and Nerio!"

    But now the cause seems so obvious! Kyrin Tenebrous! One of the most powerful and dangerous Relic Wielders in Antis. There''s probably no one in the outer world other than Kyrin who can take down both Theron and Nerio.

    Meanwhile, Estris, Willis, and Sylthia werepletely bbergasted by the strange series of events. First of all, the sub-relic which Axel was using turned out to belong to Nerio, the dangerous and feared shooter from Kraken. Then, theye to know that the number 7 and 8 of the Hands are actually dead, and this biomass of a machine thinks that Kyrin was the one who was behind their deaths and the one who gave Axel Nerio''s sses.

    Well, it wouldn''t be difficult to believe that Kyrin did manage to kill off two of Kraken''s finest alone. Except she WASN''T the one who killed them. She wasn''t the one who gave Axel the sses. ording to Axel, he just got them ''from a friend''.

    And even if she had really killed those two, this is not a matter that she would suppress.

    So, were Theron and Nerio really dead? And if yes, then who the hell killed them? And how did the sses end up in Axel''s hands?

    "FUCK!" What the hell are you talking about?!" Asked Kyrin. Of course, the most confused person was none other than her.

    When did she kill those two?!

    And, when did SHE gave this brat those sses?! Kyrin quickly realized that Axel is shifted the me to her.

    But of course, Karlock was already deep in his theory to believe Kyrin.

    "Don''t try to y games here, Tenebrous! I know it was you! Now tell me! Is he still alive?!What happened to Axel Hunt?! What happened to the Pri"

    .

    A.N.: next: Real Strength of Kraken''s Fifth

    Next next: Search for Axel

    Next next next: Alone

    Nex.. next: The Royal Relic

    Next... next: A Fight Between Monsters

    Exciting chapters ahead! Come read right /Snollygoster

 Chapter 209: Strength of Krakens 5th

    Chapter 209: Strength of Kraken''s 5th

    "Now tell me! What happened to Axel Hunt?Where is the Pri"

    Would Axel let this fatglob Karlock reveal all his secrets? Fat chance.

    Before the biomaton could finish that sentence, it was pulverized by yet another knife throw from Axel.

    "Oops! My bad," said Axel, even as Estris ran to Kyrin to give her the antidote.

    "What in the Deepest reaches trench are you *Bang*" This time, two of the Biomatons spoke them time, so as to not get interrupted.

    ''Keep your mouth shut!'' Another throw, and both their heads were blown off. This time, they even put up a shield, but that didn''t mean much to Axel who was actually using a lot of his strength right now, almost on the verge of panic.

    ''Fuck why can''t this bastard just keep his mouth shut?!'' Axel was in a critical situation. If Karlock somehow finds out the boy in Kyrin''s team is actually the Axel Hunt he is looking for, then it is over. The more Karlock talks about this subject, the more likely Axel is to be exposed.

    "Axel Hunt? Karlock, what do you mean by that?!" Sure enough, Kyrin quickly picked up on the strange words of Karlock and her eyes narrowed, turning towards Axel.

    "Don''t y dumb, Kyrin," several thousand automatons spoke up this time, so he wouldn''t get interrupted in the middle. Axel clicked his tongue. He can''t silence these many at once. ''Why does this guy have to talk so much?''

    Karlockughed. "No need to fool me, Kyrin. You must already know about Axel Hunt, the boy who was the reason for their dispatch in the first ce. After all, I know that you killed those two. And you wouldn''t kill them without proper interrogation. You were in the same area as well."

    ???

    Kyrin, Estris, and Willis, who already knew Axel''s real name, all turned to look at Axel, confusion written on their faces. Axel Hunt the reason why the Seventh and the Eighth were dispatched? How? Why? Is he talking about the same Axel Hunt?

    But Axel shook his head at them in warning. Thankfully, they took the hint, saving him the trouble of using silencing or restraining magic on them. The only good thing was, the insensible Sylthia waspletely oblivious right now, otherwise her reaction would have definitely given Axel away.

    Thankfully, Karlock continued talking, not noticing anything suspicious. "It''s really a pity. To think they didn''t even get the chance to escape it seems that you''re still hiding your true power."

    Theron and Nerio were really powerful. With theirbined power, they could even take down enemies much stronger than them. And Kyrin managed to kill both of them alone. It seems that Kyrin''s powers cannot be underestimated.

    "But, as I said, I''m not scared of you, Kyrin Tenebrous. Because you''re already weakened due to the poison, and I''ve had tremendous upgrades in thest decade," said Karlock as something began to change in the formation of Automatons.

    They all beganing close together, and their bodies began taking specific shapes. Few simply turned into blocks or pipes while fewpressed together to form very specific structures.

    "What is he doing?" Asked Sylthia.

    "Nothing good for us, I presume. We have to stop him," said Estris, taking out a different kind of gun as she began shooting, this one generating a tremendous power. Kyrin had taken the antidote, but she still hadn''t fully recovered just yet. That''s why, the rest of the team has to fight now.

    "Agreed." Willis raised his hands, and hands formed out of magic manifested in the air, which began to pummel the machines.

    "I''ve already recovered." said Sylthia as she summoned a wind force that had enough power to blow up skyscrapers.

    Axel''s and Akiko''s jaws dropped at the sheer amount of fire power these people had. Axel''s weakness was his magic power, and even Akiko, who had more magic power than him, couldn''t casually make attacks of this magnitude yet.

    But

    *Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

    Everything was blocked very easily this time. A collective forcefield had been erected in front of a whole group of automatons, this one powerful enough to block all attacks very easily.

    A mixture of gross fleshy sounds and ringing metallic sounds could be hearding from behind the forcefield.

    "Khekhekhekhekhe have you heard of ''Strength in Unity''?" Echoed Karlock''s voice, which was louder than ever. Dust from their attack was covering the forcefield, beyond which, they could see a huge silhouette rising up, casting a shadow on them. As the dust cleared, they saw that, beyond the shield stood a colossal giant, the size of a 20 story building.

    "Fuck" Kyrin murmured, looking up. They were toote, getting distracted over Karlock''s words. The whole army of biomatons havee together to form one single entity, having thebined might of all of the whole army.

    Imagine just one forcefield. With one decent attack, any one of them would be able to break through it. Now, imagine it getting doubleyered. Now, it could present some difficulty. They would have to increase the power, but it should still be fine. But now, imagine it gettingyered hundreds of thousands of times.

    Is it something that one person can ever break through?

    "Tenebrous! I will give you onest chance. Tell me, where is Axel Hunt? Is he still alive?" Asked Karlock, as the Colossal Biomaton prepared to attack.

    Sylthia did not know about Axel''s real name. But the rest of the people present had awkward expressions on their faces.

    You want to know where Axel is?

    Dude how to say it? The guy is standing right in front of you.

    Fortunately, even though they had no idea why the Organization would be looking for Axel, they had enoughmon sense to know that this was not something to be revealed to Karlock.

    Axel was an Ally. Karlock was an enemy. They would have to have a few screws loose if they give him any information he asked for, let alone the information about their ally.

    "Eat shit, you piece of shit!" Said Kyrin, attacking the Giant abomination. But once again, her darkness waspletely blocked by the barrier.

    "Khekhekhekhe! So be it. I''ll first kill everyone else, then bring you to myb for interrogation."

    The giant raised its hand and pointed it towards their group. The matter of its body quickly gathered on its arm, extending it forward to make a huge ster.

    "Oh hell."

    "What is that?"

    "Boss your orders?"

    Everyone lost it when they saw the huge size of the ster. When even small sters were so powerful, how powerful is this thing going to be?

    *Zoom* *Zoom*

    A huge amount of Energy began gathering in the giant muzzle.

    Seeing it, Kyrin had already realized: There is no defending against this.

    "We need to evade."

    *zoom.zoom.zoomzoomzooomzoomzomBOOOOOOOOM*

    In thest moment, everyone felt a huge push,unching them all far away. Using her darkness, Kyrin has pushed everyone as far away as possible, while sinking into the shadows herself. Because there was no other option.

    *#$%^&#$%^&&^%$@#$%^&^%$*

    A huge explosion took ce, shaking their ear drums. Emerging far away from the area, Kyrin looks back in shock. Everything within a 20 meter radius had beenpletely wiped out.

    What is up with this power?

    When did this bastard be this strong?

    If she hadn''t pushed everyone away, their whole team could have been wiped out just now.

    ''This is getting dangerous.'' Until now, Kyrin had never seen Karlock as a serious opponent. But now, it seems that she has to change her evaluation.

    Amidst the stunned silence, Karlock''s maddenedughter rang out. "Khekhekhekhekhekhe! This is my first time actually trying it out. Isn''t this amazing? I have used up a lot of livestock to power up my automatons over the years. Now I will make their sacrifice worth it by capturing the Legendary Kyrin Tenebrous."

    That was the difference. Karlock''s relic did not give him any directbat power. It just gave him the ability to freely manipte organic matter and technology. But, due to his madness and strange obsession with ''creating art'', he had turned it into something deadly.

    He had prepared his army over the years, personally making each and every automaton with great attention to detail. And each one of them was then programmed to merge together to form a single unit of grotesque mass of bio-machinery.

    It could use all thatbined power which had been gathered over the years in one go.

    So now, ignoring his geeky need to talk about everything in detail, he had definitely turned into an existence that warranted a significant threat.

    Pitch ck darkness began spreading everywhere from the point where Kyrin stood.

    Kyrin was now pissed. She did not like this situation. She Not one bit. She did not like it when she was not the one in control. And right now, EVERYTHING is going out of control!

    ''How low. Psychos like this guy are now threatening the team, and''

    Her gaze turned towards Axel, who hadnded safely far away. ''The bastard is hiding even more secrets!''

    90% percent of Kyrin''s frustration was because of Axel. That trickster has been fooling her from day one. The first time she met him at Hogwarts, she hadn''t thought much of him, just an unusual case. He just stood out from the rest because unlike the rest, she couldn''t see the limit of his talent for some reason.

    When her stealth sses ended at Hogwarts, she returned to Japan without thinking much of the guy. But then she found out that he had actually managed to befriend her Aki!

    How is that surprising? Because Akiko has never had friends. Despite Kyrins best attempts to persuade her otherwise, all the girl ever did was training. So, at the time, Kyrin just thought that a little friendship would do her god daughter some good. She even ignored the rumors specting on Axel and Akiko being more than just regr friends because,e on, that was impossible. If all rumors were to be trusted, then the rumours of her being a cougar and molesting her students would also be true.

    Then she saw the guy''s matches and got a surprise. Huh, so he has lightning Affinity and is also somehow more athletic than ninjas.

    Combined with his Stealth talent and his good looks, perhaps she should recruit him after all. He could be useful as a pawn in a few years if she grooms him well.

    Then, she had to return home due to war, but surprise surprise, who does she find already here? Axel muthercking Hunt, having a perfect disguise that managed to fool even her! It was at that time that she came to find out that, fuck, the reason she can''t see his limits is not because of some glitch, but the guy is actually deliberately hiding it!

    And if he was still hiding more, then what was the limit? Could he actually be hiding even more secrets?

    She decided to find out. But the fucker use Aki and ckmail to force her to sign a contract that prevented her from doing so.

    She thought alright, it couldn''t be much anyway, could it? He was only 13. What more could he be hiding?

    The result?

    The result is this, where her curiosity has increased to the point of torture, but he still hasn''t run out of his secrets.

    Oh how she regrets signing that contract. How she regrets letting Akiko form a connection with him, thus bing his shield.

    She found out that he might actually be able to contend against even her! At 13! And she still hasn''t found his limit!

    Now, for some reason, Kraken is after this guy to.

    Kyrin red at Axel.

    Landing far away from the st area, Axel stood up and dusted his clothes. But then, he stiffened, feeling an intense gaze on himself.

    With arcane eyes, he found Kyrin ring at him from far away.

    "When this is over, we''re going to have words." Her voice echoed in his head.

    Axel sighed. Lady, could you please leave me alone and mind your own business?

    .

    A.N.: Powerstones!

    Next: Princess: Search For Axel!

    Next next: Fine, I''ll do it myself

    Next next next: Unexpected Ambush

    Next next next next: Two More Relic Wielders

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 210: Search

    Chapter 210: Search

    Princess Anti waited with baited breath as the General went to call Kyrin Tenebrous.

    It was happening! She is actually going to meet her Nephew! Anti''s mind was racing, picturing their reunion.

    But for some reason, it was taking him a lot of time.

    When the general returned, he had a grave expression on his face. "Princess, there is a situation."

    "What is it, uncle? Surely it can''t be more important than meeting my Nephew?"

    "Actually" The General remained silent for a few seconds, giving out urgent orders through hismunicator.

    Looking at his serious demeanor, Anti was getting a bad premonition.

    "What? What happened?"

    "Princess, it would seem that the ck ops division has already ventured into the Trench."

    Anti rxed. So it was only that. "Oh, already? I thought Kyrin would at least wait till I reward my Nephew. It seems that she can''t wait to end the war," she said as she shook her head, slightly amused. She could still recall how disappointed Kyrin was to learn that the so-called ''Squids and Octopuses'' had gotten such a huge advantage over them.

    "Well, it matters not. Uncle, you should personally go and get him back. I can''t entrust this to anyone else. Also, that division is too dangerous for Axel. Please have the rule-keepers make arrangements for the termination of his contract."

    The General sighed. "That won''t be possible right now, princess. Actually, Division Head Tenebrous once again did something... entric this time. She brought her new recruits with her."

    "... Could you please repeat that?" Surely, Anti must be too tired. Because she thought she heard something really outrageous just now.

    "I said, Miss Tenebrous brought her new recruits down with her to the Trench. The prince is currently in the enemy territory."

    What...? Axel... in the Trench? IN THE TRENCH?!

    *BAAM*

    "That reckless BITCH! Has shepletely lost it?! WHY would she do that?! Wasn''t he recruited just yesterday?!"

    It was so outrageous that the princess herself lost her temper. All the etiquette, elegance, sophistication, dignity, and grace that had been trained into her from a young age was abandoned as the royal princess mmed her foot into the ground like a primitive being while cursing.

    It is standard protocol to not allow any new recruit into the trench without proper training whichsts for over a period of at least a year, in which they receive education and training in order to increase their chances of survival in that hellish ce.

    It ispletely inconceivable for any newfish to be brought into the Trench without all that training.

    "If you''re asking the reason, it''s supposed to be a secured short-term training expedition into the shallows, to give her new cadets some hands-on experience."

    "Secured?! This is simply being reckless and irresponsible! No one below 20 is allowed into that ce. And Axel is" Anti clutched her head. "Gods! He is only 13! What was this woman thinking?!"

    Sure, Kyrin might not think much of the shallow areas of the Trench, but that didn''t mean they werepletely safe. The Altina Trench is a mysterious and unpredictable ce with possibilities of numerous mishaps. Without proper training, no one should be allowed to venture there.

    Anti was really mad this time. She understood that Kyrin liked to remain independent of rules, and do things her way, but this? This is intolerable!

    Sure, there are some rules which are meaningless and can be bent or broken, but there are boundaries that should NOT be crossed. And this time, Kyrin had crossed that boundary by miles.

    "Even the shallowyers aren''t exactly safe. There are just too many dangers in that ce! General, quickly have them return."

    "Princess I''m afraid there''s more to the matter."

    ".... What?"

    "During their entrance, they were reportedly hit by a space turbulence."

    "WHAT?!" The water of the surrounding ocean churned. "That can''t be possible!"

    A space turbulence?! A SPACE TURBULENCE?! And that too, right when Axel''s ?! Anti couldn''t understand. How could that be possible?! Space turbulence only happens when the space in the trench bes particrly unstable. And to prevent any losses, their Technomancers are always monitoring the stability of the space in order to minimize the risk. Entry and Exit is forbidden in case there is red light at the portal.

    Despite her reckless behaviour, Anti refused to believe that Kyrin would be mad enough to even break this rule and ventured during a dangerous time.

    "I understand your disbelief, Princess. But this is a unique case. The Technomancers saw no signs of turbulence beforehand. It happened too suddenly, without any warning. And the prince was unfortunately caught in it."

    "So so Axel" Anti''s breathing gotboured. She was actually beginning to panic now ''This this is real It can''t be real...''

    Previously, she was only sad. Because, despite all the difficulties Axel had faced, and despite all abuse and torture he had gone through, in her heart, she the assurance he had managed toe out on top, and that he was currently in safe and healthy in his kingdom, where he belonged. All she had wanted to do is to quickly be by his side and start making up for the lost time.

    But right now?

    Right now he was in actual danger! Serious danger!

    The water disturbance was getting worse.

    "Princess, please stay calm. I have already sent out search parties."

    "Calm? How can I stay CALM?! He got into a space turbulence! You know how dangerous they are! And even if he doese out unscathed, there is no certainty where he mightnd!"

    That was the problem with the Trench. Since the space there is so unstable, no one even uses portals there, let alone getting stuck into a space turbulence. To make matters worse, the time flow was different in that ce. For all they know, Axel might have already been stuck there for days!

    It was a horrible, horrible situation.

    But Anti understood that she didn''t have the leisure to panic right now. "Search parties are not enough" she murmured, wiping away the tears. Right now, she stopped all emotions and activated her mind art to enter a state of thinking.

    She had just gotten back her long lost family. There is no way she is going to lose him like this. Axel must be rescued! At all cost!

    ....

    "After this is over, we''re going to have words."

    ''Fuck!'' Axel was creeped out upon hearing Kyrin''s voice in his head. So, she can do this too? In his system lumency, there was also the skill of telepathicmunication, but he didn''t think Kyrin would know it too.

    "Fuck off!" He replied back to Kyrin using the same method. Though he was new to the skill, it wasn''t all that difficult for someone with his mental calibur. He was not going to be intimidated by her. This woman had nned to forcefully make him reveal the origin of all his skills just yesterday. If not for Akiko, he and her would have been enemies for sure.

    She can''t be trusted. That''s why, he didn''t want to reveal any more of his secrets to her, and neither was he obligated to tell her, having signed a contract that granted his protection from her.

    """Oh? You managed to avoid it? Then how about this?"""

    Axel had to break eye contact with Kyrin as Karlock used his mega ster once again after they had sessfully evaded hisst attack.

    But this time, the huge ster fired something else. Some kind of liquid was sprayed, raining on them. Wherever the liquid fell, a sizzling sound was produced as it simply burned through any matter it came into contact with.

    "It''s acid! Everyone evade!"

    Since they had fallen not far away from each other, Willis made up barriers that covered everyone and Sylthia made the winds blow away liquid.

    Karlock merelyughed upon seeing this.

    """"KHEKHEKHEKHEKHE... that liquid can''t be defended against so easily.""" And the liquid that had fallen on the ground began to move on its own, congregating into their location from all sides.

    """"KHEKHE! How''s that? That''s an organic matter, meaning I can CONTROL it!""""

    ''Fuck, is it his piss?!'' Thought Axel while gagging at the smelling from the strange acid. He was quite exasperated right now. This organic pile of shit is making things real difficult for him.

    First he recognised Nerio''s sses and almost uncovered all of his secrets, and now this. Axel decided he has to be eliminated before he reveals any more of his secrets. But how?

    The strongest in the group is Kyrin. But, can she really defeat this colossal giant? From what he has seen so far, Kyrin''s main strength, much like Axel, is either melee or concentrated ranged attacks. But melee attacks can''t really do much against this giant and the ranged attacks are blocked by his extremely powerful shields. The rest of the team also has simr problems. The defense of the giant is too strong, and the area they need to damage is too vast.

    If it really went like this, the fight might take a lot longer, long enough for Karlock to reveal everything with his continuously chattering mouth.

    ''I''ll have to do something.'' Axel decided. It seems he''ll have to make a move himself in order to finish things fast.

    But what?

    Use water?

    That''s not an option. It has to be noted that Karlock''s real body is not here. Revealing water affinity would be foolish when they can''t even kill the guy. He would simply find out about his water affinity and reveal it to the rest of Kraken.

    Then, is it finally time to try out that skill?

    "Hey, Karlock!"

    While he was still in thought, Kyrin called out to Karlock.

    Pitch ck energy blooming around her, lifting her off her feet. The atmosphere suddenly turned several degrees colder and everyone suddenly felt a sinking feeling of dread creeping up despite being Kyrin''s allies.

    *Boom*

    Karlock involuntarily had his giant avatar take a step back as he looked at the energy readings in shock.

    "What what''s with that power?!"

    How could a single individual produce such an amount of destructive energy?

    The shield had been created from the preparation and energy charging of so many years.

    And that shield... it could be actually be breached by a single person?! It was only at this moment that Karlock realized. Kyrin had been merely ying with him all this time.

    Right now, to him, Kyrin, who was overflowing power, looked much bigger than his giant Biomaton.

    .....

    ''Is she finally going to stop holding back?''

    Axel''s jaw also dropped upon seeing the huge amount of darkness. He knew that Kyrin had been holding back her power, having underestimated Karlock all along. He just didn''t know how much. ''Looks, like I won''t have to take action.'' he thought in relief. Kyrin may be a terrible enemy. But when they''re on the same side, she''s that much more reliable.

    Though, just when he had rxed, he saw Kyrin actually dissipated her aura, having only used it to show Karlock his ce.

    "Axel Hunt! What do you want to know about him?!" Raising her voice, she just shouted one name.

    ''Obsessive bitch!'' Axel cursed.

    Kyrin''s words caused Karlock to freeze his attack. On the other hand, Axel, whose name was called out, flinched. ''What in the craziest hell is she doing?!''

    "Oh? So you''re willing to talk now? Tell me, did those two manage to kill him or not?"

    "First YOU tell me! How did you find out about him?!" Asked Kyrin.

    ''Wily bitch!'' Axel realized what Kyrin was doing! She was fishing for more information! It seems that previously, she thought she would interrogate him after beating him, or interrogate Axel directly. But with Axel''s tight lips and Karlock''s loud mouth, she has changed her ns.

    .

    A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

    Next: Fine, I''ll do it Myself, end of fight

    Next next: Unexpected Trouble

    Next next next: The Danger Zone

    Next next next: Fight Between Monsters

    Next... next: Ruler of Water

    Come Read Ahead /Snollygoster

 Chapter 211: Fine, Ill do It Myself

    Chapter 211: Fine, I''ll do It Myself

    "Oh? So you''re willing to talk now? Tell me, did those two manage to kill him or not?"

    "First YOU tell me! How did you find out about him?!" Asked Kyrin.

    ''Wily bitch!'' Axel realized what Kyrin was doing! She was fishing for more information! It seems that previously, she thought she would interrogate him after beating him, or interrogate Axel directly. But with Axel''s tight lips and Karlock''s loud mouth, she has changed her ns.

    "Khekhekhekhe" And, seems she was right too, as the moronic geek actually stopped attacking them temporarily. "Oh? Are you surprised? The Kraken managed to find someone that the kingdom didn''t even know the existence of. In fact, we were surprised too! Those two were originally dispatched on a different mission. But guess who they find? A boy who with an uncanny re"

    Suddenly, one of the Giant''s legs started to crumple, causing it to tilt to one side.

    "WHAT?!"

    Karlock suddenly found out that, but the Biomatons that constituted the bottom of his leg suddenly went offline, goingpletely out of his control!

    "What is happening?!" Karlock couldn''t understand what was happening! This has never happened before! He quickly had to readjust the alignment of the remaining Biomatons to stop his colossal giant from falling.

    "What the hell is going on?!"

    But before he could stabilize it, this time, the units on his other leg went offline, causing the colossal giant to fall.

    ''The bigger they are, the harder they fall.'' Thought Axel, dusting off his hands, watching the Giant fall.

    How did he do it? He had used a special skill he had gotten a while ago. After saving Martina''s life at the Valentino residence, he had gotten a special skill as a reward from the system: [Unshackle]

    Only, he hadn''t been able to use it until now. What to say? There had never been a suitable opportunity. What kinds of shackles could he not undo? But only when training it further did he realize, the term [shackles] was a broad term. It could mean a lot of things.

    Like right now. All these Biomatons aren''t really taking actions on their own. They''re all under Karlock''s control, who is controlling them from hisb. How is he doing that? Through connections. Axel had to break that connection while the magic of his skill, and these biomatons would bepletely useless.

    ''Fuck, who called this skill useless?!''

    Axel realized the various uses this skill could have and med himself for not training it more as he continuously moved around, ''unshackling'' the biomatons from Karlock''s control.

    In his control room, Karlock was going mad as he lost control of his units one after another! He scoured the area around his leg, but found nothing! There was no action from the rest of the crew either!

    "Wait" Karlock suddenly found something odd. "Where is the boy with the sses?!"

    He realized that he could only confirm the positions of five of their members. He couldn''t get the visual on the sixth member, the guy who had been wearing Nerio''s sses in the first ce. At some point, the boy had disappeared from his perception!

    "How is that possible?!"

    Kyrin gritted her teeth. "Hey! What were you saying earlier?!" She yelled out. "Tell me quickly, and I''ll answer your questions!"

    But did Karlock really have the leisure to chat right now? The control on his Biomatons was slipping in real time. No matter how talkative he was, his giant was falling!

    "Keep him distracted boss! Your n is working!" As if to make things worse, Axel''s voice rang out at this moment, cutting away any remaining doubt Karlock had.

    "YOU! TENEBROUS! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TRUSTED YOU!" He eximed, enraged, as more and more units began falling. "Stop your attack right now/!"

    On the other hand, Kyrin, who waspletely innocent, had an unbelievable expression on her face. ''What?!'' She couldn''t understand how Axel was even able to do it, let alone how to stop him.

    *BOOM*

    At this moment, she saw Aki joyfully attacking the fallen giant, raining down an eerie dark lightning. Akiko was, of course, fully in favour of attacking rather than talking. She was no stranger to Axel''s miracles either. So, instead of freezing up like the rest, she finally took the opportunity to strike.

    "Are the rest of you going to keep watching or help out?" Axel''s voice rang out, causing the rest of the members to flinch. All of them were simply too stunned to react until now. In fact, they were out of sync with the whole from the moment Karlock called out Axel''s name.

    But really, when it came down to it, only one thing mattered. Karlock was an enemy, a dangerous enemy, who should be defeated as soon as possible. And as veterans, they knew that this was the best opportunity to do so.

    "We really have to defeat him as soon as possible!" Sylthia was the first to attack. They had no time to waste on this enemy. The lives of the rest of the Relic hunter division were in danger. Willis and Estris followed suit, casting a nce at Kyrin who was still raging.

    This time when they attacked, the flimsy defense that Karlock had hastily cast was easily breached, dealing direct damage.

    "No! I can''t get the control! KYRIN TENEBROUS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" yelled Karlock, who didn''t even know how he got defeated.

    [Darkness Domain]

    "You know what?" Muttered Kyrin, her voiceing out raspier as the shimmering dark dress covered her form. "Just die, you useless idiot." She had a belly full of anger and no way to vent on the person who caused it, so she just chose the next best target.

    Under thebined onught of everyone, Karlock was quickly taken down, only leaving a lot of rotten meat and junk behind.

    "Now, let''s talk." said Kyrin, descending over to thest body, still covered in darkness. "Tell me about Axel Hunt!"

    "KheKhekeh..." In the end, a single damaged biomaton remained motionless on the ground, leaking fluids, from which Karlock''s slightly derangedughter wasing from a damaged speaker. "There is no use trying to fool me. I know everything now." He said, causing Axel to clench his fist and stop himself from destroying the bot. But the subsequent words were even more surprising.

    "I know you have no idea who Axel Hunt actually was. Khekhe he was probably long dead by the time those two reached there. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have been able to be so calm over the matter. He has been missing, and the Kingdom hasn''t shown any chges ever since the incident, meaning they''re alsopletely unaware. I just nded to confirm that."

    Thest Biomaton was also dying, as the voice started bing more and more status.

    Kyrin gritted her teeth. "Then tell me already! Who was Axel Hunt?!" She asked urgently.

    "Khekhekhe now I''m sure you don''t know! Khekkhekhe and you will never know! Not till you die! You may hav- de-ated me. But you are all goin- to die soon as well! Khekhekhkhe."

    "Fucking moron!" Kyrin was so angry right now. What kind of delusion is he having?! Axel Hunt? Dead? As if merely two relic wielders can kill that cockroach!

    "Khekhekhe don'' belie me Tene-ous. But ''it'' is now final-y ready. Even y-u won''t be able to face it. Just ask the girl Khekh-khe. You''re going to die! They''re are all ging to die!"

    "?! What do you mean by that?!" Asked Kyrin, her focus shifting from Axel to the subject. But the Biomaton was already offline, only leaving a pulpy mess mixed with machinery.

    "Hey!" Kyrin protested, who suddenly lost her information source. "I still had things to ask him!"

    Sylthia had a look of urgency on her face. "I''m sorry, but his words weren''t wrong. The relic wielder division really is in danger. We need to move now!"

    "What are you talking about? Those monsters are in danger?" Asked Kyrin in bewilderment. The Relic Wielding division. A group of the most monstrous guys banded together to form one overpowered group. And in order to reach the seal this time, all the members had been mobilized!

    How could such a group be threatened by Kraken? In fact, any Kraken members they encounter would be swiftly annihted. Then what the hell is Sylthia talking about?

    Sylthia swallowed. "Actually, they have somehow managed to create something far more dangerous than the Relic Wielder division. We were caughtpletely off guard. We had to use a portal in order to escape."

    "A portal?!" Kyrin, Estris and Willis understood the severity of the situation. Portals werepletely non-functioning in the city. And in this ce? With the space so unstable? It''s better to not use the portal at all. What kind of danger was it that such a powerful group had to resort to using such ast resort?

    Sylthia nodded. "The Royal Relic. They''ve had it all along! Ever since the princess''s death. And now, they''ve somehow managed to use its powers!"

    "The Royal Relic?" Instantly, color drained from the rest of the Antians.

    "How is that possible?!"

    The Royal Relic. The relic the crown princess used to wield. It hasn''t been seen ever since the Crown Princess disappeared. And now, someone else managed to actually wield it?

    "Yes I experienced it first hand. It was" Sylthia shivered. "It was overwhelmingly powerful. We were at aplete disadvantage."

    Estris had an extremely severe countenance right now. "Then, we have to move right now. If we lose the Relic Wielder division, we lose the war."

    It was an exceedingly dangerous situation. If everyone used a portal, their current coordinates are uncertain, and they have been divided. The Kraken members are tracking them down and eliminating them simr to Sylthia even as they speak. The rescue can''t be dyed.

    "No." Unexpectedly, Kyrin shot it down. "We have Aki and Axel with us. They''ve had no training in this area. We have to send them back first."

    But her words were also not wrong. It was already a miracle Axel and Akiko were unharmed so far. But wandering around with the risk of encountering a rogue Royal Relic wielder ? Yep, that''s a recipe for disaster.

    "No training?!" Sylthia''s earlier doubts returned. "Then why did you bring them here in the first ce?!" She asked in absurdity.

    Kyrin got exasperated while Estris began to patiently exin.

    "What?! A space turbulence?!"

    In her short career, Sylthia hadn''t encountered a situation like this. "Then, what do we do?"

    Though, before anyone could answer her question, everyone paused. The air around them started to ripple. No, the space itself was rippling!

    "What are those?" Asked Axel, looking at the huge creatures that were floating towards them from afar. There were three of them, and they were maaaasive. They looked quite a lot like whales. Strange ripples were being emitted from the creatures which were disturbing the space itself.

    As soon as Kyrin saw the creatures, she cursed out loud. Does every bad thing have to ur only this time?!

    "They''re called Space Whales. They''re extremely rare," said Estris, looking at the creatures vigntly. "Don''t make any drastic movements. They should leave us alone."

    Axel frowned. "Then, why are they heading this way?" It was true. The huge creatures were currently headed directly their way. Axel did not like this situation. He could feel it. These creatures were extremely dangerous.

    Estris frowned. "That''s unusual. Space Whales are peaceful creatures. More like, they''repletely indifferent to us. They must be here due to the space turbulence. They''re attracted to space energy."

    !!!

    Hearing that, Axel''s scalp tingled. Due to space turbulence? The space turbulence was actually caused by him!

    "Hey, why don''t we kill them, just in case?"

    ""No."" Estris and Sylthia said in unison.

    "Space Whales shouldn''t be killed. Their deaths destabilizes the space. And with the space already this unstable"

    But before she could finish her sentence, the space whales let out a deep sound at this moment, and the space around Axel became constricted.

    Without having the time to resist, Axel was lifted off the ground, moving through the space to reach the whales.

    ?!

    "Axel!"

    "What the"

    Everyone including Axel was surprised. Before anyone could stop it, Axel had already reached the Whales, crossing through space! Axel tried to struggle but was unable to break through.

    "Someone kill these things!" He yelled. ''Or I will do it myself!'' He added inwardly, as his eyes glowed blue. The only thing stopping him was the space turbulence.

    "No! We can''t kill them!"

    [Fuck! System, what is happening?!]

    [They''re trying to ''eat'' you. Your only option is to use Arcane Travel.]

    Without a second thought, Axel used Arcane Travel in order to appear a few kilometres away. But

    ''Shit, I forgot!''

    Space travel is a no go in this ce. Axel reappeared in apletely different location.

    "Where am I?"

    .....

    A.N.: <strong>Powerstones</strong>!

    Next: The Danger Zone

    Next next: Fight Between Giants

    Next... next: Axel, the Ruler Of Water

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 212: The Gravitational Zone

    Chapter 212: The Gravitational Zone

    Kyrin, Akiko, Estris, Willis, Sylthia. There was not one of them who had expected that the space whales would Target Axel.

    "What the"

    Everything happened so fast that they couldn''t do anything to prevent it.

    The space whales are peaceful creatures, and they had just finished a difficult fight, so their guards had been lowered. But their surprise could be imagined when Axel was suddenly lifted off the ground. The next thing they knew, he had already reached right in front of the whales.

    Space whales had the ability to travel ''through'' the space. That''s why, even though they move slowly, but the distance they travel is huge. The same magic was used on Axel, summoning him right into their mouths.

    "Stop!"

    "Axel!"

    It was only then that Kyrin realized that Axel was in danger. Even as she used shadow travel, she knew that she might be toote.

    *Snap*

    Somehow, Axel disappeared at thest moment, preventing himself from bing space food.

    ?!

    The whole field came to a standstill as everyone tried looking for Axel.

    "What...?"

    Akiko, still not knowing the situation, tried to follow, but Kyrin held her back, knowing what had happened.

    "Aki! Stop! Axel used Teleportation!" She said, trying her best to stop her.

    As exined, Teleportation magic in this ce is a big no, what with the space being so unstable. If you use it, there is no guarantee where you might end up. Since Axel had used it, his location is now unknown.

    Realizing Akiko''s struggles ceased as her eyes became momentarily unfocused. "Then... what do we do?"

    Akiko was shaking. There was real panic in her eyes this time. Because she was beginning to understand.

    Just how screwed up Axel''s situation was right now.

    Axel''s location is unknown. And he has no knowledge and training of navigating this ce! Kyrin has always told her about the dangers of this ce. It was unfortunate enough that they ended up this deep without training. But to be alone here with no knowledge?

    She cast a hopeful nce towards Kyrin, who had yet to answer her question. Maybe, it''s not toote. Maybe there''s something they can do.

    But Kyrin''s face was even more contorted than hers. "Fuck... he''s fucked."

    ...

    *Snap*

    The space rippled, and a figured emerged, spinning uncontrobly due to distortion of space. Not even given the chance to be relieved, the figure plummeted to the ground as if being pulled down something powerful.

    *BAAM*

    All the breath escaped Axel''s lungs as frowned at the sheer impact of the fall. ".... Ouch...."

    ''Two ribs and ankle.'' He thought. Analyzing the damage. Axel tried getting up and was surprised to find itparatively difficult to do so. ''What the hell?''

    "System, where am I?" He asked, even as he surveyed his surroundings for immediate threats. This ce was weird. First of all, the ground was hard. Too hard. As if specificallypressed. And the next, moving was extremely difficult here. Each movement was causing his bones to creak.

    [You''re in the deepyer of the Altina Trench. This area is called the gravitational field. The gravitational force here is times higherpared to Earth.]

    ''Figures.''

    Axel realized why he couldn''t stabilize himself while falling and why he''s having such difficulty moving. There is a huge downward force here, hindering all of his movements.

    ''And the ground''

    The reason the ground is hard might be because it has beenpressed due to the sheer amount of gravitational force in this ce. That''s why he broke a few of his bones despite an exoskeleton that has been strengthened to an abnormal degree by the system''s training.

    *Crack*

    Axel snapped his ankle into ce and used [Heal] a few times, making it as good as new. He did the same with his ribs and the rest of the throbbing parts.

    ''Now, what the hell do I do?''

    That was the problem. He had onlye here thinking he''d kill some time and be back in a day for his rewarding ceremony. But somehow, it seems that the situation keeps getting worse and worse.

    ''Idiot.''

    He was an idiot to ever think this trip could be resolved early. He should have never listened to Kyrin''s assurances. When has that woman ever been reliable? More importantly, when hasdy luck ever been kind to him?

    So now he is stuck here in the middle of nowhere with no idea what to do. Axel let out a sigh. He was actually looking forward to getting rewarded. His merit this time was huge and there was a chance he could have gotten a relic this time.

    He''s really regretting it now. Why?

    ''Because I''m still weak.''

    That''s right. Turns out, he''s still not strong enough to ovee the gap created by the artifacts called the Relics.

    Relics. They''re incredible items which can bring immense powers to the users. Until now, he has only encountered a few relic users, but each of them have disyed shocking might.

    To be honest, he is no longer confident to win against Relic Wielders anymore. Theron and Nerio never really fought him at full strength. He defeated both of them by surprise attack and by taking advantage of their weaknesses before they felt the need to attack him with the intent to kill.

    But still, it was at a manageable level. Because he thought that the rest of the members won''t be much better. But after arriving here, he realized that they were only at the bottom of the barrel. He encountered much stronger relic wielders. Each of them is extremely dangerous in their specialized field. Under unfavorable circumstances, he could actually end up losing.

    Furthermore, there''s another thing that Kyrin had told him.

    The members of Kraken be much more dangerous in the trench. In this ce, due to the closeness with the Entity, they can temporarily borrow a minute fraction of the entity''s power, even though it brings severe harm to their bodies. That means, when in a tight spot, they can actually power-up and defeat their opponents, or at least create a chance to escape.

    And if that isn''t enough, there''s also a relic weilder which Axel is realizing could be quite dangerous. ''The Space Relic wielder.''

    The threat level of that guy has been dramatically increased after what just happened.

    Axel recalled the earlier moment. ''I waspletely helpless.''

    He waspletely helpless against the space whales. Those gigantic creatures had absolute dominance over the space, and there was little he could do in the limited time. Axel recalled the total restriction he had felt when being bound by space itself. It was definitely quite difficult to break through.

    Other elements, he could still handle. But space is something that feels a level higher, and a tad bit more dangerous.

    So, it would have been a great help if he had a relic.

    *Ding*

    While he was lost in thought, the system notification woke him up.

    [Conditions are optimal. Main Mission generated.]

    [Mission Objective:

    1) The Rightful Owner: Through numerous sacrifices, the Kraken managed to forcefully awaken the Royal Relic. As the rightful owners, retrieve the Royal Relic.

    2) Do not Interfere: The Seal is getting weaker and weaker, thus increasing the threat of the Organisation. In order to eliminate the Organisation, you must first decrease the influence of the Entity. Go to the Depths and Reinforce the Aetherian Seal entrapping the Entity.]

    [ept/ Reject]

    Axel nkly looked at the quest that had just popped up in front of him. Sometimes, he wonders if he actually has a choice. Because most of the missions that the system generates the consequences of not epting the missions are usually uneptable.

    For instance, if he didn''t ept the mission of Hogwarts being under attack, there would have been a massacre at Hogwarts. Rejecting the quest of eliminating the Organisation would just result in them continuing to send their forces after him. Simrly, if he rejects this mission, that fake host wielding the Royal Relic would continue to rampage and the entity''s increasing power would increase the Kraken''s powers, just making it even more difficult for him to eliminate it.

    Most importantly, the Royal Relic

    Axel''s mouth began salivating. Is it possible to actually wield it? Heck yes, he''s definitely doing that part of the mission. In short, it''s an unavoidable mission.

    ''I will ept. But how the hell am I supposed to Reinforce the Seal? I have no idea.''

    [You can do it by following the instructions that will be provided.

    Axel sighed. "Alright, where do I go?"

    [Start moving 42% to your left.]

    Turning in the direction, Axel took a step forward, but immediately faltered. ''Damn it, gravity.'' Even standing straight here was only possible because he had an extremely strong body. After taking a few he quickly found out that this was not a feasible method.

    It felt like he was walking through dense mud. It would take a long time if he kept moving like this, not to mention the energy and stamina consumption it''ll cause.

    ''I need another method.''

    He looked up at the ocean(?) above him. As exined, this dimension is a weird ce with differentws. Instead of the sky, there is a vast ocean above which doesn''t fall down for some reason.

    ''What was it? Two way Gravitation or something.''

    Axel figured that moving through water would be a better choice. That''s why, he took out his broomstick and tried to fly straight up towards the water.

    It wasn''t a good idea.

    The resistance kept increasing as he flew upwards, until the broom could no longer take it.

    Snap

    It broke apart, and the gravity pulled him to the ground like a yandere starved for affection. ''Shit!'' This was dangerous! If he keeps falling at this eleration, he would be a pancake by the time he reaches the ground.

    Axel quickly took out his wand.

    "Arresto Momentum!"

    At the same time, he concentrated a lot of magic on his hands and feet. [Launching Boom}

    Somehow, he managed to avoid making a smashed patti of himself, but once again, there were injuries. Arresto Momentum wasn''t powerful enough.

    Sigh

    Axel looked at the wand in his hand. ''As expected, it''s not as good.''

    This wasn''t his Main wand. It was the one he had gotten from Martina as a substitute when his main wand was damaged in the Demogorgon fight. It was good, but as expected, it couldn''t bepared to the main wand, which was custom made by the Valentinos with light and dark dual cores.

    Due to unavoidable circumstances, he has left his main wand in Britain. Axel closed his eyes and concentrated. Even in this ce, he could feel the presence of his wand, which was stuck in the middle of a giant ritual circle in Hogwarts. It was angry at being left alone. Magical power was radiating from it, being transferred to him through the bond which had strengthened considerably.

    ''Summon me!'' It seemed to say.

    Axel sighed and shook his head. Not yet. The purpose of leaving it behind was still unfulfilled.

    Axel turned his focus back on the mission. He had to quickly get that relic, so that the absence of his wand can no longer be a problem.

    Step Step Step

    Axel began walking through the tough gravity, making use of his high physical strength. His pace slowly quickened, until he was running.

    Boom Boom Boom

    Due to the Gravity, his steps were falling on the ground with such force that it was leaving footprints on the vast desert.

    His eyes glowed blue, and the water answered his call,ing down like a puppy running to his owner. Though it was a bit more straining due to the increased Gravitational force, Axel was still able to control water with no difficulty.

    As he ran, the water slowly began to submerge him, filling him with strength. Axel jumped, and his feet didn''te down again. He was riding the water wave like a surfer. The water quickly engulfed him, erasing all the strain his body was feeling due to gravity.

    ''Faster.'' The water around him turned into a shape simr to an icicle, and

    ZOOM

    The speed increased to that of a flying broomstick. Axel stopped increasing the speed. Because the amount of energy spent on maintaining this form was equal to his rate of recovery due to the water surrounding him.

    After flying for a while, he realized one thing. This ce was huge. He was still in the Gravitational zone. And this is just one of the danger zones in the ce.

    !!!

    After a few more minutes, Axel had to abruptly stop. Because up ahead, he could see the sight of a fight taking ce.

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>powerstones</strong>!

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 213: A Fight Between Monsters

    Chapter 213: A Fight Between Monsters

    "Fuck... he''s Fucked." Kyrin wasn''t saying this lightly. Anyone with no knowledge of the ce, and no training of surving the ce, is fucked.

    And right now, in this time when there are Kraken''s Relic wielders hunting them down? He''s double fucked.

    "What are your Orders?" Asked Estris in the ensuing silence.

    "We''re first going to drop Aki. Then we''ll return with reinforcements to rescue the Relic Wielders... and Axel," she added. Though, there were chances that Axel might not survive that long.

    Akiko drew her sword. "Take me with you. To find Axel." There was no room for discussion in her tone.

    Kyrin had an absurd expression on her face. "Are actually going to fight me? For that brat?"

    Akiko shook her head. And instead of pointing the de at Kyrin, she point the sharp edge on her own neck. "I''m not going out here, without finding him."

    Kyrin looked at Akiko, dumbfounded. She knew her enough to know that Akiko was dead serious right now.

    "Have you gone mad? You would rather die than leave? Is this all you care about now? What about your revenge? Is even that no longer important?"

    Akiko shook her head. "I just need to support him. The revenge... He will take it for me."

    !!!

    Kyrin burst out in a series of exmations, now feeling like this not real..

    "...What has he done to you?" Kyrin shook her head, not knowing whether to feel angry or amazed right now. Aki never cared about her own life, to begin with. All she cared about was revenge.

    Kyrin has tried numerous times to made her quit, but she has never seeded.

    But now, after so long, her obsession with revenge has finally gone. But at what cost?

    "Sigh... let''s go find the brat then. I really want to beat him up."

    ....

    Axel looked at the area up ahead of him.

    Dense Lightning was shing in the ce, powerful enough to make Axel''s hair stand from a distance. Activating Arcane eyes, Axel''s jaw dropped at the huge amount of energy fluctuations. From that, it was clear that it was a fight between relic wielders.

    ''What to do?''

    To be honest, Axel had no desire to interfere. But still, Relic wielders were a precious resource on both sides. If there''s a chance to save one his side, or eliminate one from the enemies side, it could make things easier for himter.

    That''s why, it''s better to first find out what the situation is. Also,

    ''That lightning''

    He had never seen such strong and pure lightning. It seemed to call on to him.

    Dispersing the water and going into stealth, Axel quickly made his way towards the site. The two silhouettes who were fighting became clearer. One was a handsome man with yellow hair. Not blond, but yellow, like the lightning being emitted from his body. He had the kingdom''s trident symbol on his broken armor, it would seem that he is on the friendly team.

    Facing him was a bald dark skinned man who had various energy fields revolving around him. His condition was no good either, but he seemed to be in better shape than the yellow haired man.

    "years of rivalry" the bald man was saying. "I am finally going to win, Ender."

    ''System, I need information on that man.''

    A huge chuck of his SP disappeared as Axel got the information on the man.

    [Tronis Matros, also known as the Energy Maestro. His Relic enables him control over energy fields. He can increase of decrease the gravitation, thus having an overwhelming advantage in this terrain. And since lighting is also a form of energy, he can defend it using electromaic fields.]

    Axel swallowed. Control of energy fields. This man can control gravity. Meaning the gravitational force he is feeling right now he can increase it further.

    Axel''s vignce increased severalfolds as he paid close attention to the confrontation between the two monsters.

    The yellow haired man, whose name was Ender, coughed repeatedly, but still straightened up, gathering his remaining energy. "Stop daydreaming, Tronis," he said, as a violent burst of electricity flowed out of his body, painting the surroundings in yellow. The air was filled with the scent of ozone, and all the hair of Axel''s body started to crackle with static electricity.

    ''What What the fuck is this?'' Not long after witnessing Kyrin''s power, Axel was once again witnessing something beyond hismon sense.

    How many times would he have to charge his Lumis Netorem spell in order to have a power output that strong? 100 times, or is it 1000 times? The fact that he has no idea clearly indicates just how absurd this power is. Charging it 40 times is enough to kill a demogorgon and also almost his magical limit. So, it can imagined just how powerful this lightning is.

    But Tronis, the dark skinned man did not seem fazed. "Fuck it. It''s worth it if I can kill you." As he said that, the blue markings over his body glowed.

    Vroooom

    And then, an obscene amount of power was generated. The Energy fields around Tronis multiplied in numbers and thickness. At the same time, an invisible forcefield flowed around Ender that began absorbing his lightning and dispersing it into the ground.

    "Die!" Ender attacked, and millions of volts of electricity was fired at Tronis. A huge magnitude of that current was dispersed due to the force fields around Tronis. The rest was blocked by the energy fields.

    BOOOOOOOOMMMM

    Axel had choice but to deploy his own barrier in order to not be disintegrated by the resulting explosion.

    When the light gradually dimmed, the result of the fight could be seen. As it turned despite Tronis''s numerous energy fields, the lightning did manage to prate, as evidence by his severely injured state. His skin was charred, and his Armor was pierced. Tronis''s appearance right now much several time worse than Ender.

    But...

    ''It''s the Tronis''s victory.'' Axel concluded. Because Ender had put everything into thest attack.

    Tronis raised his hand, and residual the lightning around Ender was sucked out. At the same time, a huge force seemed to push in him down, burying him into the ground.

    The bald man wasughing, slowly crushing the lightning wielder into the ground with his forcefield. "This must be the luckiest day of my life! Of all ces, you end up here in the Gravitational zone and in a state in which you can''t even use your full power! I can finally end you, Ender."

    Ender tried to speak, but only ended up much ilworee. That only made the bald manugh even more. "The Royal Relic really did a number on you. Fight would have gone much longer without it."

    It seems that the man was hit by the Royal Relic''s magic. That,bined with the extremely unfavourable terrain and an opponent who can deflect lightning, Axel could understand why he lost.

    After coughing a considerable amount of water, Ender looked up at the bald man. "How did you get the Royal Relic?"

    The bald man grinned. "You really want to know? Well, since you''re going to die anyway, I guess there''s no harm telling you. When the princess and the traitor snuck into our base to steal the key, we knew in advance that she wasing. That''s why we prepared an ambush." The bald man shook his head, as if recalling bad memories.

    "Those two wereplete monsters. I knew that the traitor was unreasonably powerful. But that blue haired devil she was a force of nature. The Royal family''s water affinity and your septis''s Lightning affinity, thebination was dangerous enough that we were helpless despite our numbers." Tronis shivered.

    On the other hand, Axel was confused. ''Lightning Affinity?'' His mother also had the Lightning Affinity?

    "But" Tronis grinned. "We also had our own cards up our sleeves. The princess didn''t expect ''that'' person to be on our side. We managed to separate her from the Royal Relic. We were nning on capturing her, but she had the brilliant idea of destroying the key." His face distorted. "That explosion was a huge loss. But still, the Royal Relic survived. We''ve been trying to corrupt it even since."

    Ender gritted his teeth. "''That person''? Did the person apanying her betray her?" He demanded. But the man justughed.

    "Tronis! Tell me! Damn it, I told her not to trust that man!"

    "What does it matter to you? Your dear cousin is dead anyway. Just stay down for a while. I''ll wake you up when we reach the base for torture, I mean, ''interrogation''. There''s something else I need to deal with right now." Saying so, Tronis crushed Ender into the ground, rendering him unconscious and severely injured.

    At the time, Axel felt a huge amount of force pushing him down. ''What?!'' Axel was shocked. Was he actually discovered?! How?!

    The man turned toward Axel''s general area. "I''ve been feeling your presence for a while. You have nice hiding skills, but no one can escape my detection field." Tronis grinned, increasing the force on Axel. "So, why don''t youe out?"

    ''Fuck!'' Axel''s eyes widened. Why did he not think of that?! If this guy has control over energy waves then he is a walking radar! The basic stealth mode that he has on isn''t enough to escape the man''s senses.

    The force being applied to him was too much, so Axel quickly submerged himself in water. But of course, that meant his cover was blown. Unfortunately, he had no other choice at the moment. None of his other abilities can fight Gravity.

    "Water? Is that you, Arslot?" But when Tronis confirmed that Axel was definitely not who he thought he was, his eyes narrowed. The amount of control the person was showing over the water was not something that ordinary spell casters can achieve. "Who are you?" He asked suspiciously.

    ''I need to kill him.'' At the same time, Axel realized that there was no way to hide his water affinity now. Axel''s mind went on elerated mode, thinking multiple thoughts at the same.

    Instead of answering, Axel first covered his face with a mask and also covered his hair. In case this bastard escapes, or in case Axel has to escape without killing him, at least his [Chris] indentity would still be temporarily usable.

    As for running away without a fight?

    ''Not possible.'' Due to various reasons. First of all, ''That man'' his gaze turned towards Ender. Axel can''t let him get captured. He is much stronger than most of the Relic Wielders Axel has seen. Losing him would be a waste. Also, ''A distant rtive, huh?''

    Axel no now knew the Origin of his Lightning Affinity. It would seem that the Queen, or his grandmother, was from the Lightning Septis.

    If these two reasons aren''tpelling enough to fight instead of run, there is also the fact that running might actually be more dangerous than split been.

    All of these thoughts went through Axel''s head in a matter of milliseconds, before he finally took the actions most suitable for the situation. "Who am I? Who are YOU?" Even though he was underwater, his voice was heard loud and clear.

    Answering a question with a question. Tronis was already suspicious of his identity. No matter what answer he gives, it would only result in increased hostility. Asking a question would be better to buy time.

    "You don''t know who I am? Is that even possible?" As expected, the question was enough to momentarily stun Tronis.

    But in the next moment, he waspletely stunned. Because, a huge amount of water was falling from the sky.

    .....

    A.N.: Next: Axel vs Tronis, the Ruler of Water

    Next next: End of the Fight, Skeeter Caught

    Next next next: The Royal Relic

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 214: Ruler of Water

    Chapter 214: Ruler of Water

    A huge amount of water wasing down from the sky. To quantify, it could fill a standard swimming pool 10 times.

    Tronis quickly looked up, and his eyes almost popped out. As revealed, Tronis is a walking radar. So when a huge amount of water would suddenly fall from the sky, there is no way he''d miss it. He quickly prepared his energy fields and even reversed the gravitational force in order to defend.

    But, instead of hitting him, the water simply changed direction and came towards Axel merging with the small water bubble he was already under.

    ''Dumbass.'' Axel smirked, his eyes now glowing due to the overwhelming amount of water he had under hismand. His goal wasn''t to attack. There is little chance of it seeding when Tronis was even able to defend against thatst attack of Ender.

    As long as those tattoos are glowing, Tronis temporarily has an unlimited amount of energy. He could kill Axel with a snap of his fingers.

    That''s why, Axel''s first priority was increasing his attack and defense and leveling the ying field.

    !!!

    ...

    Tronis''s surprise could be imagined. He had just thought someone was spying on him. Since he was preupied with dealing with his Rival, he thought it would be best to pretend not to notice. It worked out well, and he won the fight.

    Exhrated, he turned his attention back on the bug who had bothered him in the most dangerous fight he had had so far.

    He put a huge force on the target in order to immobilize him and force him to reveal himself. But instead of buckling down like he had imagined, the person instead covered themselves in water.

    ''What the?'' One of the ways of countering his gravitational field is water. The downward force is somewhat lessened due to the buoyant force naturally exerted by the water.

    There was only one person he knew who would do this. "Arslot, is that you?" What is that madman doing spying on him?

    But he quickly rejected the thought. It couldn''t be him due to various reasons.

    But then, who else could it be? Spellcasting usually takes some time. But this person was able to mobilize the water almost instantaneously. Not to mention the control was too precise.

    "Who are you?"

    "Who am I? Who are YOU?"

    ???? This person doesn''t know who Tronis is? Is that even possible? Is he someone who came from the outside world?

    That seemed like a possibility. This ce had multiple entrances in the outer world. So the case of someoneing from the outside world won''t be anything new.

    Usually, if they are natives, they are just sent to theb or used as ves or food for their monsters. But if they have aether, then they are put into the trainee system to be ''enlightened'' and recruited.

    That''s why, Tronis refrained from instantly crushing the person. But, in the next moment, his radar detected a huge amount of watering down with an incredible momentum.

    ?!?!?!

    The first thing that came to his mind was to protect himself. He deployed maximum protection. But, instead of hitting him, the water came to revolve around the intruder instead.

    Now, Tronis was serious. "Who in the world are you?"

    There was no answer. All he could see was a pair of glowing blue eyes.

    !

    Seeing those eyes, despite the extreme protection surrounding him, Tronis involuntarily took a step back.

    Those eyes.

    He was all too familiar with them. Combined with this unreasonable control over water

    Shivers ran down Tronis''s spine. No this can''t be possible. He couldn''t understand how that was possible. Has the Princess actuallye down herself? No, the silhouette he can see is definitely masculine.

    Then, who could it be?!

    No matter what, Tronis was now sure of one fact: He needs to eliminate this threat. As quickly as possible.

    The Gravitation around Axel suddenly increased many folds, causing him to start sinking at a rapid pace.

    ''Holy shit.'' Despite in water, Axel began sinking down at an extremely high speed. He didn''t expect for the man to be this strong. He felt a huge strain of his body due to the extreme gravitation.

    Ender could easily resist this by turning into Lightning. But Axel didn''t know if he could turn into water.

    That''s why, he used another method. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. The first thing he did was to enclose him whole body inside a hardened water crystal. But this wasn''t enough. He had eliminated the strain on his body, but he was still falling at a high speed. If he falls like this, his body would break apart.

    Axel concentrated on the water that was surrounding him.

    The speed of descent of his body, which seemed as fast as a falling meteor, gradually slowed down, until hepletely stopped sinking before he touched the ground.

    Then, his body, which was wrapped up in a giant water crystal, slowly rose back up, until he was in the middle of his huge water sphere.

    Tronis was left scratching his bald head, unable to understand how this was possible. "How are you doing that?!"

    Inside the water crystal, the corner of Axel''s mouth lifted upward. ''It worked out better than expected.'' He thought.

    What he did was simple. He had built his own Gravitation to counter it. He made the water around him flow upwards. After going up, it would travel down in an arc and once again flow up, creating an endless loop. This is generating an upward force strong enough to counter the Gravitational force that Tronis is generating.

    Though there was not much need, but to eliminate the strain on his body for being in the middle of these two forces, Axel covered himself in hardened water crystals.

    [Water Monarch

    Proficiency: 10.23%]

    Axel rarely had the chance to properly train his water affinity. That''s why, his proficiency was quickly increasing the more he learned how to use water. The more he used it, the morefortable he felt using it. Right now, even though he was in a crystal, he didn''t feel suffocated. He didn''t need to breathe. Oxygen was automatically being transmitted to his body through water. And his awareness of his surroundings was increasing.

    How to say it? It felt like he could gain control over every drop of the water surrounding him.

    If he concentrated, he could feel every minute change taking ce in the flow of water. Despite being so deep in water, he could even make out what Tronis was saying through the vibrations on the boundaries of the water body.

    A word naturally popped up in Axel''s head: Domain.

    Even though it was quite small, Axel felt that this was definitely a domain. He was the ruler in this space.

    ''Is this how Kyrin does it?'' He thought, enjoying the feeling.

    On the other hand, Tronis was getting more and more agitated. Such precise control over water and those eyes this is definitely someone from the Royal Family. But how is that possible?

    At this moment, the glow of the markings on his body started to fade. Tronis''s sense of urgency increased. He did not have much time left. In order to defeat Ender, he had decided to activate the markings. The amount of power he could use right now was obscene, but it was only temporary. As soon as it ends, he would be in an extremely weakened state.

    That''s why, he decided to end things now. No matter who this person was, Tronis did not have the luxury to satisfy his curiosity, or spare their life.

    He raised both of his hands and pinpointed Axel''s exact location through the radar. Then, he attacked. "ConcentratedGravitation." Instead of changing the gravitation of the whole area, he focused on only changing the gravitation of a single extremely small area.

    ?!

    A chunk of the crystal surrounding Axel was broken.

    Axel quickly shifted his position, thus avoiding death by a narrow margin.

    ''Fuck! I almost died.'' The attack gave Axel the chills. It was only because his senses were heightened due to the domain that he was able to react in time. Axel reced the broken water crystals with thicker, more durable ones.

    ''Not enough.'' Still not satisfied, Axel employed another safety measure. He filled the water with vapour, making it difficult to see through, and made crystal shells blend in with water. So what if the opponent has radar? At high level, the Stealth magic he has gotten from the system can even fool the radar. It requires a lot of concentration though, so Axel usually doesn''t go that far when using stealth.

    ''He survived?!'' Tronis couldn''t believe it. He tried attacking again, but

    ''What the?!'' Tronis could no longer pinpoint his location, meaning he can''t snipe him using concentrated gravity. He concentrated, trying to locate him in the murky water, but couldn''t see anything, and the energy he sent into the water couldn''t find anything.

    Tronis was really pitiful at this moment. He defeated his rival after an intense and extremely lucky fight, but then he ended up getting entangled in another fight. What''s worse, this opponent seems to be able to defend against all of his attacks. Now he was really regretting not crushing this person when he still had the chance.

    "Give up, man. You''re just embarrassing yourself." Axel''s voice sounded at this moment, clearly audible despite the water.

    Tronis''s knees buckled. He had almost run out of time. ''I have to do it.'' He couldn''t believe he was using his final resort against an opponent he barely knew.

    Tronis closed his eyes, and energy started gathering around him.

    ''What is he doing now?'' Thought Axel, feeling ominous. A huge amount of force began gathering in one ce.

    He tried attacking, but as expected, the water couldn''t breach through the ginormous amount of energy. Same with his mental attack.

    Multiple kinds of force gathered together. The ground began vibrating due to the sh of energy fields.

    ''Fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck.'' A strong force began pulling away the water. The water started escaping his control, getting hit by multiple forces. Axel tried to pull away, but realized that he couldn''t. It was simr to how he couldn''t fly above a certain point in this gravity field due to the sheer amount of downward force.

    Soon, the concentration had reached the point that even the space started to distort. Tronis''s body was already in shambles due to the mobilization of such energy. Seeing the enemy vainly trying to escape, augh escaped his lips. This was his hidden card, only usable due to the increased amount of power through the markings.

    Tronis was confident to win against anyone with this. The only reason he hadn''t used it was because it damages his body to an unheble extent.

    "Farewell... stranger." Tronis muttered, using up everything. "Energy storm."

    "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    ...

    A.N.: Sorry for the Dy. Been writing my new book. Will post regrly now

    Gimme Powerstones!

    Next: End of the Fight, Skeeter Found

    Next next: Meeting Royal Relic Wielder

    Next next next: sh Royale

    Next.... next: Fight for The Royal Relic

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 215: Rita Skeeter Found, End of Fight

    Chapter 215: Rita Skeeter Found, End of Fight

    The semester at Hogwarts had ended, but the school could not have its rest.

    Axel Hunt had gone missing at the end of the session. And that was something uneptable. The whole world wanted to know where the boy had disappeared. It hadn''t been long since the ''Life and Lies of Axel Hunt'' was released, and it was shaking up the whole wizarding world.

    If Axel was a Quidditch Genius before, he had now be a Legend. Coming from the dirty muggle streets, surviving the extreme cruciatus, and then oveing crippling injuries and then bing so good at Quidditch and Magic to the point of being able to take on a whole team alone in an unrestricted format.

    This was story of the Savage name Axel Hunt. How could people not be affected?

    But this person had actually gone missing.

    Thus, protest and search missions were being organised by the wizardingmunities through the world. The pressure on Hogwarts had reached an extremely high level.

    Many people were now out on the streets of London or interviewing Hogwarts students, trying to find out more about Axel. Everything rted to Axel was getting tons of views. People pretending to personally know Axel were cropping up in droves. Many were making up ridiculous stories like watching him disappear into thin air or running faster than flying broomsticks.

    At such a time, in a warded ce, Daphne and Martina looked at the bound and gagged figure of Rita Skeeter, who was currently scared out of her wits.

    "Are you sure it''s her?" Asked Daphne.

    Martina nodded her head. "I''m sure. I found out by hacking into the website." Even though she was sure, she really did hack the website, just so that she could use it as an excuse.

    Martina handed her Rita''s Magi-mirror. "You can confirm it if you want." On the screen were chats between Skeeter and the book website''s publisher.

    "Even though she kept her name anonymous, she actually took a huge amount of money for the copyrights of the book."

    Selling Axel''s private life for money

    Daphne was so angry that the phone''s screen cracked due to her magic. This woman made a gigantic mess. Not only that, but now people have even begun linking Daphne''s father''s death with Axel''s torture incident. Both things happened on the same date. And her father''s hobby for torturing muggle kids was an open secret.

    So now, she and her family are receiving death threats and being called a family of torturers by the angry fans. Her mother and sister can''t even visit Diagon Alley without disguise. Even her mother had been trying her best to find out who was behind this. So, Daphne was extremely surprised when Martina casually told her she found the culprit.

    "How did you get her here?" She asked, barely suppressing the urge to strangle Skeeter.

    Martina seemed offended by that question. "Even if I''m like this, I''m still from a Mafia family, alright?"

    "Oh, right." Daphne really had forgotten. Martina is usually the type to not even hurt a fly. But since the matter involved Axel, it seems that she is not that harmless.

    "So, what do we do now? Shall I call in some people to interrogate her?" Asked Martina, picking up her Magi-mirror.

    "No wait. There''s someone better for the job," said Daphne.

    While Martina was still puzzled, there was a snap outside the ce. Then the door opened and Betrix ck walked into the ce.

    "What?!" Martina pointed her wand at her in shock, but Daphne stopped her. "Rx. She''s on our side."

    "??? Our side? But thest time" Thest time, Betrix had behaved very crudely with Daphne, ming her for what her father did to Axel.

    But then, something unexpected happened. Betrix actually bowed in front of Daphne.

    Martina: ^^###!!!???

    Ignoring Martina''s surprise, Daphne pointed at Rita Skeeter. When she saw Skeeter, a look of surprise appeared on Betrix''s face, before a sadistic smile slowly split her lips. "So, it was you. Why does it make so much sense?"

    Rita Skeeter was an annoying reporter who had written some less than savory articles on Betrix. Though, a little bit of discipline had Rita learned by heart not to mess with her. From then on, Rita became much more careful on who to pick fights with. And Betrix just left her alone, thinking of her as nothing more than a fly.

    But now, she has touched someone she should not have.

    Upon seeing Betrix, Rita had already began shaking violently.

    Betrix drew her want. "Hi Rita. We meet again."

    .

    Meanwhile, in the Gravitational Zone, a huge explosion took ce.

    Except for Tronis and Ender, who were exempt from the forces due to the energy barriers, everything in the area was decimated.

    Lying on the ground beside the still unconscious form of Ender, Tronis drew in a ragged breath. The markings on his bodypletely lost their glow. At the same time, the side effects manifested. The veins all of his body bulged out to the point of bursting, and blood began to flow out from his mouth and nose.

    He could not move. Looks like he would have to call for help. But, this was the only way to ensure his survival. If his power had run out before the opponent was defeated, the situation would have been worse.

    "Aarrghhh...." The pain was so bad he wanted to pass out. Tronis tried to endure while dreaming of the time he would spend torturing Ender after taking him back to the base. This bastard had killed her lover, another relic wielder of Kraken. In return, Tronis killed many of his Septis members. Tronis and Ender have been bitter enemies ever since.

    ''Now, it''s finally the end.'' He had finally won. This was a long awaited confrontation, after years. Ender had grown stronger, but the increase in Tronis''s power was much higher, due to the weakening of the seal. Add to the fact that the circumstances were in his favor, he has finally won.

    Now, all that''s left is to enjoy the torture. Thinking so, the pain became much more bearable. With much difficulty, Tronis raised his head to inspect the surroundings.

    He was in the middle of a huge depression in the ground. Everything else was gone. How could it be any different? No one could escape that attack.

    But at this moment, he detected movement in his peripheral vision. ''What?!''

    A chill ran down Tronis''s spine. He had gambled everything on thest attack. Because the odds of winning were 100%. Right now, he was in no condition to even move, let alone fight.

    That''s why, when he actually saw something move, he almost had a heart attack.

    Did... Did he actually survive? No way, right?

    Tronis squinted his eyes, trying to see through the dense mist permeating the area. But, he could barely make out a huge silhouette. Soon, the mist cleared. And

    !!!!!!#*#*#!!!!!

    And what he saw was so absurd that he was sure he was hallucinating.

    "Theron????"

    ''Have Ipletely lost it now?'' He thought. Because that was definitely the case right now. How else could he see Theron of all people here right now.

    But then, Theron moved, or rather, his armor moved. Creaking of bones resounded, and from the neck gap of the armor, a person climbed out.

    Axel fell to the ground and aligned his bones, which he had to dislocate in order to go into the armor.

    Yep, that''s how he survived. The amount of energy was crazy. All the water was getting instantaneously vaporated. In that time, instead of trying to use his own powers to survive, Axel simply took out Theron''s Coral Armor and used it as a shield.

    Even though he didn''t activate its defense, even its base material is so durable that it was able to withstand the energy storm. The problem was fitting into it. The Armor could not be opened. Thergest gap was in the neck.

    That''s why, Axel had to break or dislocate many of his bones in order to f

    squeeze through. Pain? Is that something someone with his pain threshold would be concerned about?

    While healing himself, he nced at the unrecognizable figure of Tronis. The poor man''s brain seemed to be glitching right now upon seeing him still alive and climbing out of an armour that was clearly Theron''s.

    "The Armor how can it be here?" That''s all he could mumble. Theron and Nerio have been missing for a while. The time they reported back was when they were on a mission to take Axel Hunt.

    AXEL HUNT!

    A jolt when Tronis''s head. Royal Bloodline, male, and having Coral Armor. "You how?"

    Axel Hunt was only 13. That''s why Tronis didn''t think of this yet. But if this was really him, then it would exin a lot, including the reason why Theron and Nerio never returned. If who they faced was this tricky bastard, then there is a high chance that they''re both dead.

    Axel, who had healed himself somewhat, let out a chuckle. "So you figured it out?" He asked, slowly walking over. His steps sounded especially heavy due to the high gravity in the area.

    With each step, his bones came back to their ce, blood was also flowing through his mouth, but he paid it no heed.

    Looking at that, Tronis snapped out of his daze. With hand, he tried to kill Ender while with the other, he took out a healing elixir.

    Spurt

    But des of water formed the air and his hands separated from his body. At the same time, Water crystals formed on Ender''s body, in order to prevent further harm.

    Axel''s footsteps halted as he came to stand in front of Tronis as he removed his mask and removed his disguise.

    Tronis looked at the face of Axel Hunt in disbelief. His head was a mess. He had lost. That was difficult to ept. But, what was even more difficult to ept was the fact that he had lost to a thirteen year old.

    ''Those guys do they have any idea?'' Tronis thought of theid members, who werepletely oblivious of the fate of Theron and Nerio. And it would seem that the same was going to happen to him.

    ''I''m going to die. And Ender is still alive.''

    Tronis regretted it. He was among the Kraken''s strongest. He has been for a while. From beginning to end, he had this confidence that he would win.

    That''s why, he didn''t kill Axel when Axel still hadn''t summoned water. Because he didn''t think anyone could be a threat. And even after Axel had shown off his impressive skills, he still didn''t think he''d lose. That''s why he didn''t kill Ender.

    ''In the end, I can only me myself.''

    "You fought well," Axel said, raising his hand. "Too bad, I can''t let you live longer with all the things you know." Before Tronis''s thought process could reach further, he saw a de of water forming above his head. Axel stood over him, eyes glowing blue and mist gathering behind him.

    At this moment, Tronis did not see a 13 year old boy. What he saw, was a ruler deciding his fate.

    "Farewell. You almost won."

    With that, the de fell.

    .

    A.N.: Sorry for the dy, I took a break in order to increase the patreon stalkpile and n the new book further.

 Chapter 216: Back Again! + Quick Summary

    Chapter 216: Back Again! + Quick Summary

    Hi, I''m back again.

    Why was I gone?

    Well, there were many reasons, a good one was that I had my finals, which I thankfully passed. Now I''m an Engineer.

    While I was gone, I''ve written till chapter 227 andtest here is 208 so yeah, you can expect steady updates now

    I''ll give you a brief summary since most of y''all have forgotten what the fuck is gone on in the story. Don''t worry, it''lle back easily and I''ve repeated things so that you can remember. And if you don''t remember something, ask in thements, I''ll answer.

    Summary:

    Rita had been secretly investigating Axel and after he went to Antis, she released it all, like his days living on streets, about his injury in the first year, etc. So Daphne, Martina and Betrix caught the bitch and interrogated her. (She''s about to reveal the most shocking news soon)

    On the other side, Axel fought Tronis, 4th of Kraken Overseer rankings, and won. This guys has power of gravity and he just defeated Axel''s uncle, the one with the Lightning Relic. Now Axel is finally about to face the Royal Relic Wielder.

    This was the brief summary. This should get you going for the next chapter. Now here''s information that you might or might not have forgotten. Axel and the Kyrin"s group went into the shallowyer of the Altina''s trench(Kraken''s Territory) in order to get some training.

    But due to Axel''s Locket, they ended up in a space turbulence, sending them much, much deeper than intended. (the deeper the dangerous).And then Axel''s Locket attracted space whales. So now, he''s further deep, in the Gravitational Layer.

    He currently has two missions:

    1) Get the Royal Relic

    2) Reinforce the Seal sealing the Entity, since the amount of power Kraken members can borrow from the Entity''s has increased a lot.

    Ah, if you''ve forgot more, just ask. But first I''ll sleep then answer. I''m traveling right now.

    Read the next chapter. I''ll post another tomorrow. Or maybe today. Depends on the powerstones.

 Chapter 217: Meeting the Royal Relic Wielder

    Chapter 217: Meeting the Royal Relic Wielder

    After killing Tronis, Axel''s knees buckled as he fell to the ground. He didn''t feel like enduring the high Gravitation of this zone anymore.

    ''Damn it, I want Kyrin''s ability!''

    Like Kyrin can turn into darkness, If he could also turn into water, Gravitation wouldn''t bother him. Also, then he wouldn''t have had to break his bones and squeeze his organ in order to go into Theron''s armor.

    ''System, how do I get the ability to turn into water?''

    [You will need to increase your water affinity andprehension to a much, much higher level. At your current pace, it would take you 5 years.]

    Axel frowned. Five years is too long. Just how difficult is that it would take that long?

    ''If it''s so difficult then how does Kyrin do it? I even saw Sylthia do it.''

    [They do it using their Relics. If you get the Royal Relic under your control, you will also be able to do it instantly.]

    ''Then say it like that from the beginning, damn it.'' Axel got up and looked at Tronis''s dead body.

    He clutched his head, feeling his temples aching. He had won. Against a high ranking member of Kraken. But it had left him drained. He had to take on a guy who managed to defeat one of Antis''s strongest Relic Wielders. And that too when he had his blue markings activated.

    "Those Tattoos are really a cheat." He muttered. It allows the Kraken members to get simr power as limit break, except unlike him, they can draw an obscene amount of power. Why? Because the power Axel gets through the limit break is his own power, drawn from distorting his Akashic records. On the other hand, the power these people get is borrowed from the Entity who own their asses.

    Now Axel understood why reinforcing the seal is so important. This guy had already expended a lot of energy defeating Ender. And then he almost managed to kill Axel. If not for the armor, Axel would have been in huge trouble.

    What''s worse is that the Kraken most likely Kraken still has guys much stronger than this.

    He couldn''t imagine fighting them if they also borrowed the powers from the Entity.

    That''s why, he really HAS to reinforce the seal.

    ''Sigh¡­''

    Axel looked at the corpse of Tronis. Taking out his knife, he cut down the man''s armor. It parted to reveal an amulet that had multicoloured energies swirling inside it.

    ''So, this is it, huh?'' This was the relic that had almost sted Axel to kingdome.

    Axel took off the relic and put it in his storage space. ''That makes it three.''

    Axel is starting to build up quite a collection. He still didn''t know what he was going to do with these.

    He also took the storage equipment of Tronis. It contained simr equipment as the ones Axel had gotten from Estris. There were also other misceneous things, including a few healing elixirs. One thing that caught his eyes was the portrait of a smiling woman.

    Axel shook his head upon seeing that. This man also had a life. But that was it. He really didn''t have the luxury to give a damn about other people''s lives. He was an enemy, and he had to be eliminated. That was it. Was there a better way? Don''t care.

    Axel wasn''t the one to think about useless stuff. When you face the hardships of life, you quickly realize that morality, sympathy, mercy¡­ these are things that only sheltered weaklings have the luxury to care about. In the real world, it''s all a game of probability. If you waste your time and energy on these things, you are only decreasing your survival probability.

    Axel discarded the useless stuff from the man''s storage equipment, including the portrait, and put his own essentials in it. Then he put it back in Martina''s storage ring. Usually, when storage equipment get damaged, all the things contained in them are thrown out. In case that happened, at least his things would have a double protection.

    Though, he still kept all the weapons and other emergency materials in the ring for immediate use.

    *Cough* *Cough*

    When Axel was still busy, he heard a faint coughing. It was only then he remembered the existence of the man he had just saved. Axel walked over and checked his condition.

    Crushed limbs, broken bones, concussion, excessive bleeding, and more¡­ well, nothing an elixir can''t fix.

    ''Wait.''

    There was something else. A strange yet familiar energy that was running through the man''s body.

    Axel put a hand on the man''s lung and the energy suddenly climbed his hand!

    ''Shit!''

    Axel shook his hand, but it just won''t go away!

    Pain shot through his hand and water began forming on the tips of his fingers.

    ''What in the world¡­'' Axel realized what the energy was. It was filled with water element. An extremely strong and violent one. Enough to even harm Axel, who already had [Water Monarch].

    After concentrating, Axel dispelled the energy with difficulty. Cold sweat formed on his forehead, getting a glimpse of the abilities of his next opponent.

    Now that the energy was out of his system, Ender seemed to be able to breathe properly again. Axel gave him and Elixir and the man''s injuries started to heal at a visible rate. He should be able to regain consciousness in a few hours.

    Meanwhile, Axel created a bed of water and sat down. He was also dead tired. He had been flying non-stop for a few days in the gravity field and after that he ended up in a fight with that man. Even though using water affinity does not cost much magic, it still costs mental energy. He used enough of it to beat a tattoo mode Overseer in which he had to endure extreme gravitation. In short, he needs to recharge.

    Axel first decided to eat. Beforeing here, he had packed a ton of supplies. He has been following a strict diet made of magical ingredients for two years.

    Over the years, his diet has also gone through some changes.

    In the beginning, it was just boiling the ingredients and eating them. Then he got a few potion recipes, to be consumed with the diet. Since he couldn''t make them himself due to his unstable hands, he used to have them made by Daphne or her mother. After he got healed, the diet also changed. Now itprisesplicated recipes of dishes made from various magical ingredients. But with his dexterity as is, Axel can make them with ease.

    The reason he is fighting, and winning against such dangerous opponents is not just because of his talent or training. His diet has also yed an important role in it.

    Axel took out the ingredient, cauldron and portable magic burner and quickly fixed himself a meal.

    [Cooking Lv 5]

    Axel didn''t have this skill. The system was just trolling him. If it showed up for all the basic skills, then Axel would have had too many skills. Besides, cooking is not even remotely rted to the Arcane Thief ss.

    Axel tasted the meal and nodded in satisfaction. If he had a cooking skill, it would definitely be high level.

    Then, after setting up wards all around him, hefortablyid down on his bed and closed his eyes.

    [Axel]

    Axel hadn''t closed his eyes for 10 minutes before he got woken up by a system rm.

    ''What?''

    [You need to be prepared. The Wielder of Royal Relic is rapidly approaching your location]

    Instantly, sleepiness was gone from Axel''s eyes. ''What?! How?!''

    [He can sense your water affinity]

    ''He can?''

    Axel cursed under his breath. He is in no condition to fight right now. After witnessing the water affinity of that guy? He was even beginning to consider borrowing Kyrin and other relic wielders'' help to defeat that guy.

    So, how is he supposed to beat someone like that in his current state?

    Axel got up and looked at Ender. The man still didn''t seem to be in a condition to be of any help in a battle.

    ''Looks like I''ll have to do it myself,'' he thought, covering Ender''s body and Tronis''s dead body in stealth magic.

    Water quickly engulfed Axel and he started flying. Last time, Ender survived because Tronis also wanted to keep him alive for torture. If he is caught up in another fight, he definitely won''t survive.

    Axel flew for a while as he gathered his energy. Soon, he started to sense it too. How to say it? It felt like a disturbance in his connection with water. And it was getting close at an rming rate.

    Ssh¡ª

    Water started to fall from the sky, attacking him.

    ''Dog barking at its owner?'' The Water Monarch was under attack by water. Axel had a bizarre feeling upon seeing that. He stopped flying and raised his hand. The iing water swirled around him, getting deflected.

    But in that time, his pursuer had finally caught up, as Axel could tell by the loss in control of the water around.

    "Wait, you aren''t Anti."

    Axel heard a raspy murmur. He turned around, but couldn''t see the face of his pursuer. All he saw was a mass of water gathering around.

    "Tell me, boy. How do you have my family''s bloodline?"

    Axel raised his eyebrows. "Your family''s bloodline?"

    He heard a chuckle. "Ah, I slipped. The surprise really made me lose myposure."

    "Show yourself first." Said Axel.

    The opponent seemed to think for a moment. But then, the water clumped together to form the body of an old man with graying hair. "I didn''t think the first person to know of my return would be someone like you. But then again, this is an extremely unexpected chance."

    The old man looked at Axel, as if waiting for him to react. Axel scratched the back of his head. "Uh¡­ am I supposed to know you?"

    ''...''

    The wrinkles got pronounced on the old man''s face. "What are they teaching the kids these days? Aslot Regius Varnox. That''s my name."

    If Axel said he still did not know, he was sure that the old man''s feelings would be hurt. Fortunately, he remembered now. This is the bastard brother of the previous king. Through trickery, he killed the previous queen and almost seeded in killing the king too. Even though the king survived, it is believed that the aftermath has left him weak.

    The first day at job, Axel had gathered a lot ofmon knowledge on Kyrin''s orders. So he knows this much.

    "Ah... I remember now. You are that bastard who got killed in a rebellion." As a bastard himself, Axel felt quite hypocritical calling someone else a bastard.

    Veins popped out on the man''s forehead. But he quickly calmed down. He fixed Axel with a scrutinizing gaze.

    "That personality... And that water affinity... You are¡­ Ana and Tristan''s son, aren''t you?"

    Axel''s smile froze for a moment. Currently, he was in his Chris disguise. And since people here have seen his father, he also had a mask on just in case. But, it seems like he was still found out. Well, it might not be that difficult to figure out for someone who personally knows his parents.

    "Axel Hunt¡­ was it? Tell me, boy. How in the name of ancestors, did you awaken the bloodline to that extent?"

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>Powerstones</strong>, to let everyone know me is back.

    In case you want to read around 20 chaps ahead. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 218: Clash of Royals

    Chapter 218: sh of Royals

    "Hello, Rita." With wand in hand, Betrix walked towards towards Skeeter.

    "I had thought you''d learnt your lesson after ourst session. I didn''t think you''d need another one."

    Rita shook in her chair, trying to back away. "Minister... I... I''m really sorry. If you''d just hear me out, I''m sure you''d understand¡ª"

    Betrix casually sent a cruciatus curse toward Skeeter. Rita let out a shriek so high that it made Daphne and Martina flinch. "Noisy." muttered Betrix, waving her wand and sealing Skeeter''s mouth shut. She then proceeded to continue the torture.

    "So, have you heard from Axel yet?" She asked, turning to Daphne and Martina.

    Even though Daphne and Martina had never tortured anyone, they had witnessed it multiple times due to their family. So, they were able to regain theirposure despite Betrix''s brutality.

    "Uh¡­ there''s no news." replied Martina.

    Betrix frowned. "What about that girl? Akio? No, Akiko. Did she tell you something?"

    The girls were confused by that question. "No. How would she even know anything?"Betrix looked at the two clueless girls and burst outughing. "You guys don''t know?"

    "Don''t you what?" Asked Daphne.

    "Akiko is in Antis too. Did she not tell you?"

    ?????????

    "....What¡­.?"

    "Is¡­ Is that true?!"

    "Of course. Antis is under a state of war. Her grandfather has been worried sick about her."

    Daphne and Martina looked at each other, their mouths agape.

    "...Traitor¡­"

    "That BITCH!"

    Then, both of them exploded together.

    Both Martina and Daphne were blown away by this revtion. As far as they were aware, Akiko had just returned to Japan with the Japanese Delegation.

    Just yesterday, while talking about how much they miss Axel, the girls had also admitted to missing Akiko a little bit as well. The duo had also talked about how innocent and cute Akiko is.

    "It is always the quiet ones that are most dangerous." murmured Daphne, gritting her teeth. Right now, Akiko was alone with Axel in Antis, while they are stuck here, twiddling their thumbs.

    Never in her wildest dreams had Daphne imagined that Akiko would backstab them like this. Thinking back, Akiko was awfully casual about Axel leaving for Antis. As if she didn''t care at all.

    And when they discussed ways to help Axel or go together with him, Akiko was always silent. Now she understood why. The bitch was already set to apany Axel. While they were agonizing, she must be looking down at them from her high throne, secretly mocking them.

    Meanwhile, looking at the distorted expressions of Daphne and Martina, Betrix chuckled, shaking her head. "You girls remind me so much of me."

    She turned her attention back to Skeeter, who was a mess by now after 20 seconds of Cruciatus. Betrix removed the silencing charm. Then, she took out a vial of veritaserum for her pocket and made Skeeter choke on it.

    As expected of Betrix, the torture was just for fun. The interrogation was going to be done through the truth potion.

    "Now, start talking. How the hell did you find out all those things? You need to tell me everything. Don''t leave anything out. I''ll search your mind to confirmter," she said, pocketing the vial.

    This was a new variety of the truth potion. It doesn''tplete make the consumer out of focus. Instead, it has apulsion that makes them think it is alright to speak their true thoughts and reveal their deepest secrets.

    "Everything? Asked Skeeter, looking up at Betrix. Her eyes had gone foggy due to the potion.

    "Yes, everything. Start from the beginning" Answered Daphne in her stead. The amount of information Skeeter had was truly creepy. To gather it just after Axel''s disappearance seems too impossible. They needed to know how she found out so much and if there were other people working with her.

    Skeeterunched into her exnation, her voice monotone.

    "There are two reasons I love my work. One is learning secrets. And the second is to reveal them¡­ at the right time. There are two types of targets I report on. One, small term targets, the ones I report as soon as I learn their secrets, second, long term. These people have multiple juicy secrets. So, instead of revealing what I learn right away, I wait until I''ve found everything. Axel Hunt¡­" A hint of passion appeared in Skeeters eyes. "He was in the third category."

    "The third Category?" Asked Martina.

    "The people I get personally interested in."

    "What does that mean?" Asked Daphne sharply.

    Rita looked lost. "I''m not sure either. Axel is the first person to appear in this category. The first time I saw him was in Diagon Alley. Shopping with Andromeda Tonks, of all people. I was instantly interested. Who was this handsome boy? And why is the minister''s sister personally bringing him around? A love child? Why was he walking like that? Is he injured? So I turned into my animagus form, a fly, and followed them around. I followed them until I saw the whole ck family at the New Cauldron." At this point, Betrix''s face stiffened.

    "I didn''t go in because I was scared of the minister. But I waited outside. After a while, I saw Axele out. Not long after, I saw the ministere out as well. Then¡ª"

    "Wait."

    Betrix interrupted Skeeter before she could talk further.

    ¡­.

    Meanwhile, in the Trench, Axel looked at Aslot, who had already found out about his identity.

    "Axel Hunt... was it? Don''t be so shocked. I knew both of your parents. You have the same annoying traits like them. Honestly, they were annoying till their deaths."

    Axel wanted to pretend that Aslot had guessed wrong, but his eyes narrowed when he heard those word. ''Annoying till their deaths?''

    He recalled what Tronis had said in his fight against Ender.

    What did he say? ''She didn''t know that ''that man'' was on also our side. We managed to separate the relic from her.''

    Axel looked at Aslot.

    "You... you were there, weren''t you? You were there when they died."

    This must be was the man due to whom his parents lost the final fight. They must have expected that he was still alive.

    Aslot sighed.

    "You''re right. Unfortunately, I was there. And I regret it. Not because we had to kill them. But because of what I lost." As he said that, his body distorted and began to change. Until now, he looked like a handsome old man with white hair and blue eyes. But now, his body rapidly shrivelled down, and gruesome scars appeared all over it, ovepped with excessive blue markings of Kraken which seemed to be permanently active.

    "Your parents destroyed the Key, also destroying our ns." said Aslot, hatred dripping from his voice.

    "It caused a Dimensional storm. The Royal Relic tried to follow your mother into it. In order to prevent that, I almost ended up losing my life for the second time. As you can see, thanks to your parents, it took more than a decade for me to return. And that too in this condition, barely alive due to the power of Entity. So," Aslot paused his rant as The water around himpressed to form a shining silver Trident, which also had the Kraken''s blue marking all over it.

    "So, You''d have to forgive me if I project some of that hatred onto you." With that, he pointed the Trident at Axel.

    "Well, I''m not exactly thankful that you killed my parents." Axel also mobilized all the water around him. This oldie had a really twisted nature. The fucker could have fled, but ended up almost killing himself because of his greed for the Royal Relic. And then he thinks its justified to take it out on Axel, who waspletely unrted to the incident.

    With his anger fueling his bloodline, Axel invoked all the water elemental energy in nature he could muster and sent it towards the iing tidal wave.

    The result? It was aplete L for Axel. Somehow, the water under Aslot''s control was much faster, heavier, and destructive. Itpletely overpowered Axel''s attack, proceeding toe towards him in the form of a water dragon.

    [Water Monarch + Unshackle]

    Before getting engulfed, Axel barely managed to stop the water bybining his water affinity with his special skill to free the water from Aslot''s control, thus managing to survive.

    ???

    Aslot stopped and looked at Axel like looking at some rare animal. "Such high mastery¡­. how?"

    ''What the fuck?''

    On the other hand, Axel clenched his mrs, trying to hide his shock. What happened just now was not a casual sh. It was a sh between the affinities of the two water rulers. And Axel had lost. Even before he had the chance to resist.

    ''What¡­ in the actual fuck?'' Axel was shaken. To lose in terms of water affinity¡­ and to lose with such an overwhelming difference¡­

    [Axel, use Teleportation.]

    The amount of outrage that line gave Axel could not be expressed in words. The system was telling him to run away.

    ''Son of a¡ª! Then why the fuck did you give me this mission?!''

    If the opponent was so strong, then why issue the mission in the first ce?

    The System''s missions are usually within the realm ofmon sense. But how is he supposed to beat this guy? Axel had just thought it was some small fry using the power of the relic, but it turned out to be a legit viin with Royal Bloodline.

    [It was meant to bepleted by borrowing the help of the rest of the relic wielders. You should have guessed you couldn''t beat him alone when it was revealed that a whole team of Relic Wielders couldn''t beat him.]

    The System doused cold water on his anger. He thought he could win, because¡­e on! This is water! Axel couldn''t imagine someone beating him in this field. But faced with the reality, Axel realized that he had to make a choice. Run away or fight.

    [Now that you have learnt your lesson, you can still leave. Aslot has locked the space through his water territory, but it''s not enough to stop Arcane Travel]

    Seeing Axel''s frozen appearance, Aslot chuckled. "You know, you can''t run, right? We have a lot to talk about."

    Axel slowly shook his head. Facing stronger opponents is something Axel has done his whole life. He won''t run away just because the opponent is stronger. A fight is not decided based on strength alone.

    [lumency Max]

    The gears of Axel''s mind began spinning at a rapid speed as he thought of a million ways to win. "No¡­ I''m not going to run," he finally said, making his decision. He was NOT going to run away.

    Hearing that, the corner of Aslot''s wrinkled mouth lifted. "Good. Because you need to tell me how you managed to awaken your affinity to that extent."

    Axel sneered.

    ''By doing a 30-day ''Awaken your Bloodline'' course.''

    Or. ''By minding my own goddamn business.''

    That''s how Axel would have replied if he wasn''t at such a disadvantage right now.

    So, he just shrugged. "Well, if you really want to know, you''d have to beat it out of me."

    Aslot grinned. "Well, I like the spirit. It''s just too bad you don''t have the qualifications to back it up."

    Aslot waspletely confident he would easily break the kid into a crying mess very soon. But still, that confidence made Aslot look forward to that time. Not more than 14, and that level of Water Control? If he knew how, he would be able to finally be more powerful.

    With the Royal Trident in hand, Aslot began walking towards Axel.

    ...

    A..N.<strong> Powerstones</strong>

    Come read ahead: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 219: Fight For Royal Relic part 1

    Chapter 219: Fight For Royal Relic part 1

    On Betrix''s orders, Rita stopped talking. But question marks appeared over the other two girl''s heads. Axel had never told them about this. That''s why, they were extremely interested in Rita''s story.

    Why was Axel shopping with Andromeda Tonks? Don''t orphans usually shop with the professors? And if he even had dinner with the cks, why did he never mention it before?

    But Betrix did not seem interested. "This is taking too long. Tell us what you did after that day."

    "After that day?" Rita''s eyes were dreamy. "I didn''t report what I learnt since it was rted to the minister. But after witnessing the events of that day, I got personally interested in knowing Axel. The first thing I went to was the saint mungos. With an imperio, I was able to get the memories of the receptionist who saw Axel walk in. Then I had her retrieve a copy of Axel''s medical report that was entered into the database. I had gotten big news. But since it wasn''t the right time to reveal it yet, I held on."

    Daphne clenched her fists.

    "Using Imperius? I knew she didn''t get those legally." On the other hand, Martina realized that the Skeeter in this world had fallen even further.

    "My next encounter with Axel was during Christmas. Within just a few months, he had changed a lot. He was no longer skinny and he even grew noticeably taller. Somehow, his movements were much better this time, despite his injuries having practically no cure. And despite there being too many noteworthy students, I followed him in my fly form after disillusioning and silencing. It was worth it. He went to a muggle house and beat up a whole gang who were using guns and then killed a leader in an extremely gruesome manner." Rita sighed. "I was so excited that I couldn''t stop buzzing. And after he left, I looked through the memories of the rest of the gang members and unexpectedly hit a jackpot."

    "Since their boss was obsessed with Axel, these people had a lot of memories about him. They had spent a lot of time in the past few years searching and harassing Axel, so they knew all the ces Axel had been to in the past few years. Through them, I also found out about the orphanage. And after finding it all out, I was blown away. A thought came to my mind¡­ If only he had been older and not crippled..."

    Hearing that, Daphne''s eyebrows went up to her hairline. "What did you say?!" "I said, he was really my ideal type."

    "You¡ª! You cougar bitch!" Martina and Betrix had to pull Daphne back before she clobbered Skeeter.

    Ignoring that small interruption, Rita continued her narrative. "In Axel''s second year, my wishes actually started toe true. Axel had somehow cured his disease and he even started to look more and more mature, to the point that he couldn''t bepared to other 12 year olds. I mean, those muscles¡­" Rita sucked in a breath. "That''s when I thought, why not wait a few more years?"

    What Rita said wasn''t too far-fetched. Wizards have long lives, and with the advancement in potions and the healing industry, if they spend enough money, they can even retain their looks in old age. So, dating with an age difference is possible. But, the women present didn''t see it that way.

    "Creepy Stalker," muttered Martina. Even she was angry now.

    "She has really high dreams." said Betrix, her wand hand twitching to cast another cruciatus.

    On the other hand, Daphne had gotten eerily silent. "Can we stop the interrogation now?" She asked. She really didn''t need to know more. She couldn''t wait for the torture to start. Just thinking about this bug spying on Axel''s barebody was making her sick.

    "Wait, there are a few more questions," said Betrix, turning to Skeeter. "Was it you? The one who gave information to the Mikhailovs about Axel''s past."

    Hearing that, the eyes of the two girls widened in realization.

    Sure enough, Rita nodded. "I had decided to keep the things I had found about Axel to myself. It had never happened before. But¡­ then, I heard about his engagement and got really mad."

    "Fucking creepy Psychotic Delusional Bitch! START TORTURING HER!" Ordered Daphne, and Betrix was more than happy to oblige.

    "Wait!" Said Martina. "Before going under the influence of the Potion, she had been urgently trying to say something. I was waiting for you so I didn''t hear it."

    Daphne shook her head. "Does it really matter?! She is a psycho bitch with mental problems! It couldn''t be anything important."

    But just when Betrix was about to continue the torture, her magi-mirror rang. It only happened during emergency cases.

    Not long after, The magi-mirrors of Daphne and Martina also began chiming due to notifications. After which, calls came to them.

    "??What''s happening?"

    Rita, who was in a pleasant buzz this whole time, considered it as just another question to be answered. "It''s because of me."

    She giggled, "Actually, in order to protect myself from the numerous enemies I''ve made, all the secrets I''ve gathered about everyone are always set to be automatically released in three days if I don''t reset it before that. It''s good for ckmail."

    Colour drained from Betrix''s face. Instead of looking at her Magi-mirror, she looked at Martina. "How long has she been captive?"

    Martina looked bewildered. "I¡­ I don''t know¡­ She was out of the country. I just asked my family to find her."

    Of course, Rita also took this as a question asked to her. "It''s been three days. Finally.." Her face was ecstatic. "Honestly, I''ve been waiting for this day for so many years¡­." She said happily.

    "....."

    "What have we done...?"

    "I''m finished..."

    It was the start of the biggestmotion in Magical Britain.

    ¡­.

    In the face of Aslot Regius Varnox, the mad usurper, who was currently advancing toward Axel with the Royal Trident in hand, Axel drew out a single knife from his storage space and took a stance.

    "Hm?" Seeing that, Aslot seemed amused. "Are you serious?"

    ''You''re going to face the Royal Relic with that?'' His eyes seemed to say.

    Axel shrugged. "It''s not about the size of the tool, but about how you use it. Well, at least inbat."

    Aslot tilted his head. "Your funeral." With that, he turned into water and flew towards Axel at speed that made him wonder if they were in the same gravitational field. The Trident, held by a water-made hand, was swung at Axel with a terrifying momentum.

    ''Fuck.'' Axel dodged, but the Trident came in with a stabbing motion the very next second.

    [Knife Wielding]

    Infusing magic in his knife, he deflected the Trident. But then, the Trident changed direction. Yep, it bent right like a snake and once again stabbed Axel.

    Axel once again stopped it with his knife. He took out another knife and infused it with Lightning, shing it at the water. The water suddenly turned violent,unching icicles on Axel.

    [Air Step]

    While deflecting the icicles, Axel took distance with a leap, standing on a water column.

    The water materialized to form Aslot''s body again as he looked at Axel inplete astonishment. He was so surprised that a dumbfoundedughter escaped his lips.

    "How?"

    That''s all he could ask.

    Lightning Affinity. Not as insane as the water affinity, but still at an extremely high level. Raising an affinity is not an easy task. It needs the right training,prehension, and the consumption of precious resources. Aslot was pretty sure the boy did not grow up in Antis, but in the outer world. Then how could he have such a high level in both Lightning and Wind Affinities?

    Also, it had to be noticed that they were currently in an extreme gravitation zone. Aslot could move fast because he could turn into water. But¡­ how in the name of the ancestors is this kid keeping up? Any other kid his age should not even be able to stand straight here, let alone move.

    "Well, I have my secrets," said Axel with a smirk. This was the reason why he didn''t run away. Because he had seen the greed and obsession in the old man''s eyes when Axel showed off his affinity. This is the same man who risked his life just to get his hands on the Royal Relic. He won''t be able to kill Axel without finding out how he increased his affinity.

    That''s also the reason why Aslot brought the fight to close quarters. So that he would have more control and won''t identally kill Axel. Of course, he had no idea he was following the pattern Axel had designed for him.

    "Don''t worry," Aslot sneered. "You''d be begging to tell them after I''m through with you."

    Aslot''s speed increased. This time, the Trident seemed to move on its own, attacking Axel like a whip. Each attack was fast enough to leave after images.

    [Arcane Footsteps]

    [Air Step]

    [Arcane Eyes]

    Axel''s movements in the air became more dynamic, Helping him dodge the strikes. Those he couldn''t dodge were deflected through the knives. But then, Aslot smirked, and the three pronged des of the Trident began to move on their own, extending forward like vipers in order to cut down Axel.

    [Launching Boom]

    Axel hastily moved back, but the blunt end of the Trident also moved at this moment, elongating outward and striking Axel in an arc.

    ?!

    This was just too much for Axel, who was struggling with the enhanced gravitation. This time, Axel had no time to deflect it. He only managed to bring his knives in the path of the pole.

    TNNNN

    A loud sound rang out as a tremendous force was transmitted to Axel, throwing him up like a rag doll. The water gathered around him only managed to slow him down after flying a dozen meters.

    "Cough Cough¡­" After spitting out some blood, Axel stabilized himself and looked at his hands which were still shaking from the impact. He hadn''t tried to resist the blow. There WAS no resisting it. Rather, he tried to absorb it and slowly dispel it. But it didn''t work too well.

    ''I need to be more¡­ flexible¡­ more rxed.'' His muscles were in a tense state and couldn''t immediately rx to let the impact flow through. While pretending to be hurt, once again took a shaky stance.

    On the other hand, the one shaking more was Aslot. But not because of any injury, but because of surprise. It had been a long time since he fought. So, caught in the flow, he ended up executing a series of fatal attacks. After thest hit, he was already in the process of taking out Elixir while wondering if he had overdone it. After all, he still had to interrogate the kid. But, imagine his surprise when he saw the boy still willing to fight more.

    "Preposterous!" Having seen the best talents of Antis, including Ana and Tristan, Aslot had thought he had seen it all. But today his assumptions werepletely broken.

    Phenomenal water control, agility as high as the wind septis members even under gravitation, enough endurance to take on a hit from the Royal Relic and survive, and thosebat skills¡­ refined to the point of perfection in order to bring maximum results with minimalistic efforts.

    Ana and Tristan¡­ Just what kind of monster have those two released into the world?

    "I have to ept. You have earned my respect with your skills," said Aslot. That''s why, he was even more excited. What Aslot wanted to do right now was to open up Axel''s brain and find out all of his secrets. The light in the Trident intensified as he drew out more power. A grin spread over Aslot''s cracked lips, making him appear more scary. "Let''s see if you can keep up."

    Aslot attacked Axel again. He liked strong opponents. Because, he gets that much enjoyment out of crushing them.

    This time, along with the attack from the dangerous Trident, the water around the trident also formed into des and began shing at Axel.

    !! Axel cursed under his breath. Despite his best efforts, he could not avoid it all. His mind could anticipate, but his body, amidst this gravitational field, could not follow. Helpless, he could only focus on dodging and defending against the attacks while minimizing the damage. At the same time, margin of dodging became so narrow that cuts appeared all over his armor.

    ''Faster¡­ more flexible¡­ more adaptable.''

    Due to the gravity and the huge gap in thebat strength, the injuries on Axel''s body were piling up. If this kept on, it won''t be long before he''d get hit. But his body was already performing at its maximum. Adding more strain would make it difficult for him to fight for long.

    On the other hand, the movements of Aslot were extremely fast, since he was not controlling his body, but controlling water. Even Axel could move water faster than he could move his own body.

    ''Wait¡­ that''s it!'' Struck by a sudden inspiration, Axel''s movements began to change.

    The use of a little amount of water that he had under his control began to diversify. Previously, he was only using it as a shield. But now, it enveloped his body as if gripping it.

    [Arcane Footstep + Air step + Launching Boom + Water Monarch]

    Numerous attacks poured down on Axel,ing from the water and the trident.

    Axel''s knives shed, and this time, his movements were extremely clumsy, as opposed to his previous graceful and refined movements. But, the number of attacks he blocked or deflected was much higher.

    "¡­What was that?" Asked Aslot, stopping for a moment.

    [You have unlocked the skill: Fluid Dynamics]

    [Water Monarch: Proficiency = 12.45%]

    While going through the sudden knowledge that entered his mind, Axel just shrugged. "Nothing, just going with the flow..."

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES!</strong>

    <strong>Come read ahead /Snollygoster </strong>

 Chapter 220: Panicked Princess

    Chapter 220: Panicked Princess

    Chapter 212

    Princess Anti paced back and forth in themand room of the Royal Castle. She had mobilized all of the forces at her disposal in order to find Axel.

    The orders they received was to find the ck Ops division. It can''t be revealed that their goal was to find Axel, otherwise it would be too easy for the Kraken to figure out that there was something fishy about Axel''s identity, thus putting him in even more danger.

    "Any news?" She asked the General. Communication was not possible between the Trench and Antis, so information was difficult.

    "There has been none, as of yet, Princess," said the General. That made the princess even more anxious. The ship of the ck Ops division had been caught in a spacial turbulence. The longer the news of sightings doesn''te, the deeper it means Axel and the ck Ops were teleported through the rift.

    Beep¡ª

    Though, the General''s e-brace blinked at this moment, attracting their attention.

    The General listened to the news, and his expression turned grave upon listening to the news. "Bring him here as quickly as possible."

    "What happened?!" "The Kraken¡­ has managed to awaken the Royal Relic."

    "The¡­ Trident?" It took several seconds for Anti to process the information, after which, she firmly shook her head. "Preposterous! That cannot be possible!"

    "I''m afraid that''s what I heard, princess. The Kraken''s executives, along with Royal Relic wielder, collectively attacked our Relic Wielder Division which had been dispatched for the Seal. This information is directly reported by a surviving Relic Wielder Asphor, who managed to make it back."

    "No..." Anti just shook her head. "There is no way the Royal Relic can be controlled by anyone without the Royal Bloodline!" The Royal Relic has been made by the finest Magi-craft Maesters of the Aether to resist the Entity''s coercion. Anti refused to believe that someone from the Kraken managed to the control it!

    The princess and the General made their way to the Royal Sanitorium where Asphor was being treated. His relic, the Speed Cloak was hung beside him while the man himself was writhing in pain while lying in bed. This was the same relic wielder who had arrived at the Biopark at the time of the Monster outbreak.

    "What happened to him?" Asked the General to the Menders, but Anti''s eyes were already shaking with shock. "That energy¡­ it can''t be!"

    It was a very strong water affinity magic. It can only mean one thing: The Kraken had managed to take control of the Royal Relic.

    As Anti began dispelling the water energy spell, her surprise only magnified. How could someone from the Kraken have such a powerful water affinity?

    Asphor breathed a sigh of relief, his long beard trembling. "Thankyou for your grace, Princess," he said, trying to get up in order to kneel.

    But a wave of energy forced him back into bed. "Who was it?" Asked Anti, her blue eyes glowing with power.

    "I¡­ I do not know, Princess. It was just¡­ water. A lot of it. And the Royal Relic."

    The water ss beside the bed shattered as Anti failed to control her frustration. "Is there anything you can tell me about the Wielder? Anything?"

    Asphor took a deep breath, recalling everything. "His voice was definitely male. And his way of talking was very old fashioned. Also, he said something about ''L being too soft on us."

    "No¡­ No¡­ it can''t be¡­" The energy radiating from Anti suddenly faltered. "Are you sure he said that? Did he use those exact words?!"

    "I¡­ I think I''m sure. His exact words were: "How weak. L has been too soft on you guys, not putting you through enough training."

    Anti closed her eyes. She couldn''t keep them open. Because if she did, the people present would see just how terrified she was right now.

    "L¡­ that''s the same name¡ª" The General had also figured it out.

    L, was Anti''s nickname. And the only people who''ve ever used it are her Royal father, Royal sister, and¡­

    "The traitor" she whispered, her voice trembling. Asphor Regius Varnox, her Royal Uncle, who took the life of her mother and sent her father to the deathbed. "He''s still alive."

    Anti walked out of the Sanitorium, going straight towards the Armoury.

    "Princess¡­" Said the General, following after her. "Princess, you can''t be thinking about¡ª"

    "I am," replied Anti. "I''m going there myself."

    "That''s not possible, Princess. This is war time, and an expedition would take at least a month, and this if you return safely. And the whole time, the Kingdom would be without a ruler, and that is if you manage to return safely."

    Despite not having the qualifications, Anti was currently the Regent, who had been ruling the Kingdom in her father''s stead. Because Antis cannot function without a ruler. Someone needs to be there to make the decisions. The Kraken would take advantage of it and the Kingdom would be in Chaos.

    "I don''t care!" But, would Anti really think about that right now? "That traitor is somehow still alive! And Axel currently might be in the deeperyer of the Trench! Do you know what that means?! The Royal Relic drastically increases the wielder''s sensitivity to water affinity! My sister could tell my location from the other end of the Kingdom! Do you understand?! I have to go!"

    The General sighed as he made a decision. "In that case, I''ll go with you," he said, stopping the princess in her tracks. "Princess, you have to understand. He''s too powerful. Even if you do go, you''ll end up losing your life. I''ll have to go there by myself."

    The Kingdom be damned, saving Axel takes priority. The Princess quickly began making arrangements.

    ¡­

    Ever since the release of the Biography of Axel, the Wizarding world has been in a huge turmoil. With his already massive poprity and with the shocking revtions of the book, it was no doubt that Axel had be the most famous person in the Wizarding World.

    But, it would be wrong to assume that this Book was a good thing for Axel. The book had revealed many things which would have been better left hidden.

    There were too many people who were more than a bit Jealous of Axel''s bursting poprity and desperately wanted to have to share. The people who had been doing all they could gather fame were extremely vexed to see someone so easily get something they had been dreaming about their whole life.

    And the things revealed in the book were enough to give them something to bring down his fanatic poprity.

    A smear campaign wasunched, with Axel Hunt as the target.

    "Does Axel Hunt Deserve To be Idolized?"

    There is no doubt that Axel Hunt had a tremendous amount of talent and potential. And that is why, he has be the dream idol to all the young wizarding poption and the dream lover of most of the female wizarding poption. Many young hotblooded youths have even opened the Savage Cult, practically worshiping Hunt.

    But, is this truly right? In most people''s opinion, seriously not.

    "The boy is a thief and a murderer. If I had a kid, I would never want him to learn anything from the guy." That''s what the star actor Ferguson had to say about the prodigious boy.

    "I mean, once a thief, always a thief. Besides, isn''t he always quite rude and selfish? He didn''t attend sses and even beat up his teacher Gilderoy Lockhart in front of everyone. The kid has no respect forw and authority." This was the opinion of Tony Macklegan, a famous inventor and author.

    Many more celebrities have alsoe forward, sharing their opinions on Hunt.

    And these statements aren''t technically wrong. It is true that Hunt''s past offenses have a reason behind them, but even after getting admitted into Hogwarts and gaining fame and a promising future, the genius has shown no improvement in his attitude. Breaking school rules, assaulting a teacher, threatening to quit sports and actually quitting, these things show a generalck of care of anything other than himself.

    This leads us to the question: Is it right for him to be so loved by the people?

    ¡­

    Such attacks on Axel were now bing a daily urrence, trying to portray Axel in a negative light.

    Of course, these attempts were met by harsh responses from Axel''s supporters, who jumped to support him. But there were many people who also felt that Axel''s attitude was a bit much.

    And while this was going on, anothermotion started.

    A huge amount of information was leaked.

    It contained information on most of these big shots who had been talking shit about Axel, exposing their scandals andw breaking deeds.

    Turns out, many of the people criticizing Axel, were no better themselves.

    But¡­

    There was another thing that created a much, muchrgermotion.

    It was a video.

    It first showed Andromeda Tonks leading a young Axel Hunt through the Diagon Alley. In the beginning, Axel looked quite wary and distrustful. But, as time passed, the tense expression on Axel''s face slowly seemed to rx, until he would smile from time to time and even respond to Andromeda.

    The scene shifted, and it showed a conversation between a young Axel and the Minister of Magic Betrix ck.

    "What''s up, minister?"

    "Cyrus Greengrass," That''s all Betrix said.

    Axel frowned.

    "What?" He asked cautiously, seeming ready to run.

    "Cyrus Greengrass." The Minister repeated. "The name of the man you killed. Thought you should at least know that," she said in a sweet voice.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    The Ministerughed. "Ohe on, Axel. You don''t need to lie to me. We both know you did it. In fact, if I, the minister, wanted, it would have been your crime even if you didn''t do it."

    Axel gritted his teeth, "What do you want?"

    The Minister raised her eyebrows, "Straight to the point, huh? I like it. Well, what I need is very simple actually. And it causes you no harm. The only reason I didn''t simply get it from you was that I wanted to do this without breaking anyw and reading people''s minds without their permission is illegal."

    "You wanna read my mind? Why would you want to do that?! I have nothing! You''re the minister of magic! You can gain nothing from this!" Said Axel, finding this situation extremely annoying.

    Betrix shook her head, "You actually do have something that I want. You see, Andi''s husband was tortured to insanity about 10 years ago and she''s been trying to find a solution for this whole time. Now, you were tortured as badly as him, but here you are¡­ somehow totally sane."

    "So?"

    "So I just need to look at the memories to see how you did it. Andi''s already checked your whole brain so biology has nothing to do with the reason."

    Axel red at her. "Andromeda wouldn''t have agreed to let you do this," He said, trying to threaten her using her big sister with the ''I''ll tell on you'' tactic.

    At this, Betrix actuallyughed, sounding genuinely amused.

    "I see. She did a very good job in manipting you."

    Axel paused,

    "What... are you talking about?"

    "It''s funny really. How she''s created a perfect image of herself in your mind so quickly. Let me enlighten you, you gullible kid, Andromeda is a ck! She''s no kind woman!

    "!!!"

    Axel seemed to catch on to what Betrix was implying but seemed unwilling to ept the reality.

    But the Minister didn''t stop here. She mercilessly tore apart thest of Axel''s small hope.

    "You think she did all this out of kindness? Wrong! Wake up, kid! Who are you to her?! A nobody!

    Do you know how many have died for the sake of finding a cure for her husband?! How long has she known you for?! A day and a half. You tell me kid, who''s she gonna choose between her husband she''s known for decades or you?"

    "She''s kind? My perfect pureblood arse! She did all this because she thought it was the easier method! Just throw some money and some kindness to a homeless kid and he''ll give you anything you want and still thank you afterward. But looking at you, I can tell. You wouldn''t have agreed, would you? So, for the sake of my sister, I''ll do this and then we go our separate ways. Now, do you agree or do I need to force you?"

    In the beginning, Axel''s face was showing a lot of emotions. Regret, sadness, unwillingness, anger, etc. But right now, his face showed no emotions. He seemedpletely calm.

    After a pause,

    "....I agree," he said with no emotion.

    "But let me tell you in advance, you won''t find anything that''ll help your sister."

    Betrix was surprised to see his calm reaction.

    "What''s the matter? You aren''t angry at me?"

    "I''m angry at you, but I''m also grateful," he smiled mockingly.

    "I was getting too hopeful and positive about this world. You reminded me once again that I should never trust anyone and learn to be satisfied with loneliness."

    ¡­.

    Watching theplete video, Daphne threw away the magi-mirror, her expression livid.

    Martina, who had watched it together with her, also wasn''t faring any better. Purple magic swirled around her, responding to her intense emotions.

    "He never told me¡­" Daphne whispered, blinking away her tears. Axel had never told her about this incident. Axel had always made a face whenever the name of the Minister was mentioned in front of him, but¡­

    "I had no idea..." She had no idea that there''d be such a reason behind it.

    Two years. It took her two years in order to make him believe that she wouldn''t betray him. She had always wondered why. Why was it so difficult for him to believe her? Why would he not even let her be his friend, let alone his lover? Why does he always push her away?

    Well, now she knows why. He had just survived the worst and most traumatic event of his life, being in a vulerable state. At this time, Andromeda came forward like a guiding angel, treating him with kindness he had never experienced before.

    He must have been happy.

    But then came along a gigantic bitch and burst his bubbles, telling him that all of it was just a hoax.

    When Axel said thest words, Daphne could feel her heart breaking for him. Because knowing him so well, she could tell. That Axel truly believed he didn''t deserve to be treated well. That there''s no one who would treat him well unconditionally.

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>!

    I''m happy with the current response! Keep it up!

    Next: Shocking revtion

    Next next: Return of Arcane Thief

    Next... Next: Through Sheer Fucking will

    Next... Next: New Bloodline

    Next... Next: Axel Hunt... Dead?

    Come read ahead. /Snollygoster

 Chapter 221: Shockin Revelation

    Chapter 221: Shockin Revtion

    Chapter 213

    Martina dabbed at the tears in her eyes, her nose red due to crying.

    The whole time while watching the video, she kept hoping for Betrix to stop, but the woman just kept getting more and more ruthless, as if enjoying destroying Axel.

    And now, thest line kept repeating in her head.

    ''I should never trust anyone and learn to be satisfied with loneliness.''

    This made her understand a little.

    Axel has always been closed off, not letting others know how he feels.

    This was the first time she was hearing Axel actually speak his thoughts. And gods did it break her heart. Martina put a hand on her chest, which was hurting very badly for some reason.

    After seeing the video, she had finally gotten a glimpse into Axel''s thought process, and gotten a slight understanding of his mindset."He wasn''t the least bit surprised when my family betrayed him." she mumbled, her eyes lost in thought. To reject the Mikhailov''s engagement proposal without starting a war, Martina''s family had used Axel as a shield, without her knowledge. Axel was angry, but he wasn''t surprised.

    "It''s because he was expecting to be betrayed from the start..." she realized.

    Now thinking back on it, many more such moments were surfacing on Martina''s mind. From the beginning, everyone in this world had treated her with excessive favorability. Everyone except Axel, that is. Instead of trying to get closer to her, he did his best to maintain distance, as if he was disgusted.

    Axel had always been very rude and indifferent to her. Even though she knew about his difficult childhood, she had still thought that he was overly cautious and paranoid. After all, even though those crude and vulgar people on the streets haven''t treated him well, why look at her from the same perspective? Why lump her with their kind?

    But now, she understood. He wasn''t being excessive. He was, in fact, right in being cautious in paranoid. Because if she had been in his ce, she definitely wouldn''t have been able to take it.

    Martina had just thought he was wary of her due to his difficult life. But now watching this video, she realized that he was always expecting her to be like Betrix and Andromeda, due to her having a rich and powerful family background.

    And, was he right in doing so? Of course he was. Her family hadn''t betrayed his expectations and rewarded him with an excellent betrayal.

    Right now, Martina really, really resented her family. As for the Minister of Magic?

    The purple magic around her swirled dangerously.

    Martina met eyes with Daphne and saw the same look in her eyes.

    Both of them turned their attention to Betrix, who was currently lying on her knees in a daze.

    BAAM

    Faster than you could blink, Daphne had moved right up to the minister andnded a punch squarely on her face.

    "You sadistic BITCH! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

    Daphne''s anger was palpable. To the point that it was reaching a simr level to the anger she felt for her father.

    Martina had the same question. "He had done nothing to provoke you. Then...why?"

    Why indeed? How could she treat him so badly when Axel had done nothing to her. No matter what, it only seemed like a sadist taking pleasure in pushing around a child.

    "And¡­ if you had done this to him, then with what right did you try to keep me away from him?!" Daphne demanded.

    Just a few days ago, when Axel was admitted to the VIP ward, Daphne had tried seeing him, but Betrix had kicked her out, iming she wasn''t qualified to meet Axel.

    If Daphne, who had never done anything to harm Axel, was not qualified to meet him, then how the hell was this Bitch with a capital B qualified to be in 1 km range of him?

    Betrix, who had finally snapped out of her daze, did somethingpletely unexpected. She burst intoughter. Full-blown, madughing and giggling.

    "That''s it." She murmured in between her chuckles.

    Daphne hit her again. "This bitch! Why are you stillughing?! Do you not understand? Your life is over! Everyone in the world currently hates you!"

    But, neither her words, nor the heavy blows seemed to affect the crazy woman. Betrixughed for a while before shaking her head. "To be honest, I don''t know why either. Maybe because I''ve finally lost it, or maybe because I see the futility of my life."

    "What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Martina.

    Betrix looked at the two girls for a while before sighing. "You two¡­ aren''t that much different than me."

    ?!

    "How dare you even COMPARE us to someone like¡ª"

    "You''ll do anything for him, the both of you. Won''t you?" Asked Betrix, and upon their silent admission, sheughed. "His father has three life debts on me. I''ll do anything for him too. So, we''re not that different as you think."

    "And believe me, most likely, you two will also end up just like me. A bitter woman too weak to do anything when he did need help, and then living the rest of your life in regret."

    !!!

    "What¡­ What nonsense are you spo¡ª"

    "I''m not talking nonsense. I mean, can''t you see the current situation? He''s out there, fighting Kraken, and what are you doing? Interrogating a bug? The Kraken is too strong. You''re already too weak to do anything for him."

    Daphne seemed at a loss for words. On the other hand, Martina had gonepletely silent.

    Betrix fiddled with the wand in her hand. "You know, I''m a sadistic bitch who enjoys others'' sufferings. And I know you too really want to torture me right now. And I deserve and wee every bit of it.

    But¡­I really had no idea that Axel was HIS son. Recalling that memory everyday is already a torture. And if not, I''ve also tortured myself a lot for what I did. But¡­" Betrix paused. "What''s more torturous is the fact that I spent 10 years amassing all of this power, and realized that even that isn''t enough to do anything against the Organisation," she sighed. "And now, just like his father, that guy has also gone there alone, and there''s no word yet. THIS is the torture."

    Her words caused both Daphne and Martina to freeze. What Betrix said had hit too close to home. The truth was, they were worried sick about Axel and the bleak future she described¡­

    "No¡­." Daphne''s fists clenched. "No," she repeated, shaking her head. "I don''t know about Axel''s father, but I know Axel. We don''t need to worry about him. He can handle himself," she said confidently.

    But only she knew. That she had to believe that. Because, If anything were to happen to Axel¡­she couldn''t imagine anything after.

    "Also," Daphne drew her wand. "You were right. CRUCIO!"

    Betrix curled up on the ground, her eyes widening at the surprisingly huge amount of pain she was suddenly put through.

    "You were right. I do want to torture you. Not because of what you did do, but because of what you didn''t do. CRUCIO!"

    "For thest two years, he kept trying to push me away, kept trying to remain alone, kept trying to distrust me, kept trying to keep boundaries. I chalked it up to the fact that he had a difficult past, not knowing¡­ that the fundamental problem was the fact that that person, the person I love, didn''t think he deserved to be love. That every moment he was spending with me, he was preparing himself for betrayal. That he thought there could be no one in the world who would just be with him for the sake of wanting to be with him. But you¡­You knew!"

    "CRUCIO!"

    "You were the one who caused it, after all. And yet, even after realizing it was someone you were supposed to protect, and even after genuinely regretting it, you were able to do nothing about it!"

    Betrix''s limbs lost their strength as she realized¡­ that Daphne was right.

    Was it... really like this?

    She thought she was trying to make amends.

    But, looking back, all she was really trying to do was try to gain Axel''s forgiveness and favor. In the end, what she tried to do was what would make her feel better, not Axel.

    "You realize it yet?" Asked Daphne. "I knew you wouldn''t think of this! That''s the problem of pureblood bigots like you! CRUCIO!"

    *Pant¡ªPant¡ªPant*

    Tired and emotionally exhausted upon casting the Cruciatus for the first time in her life, Daphne closed her eyes as various scenes of their interaction kept ying in her head. All she wanted to do was to see him, and hug him tightly. And tell him again and again she loved him unconditionally and forever. And that she''ll never, ever betray him until that blockhead actually starts believing it.

    ''Don''t worry. It''ll happen soon. He''ll destroy Kraken ande back soon enough.'' That''s all she could do to console her impatient heart.

    ¡­

    Cling¡ªng¡ªClingClingCling¡ª

    The sounds of collision of weapons continuously rang in the air along with sshing of water, as Axel and Aslot fought tooth and nail in the battle.

    In the beginning, Axel got badly beaten. But now, the flow of the fight seemed to be changing. Every time a blownded on Axel, it seemed to be absorbed, as if not having any impact on him. The water around him would kill its momentum, until all Axel would get would be a minor hit.

    Due to Aslot''s extreme water affinity, Axel could only control a very minute amount of water. But¡­ that was enough. His [Water Domain] was letting him feel every moment before his eyes could follow, and his brain was controlling water and his body to defend.

    "Coward! Is that¡ªng¡ªall¡ªng¡ªyou can do?!" Taunted Aslot in between the assault. From beginning till end, Axel had only been on the defensive, not bothering to attack Aslot at all. The worse thing was, it was actually working, as he had managed to survive till now.

    Axel didn''t bother responding. All of his focus was currently directed elsewhere.

    Their battle continued. Aslot, with his waterbody, could fight without getting tired even in the gravity. But a long time had passed and Axel was still somehow keeping up.

    "This doesn''t make sense! How are you still able to move?!" Taking distance, a watery head of Axel formed in the air, looking at Axel while tilting to one side.

    Axel''s body hadn''t changed into water. And this was an extreme gravity field.

    Before having the ability of turning into water, Aslot had experienced this ce himself. There''s no way anyone can move like that more so long here. Not even those who have sessfully managed to go through 3 or 4 body.

    Then, how in the world is still not dead out of exhaustion? Why haven''t his bones and muscles burst from the heavy movements?

    ''Wait...''

    !!!!???!!!!

    It was only then that he paid attention to Axel''s body. The fight had destroyed most of Axel''s armor except for the important ces, leaving his scarred body exposed. "Wait, how did you¡­"

    Axel''s whole frame was packed with dense muscles which, when tense, could even pass off as a metal exoskeleton. Axel''s body had muscles that you wouldn''t even know could exist, grown with a way to maximize his body''s functionality.

    Axel shrugged. "I did some burpees. You know, just wanted to make sure my future wife wouldn''tin about low stamina."

    Aslot had had it now. "Alright, this is it. I was saving my power for other relic wielders, but it seems that I can''t keep holding back anymore."

    Aslot raised his trident, finally using his water affinity.

    Keeping up maximum concentration, Axel prepared himself. Until now, he had managed to find a few things. The amount of water elemental energy Aslot can use¡­ it''s not infinite. If Axel is tired, then Aslot has also been fighting for thest few days. He has already had a fight against a whole team of Relic Wielders.

    Also, since the beginning of the fight, there was another thing he had noticed. Axel''s eyes went to the Royal Relic.

    ''It''s not fully under his control,'' he thought.

    That''s right. Aslot was using the Royal Relic. But in order to bring out its full power, the staff had been installed with the same blue marking that covered the bodies of Kraken members.

    That''s why, Axel hadn''t tried to run away yet. He was not the one to give up in the face of difficult odds.

    But, when the staff glowed.

    BOOM

    And the attack that came made him want to run away.

    ...

    A.N.:<strong>POWERSTONES!!! If you want to read the following chapters!</strong>

    <strong>Next next: Return of Arcane Thief</strong>

    Next... Next: Through Sheer Fucking will

    Next... Next: New Bloodline

    Next... Next: Axel Hunt... Dead?

    <strong>Next...next: That Brat...is the Crown Prince?!</strong>

    15+ Chapters on /Snollygoster

 Chapter 222: Return of the Arcane Thief

    Chapter 222: Return of the Arcane Thief

    As soon as Aslot raised the Trident, a huge amount of water suddenly appeared in the air, as if it had always been there. In the face of that power, even the small amount of water that Axel had under his control started shaking, as if wanting to escape his control.

    "You have been an exceptional adversary. I would have continued this, but my mission is to kill all the Relic Wielders. Unfortunately, I''ve only managed to kill two," said Aslot as he pointed the Trident at Axel. "So, the time of jesting is now gone."

    !!!

    The water took the shape of a 60 meter long Hydra with nine heads, each of which began gathering magic in their throat, preparing to attack.

    ''Hell.''

    Axel was surprised at the sheer difference in skill.

    ''Should I run?''

    He had given it an honest shot, but the difference in skill was simply too big. The difference in water affinity¡­ was too big.

    Running away would save his life, but there''d be downsides.Aslot has already killed too many Relic Wielders. If Axel teleported now, with the unstable space, there is no guarantee where he might end up. Then he''d have to recover and gather Relic Wielders. In that time, Aslot would have tracked and killed more Relic Wielders, including Ender, the lightning relic wielder, who still has the traces of Aslot''s water magic on him. That would make handling the rest of the Organisation difficult.

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    [Launching Boom + Air step + Arcane Footwork + Fluid

    * Dynamics]

    [Arcane Barrier]

    Axel was moving back at maximum speed before the water could even reach him, mobilizing his best defense.

    At thest moment, he changed his direction. But, it was of no use, as the water jets followed him like guided missiles.

    Axel was hit.

    ''The heck?!''

    The destructive power was too much. The water waspressed beyond hisprehension and there was also an extremely strong water elemental energy mixed in, which was making sure anything in its path was destroyed.

    The jet cleanly broke through his defense like tofu.

    BOOOM

    "Gah!"

    The water waspressed to the point of being more solid than metal and it had a turbulent flow of magic that seemed hell bent on destroying him. Caught up in the flow, and being dragged for kilometers, Axel wondered yet again how the difference could be this big.

    At this moment, teleporting away was a great temptation. But, there was another, bigger temptation. He felt the water that was currently trying to destroy his body. It was heavier, denser, more destructive, more¡­ alive. It was so mysterious, so different, that it almost didn''t feel like water anymore. Axel was unable to make the water under his control show these properties.

    So, the desire he felt right now was...

    "This water magic¡­I want it."

    !

    It was a primal want, simr to the one he had when he had first decided to steal food due to the burning hunger he had felt. And then he thought.

    ''Why not?''

    ....

    The water beam had sted Axel a long distance away. Aslot appeared above him a few secondster in order to check the damage. He saw Axel''s battered body floating in a ditch in the ground. "Huh."

    The old man let out a breath. "As I thought, you were able to survive even that."

    Even after winning the fight, instead of any form of triumph, all Aslot had was a feeling of anxiousness. ''What a terrifying existence.''

    Aslot was sure the boy was a one hit kill opponent when he encountered him a few hours back. But while he was trying to subdue him without killing him, he had grown to the point of barely holding up even against the best of his melee attacks.

    Somehow, even though he was not able to turn into water, the boy was able to emte the properties of water into his already wide range of movements in order to absorb anything he attacked him with. That''s why, Aslot used excessive force this time, knowing he would do the same again.

    "It''s good that I encountered you now." He muttered, slowly descending. The potential of this guy is extremely scary. If he had been allowed to grow for a few more years, Aslot wasn''t sure what if he could have still won.

    "Now, let''s see what you''re hidi¡ª"

    The words got stuck in Aslot''s throat. Because Axel, who should have been half dead by now, had actually started moving.

    "So¡­ it''s like this¡­" Axel whispered to himself, his body slowly starting to rise.

    "Preposterous!" Still in bafflement, Aslot checked the boy''s condition. It seems that he had managed to reduce the impact to a huge extent using his tricks. But still, he had taken a lot of damage.

    Blood was freely flowing from his hands, which had somehow managed to protect his vitals. The skin of the rest of his body was peeled off due to the violent jet, revealing the red muscles.

    And yet, the guy was still standing.

    Rising backing into the air, Axel grinned. The left side of his face skin was gone, showing his teeth, which made him look all the more creepy. Axel''s blue eyes, which were still full of fighting spirit, made contact with Aslot''s. "Give me More."

    !!!

    Aslot never knew that he''d feel scared of a 13 year-old brat. But right now, he did. It''s the same feeling as the one you get when thoroughly crushing a bug, only to see it attack your face right after.

    Aslot raised the royal trident again. And this time, a whirlpool of water created around Axel, taking the flow. It had a violent energy that could crush him into the ground.

    "That should put you down."

    But, as if he was a rolly polly, Axel got back up again, his eyes glowing with an eerie light. "Show me more."

    "Just go down already!" Aslot attacked again

    "Mo¡­re."

    Again...

    "Mm¡­ore."

    And again¡­. Again. It felt as if just a little more would be enough to take him down. But each time, Axel would get back up like an undying creature, hungry for more. Aslot even had a nagging suspicion that he was taking less damage each time.

    The attacks had dragged Axel so far that they had now reached a different area. In this ce, the space itself was extremely dense, making it difficult for even Aslot to move, let alone Axel.

    "What¡­ are you?" Aslot was really creeped out now. Though he had managed to not lose any limbs, Axel''s body had already umted too much damage. He was only standing up through mana strings and water using puppeteering.

    Having been a survivor himself Aslot knew first hand that it is not easy to not give up when your body is in that condition. And he couldn''t get his head around the fact that there was a thirteen year old who''d rather go through all this than die or surrender.

    Furthermore, there was another fact that chilled him to his liquified bones. ''No pain, no fear, no hesitation.''

    From the beginning of the fight till now, Axel has not shown so much as a grimace despite all the injuries he had umted.

    Aslot was now tired. He couldn''t afford to waste any more time and energy. Also, he was starting to get a bit scared too.

    "Just... what''s happening?!" Aslot attacked again, but this time, he payed deeper attention to Axel''s response.

    And this time, Aslot felt it. Just before the water hit Axel, it curved.

    That''s right. This time, just when it felt like Axel was going to die, he had instead managed to avoid the majority of damage from Aslot''s water spell.

    "What?!"

    Unable to believe, Aslot attacked again.

    But once again, Axel had managed to influence the water, and the damage this time was even lower.

    "Impossible!"

    Even though he wasn''t using his full strength, his control over water was indomitable. With his existing control, there''s no way the boy would have been able to influence it. Unless¡­

    Aslot''s body materialized back from its water out of shock.

    "The water concept¡­" He whispered. "By the glory of ancestors... this cannot be!"

    The water concept. It''s the Royal family magic codex, written by the best of the Aetherians. It''s linked to the bloodline of the Royal Family. Increasing one''s understanding in it will increase one''s proficiency in water control. Aslot''s water magic is based on the water concept. And to influence it, one must have a simr proficiency in the water concept.

    Just a few hours ago, Axel was nowhere near his level. But now, he can feel it. The water around Axel has started to imitate the same form as him.

    Axel''s body rose back up again.

    [Water Monarch

    Proficiency: 25.24%]

    Within a short period of time, Axel had managed to increase his proficiency by almost 10%.

    ''There are magic particles in water. A huge amount of them.''

    New knowledge was continuously entering his mind as his skill proficiency increased at a rapid rate. Through repeated bashing, he was starting to understand just how Aslot turns the water in multiple ways.

    ''If you control the water, you also control the magic particle within.''

    Until earlier, he had only been using it instinctively. But now, it was different.

    *Sssss Ssssss*

    His injuries began to heal at a visible rate. And the water under his control began to change itsposition, bing stronger and more destructive.

    Slowly rising back into the air, Axel gave Aslot a bloody smile. "Thanks."

    If not for Aslot, it would have taken him months to reach this level.

    "...How¡­?

    For a moment, instead of an experienced warrior, Aslot had turned into a confused old man. "How in the Aetherian Paradise is that possible¡­?"

    "How, you ask? It''s simple." Axel shrugged. "I just¡­ remembered who I am. A thief."

    That''s right. In all the fancy relics, affinities, and magics, Axel had forgotten who he truly was. What his ss was. If Aslot''s water magic is too good, then he''ll just steal it.

    [Arcane Thief

    ss Progress: 50.3%]

    [Skill Stealing Unlocked]

    The sudden epiphany had increased his ss progress, which had been slowed down after he had stopped stealing things.

    "Now, shall we begin the real fight?"

    ....

    "How long will it take?" Asked Anti. They were currently in the Aqua shuttle, a Sub-relic that was designed for the Royal family.

    The General checked the coordinates. "We should be there in five hours, Princess."

    Anti was extremely impatient. "Go faster!"

    "Don''t be anxious, Princess. He''s under the Division head Tenebrous. She should be capable enough tost long enough even if they did end up encountering him."

    All relic wielders venturing deep into the Trench always have an advanced tracking spell ced on them, which can be traced in by those who have high enough clearance. They''re currently Tracking Kyrin, who should be with Axel.

    Anti sighed. "I know. Kyrin is capable. But..." she put a hand over her heart. "I just have an ominous feeling about it."

    ...

    A.N.: like it so far? Then give<strong>POWERSTONES!</strong>

    Next: Return of Arcane Thief

    NextNext: Through Sheer Fucking will

    Next... Next: New Bloodline

    Next... Next: Axel Hunt... Dead?

    Next... Next: That Brat... Is Actually the Crown Prince

    Next... Next: The Unsurvivable Explosion

    <em>15+ Chapters on /Snollygoster</em>

 Chapter 223: Through Sheer Fucking Will

    Chapter 223: Through Sheer Fucking Will

    ''He stole¡­ the Royal Codex?'' Aslot was blown away. It should be impossible.

    Comprehending and Learning Ancient Aetherian Magic just through observation? That''s Squidshit!

    It''splex and intricate magic that needs a high understanding and control of water.

    It took Aslot years to gain mastery in them. And thenes this young boy who isn''t even old enough to turn his little worm into snake and manages to learn it enough to actually defend himself against it.

    Aslot looked at the boy. Deep and wide gashes andceration covered his whole body, held together only by water threads that were roped all over.

    There''s a limit to how much he could heal through water, so, after the beating he had endured, Aslot knew that the boy''s body was, for the most part, still dysfunctional, and in a lot of pain.

    So, while Aslot was still fine, having the power of relic and the entity, the boy seemed to have long expended his physical and magical energy in order to protect himself.

    Though the boy has done well to survive until now, it would be safe to say that at this point, this fight should be over.

    But, Aslot knew better."You truly are¡­ the single most fearsome Antian I''ve encountered. I can now understand to some extent how you boast and possess such might as your age."

    Aslot had to ept. He. Was. Drowned.

    Drowned by the immense sheer abnormality of this freak. Since the start of the fight, till now, he has managed to increase hisbat prowess by at least twice.

    Not just because of his obscene talent. But because of the sheer will to survive.

    Not only that, he has been calm from the beginning, if he always has a card up his sleeve. And until now, that has turned out to be true.

    So, Aslot now knew. That even though logic dictates that this fight might be over if he just made a few more attacks, he would be extremely wrong in that assumption. If this fight dragged on any longer, this abomination might even grow strong enough to escape, or even threaten him.

    "It looks like I really can''t hold back." As if having made his decision, Aslot''s grip on the Trident tightened as he closed his eyes.

    Until now, Aslot hadn''t been using all of the Royal Relic''s power, only depending on his personal water control. He has been saving it up for the Relic Wielders.

    "But, to think I would be using it on a 13 year old¡­"

    The Royal Relic is not a simple piece of equipment. Designed for the Rulers of Antis, it can disy power far beyond norm, for those worthy enough to wield it.

    So, it was a significant gain for the Organisation when Aslot, a member of royal bloodline, managed to obtain the Royal Relic.

    If they could use its true powers,bined with the limitless power boost obtained from the blue Markings, they could create an ultimate weapon which could destroy the Kingdom.

    Only, there was a problem. The power didn''t turn out to be as unlimited, like they had predicted.

    In the dimensional explosion that happened a decade ago, Aslot''s body had been damaged, unable to properly wield its power, and also, the Relic didn''t deem him worthy.

    Yes, the Royal Relic has a will of its own. It only picks those who it considers worthy to rule Antis. Despite Aslot''s superior talent and skills, it had chosen Aslot''s brother over him. Aslot had used forbidden Aetherian magic in order to kill his brother, but ended up failing and almost dying himself. That only made him more unworthy of wielding the relic.

    So, for thest decade, the Organisation had been making preparations. They modified Aslot''s body to wield the power of Relic and the Power of the Entity, and then corrupted the Royal Relic, forcefully bonding it to him through the markings and rituals.

    And, they had seeded. Once the Relic is fully under his control, he was going to be the Entity''s secret weapon, who would finish the powerful kingdom in one fell swoop and undo the seal.

    But, that was supposed to happen after a few more years.

    Due to various disruptions in n, like the death of Seventh and Eight, failure of bombing n, failure of the Biopark invasion, etc., Aslot was awakened much earlier than the nned time. He had yet to gain full control of the Relic.

    The situation now was that he could only bring out the Relic''s true powers for a limited time. So, he had been extremely cautious with it, only using it on strong opponents.

    But now, it seemed it was going to be used on this brat.

    "Feel honored, young one. I''ll show you the true water arts before you die," said Aslot, as the blue markings on his body started to wriggle, their glow intensifying. The marking connected with the marking on the Relic, and the Relic began releasing powerful energy waves.

    "Great¡­" Axel, who was only standing purely through his sheer fucking will, just shook his head when he felt the intensity of that magic.

    ''Too¡­ fucking¡­ powerful.''

    He lost control of the water that was under his control, causing him to start plummeting down.

    Aslot pointed the Relic was Axel. """Turn into water""" He said, as an intense wave of energy was released from the Trident.

    This was the water conversion spell, a special ability of the Royal Relic. The Authority to turn anything into water. Only extremely strong individuals who have a relic of their own can temporarily resist it.

    Axel felt his body obeying as it started to liquify. Axel fell to the ground, leaving a trail of water molecules which were oozing out of his skin.

    But Aslot, who seemed to have just won, was far from satisfied. He looked at the Royal Relic with a mixture of iprehension and disbelief. "Why¡­ did it not work?"

    The curse just now. It hadn''t worked. The power¡­ it was abruptly cut off mid spell, causing the effect to lessen considerably.

    Aslot couldn''t quite process what had just happened. He clearly should have had more time. Then howe the spell stopped midway?

    Axel''s descent stopped, but his eyes were still close, studying this ability that had managed to take down even the Relic Wielders as powerful as Ender.

    He had to admit, the Relic was scary as fuck. This seemed a power too out of reach to resist even with his high water affinity and Royal bloodline.

    ''It''s good that I took precautions.''

    Aslot gripped the Trident with both hands, trying to establish the connection, but it was all in vain. While he was unaware, the bond that had been forcefully established had be so weak that he could no longer tap into the full power of the Relic.

    At this moment, Aslot''s eyes went to Axel, who showed no surprise at this sudden development. But he shook his head. Not possible. He was bonded to the Relic through the markings.

    "What? Can''t use your toy?" Asked Axel,his voice raspy because even his vocal chords had been injured. But Aslot still heard it. And as if in response, the Relic in his hand hummed.

    !!!

    Aslot almost dropped the Relic due to his shock. He couldn''t believe it. He simply couldn''t believe it! "By the Ancestor''s grave¡­ The Bond¡­ it was forged through the markings of the Entity. It should not be possible for you to influence it!"

    Axelughed. "Stop deluding yourself. You''re not ''bonded'' to the Relic."

    "...You''re SHACKLED to it."

    Axel finally opened his eyes, having finally brought the curse under his control with much difficult. "There''s a big difference."

    The major reason behind why he chose to fight. It was because¡ª

    ''It''s been calling me.''

    Axel could feel the Royal Relic had a consciousness of its own. He could actually feel it reaching out to him, calling for his help. Asking him to free it from its shakles.

    And since he had a way of doing that, Axel decided to first [Unshackle] the Relic. Because, as long as Aslot is bonded to the Relic, there is no way Axel could win with his own power.

    So, since the start of the fight, he had been buying time while studying the markings and increasing his skill proficiency. That''s also the reason why he was only focused on defense rather than attack.

    But, it wasn''t as easy as he''d thought. Those markings¡­ they were extremely tricky. His current level of skill wasn''t enough to undo those markings. He''d either need a huge amount of power to brute force them, or he''d need to be a seal expert, with extremely precise magic control. Well, he had neither.

    The result? After all this time, he had managed to gain partial sess. A part of the bindings had been released, making it impossible for Aslot to bring out the full power of the Relic. The rest, he still had to figure out.

    The Trident revolved around Aslot''s hand and water started to gather in obscene quantities. Aslot once again took abat stance. He was now sure. Whatever secrets this boy had, he had no business knowing. He had to kill him as soon as possible.

    "Die."

    The hydra once again manifested out of the water which attacked Axel. But this time, Axel wasn''t passive either. He waved his hands and another hydra was formed, much smaller than Aslot''s.

    Aslot scoffed. "Thief, even if you imitate my technique, you can''t imitate my power."

    "You''re right. I can''t." When the concentrated water beams were fired, Axel''s hydra also fired its water jet, which was much smaller and weaker than Aslot''s. The beams collided, and Aslot''s beam continued unabaited, absorbing Axel''s attack into them.

    Just before the beams hit him, Axel push his arms apart as if opening a curtain, and the water beams split open, leaving space for him and letting him pass right through.

    "Don''t celebrate yet!"

    Aslot didn''t even bother being surprised this time. It only increased his urgency to kill this guy.

    Axel sighed. This time, the damage he faced was the least. But he knew, this didn''t mean he could win.

    Aslot changed his offense, shifting the fight back to close quarters.

    It was because the conditions had now changed. They were now in the Space Field, where the Space itself was restricted, thus restricting the movements of not one dimension, but all three dimensions.

    Also, Axel had previously be equal to him in terms of close quarters due to his high physical starts and his strange magical skills but was massively underpowered in terms of long rangedbat. But now, even though he had managed to rival him in terms of long rangedbat due to his high water affinity, he hadpletely exhausted all of his physical and magical power.

    "All you have left is your Water control," said Aslot as he attacked. Axel had exhausted all of his other cards.

    On the other hand, Aslot''s markings were still filling him up with unlimited power, through which, he could keep his body in water state, making him immune to physical limitations.

    So, the boy had done well managing to surpass all limitations to survive till now. But could he win?

    Aslot smirked. ''Nah, I''ll still win.''

    Within a second, Aslot had reached Axel, attacking him with Trident. But Axel''s body dodged.

    ''What?''

    Aslot attacked again, this time also adding the water de. But they were countered by another sets of water des while Axel''s hands were raised in a weird motion to block the Trident.

    "How are you still moving that body?!" Asked Aslot, continuing his onught. It was then that he realized.

    ''The Water.''

    The water was currently wrapped around Axel''s body, making it move. Previously, he was only using it to enhance his speed and defence. But now¡­

    ''It''s like fighting a puppet!''

    Axel was controlling his body through water like a puppet, making it move as he wanted.

    The problem wasn''t that, it was that he was still able to keep up!

    Previously, he was mainly depending on his full physical and magical abilities along with water control to barely keep up with him. But Aslot didn''t expect that even just through water control, he could still keep up.

    ''Just how many things?!''

    The boy was using his water affinity to make water des to fight his onught andt the same time, he was observing and anticipating his lightning fast attacks of the Trident, and then controlling his body through water to respond to them.

    All the while, he was also suppressing the water conversion spell, enduring the pain of his existing debilitating injuries and the pain of his body slowly turning into water.

    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that Axel was currently fighting him solely through his mind.

    ''How¡­?''

    Aslot''s eyes met Axel, and he saw that Axel''s blue eyes now had faint specks of amber, as like ambers of a fire.

    It was at this moment that he remembered. ''No¡­ his other bloodline?!''

    ....

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES. I</strong>need them today and then again tomorrow when they get refilled.

    Next: New Bloodline

    Next... Next: Axel Hunt... Dead?

    Next... Next: That Brat... Is Actually the Crown Prince?

    Next... Next: The Unsurvivable Explosion

    Next... Next: Arrival on the Scene

    Action Packed Chapter. Come read ahead!

    15+ Chapters on /Snollygoster

 Chapter 224: New Bloodline

    Chapter 224: New Bloodline

    Aslot couldn''t believe it.

    ''His other bloodline¡­''

    ''No!'' Aslot quickly denied the possibility. It was impossible to awaken that Bloodline without the Entity''s influence.

    But still, his urgency to defeat Axel increased. Just the possibility was enough to terrify him.

    "You are going to die now." He uttered, one of his eyes turning green.

    "Try it. I will survive, no matter what." Replied Axel.

    Powerful winds were generated, mixing in with Aslot''s water attack to enhance their destructive power. In order to defeat Axel, Aslot even brought out his other bloodline, the bloodline of Vanox, the Wind Septis.

    "Sylthia''s power¡­?"

    Axel, on the other hand, was taken by surprise. Having no strength to block it, he absorbed the power of the dangerous attack.Shooosh¡ª

    As a result, he was thrown away several hundred kilometers due to the sheer power behind the attack.

    ''What the¡­''

    This was definitely that bitch Sylthia''s power. The Wind Arts of the Varnox Septis.

    ''Slythia Varnox¡­ Aslot Regius Varnox¡­ Of course.''

    Of all the girls in the kingdom, his great grandfather only had to have an affair with someone who belonged to one of the most powerful Septises of Antis.

    So, Aslot not only has extremely high proficiency in water arts, but also in wind arts. Of course, using the two in conjunction must take a significant toll on Aslot, but it was effective, since Axel almost died just now.

    [Skill Steal]

    Instantly, Axel began to learn the Wind Arts, not to get the power of winds, but to understand Aslot''s attacks better in order to defend against them.

    [You have awakened the Wind Affinity

    Proficiency 1.2%]

    [You have unlocked: Wind Arts]

    ''What in the hell¡­?''

    [The members of the Royal family, having mixed their bloodlines with the other Septises throughout generations, can learn all affinities to a certain extent.]

    Axel wasn''t allowed to ponder that piece of information as Aslot once again appeared in front of him tounch another attack.

    As Aslot''s onught continued, Axel once again adapted to it. Understanding the basic principle of the magic Aslot was using, he was able to better counter it.

    [Wind Affinity ^]

    [Wind Arts ^]

    [Water Arts ^]

    [Water Monarch ^]

    The damage Axel had umted made it seem that he might die at any moment, and it was only increasing with each of Aslot''s attacks. And even the amount of water he could mobilize was slowly decreasing.

    ''But, why¡­''

    ''Why does he NOT DIE?!''

    ''Why does he keep getting better?!''

    Aslot was at his wit''s end now.

    Certainly, that much damage was enough to kill anyone. And even if they don''t die, they should be incapacitated, unable to do anything due to the pain.

    But Axel¡­ he was still fighting with a calmness andposure as if having a leisurely game of chess. And his skill proficiencies were increasing.

    ''He has "that" mentality...''

    The main reason why Axel was still alive was not because of his many fancy abilities.

    In history, there have always been people who''ve managed to achieve impossible feats, beating overwhelming odds. The reason these people were able to seed was not just because of their extraordinary talent. It was a kind of special mentality. An unexinable power.

    It wasn''t something which you could get through bloodlines.

    Talent doesn''t really mean much if you can''t use it properly. It doesn''t mean much if you give up easily. It doesn''t mean much if you can''t go through hardships. And not when you don''t have the ability to focus on surviving, no matter how bad the situation.

    But this boy has it. On a level he had never seen before.

    Talent in spades, and the mind that could use it all.

    Aslot''s gaze once again went to Axel''s eyes.

    !!!

    In the blue eyes, the specks of the dying embers were now reced with now glowing bright enough to rival the blue.

    It was only then did he notice. ''His control¡­ has improved?''

    Axel''s control over the magic in water was improving in real time. He was able to now handle his attacks even when using very little amount of water.

    ''He''s¡­ actually awakening it?!'' He realized.

    That bloodline had gone dormant for generations. Without the Entity''s power, it cannot be awakened.

    Aslot''s trepidation towards Axel increased. Since the beginning of the fight, the boy has not only managed to increase hisbat strength considerably, but also awakened his Royal Bloodline further.

    So, even if it might seem impossible to awaken that Bloodline in a logical sense, but Axel is not someone who follows logic.

    ''I have to end it.''

    It was at this moment that Aslot realized. If he dragged the fight, he might really die.

    Aslot stopped attacking for a moment, distancing himself from Axel.

    "I will confess, this has been the worst battle that I''ve ever fought," he said.

    This battle could have ended the moment he had seen Axel. The power difference between them was just thatrge. If this was a game of chess, then Axel would have a few pieces left on his side, while Aslot would have knights, rooks, bishop, queen, dragon, and more.

    But. Axel yed his pieces with extreme trickery, using everything he had while Aslot just tried to y using his pawns.

    The whole time, Aslot was given the impression that the game was in his control through his offense, but while defending, Axel had been slowly converting his pawns into higher pieces while strategizing to trap dragon and queen.

    The situation now? He had lost his Dragon, which is, his ability to bring out the full power of the Relic. On the other hand, even though Axel had lost many pieces, he now had a queen of his own, his improved water control.

    If the match was previously 99 to 1, it had now taken a dramatic turn to being around 75 to 25, with the scary part being that Axel''s pieces still have the potential to grow further.

    "I have been extremely foolish since the beginning of the battle." Aslot admitted, looking at Axel who was already using this brief time to recover and prepare his offense.

    He has a wealth of experience, but nothing he has experienced so far could ever prepare him to have a fight against a thirteen year old who is actually a monster more terrifying than any other Altantian.

    "But, as they say, learn from your mistakes."

    This fight has already cost him a lot so far. So much so that his whole ns have been ruined. But, the least Aslot can do is to learn from this experience and not repeat the same mistake again.

    He has been trying to hold back, thinking of ending the fight with minimal effort. That ends now.

    He has to acknowledge¡­ that this boy right here, is the biggest threat he has ever faced.

    An unusual energy began radiating from Aslot. "Do you know, I defeated the previous king even when he had the possession of Relic," said Aslot.

    He is not some nobody who only had his water affinity and Royal Relic as his powerful pieces. He is Aslot Regius Varnox, the man who is the reason why the previous king has been bedridden for years.

    It is true that the water affinity and the Royal Trident are the most formidable pieces in his arsenal, even more powerful than all the ancient spells and other techniques he has learnt over the years. If the boy can defend against these, he can defend against pretty much everything else he has as well.

    But, that is only when counting pieces that don''t need sacrifice.

    "Didn''t think I would willingly go through this again." He said, preparing the magic. For a moment, Aslot''s blue eyes suddenly had a light amber glow in them as strange energy began radiating from him.

    !!!!

    Axel, who had been trying to recover, suddenly shifted to offense, his eyes widening at the unusual form of magic.

    Axel''s water, which had been mobilized sole for defence, suddenly started to attack Aslot.

    ''Good sense.'' Even as he arranged his defense, Aslot admired Axel''s battle instincts. The boy is decisively using everything on offense to prevent Aslot from casting whatever magic he''s preparing.

    ''Too bad it''s useless.''

    Aslot''s [Water body] dramatically increased his defense against almost all kinds of attacks, whether physical, mental, or magical. So, from the beginning, Axel hasn''t been able to do much against him.

    Axel doesn''t really have anything that was powerful enough to give him damage. The only reason he''s still alive is because he''s able to sessfully use weak abilities to efficiently deflect the power of Aslot''s attacks. That''s not very useful when ites to attacking Aslot, is it?

    The water bodies around Aslot were able to block Axel''s water attacks, which had copied from Aslot''s water arts, only much weaker.

    "Give up, boy. This is the en¡ª"

    Aslot couldn''t finish those words. Theposition of the water around him changed and billions of volts of electricity were generated, giving him a lot of damage.

    What Axel had done just now was to change theposition of the water that he had attacked Aslot with by separating positive and negative charges, thus naturally generating a huge amount of lighting without having to use his own magic.

    And¡­ the power was enough to actually damage Aslot in his [Water Body] state.

    ''What....?!''

    The magic that Aslot had been trying to cast was suddenly interrupted, saving Axel a few more seconds. Aslot was shocked, literally.

    "The Lightning Arts¡­ how did you¡­?"

    These were the Lightning Arts of the Ignis Septis. Jolts of electricity was running throughout Aslot''s body while his brain processed this ''shocking'' revtion.

    Axel did have the Lightning Affinity, which he had inherited from his grandmother of the Ignis Septis. It was revealed in the beginning of the water when the boy had used Lightning against him.

    But, at that time, the Lightning he had used was too weak, not even enough to give him an iota of damage. It was a very crude and amateur attempt at offense, which he had made using his own meager magic.

    But- just now, the Lightning attack he had used was made through the Lightning Arts of the Lightning Septis. Meaning either he has been hiding it from the beginning, or in just a short while, the boy has dramatically increased hisprehension of the Lightning Arts, thus also increasing his Lightning affinity.

    Aslot didn''t know which option was more terrifying.

    The Extreme Lightning of the Ignis Septis is one of the things that can actually threaten Aslot. That''s the reason why he had gone as far as using the Relic''s full abilities on the Lightning Relic wielder. But the bastard had managed to use [Lightning Body] at thest moment, thus managing to save himself.

    The saving grace was, Axel''s proficiency still hadn''t reached a high enough level and neither did he have the Lightning relic. Furthermore¡­

    ''You''re not the only one with Lightning¡­'' Aslot was a member of the Royal Family, which has been mixing the bloodlines of the other septises for generations. Water and wind might be his strongest affinities, but over the years, he still has gained some proficiency in it.

    So, the attack just now was...

    ''Still¡­ bearable.''

    Aslot realized that it was only because of his decision to use his strongest card that forced Axel to reveal this. Had the battle stretched further, the damage Aslot would have taken would have been much, much worse.

    ''This time for sure¡­ you''re dead.'' Even while under extreme pain, Aslot managed to finish the chant for his magic.

    [Soul Extinguisher]

    *ZZZZZZZZZZZZNNNNNNNN*

    Both Aslot and Axel fell to the ground.

    A piercing shriek filled the area. Surprisingly, it wasing from Axel, who wouldn''t scream even when being infected with painifera venom.

    Axel''s mind was nk. He didn''t even know what happened , but he was suddenly screaming his lungs out while his body writhed on the ground.

    Then he felt it, his soul. He had felt it before, like when it was almost sucked out by the dementors or when it epting the burden of [Limit Break], or when practicing [Zen Focus].

    Only this time, it was being disintegrated.

    [Zen Focus]

    He tried his very best to stop the spell from rampaging in his soul, but the pain was making him lose control.

    [Limit Break: Max]

    Axel used up [Limit Break], something he had decided not to use again, ever. But what choice did he have? That magic was intent on destroying his very soul.

    A huge amount of strength filled up his soul, as a result of change in his Akashic records, blocking the magic that he was rampaging in his body, but his eyes remained wide open, his body spasming uncontrobly as the water fell around him.

    ''What the fuck¡­ is that magic... what the fuck... is this pain¡­?''

    ...

    A.N.: POWERSTONES! For today and give tomorrow as well when they refill. Tell me if these chapters and this book is worth it or not.

    Next: Dead?

    Next next: That Brat... Is the Crown Prince?

    Come read 15+ chaps /Snollygoster

 Chapter 225: Unlocked

    Chapter 225: Unlocked

    Axel was currently in an unprecedented amount of pain.

    100 times¡­ no¡­. 1000 times worse than what he had ever experienced. Perhaps more, perhaps less, he had no idea. He just knew, this was out of the limit. Even for him.

    Had he not been strengthening it [Zen Focus], or had he not used limit break to increase the soul defense, he would have been dead right now.

    But even now, his situation was not much better.

    His body functions had all shut down, trying to make him die as quickly as possible. This pain did note from the body. It came from the soul itself, which had been attacked by this unknown magic.

    Right now, the only thing still functioning was his mind, which was trying to think of ways to survive despite the unbearable pain.

    ''Here we are, again¡­''

    ''It has been a while.''

    He had grown stronger, but still here he is again, almost on the verge of dying. ''Is it¡­ finally time?''

    With the stoppage of blood and magic to his brain, even his mind was now shutting down. He had survived a lot, but Axel really felt that this time was going to be thest.

    He had given it his all. He really had. But this attack was just too damn strong.

    ''Axel¡­ you better return to me safely.''

    As his consciousness was on the verge of fading, a blurry face suddenly came into his mind.

    !

    Axel''s eyes shot open, his mind clearing up through the pain. He can''t die here. He REFUSED to die here!

    An indescribable surge of determination flooded Axel.

    [Pain Tolerance has been converted into Freakish Tenacity]

    New Knowledge entered his mind, but Axel didn''t really have the leisure to go through it right now. All could do was to cling to life like a leech, not letting go.

    [Royal Water Arts]

    Water entered his body, and his blood, which had almost stopped flowing, suddenly started to move again, even though his heart had long stopped beating.

    [Zen Focus]

    Recalling that face, his soul, which had been under tribtion due to the attack slowly started to calm down. But the level wasn''t enough. He needed more. In order to survive.

    An amber glow started to emanate from his body.

    [You have awaken the Arhunt Bloodline]

    ¡­

    On the other hand, Aslot was on the ground, his water body having transformed back to its former state.

    Aslot, who had lost consciousness due to soul shock, finally opened his eyes after the pain subsided. Soul shock is a state when damage is inflicted to your soul. The pain is so severe that it is impossible to maintain consciousness. Thankfully, the damage was minor and through the Entity''s power, he had not died even when unconscious.

    ''Finally¡­ it''s over¡­'' thought Aslot through gritted teeth.

    He had won, even though the price he had paid for it was rather steep.

    By sacrificing a small portion of his soul, and by using an extremelyrge amount of magic, he had managed to cast a spell to destroy Axel''s soul.

    He was currently in a huge amount of pain. ''This¡­ darned¡­ spell¡­''

    Soul Extinguisher

    The spell he had used belonged to the forbidden Septis, the Soul Septis. Though now extinct, at one time, it used to be the most feared and revered Septis among all.

    But after they lost the ability to awaken their bloodline, their members started sumbing to the Entity''s power in order to awaken it.

    A war ensued, which resulted in the destruction of the Soul Septis, though it was only at the expense of many Antian lives.

    The Soul Septis had the ability to directly attack a person''s soul. It was an advanced version of the Killing curse. After strengthening their soul defense, most Antians can survive the Killing curse. But not the spell he had just used, which can only be performed by extremely powerful individuals of the Soul Septis.

    Being a Royal, and having the Entity''s influence, Aslot could awaken all bloodlines to a certain extent. That included the bloodline soul septis.

    That''s how he defeated the previous king. Even though the Royal Relic managed to save his soul, the damage he had managed to inflict was enough to make the king permanently bedridden under the influence of various spells and artifacts to keep him from the pain.

    And Aslot, who had to go through unimaginable pain, having had to sacrifice a small portion of his soul. He hadn''t thought he would ever use it again. But today, he met a monster who he had to kill at all costs. After all¡­

    ''The members of the Soul Septis are just better off dead.''

    Even though the boy hadn''t awakened his bloodline, he just couldn''t let the fight continue any longer. He had to destroy his soul.

    After taking a long time to recover, Aslot finally turned to look at Axel''s dead body.

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    H¡­..O¡­.W?????????????????????????????????/

    Aslot Regius Vanox, the King yer, the Betray, the Royal Relic wielder¡­ screamed like a little girl when he saw what he saw.

    Axel''s body was lying on the ground with its back turned toward him. His hands and feet had been broken,id out at odd angles. Only his head had been turned 180 degrees, facing towards Aslot.

    But that wasn''t the reason for his shock.

    Calm eyes, very much alive, were looking back at him. They were burning with a bright amber glow.

    ''How.... How how how howhowhowhowhow???!!!!''

    The certainty of death was 100%. It was simply not possible to survive that attack.

    First of all, the probability of being able to defend his soul from that spell was 0. Like how the people in the outer world can''t survive the Killing curse, you can''t survive the soul extinguisher, granted that someone does have the ability to cast it sessfully.

    There has only been one survivor until now, the previous king. But that lucky bastard only survived because the Royal Relic blocked most of the damage. Axel obviously does not have the Royal Relic, then how the hell did he manage to block it?

    But, that is only the first hurdle. The pain is not survivable. The spell is designed topletely disintegrate the soul. Just voluntarily extracting a little bit of his soul magic through a structured procedure had him unconscious for almost a long time. That is not evenparable to what the spell does to the target''s soul.

    So, even if you block most of the spell, you can''t escape the pain.

    The Royal Relic protected the king from most of the damage, but the rest was enough to cause him pain that has left him bedridden, only surviving by minimizing the pain through various artifacts.

    The damage to Axel''s soul was much, much severe. Before Aslot lost consciousness, he had noticed that the spell had already permeated Axel''s soulpletely, meaning¡­. Simply, Death.

    The pain experienced in the very 0.1st second should have been enough to send him into unconsciousness, unable to defend his soul. If he''s still alive, that means¡­ that means¡­

    ''The bastard¡­ stayed conscious throughout the process!''

    Not only that, but he actively tried to protect his soul from disintegrating, holding it together.

    ''Mother Ocean¡­ w-what kind of creature is this?'' Aslot could see that even though Axel had suffered a lot of damage, but due to the awakening of his Bloodline, his soul was already starting to recover.

    Aslot attacked instantly, trying to kill the boy, but the water attack was iparably weak. He still hadn''t recovered from thest attack. The pain was so much that he couldn''t really muster enough focus. It was the same reason why Axel was also lying dead, unable to move.

    ''''''''''Hahhh¡­ didn''t expect me to survive¡­ did you?'''''''' An eerie voice sounded in his head.

    ''Of course I didn''t!'' Aslot screamed in his head. The spell was supposed to end Axel, leaving Aslot with plenty of time to recover. But somehow, the bastard survived, and now they''re both in a situation where they can''t muster enough strength to attack each other.

    Axel blocked Aslot''s clumsy attack with a clumsy defense of his own.

    ''''''''You really seeded, oldy. Almost.''''''''

    ''How are you still alive?!''

    The voice began chuckling despite sounded extremely pained

    ''''''''Didn''t I tell you? I will survive¡­ no matter what.''''''''

    This time, Aslot lost it. " Then hear this: I¡­ will¡­ Kill You¡­ NO MATTER WHAT!"

    The Royal Trident exuded power and a ball of water rose up in the air. It became smaller and smaller, and smaller.

    A powerful energy began emerging from the ball, but Aslot still didn''t stop. Hepressed it further and further.

    "Hey¡­ Stop!" Having gain a huge amount of knowledge on water arts, Axel realized what Aslot was trying to do.

    If you keeppressing the water, make some changes into itsposition, mobilize all of the magic in it, you could theoretically create an Armageddon level of energy.

    Axel quickly mobilized his water to stop Aslot, but even though Aslot had gotten weak, Axel had gotten even weaker.

    "Are you seriously trying to do this? You think you can do it with how weak you are?" Asked Axel as he attacked Aslot instead. The amount of energy required would be too much, certainly not enough for the current Aslot.

    But Aslot didn''t seem to care about the damage at all, only focusing onpressing the water ball, which was beginning to have a really ominous energy by now.

    Aslot chuckled. "Who said I was going to use my own power?"

    A storage space manifested in the air, from which Aslot brought out a circr object. "Do you recognize what this is?"

    Axel, of course, had no fucking clue, but¡­ the key in his storage space was reacting strangely to it.

    "We call it the dimensional bomb. It blew up in the middle of the kingdom, ignoring the protective wards."

    ''Fuck#$#$#$'' A string of curses left Axel''s mouth. The bombs that blew up on his first day of arrival at Antis... Aslot had been hiding one of them all this time.

    He had some idea of the bomb''s power. It can blow up with that much power despite the restricting wards. Then, with that much¡­

    ''It is actually possible!''

    Aslot might just seed in creating the biggest, most powerful explosion Axel had ever witnessed. With an explosion that bad, even Theron''s relic wouldn''t be able to protect Axel.

    Aslot began chuckling as he saw fear in Axel''s eyes for the first time. "You know what the funny thing is? These bombs were made through particles of the key that your parents destroyed."

    ''Okay, now I know.'' Axel now at least knew the reason he was going to die. Apparently, the particles of the key make for very good explosion materials. Thanks, mother and father.

    "Don''t do it, old man. We''ll both die!" Said Axel, his previous bravado gone.

    "The Royal Relic will protect me!" Aslotughed. "It might take a few months for me to recover my body, but it would be worth it if I can get rid of you!"

    ''Crazy geezer!'' Axel never met a more lunatic opponent. The old man had gone senile, going to such extreme measures just to kill. ''I''m really not worth it!'' He wanted to scream.

    All the strategies to kill this guy had gone down the drain these two back to back suicidal attacks. ording to his calctions, he should have had more time preparing before going on the offensive.

    "This is the final farewell, Axel Regius Arhunt. You, really have been, the greatest one."

    "Stop!" Yelled Axel. The first thing he did was to take out Theron''s armor and squeeze in. He then tried stopping the bomb, but it went off instead.

    *Click*

    ''I''m dead.'' The unactivated Relic wasn''t enough to protect him this time.

    At this moment of death, Axel''s mind went into overdrive, as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A huge amount of energy was released at once, enough to trigger the chain reaction Aslot had been intending to create.

    ''Wait, the energy!''

    Aslot had used to energy of the bomb to trigger the explosion. But, that energy could also be put to another purpose!

    [Limit Break]

    Axel used limit break for the second time in a row for the first time. It was painful, and could only squeeze very little energy. But, it was enough.

    [Water Monarch]

    Water gripped the Royal and Trident and threw it in the middle of the explosion. And just before the explosion reached him, Axel put everything into a single skill.

    [UNSHACKLE]

    ...

    A.N.: So? Worth the wait?

    Powerstones! For today and tomorrow.

    Next: That brat... Is the Crown Prince?

    Next next: Princess arriving on the Scene

    Can''t wait? Come read 17 chapters /Snollygoster

 Chapter 226: That brat... is actually the Crown Prince?

    Chapter 226: That brat... is actually the Crown Prince?

    It was the longest five hours of Princess Anti''s life. The whole time, negative thoughts kept guing her.

    What if she was toote?

    What if Aslot already tracked him down?

    What if¡­ she lost yet another family member?

    The Royal Relic can sense those with high water affinities. If Axel got in the range of detection, Aslot would definitelye for him.

    Anger shed in Anti''s eyes. Aslot had already taken a lot from her. She couldn''t lose Axel too.

    Having Royal Relic and the Entity''s power, Aslot is extremely strong right now. The whole Relic Wielder Division couldn''t do anything to him. So, Anti''s fears were not unfounded.

    ''He''s with Kyrin. He can protect him. The ck Ops is a strong division. They can handle themselves.'' That''s what she kept repeating to herself.

    Though everything is happening because of Kyrin''s recklessness, it is still a fact that she is capable. And very powerful. If anyone can protect Axel from Aslot, it would be Kyrin."We''re almost there, Princess."

    Anti started upon hearing that. ''Is it finally time?!''

    She quickly looked at the screen, and sure enough, tiny dots were visible on it, signifying the members of the Relic Wielder division.

    Suddenly, an entirely different kind of thoughts began to Anti''s head. She was going to meet Axel, her only family!

    Does he already know who she is? What is she going to say to him? Would he ept her? Would he forgive her for leaving him? And most importantly, why did hee here?

    A different kind of nervousness enveloped her, making her tap her feet continuously.

    Having known his history, Anti knew that Axel has had a difficult past. It is clear that he wouldn''t ept her readily. The scene of familial affection she''s fantasizing might just remain fantasy forever.

    ''I''ll have to gain his trust.''

    Anti just decided she''s just going to be patient and do her utmost.

    In return, she will be happy if he just¡­ smiles and calls her aunt. That would be enough. No, it would be enough just if he forgives her, leaves this dangerous kingdom and lives a happy life.

    ¡­

    "So you''re saying that Chris Martina is actually an Alias?" Asked Sylthia.

    "That''s right. The cheeky bastard has been faking his looks, age, name, everything." Replied Kyrin in annoyance.

    "And Axel Hunt is the person that the members of Kraken are looking for?"

    "That''s right."

    Sylthia shook her head. "Why???"

    Why would the members of Kraken look for Axel, a boy from the outer world.

    "That''s what I want to know!" Kyrin yelled. "One of us knows, but is too much of a traitorous bitch to tell us!" she said, ring at Akiko.

    "How many years did I spend taking care of you? And you throw that all away for a 13 year old brat you met a year ago."

    In response, Akiko just looked away with a defiant face.

    Kyrin gritted her teeth, also turning away. "How much more time?"

    Currently, the ck Ops division was hard on the move, tracking down Axel. They were currently standing on a magical construct which was flying through Sylthia''s magic and Estris''s eleration.

    "Just how far did he end up going? How much more time?" Asked Kyrin.

    "12 hours." Answered Wilis, who was controlling apass that was tracking Axel through his blood.

    Kyrin cursed out in frustration. "Why did it only workter?!"

    They had tried tracking Axel earlier but it hadn''t worked. Somehow, none of the tracking methods avable to them seemed to work on Axel. So, they had no choice but to wander around, trying to find any of the other members. But then, out of the blue, the blood detectionpass started working. So for thest 6 hours, they had been traveling in Axel''s direction.

    "He''s untraceable." Said Akiko. She had been awfully quiet this whole time, focused solely on saving Axel. "If you can track his blood then that must mean h-he has bled."

    It was only then did Kyrin notice Akiko''s condition. She was trying to beposed, but her body was shaking ever so slightly, and there was blood on her lips from having bitten them so much.

    Seeing her like that reminded Kyrin of the time she had lost her parents. ''He''s that important to you, huh?'' She thought with some bitterness. Kyrin really hoped that the brat was alright. Because if not¡­

    ?!

    At this moment, Kyrin suddenly turned to look back, her eyes narrowing. "Someone''sing. Fast."

    Sylthia and Willis also sensed it.

    "It''s too fast. It must be a ship."

    "Activate Defensive spells."

    "Go down, airborne battle would be disadvantageous."

    Zn¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    They didn''t have to wait long. Soon, a blue streamlined ship appeared in front of them, blowing wind everywhere. At first, they were confused, but when they saw the Royal crest on the ship¡ª

    "What the hell?"

    They were even more confused.

    Before the ship had evennded, a person appeared in front of them. "Where is he?!"

    "!!??" x5

    "Y-Your Highness?!"

    "Princess?"

    "And the General too?!"

    "What are you doing here?"

    Anti released her power. "I don''t have time for this. Axel Hunt! Where IS HE?!"

    Everyone except Akiko was obviously dibobted. The Royal Princess herselfes down to such a dangerous zone, along with the General, and what''s the first thing she asks? Where is Axel Hunt.

    Everyone exchanged nces, wondering how to exin.

    "Princess, he''s not with us."

    "What¡­ What is that supposed to mean?"

    Kyrin sighed as she exined the situation.

    "So¡­ he''s currently unguarded?!" Anti seemed to lose all strength.

    "Princess!" Kyrin quickly helped her stabilize to avoid falling. "It¡­ It happened too suddenly. How was I supposed to know that those so-called peaceful creatures would attack him out of the blue? And it was a whole group too. Killing or attacking them might have caused another space ripple. He had teleported before I could do anything!"

    "You¡­ why did you bring him here in the first ce?! He''s only 13!" Anti eximed.

    "Thir-Thirteen?!" Sylthia involuntarily asked out of surprise, but was ignored by everyone.

    Kyrin''s eyes narrowed. If the Princess knew he was thirteen. And for some reason, he has enough importance that the princess ising here on her own.

    "I was only taking him to the shallows. You have seen enough to know he''s qualified. How was I supposed to know about the Turbulence? And¡­ Who is he?" Asked Kyrin in exasperation.

    Blue magic radiated from the princess and everyone felt like needles were prickling their skin. No one had ever seen the Princess so angry.

    """He has to be found. As soon as possible!""" She told Kyrin.

    Kyrin looked at the Princess in surprise. First Kraken, and then the Princess. Who the fuck¡­ is this bastard Axel?

    "Princess, we''re currently tracking him." Answered Willis, sensing the vtile situation. "We can bring him to you as soon as we find him, or you can join us," he said, showing her thepass.

    Willis was lifted from the ground and taken into the ship, the Princess flying after him. "You aren''t going there without me!" Yelled Kyrin, ordering everyone to move.

    As they travel, the Princess was briefed on the entire situation. But her anxiousness had increased, having to use advanced mind arts in order to stay calm and think. Because there was nothing she could do while panicking.

    "How much more time?" She asked.

    "3 hours, Princess." Replied the General.

    "Can we go faster?"

    "This is the limit, Princess."

    Being a high ranking sub-relic, the Royal Vessel could fly at quite high speeds. Though, there was a limit to how fast you can move in this ce where the space is weak, so it would still take some time for them to reach Axel.

    Anti tapped her foot impatiently. There was a nervous energy in the air, as everyone kept throwing nces at the princess who seemed volcanic right now.

    ''Ask her.'' At this moment, Kyrin gave Sylthia a look, telling her to ask about Axel through mentalmunication. The princess was currently extremely angry with Kyrin. If Kyrin asks herself, there''s no way the Princess would answer.

    Sylthia hesitated for a while before looking at the Princess. "Your Highness, if I may ask, who is Axel Hunt? And¡­ why are the kingdom and Kraken both looking for him with such desperation?"

    Anti, too fraught with worry, was just going to ignore that question. But something caught her attention that she definitely couldn''t ignore.

    Her head turned sharply to look at Sylthia. "What¡­ did you just say?" She asked, wondering if she had heard it wrong.

    Sylthia was startled. "I.. I just asked, why you¡ª"

    "No! About Kraken! What do you mean they''re looking for him?!"

    "She meant what she said. The Kraken is after Axel, too. The sixth executive asked for him. Seventh and Eight were sent after him." said Kyrin. "So, it would be really appreciated if we knew why."

    "Why¡­" The ship shook as Antillia''s emotions surged. "WHY does this keep getting worse?!" So¡­ the Kraken¡­ already knew? Since when?

    Thisplicates things. A LOT. The enemy already knows Axel''s identity. The Heir to Antis. So now...

    ''They''lle after him like starving sharks.''

    Axel was the Heir to the Antian Throne, the son of the Eldest Princess. The Organisation would want him eliminated at all costs.

    Anti now knew the reason why Axel was here. He was here, because he needed protection from the Kraken. Anti shuddered to think what would have happened if Seventh and Eighth had got to him before he arrived here.

    But, if the enemy already knows¡­ it seems there is no point hiding it from the allies now, is it? It''s not like there would be any change to the situation even if the Kraken knew they knew.

    Anti held out her hand, and a picture of a handsome man was projected from her bracelet. "This is Tristan Hunt. He''s Axel''s father."

    Everyone was confused. "Well, I do see the resemnce, but I''ve never seen the man himself," Kyrinmented.

    "He''s quite handsome." Judged Estris.

    "I don''t see the resemnce." muttered Sylthia, who hadn''t seen Axel''s real face.

    But... they couldn''t understand why the Princess was showing the picture of a good-looking dude to them. It wouldn''t exin why both sides were after him.

    The projected picture changed, and now it showed a beautiful woman having a high resemnce with Antil. "Ana Regius Ignis. My sister and the Crown Princess of Antis."

    "This is... Axel''s mother."

    !!!!!!!!?????? x4

    That exined everything. Only, they hadn''t imagined it in their wildest dreams.

    "What?!" (Sylthia)

    "By the sea gods..." (Willis)

    "That... makes sense." (Estris)

    "Well... Fuck me." Kyrin murmured, too shocked to filter hernguage. Because it was the moment she realized. She was going to be fucked.

    Crown Prince. That brat. It means that she had brought the Crown Prince down here at the age of 13. It means she had ckmailed the Crown Prince into joining her dangerous division. It means that due to her, the Crown Prince was left alone in the depths of the Trench.

    "Are¡­ are you sure it''s him?" Asked Kyrin, still unable to believe it. How could that brat be the Crown Prince?! It''s so unlucky! Granted, he has the talent, mentality, skills, and attitude befitting a monarch, but¡­ isn''t he from the outer world? The ce where the Princess only visited once, for around a year or so? And shouldn''t it be a coincidence that the timeline of also matches with Axel''s age?

    ''Fuck,,,''

    So, it was actually quite usible.

    ....

    A.N.: <strong>Powerstones</strong>, for today and tomorrow.

    Next: Arrival on the Scene

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 228:

    Chapter 228:

    "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

    Anti couldn''t think of anything. No, her mind refused to think of anything. She rushed towards the center as soon as the General released her from his magic.

    What she was feeling right now was the same feeling she felt when she heard the news of her mother, father, and sister. An intense feeling of disbelief over reality, and an even more intense hope for the survival of her family.

    ''He wasn''t there! PLEASE! HE WASN''T THERE!'' That''s all that her mind could think of right now.

    Kyrin was just as quick, carrying Akiko along with her. Kyrin gritted her teeth. ''You can''t die yet, damn it! We still haven''t had that talk you promised!''

    "He''s¡­ dead¡­" Unlike others, Sylthia held no delusions about the situation. Axel Hunt, the Crown Prince of Antis, had just died. She didn''t even entertain the thought of anyone being alive after being in the range of that explosion when they could feel its intensity even from such arge distance.

    That means, that new guy who had a lot of potential, that guy who saved her life, and that guy whose whose insane talent she hade to envy¡­ and admire, had died.

    ''He could have been the king¡­''

    Apparently, he was only thirteen. Achieving that level at the age of 13¡­ and that too, without a relic. Sylthia felt ashamed to have evenpared herself to someone like him.With such a talent, if grown to his potential, he could have finally brought peace to the Kingdom.

    So, even though she knew it waspletely unreasonable, the always practical and logical Sylthia, also, hopes for a miracle.

    ''Please¡­ survive!''

    They finally reached the center of the explosion, which was still filled with an unbearable amount heat and magical radiation.

    *SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

    Anti''s domain began spreading out in all directions, cooling everything down and driving away the radiation.

    When the surroundings cleared, they found themselves standing in the middle of the biggest trench they had ever seen.

    But¡­

    "Axel¡­?"

    As the mist cleared, there was no sign of Axel there, nor Aslot. The ce was devoid of life.

    "No¡­" Anti fell to her knees. "G-General?" She asked, looking at the person with the final ray of hope.

    The General, knowing what the Princess was asking, slowly shook his head. "No survivors...."

    "!"

    The answer was expected. After all, the explosion was just that strong. But still, but still, the despair it brought was too strong.

    Anti felt like she was in a dream. She HATES dreaming.

    Because in her dreams, she has to watch the Royal Mother, Royal Sister, and Royal Father die countless times while beingpletely helpless to prevent it. That''s why, at this moment, her mind was unable to ept this reality. No, it was refusing to ept it.

    "He¡­ He might not have been here! Search the area!"

    Yes! That has to be it. Axel was not here! He could be somewhere far away!

    At this moment, her mind chose to forget the two distinct water affinities she had clearly had just before the explosion, and the numerous traces of Axel''s blood all over the ce.

    There was a serious doubt that anything could retain it''s after that explosion, but everyone began to search the ce without question.

    Akiko was already searching even before the orders were given. The fact that Axel might have died was not at all eptable to her, who had already seen him survive so much.

    "I found something!"

    And surprisingly, something was found right after the search had begun. Arge piece of metal was buried in the ground, almost intact.

    Sylthia was skeptical even as she uncovered it. The explosion was so powerful that everything was broken down to the smallest particles.

    Then, what kind of item is able to retain its form till now?

    !!!

    But, when she finally managed to take it out, she was so surprised that an audible gasp escaped her lips.

    "What did you find?!" Asked the Princess, quicklying over. But she stopped dead in her tracks.

    "Is that¡­ ?"

    What she had dug out was a giant armor, red hot and in an extremely broken condition. Even though it was quite damaged right now, its distinct design and the fact that it managed to survive the explosion said it all about its identity, and the identity of its owner.

    Akiko lost her feet as soon as she looked at the Armor, her eyes wide with disbelief. Because, she knew what the presence of that piece of metal being here meant.

    "Coral¡­ Armor¡­? Holy fuck." muttered Kyrin.

    Though not as much as Akiko, everyone else was also thrown off guard. A relic. And not an ordinary one, but one belonging to one of the Hands. No one expected to find it here. Except for Akiko, who looked like her whole world was copsing.

    "But¡­ how did it get here?" Asked Estris in confusion.

    It was a good question. The armor ispletely empty, with no Theron in it. If it was active, it would have protected the body from gettingpletely obliterated. If the relic is off him then it means that Theron is most likely dead. Which, is to put it simply, fucking insane.

    The guy''s defense is famous throughout the Kingdom''s forces. Numerous attempts have been made to take him out, but they never worked.

    So... how in the deep seas did his armor end up here?

    With no answers and increased confusion, the search continued. And Willis, who was searching the ground through detection magic, found another ground shaking discovery.

    ??!!! xeveryone

    Seventh''s rifle.

    "This too?!"

    Now this was really absurd.

    Nerio the Deathshot is the person who has the most high profile kill count out of Kraken. He might not have killed many, but those he has killed are always important enough to make the Kingdom bleed.

    Nerio might have been seventh on the Kraken''s list, but he was far above that in the Kingdom''s list of threats.

    "Eighth¡­ and Seventh? What in the Altanian depths is going on?"

    Theron and Nerio. How could the relics of two of Kraken''s finest end up here together? The situation was not making sense.

    ''Wait¡­ didn''t those two¡ª?'' While everyone was confused, Kyrin''s eyes widened.

    And when she looked at Akiko, her doubts turned into certainty when she saw the devastated look on Akiko''s face.

    Kyrin and Theron¡­ those two were sent to take down Axel. But they never returned.

    Thanks to loud mouth of the Wielder of Biotech relic, everyone else knew about this information too, but they wouldn''t think that there is a chance in hell that Axel stood a chance against seventh and eighth. But not Kyrin. Because she knows a bit more about that mfs abilities.

    So, if these Relics are here, that can only mean that Axel was here too.

    Unaware of this fact, the rest of the group continued the search. And the results were even more baffling.

    Because after that, three more relics were found one after another.

    One was from another Kraken Executive, Tronis, and the other two were from the Kingdom''s Relic wielders.

    "Just¡­ what is going on?" Anti couldn''t understand what was going on anymore. There was no trace of Axel here, not the Royal Relic, but there were so many relics!

    But two people knew enough. Kyrin and Akiko. Because they knew. If the Armor and the Rifle are here, that means Axel was here. And if he was here, then that could only mean¡­

    "It¡­ can''t be." Kneeling on the ground, Akiko looked up at Kyrin. And for the first time in years, Kyrin saw tears in her eyes. ""Find him¡­""

    The desperation in her voice was palpable. But Kyrin only looked at Akiko with nk eyes. ''Does she think¡­ he could still be alive???''

    Kyrin didn''t even entertain the possibility anymore. The explosion was too powerful. Even when being so far out of the range, they almost couldn''t withstand it. The intensity at the center was strong and the Axel''s storage equipment broke apart, along with everything else within. Even the relic were greatly damaged.

    How could he survive after that?

    Kyrin bit her lips, her nails digging into her palms. Her eyes were burning and her emotions were boiling.

    Axel Hunt¡­

    Is dead.

    Having lost a lot ofrades and subordinates in the past, Kyrin had learnt to not get emotions overtake her judgment at least until she was out of the battlefield. But still, the news hit her hard. Harder than she had ever imagined.

    But Kyrin was a user of Darkness Relic. Mental control is something she needed to have at times, at all costs. She closed off her emotions and looked back at Estris.

    "Estris, use Temporal Vision."

    "I was going to suggest it." Estris nodded readily, gray magic manifesting around her. An exquisite pendant clock appeared around her neck. It was only then that everyone recalled Estris'' abilities.

    Time.

    eleration, Deceleration, and...

    "Temporal vision!" Anti eximed, only remembering the ability now. She had only heard rumors. That''s why she didn''t think of using it right away. But this unique ability is currently their best shot at finding out exactly what happened here.

    Clenching her fist, Estris slowly turned her hand.

    !!

    And the surroundings turned extremely bright.

    Everyone had to shut their eyes, but the brightness barelysted for a second. When they opened their eyes, the area around them was no longer an explosion site. Instead, it showed what happened here a few minutes into the past.

    This was Temporal Vision, Estris''s unique ability. It can show them exactly what happened here in the past.

    Axel was dead. But Kyrin wanted to, no, she NEEDED to know more. His blood was all over the ce, and there are so many other relics. Kyrin at least needed to know how it happened, and if the perpetrator is dead.

    When everyone opened their eyes, the surroundings had turned pitch ck.

    "It''s underground." said Kyrin. The Temporal Vision is showing them the vision of the past, meaning the explosion hasn''t happened yet. That means the huge depression they were standing in doesn''t exist. "Move it up." she said.

    Estris, who was covered in waves of gray magic, moved her hands downwards and the surrounding quickly shifted upwards, showing them the scene above.

    "Where¡­??"

    The problem was, there was no one in the area, and everything looked peaceful. There was no sign of any of the relic wielders nor Axel.

    "There!" At this moment, Akiko saw a cloud of dust far into the distance.

    Estris shifted the vision towards the area, and the group now found themselves in the area where the dust cloud had originated.

    A huge amount of wind and water elemental energy swept through the area and a figure materialized in the air, holding a majestic silver trident.

    !!!

    It was not difficult to know the identity of the person.

    "It''s him¡­" Said the General in the stunned silence.

    Aslot Regius Varnox.

    When ites to the past threats faced by the kingdom, hees as close to the top as possible.

    The harm he has inflicted upon the Kingdom is so severe that he could be said to be one of the main reasons for the Kingdom''s current weakness.

    Who among the Antians hasn''t heard of his deeds? His history cannot be suppressed. Fanatics are still present, worshipping him as the true king of Antis. Parents in Antis use his name to scare their children into obedience. He is turned into a legend, a symbol of fear.

    And now, seeing this legendary figure actually alive with their own eyes, the shock they faced could be imagined.

    Aslot currently had a translucent water body. One of his eyes glowed blue while the other green. The amount of power ge was currently wielding made even the Relic Wielders of the kingdom seem like children ying with toys.

    Blue lines appeared all over Anti''s face, her eyes bloodshot. This man is the reason she lost her family. And now, seeing him actually alive in person, her Fury had no bounds.

    The rest of the group was also quite shaken from the man''s appearance. Such a dangerous person was actually alive all this while. What''s more spine-chilling is the fact that he now had the Royal Trident in his hands.

    But, before they even had the chance to digest this scene, they followed Aslot''s line of sight and looked at the ground where the dust was rising. Without waiting for the dust to settle, Aslot pointed the Trident at the ground, and a huge amount of water des which were enhanced by wind force.

    The attack was so powerful that it made Ender and Sylthia subconsciously put up shields into protect themselves from the aftermath, even though they knew what they were seeing was just a vision.

    In the face of such a powerful attack, they saw a small amount of blue energy flicker in the dust. Due to the sharp winds of the attack, the dust was cleared, and a small figure was blown away, covered in water.

    Aslot followed after the figure, and Estris did the same, taking everyone with her.

    "Why¡­ Just why... are you still alive?!" They heard Aslot exim in frustration, looking at the mass of water gathered on the ground.

    The water separated to reveal the person behind Aslot''s frustration.

    "A-Axel?" Kyrin''s eyes widened.

    It was none other than Axel Hunt, the person they had been looking for,

    But....

    When they saw his condition...

    ....

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES,</strong>for today and tomorrow

    Instantly Binge 17+ /Snollygoster

 Chapter 229: The Will To Live

    Chapter 229: The Will To Live

    "Why¡­ Just why are you still alive?!"

    Anti, General, Kyrin, Ender, Willis, Estris, Sylthia, Akiko¡­. None of these dangerous people were averse to brutality. Each of them has rich experience inbat. They have even killed many.

    But, never in their long careers have ever seenes anything close to what they were witnessing right now.

    In the past vision of the battle, facing against Aslot was a person floating in air.

    The first thing that came to everyone''s mind was: is that a biomaton?

    Because no matter what, any human being with that condition should not be alive, let alone fight in a battle.

    The clothes, along with the outeryer of the skin was basically gone, except for vital parts. Blood mixed with water could be seen flowing in and out of various injuries. The muscles were rebuilding themselves in real-time, wriggling and contracting.

    Could this person still be called human?

    Could any human still move in this condition, let alone fight?The only reason this person was alive and not a zombie was determined by the glowing blue eyes, which had specks of amber zing within.

    Those eyes¡­ were very much alive.

    Bile rose up in Anti''s throat. Her head was spinning. No matter what the condition, there is no way she wouldn''t recognize her own Nephew, whose image was now deeply ingrained in her mind.

    It''s just that her mind refused to believe it. What they were seeing had already happened. So, If that was Axel, then that means he was in the st radius.

    What does that mean?

    That he is dead.

    "Is¡­ Is there anything we can do?" She asked Estris in desperation, looking at Aslot who was gathering his power for another attack.

    "I''m afraid I can''t influence death, princess," said Estris as bowed her head. She could influence time, but not to the extent of reversing deaths.

    Like the princess, Estris also concluded that the prince was already dead. Not even counting the st, just because he is in front of Aslot, there should be no escape. A huge amount of power was currently coalescing around Aslot. No matter how he fought previously, he is obviously serious noq.

    Anti could do nothing but watch further in mortification. ''

    Something inside Anti broke.

    He''s gone¡­ And he suffered a lot before dying. Aslot could have obviously killed him easily, but¡­ to drag on until he was in that condition¡­

    Estris closed the vision. They could investigate exactly what happenedter but she didn''t know if she should make the princess her Nephew die.

    There was a deathly silence, broken only by the Princess''s heartrending sobs.

    "Can I¡­ see more?"

    It was Akiko who asked that. Her fists were clenched and her eyes were red. Everyone else might have missed it, but she clearly saw it in his eyes. Axel¡­ still had plenty of fight left in him.

    "This¡­"

    Estris was at a loss, ncing towards the princess. It seems that Boss''s goddaughter is a bit tactless. Some things are better left unchecked. She wants to see the Crown Prince''s death in front of the Princess.

    "Aki¡­" Just when Kyrin was going to reprimand her, the princess spoke.

    "Continue," she said, raising her head. "I have to see him to the end."

    "Princess," said the General, but Anti shook her head with determination.

    "It''s the least I can do¡­ The only thing I can do for him."

    At this moment, Axel, whom everyone to fall any time, actually sneering, revealing blood teeth.

    "It''s not so easy to kill me." He dered. The water elemental energy around him intensified in response. At this moment, despite hispletely ragged appearance, he radiated unquestionable majesty.

    "Water Affinity¡­"

    Kyrin''s eyes widened realization. When watching his trial, when meeting him again in Antis, and when sparring against him, she had almost felt a sense of danger from him. It was obvious that he was iparably weakerpared to her, who had the power of darkness relic, but instinct always told her otherwise. It was only now that she understood the reason.

    Water Affinity. An extremely high one at that.

    The bastard has been hiding such a dangerous card all this while. Kyrin let out a hollowugh. She had finally figured it out, but does it matter anymore?

    "Such high affinity at that age¡­." the General trailed off, disbelief apparent in his voice. An ordinary person might not have been able to understand, but having served three generations, his experienced eyes could of course understand the sheer absurdity of the situation.

    The Royal Bloodline needs to be strengthened from an early age through various types of training and operations. And even after that, he had never witnessed nor heard of such an existence.

    So, seeing Axel, you was only thirteen and half dead, wielding such pure water energy was of course unbelievable.

    "It''s not only the Affinity. He''s using it with Royal Water Arts!" Said Anti.

    "T-There''s wind too!" Slythia blurted out. Not only did Axel have water affinity, but there were traces of wind affinity too. As the Relic Wielder of the Varnox Septis, she could of course tell. "And he''s using Varnox Wind Arts! How did he learn those?!"

    But the group wasn''t given the time to marvel at Axel Aslotunched his attack. A huge amount of magic coalesced around Aslot and when and then, he released it all at once towards Axel.

    BOOOM

    The water was released towards Axel, its speed enhanced for wind to the point of creating sonic booms. Axel was engulfed in thebined might of Aslot''s wind and water.

    Axel moved at thest moment, deflecting away the majority of the attack but he was once again thrown away like a rag doll.

    "No¡­" Anti felt the world spinning.

    But when the dust settled, they saw him still standing despite his horrible condition.

    ?????

    "He¡­. He actually¡­."

    Axel survived. He actually survived.

    It has to be noted that Aslot is currently on something akin to ''God-mode''. Each of his attacks have the power to easily kill Relic Wielders. But Axel, despite being in that condition, and despite not having any relic, managed to survive.

    Aslot, as if already expecting that,unched another attack without waiting.

    It was only now that they understood why Axel''s blood was everywhere in the area. It''s simply because Axel is refusing to die despite Aslot''s best attempts at giving him quick death.

    "Unbelievable¡­" Kyrin murmured.

    It truly was. Axel was fighting head to head against thebo of Aslot the Destroyer, plus the Royal Relic, plus the Kraken markings, and still not dying. Just what is this concept?

    "What kind of relic does he have¡­?" Sylthia could only question.

    "He¡­ doesn''t have one."

    "....."

    Aslot''s frustration was now understandable. A 13 year old was surviving against his most powerful attacks when he also had the Royal Relic.

    "How¡­?!"

    In the vision, Aslot suddenly in mid-air as he eyes widened, just staring at Axel. Then, as if he had realized something, Aslot cancelled the next attack which he had already prepared.

    "I will confess, this has been the worst battle that I''ve ever fought," he said. "I should have killed you the moment I saw you."

    "But¡­ as they say, learn from your mistakes."

    A strange, amber-coloured energy began radiating from Aslot.

    "What¡­? What is he doing?" Murmured Kyrin, her eyes narrowing.

    On the other hand, Anti had gone deathly pale. Her body began to tremble. Even her teeth began to tter. She knew exactly what Aslot was doing. How could she not? This was the very magic that this monster used on her parents. Even now, she could never forget that reddish-orange glow. She hated it the most.

    "What is it?" Ender got rmed by the Princess''s reaction.

    General had a severe expression on his face. "Soul¡­ Extinguisher."

    !

    The name was enough to make everyone afraid. Who among the Antians hasn''t heard of this. The fear of Soul Extinguisher in Antis is far more than the Killing curse in Britain.

    As if sensing the danger, Axel, who had been trying to recover, suddenly shifted to offense, his eyes widening at the unusual form of magic.

    Axel''s water, which had been mobilized solely for defense, suddenly started to attack Aslot.

    "Can he interrupt it?!" Asked Sylthia hopefully. She had thought he would die for sure when she saw his condition, but after watching him fight, she strangely found herself¡­ having hope.

    "He can''t," said Kyrin in frustration. "His Water Arts are too weakpared to the Royal Trident."

    Kyrin''s words turned out to be true. The water bodies around Aslot were able to block Axel''s water attacks, which contained Royal Water Arts.

    A dangerous amber glow was now surrounding Aslot. "Give up, boy. This is the en¡ª"

    Aslot couldn''t finish those words. Suddenly, the world turned blue as Aslot was barraged with billions of volts of electricity.

    What?!

    Naturally, everyone was ''shocked''. Axel was already half a step into the realm of death. But then how did he suddenlye with so much power? And even if he did, then lightning? It was already absurd enough that he had mastery over water.

    The power of Axel''s attack was enough to actually damage Aslot in his [Water Body] state.

    "The Lightning Arts¡­ how did you¡­?" They heard Aslot also ask the same question that everyone else watching had in mind.

    But, the one who got the biggest shock was Ender himself, the Relic Wielder of Ignis Septis!

    "That''s MY Technique!"

    Everyone felt hot emotions bubbling as they saw Aslot struggling in the lightning. He was actually fighting back! But now, the question was: Will it be enough?

    The General was the first to shake his head. "What a pity¡­"

    Ender could also see it as punched his palm in frustration.

    "It''s not enough¡­?" Asked Anti with trepidation.

    Ender sighed. "It could have been. From the output, I can tell he had been preparing for it for a while. If Aslot hadn''t forced him to use it prematurely¡­" he trailed.

    Everyone felt the pain. Even in that condition, even when he was so injured, Axel had been holding on, biding his time, preparing for a deadly counter. This determination was frightening. But Aslot suddenly pulled up such a suicidal move, destroying his efforts.

    Sure enough, they saw Aslot slowlye back to focus even amidst the dense lightning barrage, trying toplete his chant.

    "This¡­ time for sure¡­. You''re dead." Aslot''s words couldn''t be heart over lightning, but there was a maniacal and triuphant expression on his face.

    "Stop¡­." Anti closed her eyes. Her feet became unsteady, causing Ender to support her.

    This can''t be happening. Another family member, dying from the same spell, the hands of the same man.

    "[Soul Extinguisher]"

    But even with her eyes closed, Anti still heard the words.

    And¡­

    The piercing, heart-rending shriek of pure unadulterated pain that followed¡­ would haunt her for her lifetime.

    She was expecting to die instantly. Horrified, Anti opened her eyes, saw Axel''s body lying on the ground, writhing uncontrobly. His voice waspletely distorted due to the damage to his throat, but his screams still didn''t stop. His hands and feet broke down at angles and his head turned 180 degree, but his pain did not seem to stop.

    "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Anti screamed at the top of her lungs.

    Ender, who was holding her, could understand Anti. Through the King, who had been saved by the Royal Relic, they knew that the pain and suffering caused by the [Soul Extinguisher] makes painifera seem like mosquito bite. And right now, Axel was going through that pain.

    For some reason, like the king, he was also not given instant death.

    Akiko watched the scene without blinking. Unlike others, she was acutely aware of Axel''s inhuman tolerance for pain. When sparring with him, she had topletely change her fighting style since you can expect him to even flinch no matter how badly you injure him. She already knew he had survived 10 minutes of Crutiatus. And as for the Infamous Painfera that even Kyrin Sensei fears? He didn''t even react to it.

    So¡­.

    What kind of pain is he in¡­

    To be screaming and writhing like that?

    Akiko was an extremely vengeful person. When she heard about her parents'' death, even though she heard they didn''t suffer, she was still filled with rage. All she wanted was revenge. Kyrin Sensei came to her with three heads, who were the main culprits. That was somewhatforting, but it was far from enough. She wanted the whole organization.

    But, that was before she met him.

    At some point, Axel had already be far more important than her revenge against the Organisation. It was to the point that the main reason she followed Kyrin sensei here was to make sure he doesn''t get himself killed.

    And right now, watching Axel like that, a new level of rage built up inside her. Her vision turned red, because blood was dripping from her eyes.

    But no one noticed, because they couldn''t take their eyes off the brutal scene in the vision.

    Axel had stopped screaming, because he had already stopped breathing. But his body was still spasming, showing that the pain hadn''t stopped.

    [Soul Extinguisher] is supposed to grant instant death. "W-What¡­ is h-happening?" Asked Sylthia. She was crying. And she couldn''t be med. If you''re a human being, you''d inevitably feel the pain upon witnessing this scene.

    "He¡­ is not giving in," said the General, his eyes red. "His Body and Soul are dying, but his will is not."

    Anti buried her head in Ender''s shoulder and cried bitterly.

    Minutes passed, and Axel''s body slowly stopped moving, not because the pain had stopped, but because his body functions hadpletely stopped.

    "I-Is¡­ Is he¡­.?" Sylthia couldn''t bear to finish the question.

    Did Axel finally die?

    No one answered. Watching his suffering made death seem like a mercy. But at the same time, his will to survive made it even more heartbreaking.

    When they thought it was over, Kyrin pointed at the vision again. "There''s movement."

    Sure enough, there was. Axel was not still not moving, but the water around him was. It was slowly seeming into his body.

    Then, in the silence, they heard it.

    Ba-dump

    A distinct heartbeat, followed by another.

    "What¡­ What is happening?" Asked Estris in confusion.

    Kyrin clenched her fists. "He is, using water to make his heart beat."

    Everyone felt goosebumps rippling on their skin when they heard it. This will to live. This desperation towards life. It was scalp-tingling.

    What? You are suffering from unimaginable pain, and you hold on, after long minutes of suffering, when you finally die, you still force your heart to beat.

    But, it was obviously ineffective. The heartbeat was very weak, and it was getting weaker and weaker.

    "How¡­ is he not dying?" Ender could no longer hold back from asking. "Wasn''t it supposed to be instant death?!"

    The question was valid. It is impossible to survive the [Soul Extinguisher]. Watching Axel struggle in vain is painful for both him, for going through it, and for them, for having to watch without being able to do anything.

    The most painful part is that, even though you struggle, death is still a 100% certainty. Then why is he not giving up and taking this pain?

    No one had the answer to that.

    But they soon got it.

    Suddenly, Axel''s eyes shot open. Now that they were seeing his eyes in a close for the first time, the anomaly was apparent. Instead of the blue glow that they could see back then, they were now glowing a dull amber.

    ....

    A.N.: POWERSTONES! Today and tomorrow

 Chapter 230: Akikos Awakening

    Chapter 230: Akiko''s Awakening

    Chapter 222

    A.N.: I understand that reaction chaptersck progression, causing dissatisfaction to some people. So here''s the next chapter, posted early. Stop worrying about not getting enough and enjoy.

    Though, can you deny that they''re fun?

    ....

    Axel''s eyes shot open. Now that they were seeing his eyes in a close for the first time, the anomaly was apparent. Instead of the blue glow that they could see back then, they were now glowing a dull amber.

    "That color¡ª?" Eximed Ender, as everyone else noticed it as well.

    "Orange¡­ no, Amber! Isn''t that,,,?" Sylthia was shocked too.

    That was the same color as the magic that Aslot attacked him with.

    "The Arhunt Bloodline¡­" A ray of Hope ignited in Anti''s eyes.No matter how much she hated that color, no matter how much she hated that bloodline. Right now, Sylthia couldn''t be happier when she saw Axel''s eyes. "He''s awakening it."

    ?!!!

    Everyone looked at Anti in surprise.

    Arhunt Bloodline.

    The bloodline of the Soul Septis. There was no one in the Kingdom who didn''t know it.

    In the past, the Kingdom used to have another Septis, called the Arhunt Septis. Their bloodline allowed them to use soul magic, the most dangerous branch of sorcery.

    But the power didn''te for free. Awakening the Arhunt Bloodline was extremely rare. In every generation, at most two individuals will be able to awaken it, sometimes even none.

    Then, around a hundred years ago, the Organisation dered they can awaken the kingdom''s Bloodlines including the Arhunt Bloodline. That led to the 6th Antian Civil war, which almost destroyed the Kingdom.

    In that war, the awakened members of Arhunt Septis alone ughtered millions.

    From that point on, every Antian firmly remembers the terror of the Arhunt Bloodline.

    And just now, Axel is somehow tapping into the powers of that ursed Septis.

    "But how¡­?"

    What was iprehensible was, how the hell did Axel do it? Even direct members need the Entity''s help in using it.

    "His father was a direct descendent," said Anti, dropping another jaw dropping fact.

    "So, the rumors were true." Ender muttered in realization. When the crown Princess had suddenly vanished from the Kingdom, it led to various rumors. Now, it seems that there was some truth to them.

    Anti nodded unabashed. If her sister''s trist with Tristan can help Axel actually survive the Soul Extinguisher, she would dly ept that Bloodline.

    But¡­ the question was¡­

    "Can he¡­ survive?" Asked Kyrin.

    No one can escape [Soul Extinguisher]. The same should be the case for those with Arhunt bloodline as well. They had never heard of a member of Arhunt bloodline to have ever survived the [Soul Extinguisher].

    The General was also uncertain now. "Theoretically, there is a possibility. But none of the members of the Arhunt Septis have ever seeded due to the pain. The pain is so severe that it is impossible to focus."

    That was the case. No matter how much you defend your soul, when the Spell touches your soul, it causes indescribable pain. In the face of that pain, you''d lose control over your body, let alone your soul.

    So, Axel should not be able to survive.

    But still. The reason the General was uncertain was because Axel had somehow already managed to hold on for so long. So, the General has no qualifications to say whether Axel can do it or not.

    Ba-dump... Ba-dump

    But at that moment, as if to answer their question, they heard the heartbeat again.

    And, it was getting stronger and faster with each beat.

    As they watched the Amber glow in Axel''s eyes intensified as energy fluctuations appeared around him.

    He really was¡­ Awakening the Arhunt Bloodline!

    "He''s doing it! He''s fighting back!" The General eximed.

    The water around Axel, which previously seemed to move weakly and unstably, was now gathering around Axel in a much more controlled manner. And then,

    Cough¡ªCoughCough

    He coughed out water and blood, after which he finally sucked in a deep breath after a long time.

    His expression of pain slowly started easing and the tremors running throughout his body started to dissipate.

    "He.. actually did it! Fuck! He survived the [Soul Extinction]!" Kyrin whispered, visibly shaking.

    "Miracle¡­ it''s a miracle!" Said Willis.

    "This kid¡­ he''s a fighter!" Said Ender, feeling proud for no reason.

    Seeing Axel breathing, Anti also felt like she could breathe again.

    Everyone rejoiced as they witnessed the miraculous scene. But, they celebrated too soon.

    "Aslot!" Sylthia pointed out urgently, reminding everyone that the fight had yet to end.

    Before Axel even had the time to recover, Aslot had already regained consciousness, causing him to shift his focus back to the fight. A pair of amber eyes fixated on Aslot, their glowing intensifying even more in order to recover faster.

    Soon, Aslot lifted his head while cursing due to pain. Then he casually nced towards Axel, and froze.

    After a stunned pause of one second, a somewhat high-pitched scream rang out as Aslot jerked back, looking at Axel in horror.

    "How¡­ How are you still alive?!"

    Axel just looked at Aslot which deathly calm eyes. But the corner of his mouth lifted up lightly in triumph. With his throat already damaged, he seemed to be using mental transmission to converse.

    It''s not certain what he said, but Aslotpletely flipped out at this time.

    "Then let me say this: I will kill you¡­ NO MATTER WHAT!"

    He raised the Royal Trident, and a ball of water rose up in the air.

    "What is he doing?" Asked Kyrin.

    A look of consternation appeared on Aslot''s face as water became smaller and smaller until it began to emit powerful energy fluctuations.

    "So it was this." Anti whispered in realization, understanding how the explosion came to be.

    Estris also nodded seriously. "The vision of the past is almost over, meaning the explosion we witnessed is about to take ce."

    Sylthia gasped, understanding the implications. There''s no way Axel could survive that.

    "Teleportation! He can teleport!" She blurted, looking at the vision, as if to will Axel to teleport.

    Kyrin sighed. "We''re in the Spaceyer." She said, bursting the final bubble.

    The Space in thisyer is extremely dense. Even basic movements take strain. As for Teleportation, it''s simply not possible.

    The atmosphere was filled with a sense of despair. The power of the explosion was irresitable, and teleportation is impossible. Everyone was able to put two and two together and know what was going to happen to Axel.

    "I don''t understand," said the General, shaking his head in frustration. "In that condition, it shouldn''t be possible for him to sessfully trigger an explosion of that magnitude."

    But of course, they knew for a fact that he seeded.

    In the vision, Axel also seemed to know what Aslot was trying to do. "Hey¡­ stop!" He yelled, his voicepletely hoarse.

    "Are you seriously trying to do this? You think you can do it with how weak you are?" He asked in annoyance, his judgment mirroring the general''s.

    But, to that, Aslot simply chuckled. "Who said I was going to use my own power?"

    A storage space manifested in the air, from which Aslot brought out a circr object.

    "Do you recognize what this is?"

    "We call it the dimensional bomb. It blew up in the middle of the kingdom, ignoring the protective wards."

    ''It is actually possible!''

    Aslot might just seed in creating the biggest, most powerful explosion Axel had ever witnessed.

    "You know what the funny thing is? These bombs were made through particles of the key that your parents destroyed."

    !

    Watching the vision, several of the Antians were startled. That''s right. They hadpletely forgotten the existence of these nature defying orbs. The bomb had strange properties. It''s powerful enough to ignore the ancient protective wards, so it should also be powerful enough to sessfully trigger the explosion.

    Their researchers were at their wits end, trying to figure out how the bomb was able to bypass the wards. As it turns out, they were made from the particles of the key. No wonder the researchers couldn''t understand.

    Now, the General''s question was answered.

    But, there was nothing they could do. The explosion had already happened. All they could do was to helplessly watch Aslot seed.

    "Don''t do it, old man. We''ll both die!" Said Axel, also realizing the horrible situation he was in.

    But Aslot onlyughed. "The Royal Relic will protect me! It might take a few months for me to recover my body, but it would be worth it if I can get rid of you!"

    "This is the final farewell, Axel Regius Arhunt. You, really have been, the greatest one."

    "Stop!" At this moment, Axel took out an armor from his storage space. It was the coral armor, the one they had found at the explosion. Axel forcefully squeezed his broken body into the armor.

    At the same time, his water reached out to take control of the bomb. But¡ª

    Click

    That sound spelt the end. A huge explosion happened, which triggered the around ball energy that Aslot hadpressed.

    Before everything went white, they saw Axel''s water wrapping around the Trident and pulling it into the center point of the explosion.

    After witnessing so much, everyone unconsciously had hope. That somehow¡­somehow Axel might escape alive. No miracle happened in the end.

    The Vision stopped, and everyone found themselves at the same ce where everything ended, the center of the explosion. But now, this ce held a different meaning to them.

    Anti desperately rushed over to the charred coral armor. But, instead of a body, what she found were¡­ ashes.

    It was too much for her to bear. Her vision turned dark as she fainted.

    "Princess!" Sylthia quickly supported her. No one couldn''t me Anti. She had witnessed her parent''s death at the hands of Aslot, powerless to help. And now, she had to do the same for Axel. But still, no matter how harrowing, she watched it to the end while wholeheartedly praying for a miracle.

    It''s already a miracle she didn''t copse sooner.

    The General took off his Helmet and knelt on one knee. A huge sword appeared in his hand which he stabbed into the ground. "All hail, Axel Regius Arhunt. The Blood Crown, Order Of Mariner-8 Stars."

    Without a word, everyoneid down their relics and knelt of one knee towards the Armor which contained Axel''s ashes.

    The Blood Crown is the title posthumously given to the Crown Prince or Princess who perishes in battle for the Kingdom. In thest 13 years, this title has been used twice, both times giving the Kingdom a heavy blow.

    And the Order of Mariner is the highest honor in the kingdom, given only to the most valiant and visionary heroes who have made monumental contributions to the Kingdom. The Ranks range from 1 star to the highest of 8 stars.

    Axel was actually already about to get an Order of Mariner 2 stars for single-handedly protecting the Kingdom from the monster tide. But now, the General didn''t hesitate to directly increase it to 8 stars, which have been given to anyone else in the Kingdom''s history.

    "If anyone deserves it, its him." said Ender, putting three fingers to her heart. The boy showed him what it means to be a true warrior.

    Sylthia wiped her tears. Looking at the ashes, she was at a loss. The person she had considered as an ''ipetent outsider'' turned out to be the greatest hero of all time. Even though she was extremely rude to him, he had still saved her life. Just a while ago, she was still bickering him, and now he''s gone.

    ''I haven''t even said a thankyou, let alone apologize...''

    Kyrin felt the most guilty. If she hadn''t been careless enough to bring him here, none of this would have happened. Yes, she didn''t know he was the crown prince. But, if she had been a little nicer, then maybe he or Aki would have considered telling her.

    ''Aki might never forgive me¡­heck, even I can''t forgive myself,'''' She thought, casting a nce at the back of Akiko, who also knelt on one knee.

    ''No!''

    It was only then did she realize. Akiko was overly attached with Axel. Knowing her goddaughter, after this, she''d definitely do anything for revenge!

    "Aki¡­" Kyrin called out. But Akiko did not respond, her body motionless like a statue.

    "Aki," Kyrin put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "I promise. I''ll definitely take reve¡ª"

    Kyrin''s words got stuck in her throat as she choked upon seeing Akiko''s face. "What¡­ have you done¡­?" She whispered in horror.

    Something had happened to Akiko. Two lines of blood streaked down her cheeks. And her eyes¡­ they werepletely different. Her pupils had turned red, with ck rings concentric around them.

    !!!

    Kyrin was rmed. Extremely so. But before she could even react, Akiko fell forward, no longer conscious.

    ¡­

    A.N.: This is the Image of Akiko''s eyes:

    <strong>Powerstones! For today and tomorrow </strong>

    As for progression, don''t worry. Axel''s return and the final waring. Just need a proper build up.

 Chapter 231:Eyes of Death

    Chapter 231:Eyes of Death

    Chapter 223

    Things were getting worse and worse for Kyrin.

    Axel was gone, and Aki had gone unconscious after having a weird change in her eyes.

    She had her admitted to the Royal Sanitorium, but somehow, even the best Menders of Antis, who can be considered the peak of healing throughout the world, were somehow unable to even determine what had happened to her.

    So, having no choice, Kyrin had teleported right into Mahoutokoro, in order to find out exactly what had happened to her goddaughter.

    Unfortunately, even the healers of Mahoutokoro seemed to have no idea about the situation she described.

    Kyrin was sifting through various scrolls in the Library when Sealing Ninjutsu covered the ce all of a sudden. Bright mes lit up every corner of the ce as Yujiro appeared in front of her with a cane in his hand, now unsheathed to reveal a sword.

    "You have some NERVE,ing here after what you did."

    Kyrin was extremely frustrated. "Old man, I really don''t have time for this." She said, continuing her search. "Where is she?! You had no right to take her!" said Yujiro, his voice rising along with the magic in the surroundings.

    "And you had no right to keep her! She''s an adult!" Said Kyrin, unleashing her own power. But then, she sighed. "Listen, I need your help. Something¡­ something happened to her."

    The magic output stopped as soon as Yujiro heard that. "What happened?"

    Kyrin faltered. "I¡­ I don''t know. Her eyes started bleeding, and¡­ a pattern appeared. Now she''s unconscious."

    Kyrin didn''t notice, that Yujiro turned pale as soon as he heard Kyrin''s description.

    "This is it," said Kyrin, showing him the memory through her e-brace.

    Yujiro slowly closed his eyes. "She¡­ really did it."

    "What? You-You know what it is?!"

    Yujiro nodded, looking 10 years older. "I had warned her against it. And frankly, I thought it was just a myth."

    Kyrin was getting scared now. "What¡­ What is it?"

    Yujiro was silent for a moment, looking lost.

    "It''s the Shinigan¡­"

    "Eyes of death."

    ¡­.

    In a meeting room, the head of all Septises, along with the leaders of all divisions were gathered on the urgent summons by the Princess.

    Just yesterday, they had received reports that the Royal Aircraft had actually flown into the Altina Trench, the enemy territory.

    Panicked, everyone had started reaching their contacts, trying to confirm whether the Princess had indeed personally ventured into the enemy territory.

    The Kingdom is currently working on a delicate bnce, with the existence of Princess Anti holding it all together. If something were to happen to her, the Kingdom would plunge into chaos. So, everyone naturally hadints about this risky move by the princess.

    They couldn''t understand just what kind of emergency it was that made the Princess take such a huge risk.

    But the very next day, the Royal Aircraft returned and a red-level meeting was called. Red signifies the highest level of importance, and anyone who fails to attend will face serious consequences.

    With variousints in their bellies, the leaders arrived to attend the meeting.

    But, just seeing the Princess pushed them into silence.

    The usual gentle atmosphere was gone, and so was the ever-present angelic smile. Right now, the Princess radiated a sharp aura that demanded absolute obedience. Tendrils of blue revolved around her, as if wanting to strike anyone who dares to offend her.

    "Aslot Regius Varnox¡­ is back."

    That was all she said. And it was enough to exin her rage. But such a news was naturally met with a lot of skepticism.

    "Impossible!"

    "Isn''t he dead?"

    "I was there when he died!"

    "This is a waste of my time."

    Such is the nature of those in power. When something that can truly threaten them arrives, their first reaction is submerging their heads in water.

    Aslot the Betrayer was a truly fearsome existence. His means were endless. Even though the people here are confident in their strength, none would dare face him in a one-v-one.

    But the Princess didn''t stop there. "Not only is he back, but he also has control over the Royal Relic and an endless amount of power through the blue markings."

    Boom

    Now the room was positively boiling. Aslot¡­ with Royal Relic?

    That''s insanity.

    Add in an endless amount of power from the blue markings?

    That''s chaos incarnate.

    There was a gulping sound. No one spoke recklessly this time. Even an idiot can tell that this was most likely the truth. The princess doesn''t have enough time to concoct such dangerous news.

    But still, now it was more about hoping it was false rather than believing it.

    "Princess¡­ surely¡ª"

    Anti didn''t even wait for the person to finish. She waved her hand and a holographic projection appeared in the middle of the meeting table, almost appearing real.

    It showed the aircraft of the Relic Wielder Division flying the Deeperyer of the Trench when suddenly encountering a silhouette floating in their way.

    With any warning, the Silhouette raised a silver Trident.

    ¡ªZip¡ª

    And the aircraft was torn right from the middle.

    What followed could only be called a one-sided beating of the entire Relic Wielder Division, at the end of which all of them fled through various means.

    No one rushed to say anything this time. The faces of everyone present had turnedpletely white as they tried to digest the shocking revtion.

    Relic Wielder Division¡­ That was the Relic Wielder Division!

    A group of the Kingdom''s strongest, most elite warriors, harnessing the power of Relics.

    It was the Kingdom''s sharpest sword, meant to pierce the enemy''s throat. But just now, they witnessed the downfall of that Relic Wielder Division with their own eyes.

    "He was¡­ too powerful¡­ too overwhelming," said Ender in the ensuing silence. "He first targeted those of us who could pose a threat to him. After that, we''re just ms waiting to be picked."

    "What are we going to do?" Asked one of the Division heads.

    The rest of the leaders seemed to have no idea. If even the Relic Wielder Division got defeated like that, then there''s little they can do even by gathering all of their forces.

    "The Relic Wielders must be rescued as quickly as possible." Said the head of me Septis.

    "General and Tenebrous¡­ these two are our only hope now." said the head of Wind Septis. He had gotten some idea of Aslot''s current power. And if there was anyone could even stood the slightest chance against the current Aslot, it''s the General and Kyrin Tenebrous.

    "I propose preparations for the doomsday protocol." another division proposed.

    The Leaders had already begun panicking. The memory was definitely real. They had confirmed that several times while watching the unrealistic video.

    And even though they couldn''t confirm whether the blurry silhouette was THE Aslot himself or not, they knew that it had the Royal Relic and was far more powerful than what they could handle.

    So now the atmosphere in the meeting was turning more and more chaotic as the leaders came up with increasingly radical ideas to deal with the current crisis.

    But. the Princess still didn''t react. Rather, she yed another video. This one started with an already injured Ender being defeated by Tronis.

    That''s right. Before arriving, Anti had Estris recover theplete series of events for detailed analysis on Aslot''s powers.

    Seeing the person in the video getting beaten, everyone cast nces at Ender, who was sitting alive and well with them, wondering how he didn''t die.

    Ender shrugged. "The power they can draw from the Entity has increased. And I was still suffering from the Royal curse."

    That shut everyone up as they quietly watched the video as Ender, now defeated, asked Tronis how they managed to get the Relic.

    Tronis dly revealed how they ambushed the Princess and the Kraken''s Traitor and how they separated her from the Royal Relic with the help of a mysterious person who she didn''t expect to be on their side.

    The first thing they picked up from this was: The rumors seem to be true. The Crown Princess did have some kind of rtion with a Kraken member.

    The other thing they noticed was that the mysterious person who helped Kraken against the Princess must be Aslot himself. No one else should have the ability or wits to rival the Princess.

    Finally, Ender fainted. But, instead of killing him, Tronis started calling someone out while looking into nk space.

    Suddenly water appeared in the air, soon followed by a pair of glowing blue eyes. The natural thought was that it was the Princess, who had finally arrived to rescue Ender.

    But then, the person turned out to be¡ª

    "It''s him?!"

    "Isn''t that¡­?"

    "Chris Martin?!"

    It was Chris Martin, the kid who had been getting famoustely with his impressive trial and the fight against the monster hoard.

    "How¡­?"

    How could Chris Martin the outsider have those Royal blue eyes and the water affinity?

    "Because¡­" Said Anti. "His real name is Axel Regius Arhunt, son of Ana Regius Ignis and Tristan Arhunt."

    !

    Hearing that, everyone felt like having drunk a huge ss of bear. It was too much to swallow.

    The Crown Princess¡­ actually had a child?

    Furthermore, she had a child with a member of the traitor Arhunt Septis?

    And if that is the case, then wouldn''t this child be¡­ the next sessor to the throne?!

    It really was too much to swallow.

    "Now, questions are forbidden until the end of this memory." Said Anti, her tone allowing no concession.

    "...."

    Everyone had a ton of questions, but with the Princess''s cold order, they could only choke on them as they watched the video, not wanting to miss anything.

    This was the Crown Prince. Of course they had to judge him. The eyes of the leaders were now glued to the video, not wanting to miss anything.

    They watched in surprise as Chris¡ªno, Axel, the Crown Prince actually fought evenly against Tronis who had been using the blue marking.

    "At that age, he can already fight evenly against Tronis!"

    "This is really¡­"

    "Such high awakening¡­ How?"

    "He really is, the son of Crown Princess."

    Everyone was surprised. They naturally know that bloodlines are notoriously difficult to awaken. So, they couldn''t understand how Axel had managed to raise it so much even when staying outside the kingdom.

    Has Princess Anti been secretly raising him outside to protect him?

    That would exin why did suddenly gave him citizenship.

    But then, why send him to the Trench?

    The questions kept increasing as everyone watched with rapt attention, until¡­ Tronis used his final card, creating a huge sphere of raging energies.

    !!

    "What?!"

    "Despicable!"

    "He has to be stopped!"

    Suddenly, the crown prince got engulfed in a deadly attack, taking everyone out of their trance. But when the dust settled, they saw¡ª

    "Isn''t that¡­?!"

    "Coral Armor!"

    "Theron?"

    "What is Eight doing there?"

    A lot of questions were popping up, but again, they got no answer. As the explosion went away, Axel crawled out of the coral armor and began setting his bones back into ce through a process that looked very painful.

    "How does HE have that?"

    Tronis seemed to have the same question, but instead of answering, Axel just straight up killed him, not giving any chance of a clicheeback.

    And just like that Tronis, one of the Kraken''s Big Eights was gone. At the hands of someone so young.

    Looking at Axel who stood over the corpse of Tronis with water surrounding him, the Antians could only feel the majesty of a king from him.

    But after that, Axel''s knees buckled as he sank due to the pulling force in the Gravitational field and clutched his head tired.

    It was only then did they realize that the victory didn''te without cost.

    "It couldn''t have been easy, enduring all those energy fields." said the head of Lightning Septis, a bit worried. He now knew that Axel was actually family, as they were distantly rted, and had also saved his son Ender. "What do you think, Artis?"

    "Frankly, I am amazed he is conscious. He definitely needs treatment after that fight." Said the old man Artis, head of the Healing division. "His internal organs must have suffered serious harm. His bones were forcefully dislocated and re-attached within seconds. That is also going to have some after-effects. He might also overdrawn his magical limit."

    In the video, Axel took some much needed rest. But, no sooner had he started resting, he suddenly got up and started to flee.

    "What¡­ What is he doing?"

    It was odd that instead of resting, Axel suddenly started to run away as if being chased. But soon enough, they found the reason, as the familiar silhouette wielding a Trident materialized in the air.

    Ooooooooooohhhh

    A collective gasp escaped everyone''s mouth as they saw the scene. The betrayer actually caught the Crown Prince!

    Seeing the Crown Prince''s power at such a young age, they had just begun to see a future of having an all-powerful king and thinking of ways to curry favor with him, but suddenly, those dreams were shattered.

    "Wait, you aren''t Anti?" Said a raspy murmur that sent chills down their spines. "Tell me, boy. How do you have the Royal bloodline?

    Seeing this, Anti bit her lips until they bled. She was also seeing the full series of events for the first time. And what actually happened turned out to be far worse than what she had expected.

    Not only did Axel have to fight Aslot, but he had to do so right after the fight with another overseer, which he had won with great perseverance.

    Furthermore, it seems that the reason Aslot came for Axel was because he thought the water affinity he felt belonged to Anti.

    "May mother ocean have mercy."

    "He''s got no chance."

    "I hope he doesn''t suffer."

    Aslot was also called the kin-yer. He was behind the death of the Queen, the disability of the King, and from what they just learnt, also the death of the Crown Princess. Of course he wasn''t going to let this new Crown Prince live.

    But hearing all that only made Anti more mad.

    "No one is allowed to say a word until it is over," she dered coldly.

    Silence descended in the meeting room as everyone waited for the Crown Prince''s death.

    But¡­ what followed¡­

    Was the most epic, brutal, thrilling, and unpredictable battle they had ever witnessed.

    By the time it ended, everyone just sat there, too stunned to react.

    ...

    A.N.: <strong>Powerstones! Today and tomorrow!</strong>

    Axel returning in two chapters

    Come read ahead in new /Snollygoster

 Chapter 232: Potential Revealed

    Chapter 232: Potential Revealed

    A.N.: It''s a double release. Enjoy

    ...

    The video was over, meaning they were allowed to speak now. But still, no one said a word.

    What to say?

    They were too overwhelmed.

    Many still had their mouths gaping open, wide enough to stuff several eggnts at once.

    Many were breathing unevenly, their heartbeat high.

    Most still had tears in their eyes. And that emotion was genuine.

    And why not?Watching Axel struggle like that, the sheer intensity of his will to live was so scorching that even when watching the video, they could feel in right up to their souls.

    Watching such a fierce struggle, they had inadvertently found themselves rooting for Axel, the boy who had been showing them one miracle after another.

    And since Princess Anti never said anything, they didn''t know the final oue. So, even until Aslot was preparing for the explosion, they were still hoping for yet another miracle.

    "I-Is he¡­ Is he really¡­?" Asked Lady Garmos, her big eyes glistening with crystal drops of tears.

    The General shook his head. "The explosion was too strong."

    That set off a wave of murmurs and exmations throughout the room.

    "[Soul Extinction]¡­. Even the [Soul Extinction]..." said Lady Garmos in a daze.

    When she had first seen Chris Martin, it was because of his fight in the Biopark incident. Even that at that time, she had judged him to be an extraordinary individual.

    But, never in her wildest dreams had thought that the "extra" part would be so unimaginably huge.

    "Such unyeilding grit¡­" Murmered the me Elder.

    Axel could have died easily. Even at the beginning, it was so easy to be cut in half by the Royal Relic at any time. And from then on, it got more and more difficult to survive. But he just wouldn''t give up.

    "He just¡­ kept getting stronger and stronger," said another leader.

    At first, everyone was expecting Axel to just die. They were only hoping that the boy didn''t suffer.

    But when the fight actually started, they were amazed. No matter how much Aslot attacked, instead of getting weaker, Axel just got a little bit better.

    That''s why it was such a big regret.

    "So much potential¡­" Said the Commander-in-chief, shaking his head. "He¡­ He almost won."

    It was unbelievable. Axel¡­ almost won against a threat they had thought might end the Kingdom. A threat that single-handedly neutralised the most power unit of Antis, the Relic wielder division.

    Everyone was still in shock.

    "What even was his age? 16? 17? How is it possible for him to do those things at that age? Did he have a unique Relic?" Asked the Wind Head.

    "Actually, the age is 13. And no. No relics." said the General, patiently making everyone realize the sheer absurdity of the situation.

    !!!

    Those words would have received a series of scoffs if not for the fact that the General himself said them.

    Even though the General''s words had absolute credibility, but the information was still not believable.

    "That¡­ that can''t be true," said Lady Garmos. He can''t be only¡­ 13, can he? Not with that physique!" She eximed, projecting the image of Axel''s bare upper body. "I mean¡­ he was able to go head on with Aslot and the Royal Relic in close quarters!" She rified.

    It has to be noticed that Aslot was one of the best fighters in Antis, having won at the Annual Arena many times.

    And that Aslot had the Royal Relic. The Royal Relic!

    The Royal Relic has Fluid Metal properties. It can bend and extend indefinitely, and the three-pronged des, which can be controlled at the user''s will, can cut through anything.

    Also, the Relic Grants the Wielder the Water Body, which not only boosts all of the body''s parameters, but also makes the body impervious to almost all attacks, thus enabling the user to attack one-sidedly with no fear or precaution of counter attacks.

    And Axel was able to take all that with his bare body. How can''t a thirteen year old do that?

    "I agree with Lady Garmos. Let alone his close quarter skills, his grasp over the Affinities and Secret Arts of the Septis is even more surreal." said the Prime Minister.

    Everyone in the room knew the meaning of that.

    Affinities take years, a lot of resources, and specific training to raise. And Axel had a grasp over as much as three Affinities.

    Not only that, he had also learnt the Secret Arts of three Septises.

    They are called Secret Arts for a reason. It means that rarely anyone out of the Septis ever get ess to them. And they are awfully difficult to learn.

    "Minister, you missed the most abnormal point," said the Lightning head.

    The Wind Head nodded. "It''s not that he has a grasp of three Affinity Arts. But... the fact that he learnt them in the middle of the fight."

    This was the most impressive factor. Being from the nonbative faction, the Prime Minister couldn''t understand just how absurd what Axel did was.

    "So, the affinity arts he used..."

    "That''s right. He learnt them just by watching. The Lightning Arts from Ender''s fight, and the Water and Wind Arts from Aslot," confirmed the General.

    Axel''s abilities at the beginning were raw. Most likely because he never got someone as powerful as Aslot to use them against.

    "Gods of Sea, the potential¡­."

    "In that condition, it would be difficult to even stay conscious. But he managed to learn the most difficult Affinity Arts he was in that condition¡­ Does he not feel pain?"

    Everyone just sat there in shock, the goosebumps still not going from their skins. They still couldn''t get over the things that they just watched.

    Among these, there were many who were still stunned despite not even knowing the full extent of what Axel had done.

    "He really might not feel pain. His pain threshold IS definitely the highest in the History." said the Head of Sanitorium Artis, who actually knew the full extent, was the most psyched of all. He filled with the controls, rewinding it back to the casting of soul extinction.

    "The full Pain Intensity of Soul Extinction has never even been calcted, because everyone dies even before they can endure half the pain." He said. "It means that we can finally find out exactly how much pain the Soul Extinction actually causes."

    The pain the Soul Extinction spell causes has never been measured, because everyone hit by the spell always dies instantly. But, the Arhunt Septis, which has in-depth knowledge of the spell, have dubbed it the most painful magic one can be subjected to, far surpassing even the painifera venom.

    Today, they finally have footage of someone who actually survived it. So from the video, the pain intensity can easily be calcted by scanning the body''s reaction.

    The video of the Axel getting hit by the Soul Extinction was still ying on the side as he ran calctions on the virtual monitor.

    The pain intensity began to show on a graph just as Axel was about to be hit. But, something was wrong.

    "Is¡­ Is this a-urate?" Someone asked, looking at the reading.

    "Is the Soul Extiction has already been cast?"

    As they measured the pain intensity, there was an anomaly. Axel had not yet been attacked by the Soul Exinction, but the readings were going crazy right now."

    This led to many people thinking that either the reading was wrong or the spell had already been cast.

    But of course, thebat-expertise leaders knew that despite how unbelievable they were, the readings were.

    "Over¡­ Over Hundred thousand? Isn''t that already higher than the painifera sting?"

    Everyone here is a qualified leader, with plenty of secretive information in their heads. As one the main precautions to prevent leaks, they''ve all been through some level of painifera endurance training.

    In that condition, it is difficult to even form a coherent thought, let alone continue a fight against someone like Aslot.

    So when they noticed that the pain intensity that Axel was currently feeling was already significantly higher than even the Painfera sting, they were obviously bamboozled.

    But of course, those with richbat experience or high medical knowledge knew that despite how unbelievable it appears, the numbers were actually correct.

    "The readings are urate." said themander-in-chief, frustrated atck of awareness of the nonbat faction. "Just take a look at his condition."

    He didn''t like how ignorant they were of the difficulty of the things Axel had managed to achieve in the fight.

    It has to be noticed that Axel had already been in a hardcore battle against Aslot, where he has been suffering life-threatening injuries one after another right from the start. It''s to the point most of the outeryer of his body has been torn off, his muscles ruptured, and bones broken.

    The only way he was even able to move his body was through water, while also continuously healing it.

    But, in doing so, the pain he was experiencing was automatically ignored by everyone, since from beginning to end, Axel never showed even a minor sign of pain.

    Only now that they saw the reading did they finally remember that that kind of injuries alsoe with equivalent pain and how much of a big deal Axel staying conscious throughout the and even fighting in that condition is.

    But even then, the real extent of Axel''s pain tolerance, was revealed only after he was hit by the [Soul Extinction]

    As soon as the spell was cast, the line in the graph suddenly skyrocketed straight up in a vertical line! One zero, two zeroes, three zeroes¡­

    It didn''t rise in numbers, it rose directly in digits! The pain intensity reached ten million and it was still rising along with Axel''s screams!

    "....????????"

    "What... is this?"

    Everyone looked at the screen dumbfounded.

    The rumors were true. The Soul Extinction really is¡­ the most painful magic to be subjected to."

    But¡­

    It was THIS painful?

    Anti covered her face, her shoulders shaking.

    "He could have been... the strongest warrior in the history of the Kingdom," Lady Garmos whispered.

    Might and courage is highly respected in Antis. That''s why people like someone as evil as Aslot could still get supporters and why someone with Kyrin''s personality has so much power.

    So, someone like Axel, who has killed three Relic Wielders, survived the Soul Extinction, almost won against Aslot wielding the Royal Trident, and survives the Soul Extinction... all just at the age of 13, would have naturally been an object of worship.

    "We could have had a new King," said the Prime Minister in regret. "A king like him."

    Hearing that made everyone sigh with sadness. In Antis, the King is like an Anchor that holds the whole Kingdom in ce. With the help of the Royal Trident and the Royal Bloodline, there''s really little that could threaten the King.

    So, in history, there have been many Kings who managed to rule the Kingdom in peace and prosperity by protecting the Kingdom by keeping the Kraken in check, not giving any chance to resurge.

    But this time, the situation is different. Thest Rebellion left the Kingdom extremely weakened.

    It was led by Aslot, the head of Soul Septis, and the Head of Earth Septis. The King was disabled, the Queen perished, along with many warriors, and many relics were stolen.

    From then on, the Organisation, which had been dead was for long time, resurged as the Entity regained a lot of its power.

    During this time, the Crown Princess was absolutely amazing, taking over the power and re-stabilizing the Kingdom while the King recovered.

    But then they lost the Crown Princess and Royal Relic, which also resulted in further deterioration of the King''s health.

    Ever since then, the Kingdom has been on a decline, going on without a king while the Organisation has been growing stronger and stronger.

    But, just imagine if Axel was able to realise his full potential...

    He could have single handedly drowned the whole Organisation into nothingness. The Kingdom could finally regain its peace and stop expecting their friends to be brainwashed and turned into a Kraken supporter.

    But s, that can''t happen anymore.

    The atmosphere was extremely depressing as everyone bemoaned the fall of a Prince who could well have been the strongest King of Antis.

    "Everyone."

    The General cleared his throat, attracting everyone''s attention. "This is the purpose of today''s meeting. To inform everyone about the Crown Prince and his sacrifice."

    "As everyone knows, the Kingdom was faced with imminent peril with the return of Aslot wielding the Royal Relic. We have lost two relic wielders to him, and would have lost far more had he not stepped in."

    "Make no mistake, despite Aslot''s domain restricting the space, the Crown Prince could have escaped at the beginning of the fight, just like he did in this situation," he said, ying the footage of Axel teleporting right before getting swallowed by the space whale.

    "But he did not. Despite the odds, he chose to fight. Due to his sacrifice, the Kingdom has gained several months to thoroughly prepare for Aslot''s return."

    "Not only that, but the Crown also defeated the Kraken''s Fourth. Seventh, and Eight overseers, while also saving the lives of Ender Ignis and Sylthia Varnox."

    "Now, before we discuss the counter measures against Aslot, I believe that this is all a lot to take all of a sudden. Thus, in case anyone has any questions, I will try to satisfy their curiosity."

    This was what everyone was waiting for.

    ¡­..

    It''s double release so read the next.

 Chapter 233: Revenge for Axel

    Chapter 233: Revenge for Axel

    When they leaders almost couldn''t wait any longer, the General finally allowed for questions.

    "General¡­ Uh, I would like to know, where has the Crown Prince been this whole time?"

    "Yeah, and why did we never know about his existence?"

    "Also, how did he get so skilled? Was he trained in secrecy?"

    As soon as the General allowed for it, questions began pouring in since everyone had been bursting with doubts and curiosity this whole time.

    The General raised his hand to stop the tide before there were too many questions to answer.

    "To answer your questions, first off, we were not aware of the Crown Prince''s existence. The Kraken seemed to have found out first and sent two of their Overseers for him, which he managed to defeat on his own."

    "Also, we do not know how he got so skilled. He grew up in an orphanage in the outer world and attended the local academy with no help from us. So there is a possibility that he''s self-taught."

    The answers caught everyone off-guard. They had been thinking that the Crown Prince had been secretly trained this whole time as a secret weapon against the Organisation. But that does not seem to be the case."The Crown Prince, living in an outer world orphanage?!"

    "Preposterous!"

    "How could this be?!"

    Instead, they heard the most offensive news ever. Those with the Royal Bloodline, and even the direct bloodline of other Septises are given the best treatment from birth. So, it was really quite a shock to know that the Crown Prince, the direct heir to the throne, grew up in that kind of environment.

    And of course, it is not clear what they''ll do when they find out further details of the Crown Prince''s childhood.

    "Then, how did he get here?

    "And what was his purpose foring?"

    "Did he want the throne? If so, then why did he not reveal his identity?"

    The next round of questions arrived before without dy.

    "He got here through the Royal Token. I suppose the Princess might have left him one. As for his purpose¡­ it would seem that he wanted to heal his hand."

    "Heal¡­ Heals his hand?"

    "That''s it?"

    "Can the people of outer world not even regrow a limb? This has to be an excuse."

    "Yes, I think so too. He must have wanted the throne, right? His birthright."

    "If that was the case then why didn''t he reveal his identity? We''d have forced him to take it even if he didn''t want it."

    "Actually, he wanted to reattach it, not regrow. His arm, I mean." It was not the General who said that, but Artis, the head of Sanitorium. "There''s a difference. And given the importance, it might really be his real purpose foring here. Not the throne."

    After videos of Axel''s trial and the Biopark incident had gone algal, he had gotten this information from a five star Mender.

    Usually, he would just keep the information confidential, but now with the Crown Prince already gone, there was no point keeping it.

    "Regrowing instead of reattaching, what is the difference?"Asked one of the leaders in confusion.

    "A big one."

    Astris logged into the Sanitorium server and pulled out the information of Axel''s procedure.

    "Just look at the parameters," he said, showing them Axel''s stats. But of course, most of the members had no idea what they were seeing. So, Astris gave them a glimpse.

    "To put it in simple terms, if there was a relic for hands, the enhancement... would be equivalent to what his hands can already reach without any external factor," he said, illiciting gasps from all around.

    "Those hands are the most important reason why he was able to go toe to toe with Aslot in closebat with ordinary knives without getting them broken in one blow. If he just regrew his hand, all the time and effort he spent training them to this degree would have been wasted. So, I really think this had a huge part in why he arrived here."

    It took a while for everyone to digest that. Thinking about the fight, they recalled how the knives kept shing dazzlingly, taking on the Royal Relic, and released how that was possible.

    "So, he came here to get his hand healed, and he kept his identity a secret?" Asked the Royal Academy Principal, who had been silent this whole time, to which the General nodded.

    "So, I take it that in everyone''s eyes, he was just an extraordinary prodigy who hade from the outer world, just like the shinobies? No one was aware of the fact that he was strong enough to easily defeat relic wielders?"

    "Indeed."

    "Then why, prey tell, was such a bright prodigy sent so deep into the Trench? I was already against himpletely skipping the Academy Education, but then also skipping the procedure of training and experience requirements for deep trench exploration standards¡­ Why?!"

    It was only then everyone came out of their regrets and remembered: The Fight happened in the deeperyers of the Trench. Somewhere where someone with Axel''s official qualification should not even be present.

    Meaning, this whole tragedy could have been avoided, and¡­ meaning that the Crown Prince could have been still alive.

    "Yes, what WAS he doing there? Not even the shallows, but directly in the Gravitational Layer?"

    "He could have been still alive..."

    Everyone began to question the situation now. It''s like watching your treasure getting robbed and then releasing that the treasure had been taken out of the vault and put in the middle of the thieves den before it was stolen.

    The General let out a sigh, wondering how to even answer that.

    That''s¡­ because of a series of unfortunate events." Said the General as he exined what happened.

    When the general was done, everyone felt extremely frustrated.

    "Kyrin! It''s her again!" Said the me head.

    "What was she thinking? Takingpletely new recruits into the Trench?" Eximed the Wind Head.

    Everyone was outraged.

    This was not a small matter. This was the death of their best chance at peace.

    Even if some one them might not give a shit about Axel, they sure want Kraken gone, whose ultimate goal is the destruction of the whole Kingdom.

    And Kyrin had the most fault in the matter. Had she not been so reckless and hadn''t broken rules, none of this would have happened.

    Of course everyone was angry at her.

    But, at this moment, Princess Anti, who had been quiet this whole time staring down woodenly, finally raised her head. "Kyrin is not the one to me." She stated, finally breaking her silence.

    When thinking about it, it really isn''t Kyrin''s fault. From the Space Turbulence to Space Whales, things happened in a way that no one could have predicted.

    "Those to me are still down there in the Trench."

    Aside from Axel''s terrible luck, the me can only be put on Aslot, who stopped at nothing to destroy the Crown Prince, even sacrificing himself, and on the Organisation, which corrupted the Royal Relic and helped Aslot regain his power.

    "I only have one purpose now: Revenge. I want to return Aslot and the Kraken every bit of pain Axel had to go through. And I... will stop at nothing to achieve it." She said, her eyes ice cold.

    "Make no mistake. This is my personal vendetta, not the Royal Will. There is no obligations for others to follow. But I will see this through to the end."

    Anti was done now. She was done being passive, she was done being patient, she was done being safe, and she was done making every decision in her life for the sake of the kingdom.

    When she was young, she witnessed the death of Royal Mother and Royal Father getting crippled. After that, her sister took over, and Anti grew extremely dependent on her.

    But then, her sister also left the Kingdom. Leaving Anti to handle the Kingdom all alone.

    Anti tried her best to keep the Kingdom stable while helping Royal Father, whose pains had further increased and whose health had further deteriorated. All in the hope, that her sister would return soon.

    But then, she received the news of her death.

    Anti was crushed by then. It was very difficult for Anti to recover from that. But still, she did. Because the Kingdom needed her. And her sister wouldn''t have wanted her efforts to be wasted like that.

    So, since then, she has been somehow managing, trying to passively defend the Kingdom to protect the long legacy.

    She didn''t ept it, but she has been unconsciously hoping for a miracle. With no acknowledgement from the Royal Throne, the Royal Trident gone, and the Kingdom so weakened, there was little she could do but be on the defensive.

    That went on for years.

    But then, the miracle actually happened. Her sister, whom she dearly missed, actually had a son. A son who reminded so much of her sister, whether it terms of reliability, talent, or confidence that it filled her with joy from deep within.

    The happiness was short-lived, though. And the fall was like heaven to hell.

    Witnessing the brutal and horrific murder of her thirteen year old boy, something broke inside Anti.

    Now, She. Doesn''t. Care. She no longer has it in her to care. All she wants is to wage war and have revenge for Axel, thest family member she lost.

    And if Anti knows anything about her Royal Sister, she would want the same, the Kingdom be damned.

    Anti looked around at the table. "I know that we''ve been passive this whole time in the war, focusing on reinforcing the seal first.But that is getting us nowhere and leaving us exposed to attacks from the Squids.Therefore, I propose applying a more aggressive strategy on defeating the Kraken. I will only proceed with those who agree. Your choice ispletely voluntary."

    There was silence in the meeting room as everyone exchanged nces. But then Ender just nodded his head.

    "I''m with Anti. This guy not only saved me, but also ended that bastard Tronis. So, I am definitely all for revenge."

    "So am I," said Sylthia, who had been silent the whole time. She didn''t provide any reasons, only keeping them in her heart.

    "It''s nothingpared to the Kingdom''s loss, but I have also lost my son." said the me Elder, fire burning in his eyes. Among the two Kingdom''s relics that were found at the site, one of them belonged to the me Septis. "Kraken must burn for this."

    In the Relic Wielder Division''s fight against Aslot, his son was the first one Aslot used the Royal Curse on, since, having the power of fire, his son posed the most significant threat to Aslot.

    Though his son had managed to escape at the time, but since his Relic was with Aslot, it is safe to conclude that Aslot hunted him downter on and the wielder is no longer alive.The me Septis will not let this drift by.

    The Principal of Royal Academy sighed. "I will ask you all to reconsider. We currently neither have the Royal Trident, nor the Royal Throne. We can''t tread this war recklessly," he said, stopping the domino effect.

    "And to think we had almost regained both the relics¡­" said the Commander-in-chief bitterly.

    The Royal Trident, giving the Wielder the ability to harness the power of the sea itself, is the most powerful attacking relic. And the Royal Throne, giving the wielderplete control over the Kingdom''s ancient defense system, is the most powerful defensive weapon.

    And they could have actually regained both since there was such a capable Royal Prince alive this whole time, who almost defeated Aslot.

    But the Principal has a point. The reality is that, right now, the Kingdom has neither of the Relics which have kept Kraken at bay throughout these millenia. the Royal Trident is with Aslot and the Royal Throne is empty, no longer acknowledging neither the King nor Anti, going intoplete shut-down.

    So, this is really not the time to be reckless like they could be a few decades back. There''s a high chance they might actually lose if they made a wrong move.

    That''s why, even though everyone was frustrated and wanted to join the Princess, they hesitated.

    At this moment, the Lightning Septis Head shook his head. "To be honest, I would have tried to oppose rushing into revenge irrationally as well, but¡­ the Crown Prince has actually made this idea feasible."

    "Indeed." Agreed the Wind Head. "Three overseers are down, and Aslot is extremely weakened at the moment. So, no matter what, this really is the best window of opportunity we have, before Aslot regains his power and the Kraken reces the Overseers. At least the Royal Trident and Throne won''t be used by the enemy."

    "The Wind Head is right. Even since we don''t have the Royal Relic, at least Aslot also can''t use it for the time being. As for the Royal Throne, it''s a pity that we almost regained it, but since we don''t have it, our defense is currently at its weakest. I also believe that attacking would be our best move now." Said the General.

    "Let''s also not forget the fact that he prevented the Biopark incident, killed three overseers, and saved the Kingdom by sacrificing his life against Aslot. We owe it to him to fight," said Lady Garmos.

    "I have been onboard since the moment I saw that Glorious fight," said the Commander-in-chief. "Compared to what HE went through, and overcame, our troubles are worth nothing."

    One by one, the leaders expressed their support over aggressively attacking the Kraken. And thus, on 10/13/5335 of the Antean calendar, the War between Kingdoms and Kraken entered therge-scale mobilization stage.

    Around the same time, in the Royal Sanitorium, Akiko, who had been unconscious this whole time, jerked awake as the lights dimmed.

    In the darkness, only a pair of eyes could be seen, having red pupils with ck rings around them.

    And they were hungry for revenge.

    ¡­.

    A.N.: Next: Still Alive!

    Next next: Axel, The Royal Trident Wielder

    I need stones on Monday. We''ve already gotten #1 this week

    it''s a new month Come read ahead for action packed final war /Snollygoster

 Chapter 234: Still Alive!

    Chapter 234: Still Alive!

    Chapter 226

    2 Monthster. . .

    ¡ªHogwarts¡ª

    September was here. And just like usual, the new term had already started.

    But in this term, things are different.

    Axel Hunt, the most famous person of the time, suddenly disappeared, creating absolute chaos.

    And after that, a book was released called "The Life and Lies of Axel Hunt", which quickly became a global best-seller.

    The kind of eventful life this person had lived was so shockingly tragic and impressive that it made many people fanatic about Axel.

    It has to be noted that the book was created in thetest magical format, meaning it had moving pictures and recorded shorts as proof of information, so that people know for real that what was written was actually true.And then there was the big reveal, in which Rita Skeeter, (who actually turned out to be the author Miss Gossip), dropped a mass release of a ton of damning information on various famous and important people.

    Since then, the Wizarding Britain has been in a state ofplete anarchy. Especially with the revtion of the words Minister ck said to Axel Hunt.

    Now, the situation at Hogwarts is that, meeting after two months, all the students do is gossip about the various things that have happened.

    "So, is that Minister still not showing up?"

    "Nope. She''s gonepletely AWOL. That bitch!"

    "Why hasn''t she been arrested yet?"

    "Well, she technically didn''t break anyw."

    "What?! But, shouldn''t she face some kind punishment for what she did? Why don''t they sack her?"

    "How? More than half the Wizengamot is in her pocket, the rest don''t have the guts to oppose that mad bitch."

    "Anyways, did you hear about the Mcgowells? ever knew Taylor Mcgowell had three mistresses!"

    "And he was abusive too! Poor Julia¡­"

    "Yeah, and to think I''ve been crushing on him ever since I saw his first movie¡­"

    "I''m d Julia is filing for divorce and pressing charges! That''s what he deserves!"

    "Did you hear about the Miss Wizarding World? Apparently she really did use dark magic to achieve those looks, something about sacrificing babies. Who would have thought, right?"

    "Yeah, she always used to portray herself as so¡­ innocent. Like she was some saint or something."

    "Well, as they say, never judge a book by its cover. ''Some'' people''s appearances can be highly deceptive."

    "Of course. Who knows who can be a dark magician?"

    "I know, right? So sickening!"

    "Shhh! Not so loud! She can hear you!"

    "So what? I''m not scared of her!"

    "Yeah, what will she do? Cast Crutiatus on us?"

    Daphne had a deadpan hearing the boring conversation on the table. But still, she felt the grip on her hand tighten considerably.

    "Calm down, Tory. Don''t listen to them." She said to her sister exasperatedly.

    "But they are being so mean!" Comined Astoria, fuming. "I never thought Hogwarts would be so bad!"

    Daphne sighed. Astoria was now eleven, meaning she could finally go to the ce she had been dreaming about for years.

    But so far, it has to be said that her experience has been far from her dreams.

    Since the deeds of their kind father have been made public, there have been two raids at their house, business has received a bacsh, their mother can''t go anywhere public, and of course, the sisters are objects of all kinds of rumors and persecution here at Hogwarts.

    Naturally, Astoria has not been impressed.

    And of course, there is the most important factor.

    "When will Axele back?!"

    Axel is not here.

    The recent fantasies of Astoria always had her, her sister, and Axel, the three of them having fun at Hogwarts. But Axel has disappeared somewhere and her sister, who is always worried, would not tell her where he is, let alone when he''ll be back!

    Daphne gritted her teeth. "I told you, Tory. Do NOT talk about him in public."

    If the people here found out that Daphne had information about Axel''s whereabouts, the two of them would be mobbed.

    "I asked¡ª" Astoria began, but then lowered her voice. "I just asked when he''lle back! Everyone is asking that question, Daphi. No one would suspect us. And, you still haven''t answered my question!"

    Daphne rolled her eyes. Of course she didn''t answer the question. What was she supposed to say? "For thest time, Tory. I have no idea!"

    "But how can you not know? Wasn''t he your boyfriend?! Did you guys break up?"

    "He''s NOT¡ª" Daphne unconsciously raised her voice. "He''s not my b-boyfriend!" She whispered harshly while looking around in caution.

    "Ohe on! Did you see the look on his face when you didn''t remember him? How are you guys not a couple?! He was like a kicked puppy. And you think about him practically all the time! You have a pillow named Axel for Merlin''s sak¡ª"

    With her face as red as an apple, Daphne had to silence her over talkative sister with her wand before she spilled any more beans.

    "Shut¡­ the fuck up!"

    "Let''s go. We''re clearly not eating anything anyway." She muttered, grabbing her hand and getting up.

    "Hey Daphne! Did you really befriend Axel to take revenge?" Someone called out on their way out.

    "You did, right? After all, he did kill your daddy!" Another one yelled.

    Even under the Silencing spell, Astoria wanted to yell back, but Daphne just dragged her out, taking her to Axel''s hideout.

    Since there''s a lot of anger against them, the dorms are no longer safe. So, like Axel, the sisters have been sleeping at this ce in order to guard against any vengeful ''pranks''.

    It was now only now did Daphne undo the spell on Astoria.

    "Why did you stop me again?!" She burst out as soon as she could speak.

    "What would you have done if I hadn''t stopped you?"

    "Isn''t it obvious?! I would have told them the truth! That our father was the one who did bad things! Not us! He even did bad things to mother and me!"

    "Okay, so the three of us knew of his crimes but we did not report them. That makes us essory to those crimes. Do you not know that?!"

    "But¡­But if we had reported it, he would''ve had us killed!"

    Daphne rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Good luck exining that to everyone. And that would only make us victims with weak and cowardly personalities. Tell me, Astoria, are we weak and cowardly?"

    "I¡­" Astoria shut up after that, looking down at the ground. "We''re¡­. We''re not. Not anymore¡­" She said, finally looking up.

    "Exactly!" Said Daphne, gripping Asoria''s shoulder. "We now control the Greengrass Empire. We''re one of the richest and most influential families in Magical Britain. We''re no longer the weak and helpless girls we used to be. As for the people bothering us¡­" Daphne''s eyes turned cold. "You''ll notice that none of those stupid people have a powerful background. They''ll stop when their families go bankrupt."

    Astoria was silent for a while, looking at her sister. "You are always so strong¡­"

    "Strong?" Daphneid down powerlessly on the couch. "I wasn''t strong before. I was just prickly, trying to scare everyone away with a false facade. HE taught me what being strong actually means."

    If this was the Daphne of the past, she wouldn''t have been able to handle the current situation. She would have been panicking everyday for Astoria''s safety.

    But now, this situation just seems childish to her. Now in her third year, she can already wipe the floor with seventh years. It''s just that no one worthy to be the sacrificialmb has provoked them so far, making her wait for the right opportunity.

    "And even now, in terms of one subject, I''m stillpletely weak and helpless." She said, feeling mncholy.

    Unfortunately, her current abilities are still far from enough to solve her real troubles.

    2 months and there''s been no word! How is she supposed to know anything?! She''s been dying of worry. Not to mention how much she misses him.

    She would have only missed him if he had gone anywhere else. But this is Antis! The most powerful ce on Earth, housing the most dangerous people and weapons!That leaves her always worried about his safety.

    Most importantly, it''s obvious that he went because of her! Because not only is she too weak to help, she''s too weak to even protect herself, which is not the case for Akiko and Martina.

    If he hadn''t gone for the Kraken, they would havee for HIM. And after failing, they would have gone for his weakness, which, after eliminating Martina and Akiko since they''re too strong, is her.

    So, there''s also a healthy amount of guilt and self-loathing too.

    In short, it''s getting really hard for her to continue.

    Just one word. All she needs is just one word from him that he''s safe. And he should know that. But, it has been two months and there''s been no word.

    From what she''s heard, the situation there is getting more and more serious and there''s been no word about Axel.

    "Daphi." said Astoria squeezing her hand. "Don''t keep it yourself. I worry too."

    Daphne sighed, shaking her head. "You have to stay out of this. The less you know, the better."

    "But¡ª"

    At this moment, the door opened and Martina walked in, holding aptop. "I got it! I finally got it!" Her purple hair were disheveled and her eyes had dark circles beneath them.

    For convenience, Martina has also been living here since this ce is much more convenient than her suitcase for ab. At least no one can steal this ce while she''s inside.

    Daphne stood up immediately. "Did you?!"She asked excitedly.

    Martina has been trying to hack into Antis''s servers to find out information on Axel. They were so excited when they found videos of Axel''s trial and the Biopark incident.

    But then, they found that any other information on Axel had been ssified into the top-secret category, which was near impossible to break through even for someone like Martina.

    "You did?!" Asked another voice as Rose Potter popped her head out of another room.

    "Why are YOU here?" Asked Astoria in surprise.

    Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh,e on! How am I supposed to live at the dorms when my Aunt is currently the Enemy number one?"

    Like the Greengrass sisters, Rose was also facing a simr situation. She was devastated when she found out that Axel had such injuries for the whole first year while she had been a bitch to him. But then to see Aunty Be ckmailing him even in that condition¡­ well, she can''t me people for being angry.

    "Forget about me! Did you really get the top level clearance?!" Asked Rose, turning to Martina."Didn''t you say the water-wall of Antis (Network firewall) was impossible to crack?"

    "Antis? Wait, Axel is in Antis?" Asked Astoria, but Daphne shushed her down.

    "It was! That''s why it took two months for me to crack it! I had to learn everything from the start, not only about their technology andnguage, but also their history, culture, and system. By now, I know more about Antis than Antians themselves."

    "Well genius, tell us already! What did you find out?"

    Martina bit her lips. "I¡­ I haven''t looked. I''m nervous."

    "Bring it here!" Said Daphne urgently.Daphne put theptop on herp and the three girls crowded around her.

    Biting her lips, Daphne opened the file and looked through the information.

    "Name: Axel Regius Arhunt

    Age: 13

    Father: Tristan xius Arhunt

    Mother: Atlena Regius Ignis

    Relics: None

    Bloodline: Direct Antian Royal, Secondary Ignis"

    "They know that he''s a Royal!" Said Rose in surprise.

    That made thingsplicated. As far as they were aware, since they didn''t know the Royal Family''s intentions, Axel was going to keep his identity secret while dealing with the Kraken. But it seems that the n has failed since his file clearly states his identity.

    "Axel¡­ Axel is a Royal?!" On the other hand, Astoria''s world was copsing. "How is he a royal? Oh Merlin! Can he still marry my sister?!"

    "Tory, shut up!" Said Daphne, her eyes on the screen as she scrolled further.

    Further down, the information was:

    Parameters

    Strength: S

    Agility: SS

    Dexterity: SSS+

    Intelligence: S+

    Physique: SS

    Mana: A

    Talent: Immeasurable

    Power Level: 8 Stars

    Skills:

    Weapon Arts: Knife Wielding (SSS+)

    Affinity Arts: Royal Water Arts: (SSS+), Ignis Lightning Arts: (S), Varnox Wind Arts: (A)

    Movement Arts: SS+

    .

    .

    .

    "Whut¡ª" Martina''s jaw dropped when she saw Axel''s information. "How is that possible?"

    "What does it mean?" Asked Daphne, having no idea.

    Martina, who had already seen hundreds of files by now, knew what those parameters meant. "It''s higher! It''s much much higher than it was thest time! And he was already the strongest in the outer world then!"

    Martina couldn''tprehend how that was possible. She was already surprised by Axel when he fought against Voldemort and the two Kraken overseers. But now, he''s suddenly be many times more powerful.

    "He was already the strongest?" Asked Rose. "Then how powerful is he now?"

    "Well, his power level is 8 stars, which is the highest in Altantis. Someone with that level of power can destroy Hogwarts in a single move." Martina was still having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

    !!!

    Rose gulped while Astoria looked to be in awe. On the other hand, Daphne quickly scrolled further, still hungry for more information.

    "Height: 170

    Weight: 66

    Hair color: ck

    Eye Color: Amber/Blue

    Affiliations: ck Ops Division (former), Royal Family

    D.O.B.: 1/8/5322

    D.O.D: 10/11/5335

    Status: Deceased, Blood Crown, Order of Mariner-8 Stars"

    Theptop almost dropped herp when she read thest bit. That''s how badly she was shaking.

    "De-Deceased?" Rose stuttered, like she couldn''t understand the concept.

    "That... that can''t be right. They already know he has Royal ancestry, so... so maybe they''re being safe," said Martina, her voice trembling.

    But when Daphne scrolled further, their worst fears came true as they saw in an image of Axel horribly injured. Below it was a short video file, disying Axel''s final moments. Further below¡­ were the images of the funeral.

    Theptop dropped to the ground.

    Rose put a hand on mouth,pletely in shock.

    "This¡­ this can''t be true!" Martina picked theptop back up, frantically trying to find out, trying to prove that the information was false.

    "Daphi! No! Daphi!" On the other hand, Astoria panicked badly when she saw Daphne''s condition. Magical chains were appearing all over her body, which had begun emitting an ominous aura.

    "What''s happening to her?!" Asked Rose urgently.

    "It''s the family curse! It''s back!" Yelled Astoria, half crying, half panicked.

    "What?! What do we do?! How do we stop it?"

    "I¡­ I don''t know. Last time she stopped it on her own. Daphi! Do something!"

    But Daphne was just looking at Martina, who was looking at the screen in abject horror. "Is it¡­ Is it true?" She asked.

    Martina tore her eyes away from the screen, pain apparent on her face. She looked like a lost child. "True."

    The chains solidified as Daphne lost consciousness.

    "She isn''t trying to fight it!" Said the Astoria.

    "What do we do now?!"

    "I¡­ I have no idea! Daphi! Wake Up!"

    Rose and Astoria kept panicking while Martina looked nkly into the air.

    "I know what to do," said Martina after a while, getting up numbly. You could tell she was using lumency. "Axel¡­" her voice trembled when she said his name. "Before going, Axel told me what to do in case something like this happened," she said, levitating Daphne.

    "He had already found the cure, but Daphne wouldn''t ept it. So he told us what to do in case she contracts it again."

    Maybe she didn''t want to bear the pain alone, maybe she thought Daphne would want to remember Axel, or maybe she still had a hope that Axel might return. But Martina did as Axel had told her and took her to the room where Axel hadn''t allowed any of them in.

    Inside was aplex ritual circle with various materials ced at different spots. In the middle, was a wand that was a familiar wand levitating mid-air.

    "Isn''t that¡ª?"

    "Axel wand¡­" whispered Martina, whose family had customized the wand themselves. "He left it here¡­"

    "He didn''t take it to Antis?!" Asked Rose in surprise.

    A wand is a wizard''s most important tool, protective armament and weapon! You are going to the most dangerous ce. Thest you can do is go there fully armed! Rose thought it wasmon sense!

    "The branch of the World Tree¡­ It''s the most important part of the Ritual. The final piece..." said Martina, reading the ritual circle, having figured it out just now herself as she remembered the list he had given her. "He¡­ left it for Daphne."

    ¡­.

    4 monthster¡­

    In an unknown location.

    Water started gathering in a mass, before it formed into a human body shape.

    Axel slowly opened his eyes, finally regaining consciousness.

    [Wee back, Axel]

    Axel slowly opened his eyes, one blue, one amber and took in a deep breath. "How much time?" That''s all he asked.

    "6 months, 4 days, five hours, 23 minutes, 57 seconds."

    Feeling the tremendous power surging through him, he looked at the Royal Trident in his hand.

    He sighed. "Not worth it at all."

    ...

    A.N.: Powerstones

    Exination on how he survived in the next chapter.

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 235: Axel, the Wielder of Royal Trident

    Chapter 235: Axel, the Wielder of Royal Trident

    "Not worth it at all."

    The first thing that came to his mind was: Daphne is going to kill me.

    He had promised to call every few days to report. And he would have, too. Even if themunications are blocked, he could have easily asked Kyrin for help. Hell, he could have directly walked upto the technomancy department. Could anyone really stop him?

    But they ended up getting stranded here, and then he almost died for 6 fucking months. So, he really didn''t get the chance.

    By now, Daphne would have been worried sick.

    As for Martina, well, she must have been panicking, but not as much as Daphne.

    The problem is, 6 months really is a long time. There''s no way they wouldn''t think of the worst conclusions for not contacting.

    Then there was Akiko. She must still think he''s missing. No, the explosion! She must have seen that too. And if the relics were found¡­

    "Damn it."This really wasn''t worth it at all. Daphne, Martina and Akiko. All three must have done something desperate after him going MIA for so long.

    ''Well, hope things haven''t changed much.'' he thought. Of course, he had no fucking idea how wrong he was.

    The first thing he had to do was to get some clothes. Since even his body couldn''t escape, of course there''d be no clothes either.

    ''Storage space too?'' Axel sighed as he realized he had lost all of his belongings. There were a lot of important things in there, including his food, clothing, and a lot of other valuable stuff.

    "So, just like the old days, huh?" It just like the old days, when he had nothing. Of course, that wasn''t exactly the case, was it?

    [Magic Hands]

    Clothes were conjured out of thin air which Axel quickly put on. As for the food, well, he will have to manage with water.

    Axel tried moving his body, and felt ufortable all over, which, should be the case after it had to be reconstructed.

    Checking the condition, he found that it had been reconstructed as good as new. ''What about the soul?''

    Surprisingly, he found that even his soul had recovered, and even bing stronger than before. ''Perks of the new bloodline, maybe.''

    Of course, the price was 6 months. And he did almost die too.That explosion would have definitely killed him.

    Then, how did he survive?

    They were both going to be blown up, and Aslot had the Royal Trident, which could protect him.

    But, what Aslot did not know was that Axel had an overpowered skill: [Unshackle], which he had been using on the Royal Trident, slowly removing Aslot''s control over it.

    When Aslot brought out the dimensional bombs, it suddenly led to a Eureka moment as amidst the thought of ''I''m to die'', Axel realized, ''I can use that too!''

    So, in thest moment, borrowing the power of the dimensional bombs, Axel Unshackled the Royal Relic from the Entity''s and Aslot''s control.

    Once that happened, Aslot lost the protection of the Royal Relic. And the Royal Relic, which had been calling out to Axel throughout the fight, quickly bonded with him, thus saving him from the explosion.

    In simple terms, take it as Aslot strapping himself with a parachute and dragging Axel with him to jump from a ne. But at thest moment, Axel snatched away the parachute, using it to save himself and letting Aslot die from his own n.

    That''s how Axel is still alive while Aslot is finally gone. It was a fucking close call. Axel almost got burnt to death, but at thest moment, he gained [Water Body], and the Relic''s protection, getting the power to regenerate his physical body.

    "Let''s never do that again," he thought.

    Really, fighting Aslot was a big mistake. He thought he could take him, and he almost had too. He was winning! But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Aslot would have something as dangerous as the Soul Extinguisher, much less he''d use it on a 13 year old. And if he hadn''t used the Soul Extinguisher, Axel could have easily stopped him from using thatst move.

    The thing with Aslot was, he had a really good battle sense. Axel tried to keep baiting him into thinking he was winning all the time in order to control the fight''s tempo, but Aslot understood that after a while and went full power mode, not even caring about his own losses.

    Like, how many people as strong as Aslot would use the [Soul Extinguisher] without hesitation at that moment, when they are clearly the one winning? Axel was so badly injured and had no magical or physical energy left. And he was 13!

    The logical conclusion was to keep on attacking till the kid depletes his mental energy and get an easy win.

    But Aslot saw more. Somehow, through intuition or through calctions, he knew that if the fight went on like this, he''d lose. And so, without hesitation, he used a spell so painful and damaging to his own soul rather than taking his chances to ensure his victory.

    And even when that didn''t work, the old man didn''t give Axel any chance. Not letting Axel recover, he quicklyunched an even more powerful attack, which Axel would have otherwise stopped had he been in a better condition.

    And this attack really would have killed him, had Axel not have his own card up his sleeve. So, with an opponent as batshit crazy as that¡­ there''s a high chance Axel could have really died in that fight.

    ''Anyways, it did pay off,'' he muttered, raising the Royal Trident.

    ''System, Where am I right now?" Asked Axel finally. He thought it was just because he still hadn''t recovered, but he was experiencing some serious difort right now. His head felt like it would explode any time.

    [You are currently in the deepestyer of the Abyss, the Mindyer. No Antian has ever stepped into thisyer without serious mental protection tools.]

    ''Well, fuck me. How did I get here?''

    "Thou art awake, my prince!"

    At this moment, he heard another voice in his head, different from the system''s. This one sounded real, with emotions, rather the system''s emotionless mechanical voice.

    "Who the fuck?!" Eximed Axel, looking around.

    "''tis I, the mighty Trident Nerinthos, Royal Sovereign of the Deep, my Prince! Thou hast unshackled me from my bonds. Thy bravery hath loosened my chains, and for this, my thanks shall echo through the ages!"

    ''...The heck?'' It was only then that Axel found the mental link with the Trident in the corner of his mind. It was simr to the one he had with his wand.

    But he was still surprised. He knew the Royal Trident had a consciousness of its own. That''s how he knew it was asking him to free it. But that was through emotions and mental signals, not full-fledged old-fashioned Antiannguage.

    "...You can speak?"

    "Verily, I can speak, and speak with wisdom! For I am Trident Nerinthos, the sage counselor of monarchs! s, ''tis a long time sincest I was permitted to utter a word. The ursed infidels hath subjected me to torments most foul and unspeakable, silencing my voice and stifling my counsel! For this freedom, I shall be forever in thy debt, and my gratitude shall know no bounds!"

    Axel shrugged. "Well, I had to free you. You''d have killed me otherwise."

    "Nay, good sir! Thou art a warrior of unyielding valor, an immortal champion beyondpare! That dastardly brute, with all his might, could never vanquish thee, even had I lent them the full measure of my mystical powers!"

    ''Yep, this guy thinks I''m a god.'' Thought Axel in confirmation. Though thinking about it, Axel did free it from restrictions that were supposed to be unbreakable after going through a fight that was unwinnable. How else to exin that?

    No matter who watches that fight, not even in their wildest dreams would they think he could have the ability to unshackle the Royal Relic, let alone that he''d manage to do it at thest moment.

    "Alright, I don''t have time for ttery. Do you know which way is the exit? I need to go to the Kingdom." Axel has priorities. First of all, he needs to go back and tell people he''s still alive. He might have bonded to the most powerful weapon in the world, but he can''t really test it out right now.

    "Certes, I know the path well! Forsooth, I have traversed these realms for ages past, and their twists and turns are etched in my mind like the lines on a well-worn map."

    "The kingdom lieth in yonder direction, my prince!" said the shining silver Trident, pointing itself opposite the way Axel had been drifted all these months.

    Axel sighed. "Seriously?"

    If the kingdom is that way then it''s really going to take a long time to go back. "Guess it time to see if I''ve be any faster." he muttered, tapping into the tremendous power he had been feeling for a while.

    Suddenly, blue energy red up around Axel as the oppression he had been feeling from the surroundings vanished into thin air. Water gathered around him and Axel suddenly felt¡­ different. He felt as if he was free¡­ boundless. He felt like he was the ocean itself. He felt his body getting lighter and lighter.

    When he looked down, his body was slowly turning into water.

    "The [Water Body]... so, that''s what it is¡­" he murmured, studying the mysterious state he was in. This state was the reason why Axel couldn''t cut Aslot down right when the fight started. This is the reason why almost all of Aslot''s injuries were self-inflicted and, this is also the reason why Axel didn''t die from the explosion.

    The state of near-invincibility. He had tried so hard to achieve this during his fight against Aslot, and he thought he hade pretty close too. But now, experiencing the real thing, he felt that the gap between the two was as big as the depth of the sea.

    Of course, even now, he hadn''t exactly learned this skill, it just came naturally when tapping into the relic''s powers. It''s like copy-pasting aputer program. Just because the code is working does mean you learnt the coding behind it.

    "Now, how did he travel?" Wondered Axel, recalling just how fast the bastard was.

    [Skill Steal]

    Axel suddenly found himself around a kilometer ahead, and it didn''t even feel like he moved! Rather, it felt like the world had moved while he remained stationary.

    "Sweet!"

    With this, it should take no time to reach the Kingdom. The sooner he''s there, the sooner he can call Daphne and Martina and get scolded for worrying them. As for Akiko, well, with this power, he can easily take revenge for her. That should make up for it for her.

    "By the depths, thou dost take to my controls like a duck to water! And, I must confess, I didst think thy mother would be the most adept sorceress I hadst encountered in a long while, but thy own aptitude doth outshine hers!" Commented the Royal Trident as Axel began mastering control over the relic while traveling using Aslot''s technique.

    Axel''s speed suddenly slowed down as he came to an obvious realization: "You knew my mother."

    Ana Regius Ignis. The crown Princess. Since it''s the Royal Relic, that means that it''s previous legitimate owner was his mother.

    Axel didn''t know how he felt about that. He didn''t even know how he felt about his mother. He didn''t me her for leaving him. He didn''t me her for not caring about him. If there was anything he med her for, it was for leaving him at a muggle orphanage.

    From what he knows about the Kingdom''s situation, it''s not so dangerous here. And Anti and the General seem good enough people. If she really had to leave him, she could have at least left him here at Antis. At least it would have been much better than growing up in thepany of sewer rats.

    "Ah, aye! Thy mother Ana. She was a warrior of unparalleled prowess, and a monarch of unimpeachable wisdom! She would have brought peace and prosperity back to the kingdom¡­ had not that treacherous Astrot dealt us a blow most foul and unexpected!"

    ''Nothing new.'' Axel kept flying, ignoring the Trident''s babblings as background noise. That''s what everyone says. The Crown Princess was great, the crown princess was powerful, and the crown princess would have won, had she not been betrayed by¡ª

    "Wait. Astrot?" Axel frowned.

    That didn''t make sense at all. It was Aslot who helped defeat his mother. Astrot is the name of¡ª

    "Aye, Astrot! Her father, and thy grandfather, who didst forsake all honor and loyalty, to sumb to the Entity''s corrupting influence! I didst rescue him from the jaws of death, and this is the thanks I receive? That he doth spit in my face, and join forces with the very darkness that didst seek to im his soul?"

    {Didst means did. Doth= do, singr}

    Axel stopped moving, digesting what he had just heard.

    The previous king, or his grandfather, who is terminally sick after his fight against Aslot. From what the Relic say, it seems that, he actually gave in to the Kraken''s power.

    So, the betrayer Tronis was talking about. The one who managed to stop Ana, who had been wielding the Royal Trident¡­

    "It was¡­ the previous king? How is that possible?"

    "How canst thou doubt the truth of it? He was afflicted with pain every moment, and his behavior grew stranger by the day! He didst impose harsh restrictions, his temper growing short,shing out at her with unprovoked ire! We didst suspect that some dark influence hadst taken hold of him, and that suspicion didst drive Ana to flee the kingdom, to conceive thee in secret, and to keep thee safe from his grasp!"

    Axel just stood there, stunned as the words slowly sunk in.

    Suddenly, everything was making sense.

    The real reason why his mother fled the Kingdom, why she conceived him in secret, and why she didn''t left him at the Orphanage. It''s because she suspected that the previous king was sumbing to the power of the Entity.

    And her suspicions did turn out to be true. Only, she wouldn''t have expected to find the King right at the Kraken''s headquarters, waiting to ambush her.

    Aslot AND her own father. Yep, that exins why his parents lost even when one had the Royal Trident and other had 2 relics of his own.

    "Fuck¡­ fuckfuckfuck!" Axel suddenly increased his speed. If the King has already beenpromised, then the kingdom is not safe!

    That means... Akiko is in danger too!

    As for Kyrin and his Aunt, well he''d rather they not die too.

    "Wait, my prince! There is something you must know!"

    "What is it now?!" Asked Axel, not stopping.

    "They have been corrupting the Royal Throne as well."

    "The Royal Throne¡­too?"

    .....

    A.N.: <strong>Powerstones! For today and tomorrow</strong>

    <strong>Come read ahead! /Snollygoster</strong>

 Chapter 236: A New Opponent

    Chapter 236: A New Opponent

    A.N.: So, the Royal Trident speaks old-fashioned Antiannguage. I tried to convey that using Shakespearean english in thest chapter.

    But I think that may be a bit of a chore to understand for some people so I''m using normal english in this chapter and you guys can assume it''s old-fashioned Antian.

    Let me know which one you guys prefer >

    ....

    "The Royal Throne too¡­?"

    Axel really didn''t know what to make of that information, but it sure as hell didn''t sound good.

    "Yes!" Relied the Trident. "When those inked-stained infidels seeded in sumbing the king to their side, they thought they had the whole Kingdom. Little did they know that I had already been passed on to the Princess and the Royal Throne no longer recognized the coward as its master."

    "So, they had the pawn-King expel the Princess from the Castle, far away from the Royal Throne, and started the Process of corrupting the Throne too! From what I know, they might have seeded by now."

    "So, another Royal Relic potentially gone, huh? This changes things..." Axel murmured, starting to think. The Royal Throne. He had heard that it was also a Relic, but it hadn''t been functioning properly for a while. The rest seems confidential.

    Axel decided to ask the system.

    ''System, what does the Royal Throne do?''

    [Basically, it''s a relic that grants its master total control over Antis itself. From weather to the kingdom''s defense systems, the ruler can control everything.]

    ''What the¡ª? Axel was blown away. Seriously, was the Royal Relic not enough?

    The more he hears about the Organisation''s ns, the more it scares him. First they had those Keys which led to god knows which ce. Then they have the fucking bomb-sts, monster invasion, and an overpowered madman with Royal Relic.

    And now, they''re aiming to haveplete control over the Kingdom?

    With the way Kraken is bringing out one card after another, it''s a surprise that the Kingdom hasn''t been already destroyed. Just as he was trying to increase his speed, the relic interrupted him again.

    "Wait, my prince! We can''t go!"

    "What are you talking about?" Axel was currently very impatient. He had just woken up and realized he had lost 6 months of his life, and now all he could think about was the consequences and damage control.

    "The same reason your mother couldn''t go! The Royal Castle!"

    "The Royal Castle?"

    "Yes, made to be thest defense line of the Kingdom, the Royal Castle has the most powerful ancient defense system, designed by the Aetherians themselves. With the old king having control over that, you can''t even reach him."

    "That''s¡­ right." It was only then did Axel remember. The Royal Castle. That''s not a relic, but a magical marvel. From the information he has gathered, it has withstood all the wars of the Kingdom so far.

    And the old King still has control over that. As long as he''s in it, no one can damage him. It''s the reason why Aslot attacked him outside the Castle, and that too with a surprise attack.

    "Then how do I take away the control over the castle from him?"

    "The wards have been keyed to him. If you want to overwrite the permissions, you need to take the Royal Throne," replied the Trident.

    "And I can''t do that with the King having control over the castle! It''s a paradox!" Said Axel in frustration.

    He was able to piece together the whole story now.

    The King got control over the Castle when he sat on the Royal Throne. When he started leaning towards the dark side, the Royal Throne no longer acknowledged him as his master, but he retained his control over the castle.

    Ana, having noticed something amiss, temporarily ran away from the castle so that no harmes to Axel. But when she returned, it was already toote as she found the king ambushing her at the Kraken''s base.

    Now Axel faces the same problem his mother faced: Can''t enter the castle. Only, it''s worse now since there''s a chance they might have also sessfully taken control over the Royal Throne.

    ''System, is what this Relic saying actually true?'' Axel asked, just to confirm. He really couldn''t believe a weapon''s words on the matter. Especially if the said weapon had been trying to kill him in theirst interaction.

    [Not only is it true, but what the Royal Trident doesn''t know is that, in the past six months, the Kraken has already seeded in taking over the Royal Throne.]

    ''What?! Already?''

    As if it wasn''t bad enough. If the Kraken has actually got the throne, then it''s the worst case scenario. There are so many ways to destroy the Kingdom once you have full control over Antis.

    ''What do I do now?!''

    In this situation, he might get detected and attacked as soon as entering the Kingdom, IF there is still a Kingdom left, to begin with.

    [Do not panic. The Kingdom hasn''t been destroyed yet. There''s a way to save it. And you already have the answer.]

    ''... Do you think it''s funny to talk cryptically right now?! Just tell me how!''

    [The Mission. You just need toplete it.]

    ''Mission?'' Axel frowned, then he remembered. He actually had a mission! The first part was getting the Royal Relic and the second part was¡ª

    "Reinforcing the Seal!" He said out aloud, also getting his answer.

    The Aetherian Seal, which currently restrains the Entity. All this is happening because the seal has been getting weaker and weaker, allowing the Entity to use its powers to do things that should not be possible.

    Due to that power, Kraken was able to control the monsters at the Bio Park, Tronis was able to finally defeat Ender, and Aslot was able to be the most powerful person in the world.

    Simrly, the Royal Throne must have also been corrupted due to that power.

    So, the best way to stop Kraken right now would be¡­to Reinforce the weakened seal.

    "Can''t dy this, can I?" Muttered Axel bitterly, turning in the opposite direction.

    What he really wants to do right now is to somehow find out whether Daphne and others are alright and also inform them that he''s still alive.

    But the situation is forcing him to go for the seal like a tidal wave changing the route of a ship. Right now, he''s in thestyer of the Trench, meaning he''s really close to the Seal, and the Kingdom might be destroyed at any moment.

    He can''t really hit pause and first go check on his friends, can he? If the kingdom ispletely destroyed, the Entity would be free. And that is game over for everyone.

    Sighing, he began flying in the opposite direction.

    "My-My Prince, where are we going?"

    "To the seal. To reinforce it," said Axel, not stopping.

    "I was about to suggest just that! As expected of the greatest prodigy!"

    Axel decided that someday, he''s going to set aside some time to dial down the godly image of him that has been built in this Relic''s mind.

    But right now, his own mind was facing pretty serious load the further he progressed.

    "What the hell is up with this ufortable feeling?" Asked the Axel, rubbing his head.

    "Right! The Mental pressure! How could I forget?! We''re currently in the deepestyer of the Trench, meaning the Entity''s influence here is the greatest. What kind of mental security package do you currently have installed in your mind? Is it the R1 deep, avable only for the Royal Family members? Or have theye up with something better?"

    "Mental security package?"

    "Yes! This ce

    "The Entity can''t directly use its powers on you. But it can definitely affect your mind. And at such a close range, it''s not something you can withstand with ordinary mental security. You need the best mind protection installed in your head to be safe. So, which n do you currently have?"

    "Uh, I have none. Is that okay?"

    "...None?" The Relic took a pause, there, vibrating as if it couldn''t process that. "That is quite funny. Are you not willing to tell me? It''s important to know so I can determine whether we can proceed further or not."

    "I''m already telling you, I have none. You can check," he said, opening his mind to the mental link he had with the Trident.

    "This¡­ This can''t be right! We need to retreat as soon as possible!" Eximed the Trident, suddenly beginning to vibrate like a certain tool.

    ''System, can I really not go?'' Asked Axel.

    [Do you think you would be influence by the Entity?]

    Axel didn''t need to think about that. Is there anything that can affect his mind? Fuck no. From start, until now, everything has failed him, except his will.

    Having already gotten his answer, he began advancing towards the seal at a rapid pace. The deeper he went, the more pressure his mind had to bear, causing his lumency shields to work overtime.

    Of course, the Royal was still unable to understand how Axel still had an intact brain, but then it just seem to shake its prongs while muttering "as expected of the Prince".

    "A-Axel?"

    Just when he was progressing non-stop, he heard a voice from behind. Turning around, he found Anti far in the distance, looking at him in disbelief.

    As if having confirmed it actually was him, she began flying over a rapid speed. Behind her, Axel could also make out the silhouettes and the General, Kyrin, Akiko and the rest of the ck ops.

    "I¡­ I knew it!" Anti stopped a meter in front of Axel. "I knew you weren''t dead!" She eximed, rushing to hug him.

    "My Prince¡ª"

    BAM

    But before the Royal Trident could finish its words and before Anti could hug him, a fistnded squarely on her face, blowing her head clean off.

    "My Prince! You-You knew!:

    "As if I''d fall for it." Axel muttered in disgust, wiping his fist. It was clearly just an illusion, built in order to fool him. Axel''s mind wasn''t weak enough for shit like this.

    But the Entity didn''t seem to get the hint, as it continued to harass him with low-level tricks for the next few hours.

    "Just bear with it a little longer, My prince! We''re almost there!"

    "What? Already?" Asked Axel, feeling that it was too easy.

    "My prince. You''ve gone through the Hallucinations, Test of Will, Memory Alteration, Heightened emotions, Heighten Sensation, and Dream States, and Paranoia," said the Royal Relic, in a tone that seemed numbed from shock.

    "If only you knew how difficult it actually is," it said almostmentably. The Royal Relic has made several trips here with different rulers in order to reinforce the Seal. And every time, the toughest challenge had been thestyers, where they''d suffer the most losses.

    But just breezed through it all like taking a walk in his backyard. The Royal Trident was slowlying to terms with what Axel''s strongest suit actually was.

    "Is that forest our destination?" Asked Axel, finally seeing something for the first time in this barrennd. It was a vast forest with gigantic trees. The closer Axel went, the more he could feel the Atmosphere changing.

    "What? A forest?" The Trident suddenly came out of itsmentations when it heard something absurd. "There was never a fore¡ªWhat is that forest doing here?!" Thest time it was here, there was no sign of a forest in this ce. Then why was there suddenly a forest here? And it was no ordinary either. The trees here are as tall as 30 to 40 story buildings.

    "So where is the seal?" Asked Axel, surveying the area as they entered the vicinity. He didn''t really care where it was a forest or wastnd. All he needed to do was reinforce the seal and get back to the Kingdom as soon as possible.

    "The seal¡­ we''re already standing on it," said the Trident.

    What?! Axel suddenly jumped. This was NOT how he had imagined the ce containing the most dangerous Entity in three worlds to be like.

    The air was so fresh here. It felt like he was in one of the greenhouses of the Greengrass estate. And the atmosphere¡­

    "Is this¡­ light magic?" There was a magic he was familiar with present in the atmosphere. It was Light magic.

    He knew it because his wand has fairy core and World tree branch, both of which are filled with Light magic.

    But the question was, what was light magic doing here?

    "What do I do now?" Axel asked the Trident.

    "You were supposed to go to the center of the seal..." said the Trident, trying to make sense of the changes.

    "And where is the center?"

    "It used be¡­ there." It replied, pointing in direction, where he could see the biggest tree he had ever seen far into the distance. It was asrge as the Skyscrapers of Antis, and that is saying something.

    "I don''t like this," Axel muttered, proceeding forward cautiously.

    But surprisingly, but surprisingly, nothing tried to stop him anymore. Not even the Entity''s futile mental harassment.

    After flying through the trees for a while, he arrived into a huge clearing, the center of which had the base of thergest tree. The light magic in the ce was so dense that it was almost clouding the vision.

    ?!

    There in the center, amidst the flowers and greenery, he saw a silhouette sitting with their back to him.

    Axel''s eyes widened upon seeing that.

    "Daphne¡­?"

    The atmosphere, the blond hair, and the back profile. Axel was confused for a moment. Because this wasn''t a trick by the entity. It felt real.

    The silhouette turned around and Axel saw the person.

    It was not Daphne.

    "Axel Regius Arhunt. I''ve been waiting," said an unfamiliar voice. It was an unfamiliar woman, her features so perfect sculpted that they seemed artificial.

    The person had blonde hair, but and the atmosphere was indeed like Daphne, but the facial features and everything else was different.

    "What. The fuck even are you?" Asked Axel.

    "What I am?" The woman giggled, sweet her voice echoing in the clear. "That has a ratherplicated answer. But I am called Vita. I am the guardian of this ce."

    "Vita?" Axel''s eyes widened as all the hair on his body suddenly stood on end.

    Vita''s meaning in Antian is: Second.

    ''Second Overseer.''

    ....

    A.N.: Bet you got edged when he said "Daphne", huh? You can rx now.

    next: Someone from the Aetherworld

    Next next: Bitch-pping

    Next...next: Battle of Giants

    Next....next: Situation At Antis

    Next... Next: Reunion!

    <strong>Powerstones! For today and tomorrow</strong>

    I''ve cooked up awesomeness! Come and eat it all /Snollygoster

 Chapter 237: Someone from the Aetherworld

    Chapter 237: Someone from the Aetherworld

    Chapter 229

    "So, you''re the second overseer?" Asked Axel, looking at the woman with vignce. She didn''t look like a Krackhead at all.

    She had blonde hair, and grey eyes, making her look simr to Daphne. And she was wearing a dress that seemed to have been woven out of a giant leaf.

    Overall, she looked more like a tree spirit rather than a cult follower.

    "I mean, you''re on the side I''m killing, right?" He asked, just to be sure, before he started going on the offensive.

    Zeta stood up, slowly rising into the air.

    "Yes I am. And I take it, you are the infamous Crown Prince everyone has been talking about?" she asked, studying him back.

    Axel sighed in his heart. He really was hoping for things to end quickly here so that he could be on his way back. But of course, his luck simply won''t have it.

    ''I mean, second overseer? Here?!''"You are mistaken,dy. I am not the crown prince. I am just a random passerby who just happened to stop by to admire the nature," he said, looking around.

    Zeta just shook her head.

    "You know, you can''t imagine my surprise when I sensed you, of all people, approaching this ce. And with the Royal Trident too. I suppose Aslot really is dead then?"

    "Well, I do hope so."

    Zeta just looked at him in wonder.

    "How old are you again?"

    "Thirt¡ªOh, I should be around 14 now."

    Axel was about to say 13, but then realized 6 months had gone by while he was recovering. The realization brought another wave ofmentation to him. He wanted to spend these months chilling at Hogwarts.

    Zeta sighed. "Aslot was suppose to be an important figure for out Aetherian expansion. Aside from him, you''ve also killed three other overseers. I don''t suppose you have any idea how big of a loss you''ve caused us? Teritus has been nning this for decades! And we almost seeded had you note and ruined everything."

    Axel looked at the woman incredulously. He was really triggered by the victim outlook of this woman.

    "Excuse me? I was living peacefully at Hogwarts, minding my own business. And you all were on your way to conquering Antis. It was you guys who suddenly had the brilliant idea of trying to fuck with me. And you sent two Overseers to boot! ''Bring the boy alive.'' Those were your orders , right? Well, here I am now. Do whatever you can!"

    Zeta just stood there for a moment, looking stunned. "So, you wouldn''t havee to Antis had those two not bothered you?"

    "Well, no. Not really. My real target is in another world."

    Zeta sighed, as if she couldn''t believe it. "I''m really sorry that we disturbed your life. But this situation might still be salvageable. You''ve already had your payback and we no longer have any enmity. So, if you just return the Royal Relic, we''ll escort you back to home. And I will personally guarantee that no one from the Kraken will ever bother you."

    Axel snorted. "No thanks. I think I''ll keep it. And I really liked the Kingdom. So I think I''ll keep that too."

    "Young man, are you sure? The consequences of your actions can be extremely severe."

    The innocent demeanor was slowly fading from Zeta''s face. Light magic began revolving around her, looking quite dangerous. "Just listen to me and go away. Or there will be consequences."

    "No, YOU listen to me. You guys have already inflicted whatever pains you could have possibly put me through. Ever eaten a [Soul Extinguisher]? I have. And let me tell you, that fucking hurts. So, you guys have already fucked around all you possibly could. Now, it''s time to find out just what I do in return. And let me tell you, I haven''t even started yet."

    Axel. Was. Pissed.

    Recalling the Soul Extinguisher still sends shivers right down to his soul, and he has also lost 6 months of his life. His suffering aside, he could only imagine what Daphne Martina and Akiko had thought about his disappearance.

    Well, SOMEONE must pay for this. And even after killing Aslot, Axel feels light years away from satisfaction.

    Water gathered around him, creating an ominous atmosphere as his eyes glowed blue. "Now, let me give you a chance. You''re already on the wrong side. So either die on your own, or let me walk you through it."

    This woman was already with Kraken, the Second Overseer at that. Meaning, her goal is to destroy Antis, and the other worlds after this. No matter what, Axel is not nning to let her get away.

    Light magic began oozing out of Zeta as hair lifted up in the air, revealing her pointed ears. "You should be less confident about fighting an Aetherian Royal in her own territory."

    Before the fight even started, the Trident began shaking. "M-My prince, I don''t think we should fight."

    "What the¡ª?"

    Axel''s momentum faltered upon the sudden cowardice of the Trident.

    ''What are you talking about?!'' He demanded.

    "This can''t be¡­ the Forest¡­ the World tree¡­ And those ears¡­ this is not good!"

    Before Axel could make sense of the situation, Zeta made her move. A beam of blinding light emerged from her palm, passing right through Axel''s chest.

    Axel was left standing, looking at Zeta''s palm in shock. "...Too fast."

    This was, by far, the fastest attack he had ever faced. Even faster than Nerio''s Sniper attack that cut off his hand. In fact, it was so fast that it had already passed through his chest before his brain had even registered the attack.

    And the power too! The beam passed right through, tearing through his chest like it was paper!

    "I warned you." Zeta shook her head sadly. "I usually don''t like to participate in bloodshed, but you left me no choice."

    "Not so fast."

    Axel''s wound closed up in a blink of an eye. It was good that he had activated [Water Body] before the fight had even started, and before he even entered this ominous ce. Or that attack could have killed him.

    Zeta tilted her head, looking at Axel''s wound curiously. "It''s my first time seeing the Antian Royal Bloodline in action. It''s inferior, but quite impressive."

    "Just¡­ what the hell really ARE you?" Asked Axel, getting serious now. This was no ordinary opponent. In some ways, she might even be more dangerous than Aslot.

    "I already told you. I am the Aetherian Royalty." Zeta smiled. "As for what that actually means, I think your relic might have a better idea." She said, looking at the Relic which had been shaking for a while now.

    "Tell me what the fuck is going on!" Axel demanded the Relic through the mental link.

    "She has the Royal Bloodline of the Aether world. I don''t even know how that''s possible! It''s called the Divine affinity!"

    ''Royalty from the Aether world?'' Axel was really baffled.

    "How did you even get here?" He asked, as another beam of light passed through him, cutting him in half.

    Zeta shrugged. "I have no clue. I just found myself in the Trench one day, with no memory of the past and every part of my body hurting."

    She raised her hands, and thick, thorny roots sprouted from the ground from all sides, attacking Axel.

    "Oh, of course, she can control trees too!" The des of the trident elongated as they moved under Axel''s control, cutting down the roots.

    ''Nerithros! Tell me everything about the Aetherian Royal bloodline!'' He asked the Royal Trident at the same time.

    The Royal Trident was still shaking.

    "It''s known as the Divine Bloodline. It was the Aetherian Royal Bloodline that yed the most pivotal part in Sealing the Entity! It is one of the most powerful Bloodlines! And not just in Antis, but in the whole Aether World. The Wielder hasplete domination over Light and Nature! It''s so powerful that they didn''t even send any Aetherian Royal to live in Antis, exactly because they couldn''t risk the Entity controlling one!"

    ''Well, I''ll be damned.''

    So much for not sending any Aetherian Royal here. The Entity still got one anyway. And they were the ones who sealed the Entity?

    "Why are you supporting Kraken? Aren''t your ancestors the ones who sealed the Entity in the first ce?"He asked.

    If she has the Aetherian Royal Bloodline, shouldn''t they be on the same side? So far, the woman seems to be fairly rational to him. Axel couldn''t understand why she would want to support Kraken.

    Zeta tilted her head. "What do I care about my ancestors?! All I know is that I was in constant pain, my powers restricted under some ancient curse. It was the Entity who took me in and gave me purpose," she said.

    Curse? Powers sealed? Axel found her situation familiar. His instincts told him that he was missing something important here. "So, you''re going to repay the Entity by holing up here? How are you even helping the Entity?"

    "First of all, there''s a reason I''m ''holing up'' here. I am protected here. If I leave this space, the Atherian would sense my presence ande for me. Judging by the state I was previously in, I think I''d avoid that."

    "As for my contribution?" Zeta seemed to find the question funny. "You have no idea, do you? Don''t you already know who sealed this ce? Then you must also know who helped weaken it to this point."

    Axel''s eyes widened.

    ''Fuck!''

    Now everything was making sense!

    Antis hassted for so long. There have been wars in the past too, but the Entity''s influence has never been as strong as it is now.

    Now they know the reason.

    This bitch is using her powers to weaken the seal here far before the time of the regr check up, giving the Entity much more room for preparation. Due to that, there was a sudden Rebellion in the Kingdom, in which the King got injured and the queen died. From then on, things have been escting more and more.

    To put it simply, if the whole Antis is burning right now, it''s this woman who lit the match.

    Zeta seemed to like the look of realization on Axel''s face as she smiled. "So, now that you know who you''re actually facing, it''s about time you get defeated."

    At once, the roots attacking Axel quadrupled in number. Much more problematic than that, their speed increased to an abnormal degree.

    ?!

    Axel was caught off-guard, having to let a few roots pass through him.

    What he didn''t expect was for the roots to absorb almost of him, causing to almost die. It was like have a thousands of leeches stuck to your body.

    "What the¡ª?!"

    [Water Travel]

    Axel escaped high into the air, regenerating quickly. He moved again because a light beam passed right where he was. Another one followed him right after.

    Zeta was a bit frustrated. "How are you evading them? You should not even be able to see them!" She eximed, continuing her attacks.

    Axel just grinned. "I suppose your bloodline is just so-so."

    Of course he couldn''t see the attacks. But he could anticipate when and where she was going to shoot. All he had to do was to evade before she attacked.

    "Okay, bitch. My turn."

    While evading theser, Axel flew in, closing the distance. The three des of Trident elongated, attacking Zeta like three independent knives.

    But Zeta, who seems like she''d be blown away with a bit of wind, suddenly showed surprising agility, evading all the des, her leaf-dress fluttering.

    Not on that, a sword of light appeared in her hand, which shed with speed that even cut the space.

    ''Super fast reflexes and super physique too?!''

    Axel was disliking this bloodline more and more by the minute. Toote to evade, he had to let pass through his body, taking some damage.

    "Surprised?" Zeta smirked, continuing her swings.

    But all of the following strikes were dodged by Axel. "Yes I was. You have surprisingly small breasts."

    Zeta''s face fell. At the same time, a fistnded squarely on it, flinging her into the ground. "Couldn''t react to that, couldya?"

    ¡­

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES! Today and Tomorrow</strong>

    Next: Bitch-pping

    Next next: Nature Destroyer

    Next...next: Situation At Antis

    Next...next: REUNION!

    Come read ahead: /Snollygoster

 Chapter 238: Baltte of Atlantis II: A Heros Return

    Chapter 238: Baltte of Antis II: A Hero''s Return

    Currently, the might of the Kraken army was¡­ overwhelming.

    The sight of countless creatures ranging from humans to monsters, all with their blue markings glowing unprecedentedly high, was something to be scared of.

    And each one of them were able to enhance their powers multiple folds at once.

    Not only that, they were also fighting a new formation, which had been perfected for this exact situation, making it obvious that they had been preparing for this for a long time.

    Overall, the Kraken army had reached an extreme level that the Kingdom''s forces had quite a hard time matching.

    But, Kingdom''s forces weren''t helpless either.

    "For Antis!"

    """"FOR ATLANTIS!!!!"""""

    The General was fighting at the forefront, sending out sword beams towards every piece of the Kingdoms'' artillery while also blocking any attack that came. No amount of forced relic wielders able to stop him. With every swing of his sword, a wave of energy would be released, empowering the Kingdom''s forces and filling them with courage and discipline. The warriors trained rigorously through the finest training facilities and resources weren''t slouches. Each squad had an outstanding leader leading a team that had already faced situations like these in various simtion and also honed their skills in real battles.

    Furthermore, each of their amour and equipment was highly superior, having protecting them from the enhanced army''s viscous attacks while also boosting their own strength and damage.

    Staying in formation, the ground soldiers methodically faced the monstrosities of the Kraken.

    The super-charged biomatons would first face the ranged attacks that would slow them down, after which they would be faced with shields.

    Therge creatures were first bound and subdued through various means, and then damage dealers would aim for the weak spots.

    The ranged units would fly over with the rider, attacking from above. Red lights would sh whereever help is needed and themanders would mobilize the soldiers ording to need.

    "Stick together! Attack where the Lightning falls!" Ender was leading the Relic Wielder Division rightly. The forced relic wielders were set up to target each individuals of Kingodom''s relic wielders, targetting their weaknesses. So the best counter would to stick together and protect each other while taking down the once that posed the most danger.

    For Akiko, no living being were sent to confront her due to her Shinnigan. Instead, she was faced with biomatons resistant to darkness and lightning.

    But, that didn''t do much to stop her.

    The spiral pattern in her eyes revolved and the dead bodies piled up on the battlefield rose up from the ground.

    And whether the dead were from Kraken or the Kingdom''s side, both attacked her enemies. Furthermore, as the number of deaths on the battlefield increased, the aura of death around her thickened, empowering her.

    "What kind of abomination is that?" Asked Karlock, facing against Martina as his biomaton sent out acid jets at her. "Reminds me awful lot of that stupid Prince!"

    The Guardian knight ''Axe'' raised its hand and an energy shield appeared in front of it, blocking the acidic liquid.

    "Don''t you dare mention him with your filthy mouth!" Said Martina. It was true that the Guardian Knight looked like Axel. It had been made in his memory after all.

    Two knives appeared in the hands of the Mecha as it took a stance eerily simr to Axel.

    "Guardian Knight, Stealth Mode!"

    The guardian knight turned invisible, appearing behind Aslot''s Biomaton momentster. Programmed to fight like Axel, the Knives shed, cutting straight through the Biomaton''s arm and neck.

    "You can''t escape this time, Cravix." In her darkness domain, Kyrin smirked at Cravix, the space relic wielder.

    Cravix sent out space des at Kyrin, but Kyrin disappeared, reappearing behind him. Her darkness pierced through his space field, managing to injure him before he was able to evade.

    It had been a few minutes since they had started fighting and Kyrin had now gained the upper hand, finally piercing through Cravix''s defenses.

    Knowing Kyrin''s power, any Antian could easily tell. This fight was as good as over.

    But, Cravix didn''t seem to think so.

    "You know what? If it was a decade ago, I''d have agreed with you. But¡­ that is no longer the case anymore, is it?" Asked Cravix, looking confident despite his injuries.

    The smile on Kyrin''s face wavered imperceptibly. "Say that after you''re dead!" She said, her darkness de so ck that it was sucking in the surrounding light.

    Cravixughed. "You know I''d already be dead if it were the old you, Kyrin."

    "You''re not as strong as before, are you?" He asked, the markings on his skin brightening with unprecedented brightness. "In fact, you don''t have much time left, do you?"

    "What nonsense¡­ are you talking about?!" Eximed Kyrin, shing at Cravix with her lightning de. But, Cravix managed to avoid it this time, his space powers working despite being in Kyrin''s domain.

    Cravix smirked. "You know exactly what I''m talking about. Thatst fight, when you fought three of our overseers and won? That came at a price, didn''t it? You''re slowly dying," he concluded, now managing to avoid Kyrins attacks much more easily. "That''s why you left the kingdom, living among the weaklings so that you don''t have to use your powers. You even found a sessor to pass on your Septis arts and the relic too, right?"

    "Stop talking and fight me head on, you coward!" Kyrin Shouted, attacking Cravix again.

    She didn''t know how this bastard found out, but... what he was saying... it was actually true.

    In the fight for revenge a decade ago, she was alone and already exhausted and the other side had three overseers, about to desecrate her subordinates'' bodies just to provoke her.

    Well, they failed at doing anything to the bodies, but definitely seeded at getting a rise out of her. In blind rage, Kyrin had invoked the forbidden darkness magic, taking down all three of them and spitting on their bodies before taking back Akiko''s parents for funeral. But, as Cravix had said, it hade at a price. Her body could use a limited amount of darkness after which, she''llpletely lose her ability.

    So she left the kingdom, deciding to live the remaining days in peace. But of course, she had toe when the Kingdom was in danger and needed her help.

    At this moment, a voice echoed in the domain. "Enough ying around. Cravix, start the second phase."

    "Yes, sir!" Said Cravix, huge amount of space power beginning to fill up the area.

    "Scitius, you coward! Is that you?!" Kyrin gritted her teeth, using even more power out of caution. ck viens appeared on her skin, showing she had reached her limit.

    But, the space opened up and a tree appeared, filled with powerful Light attribute. Kyrin suddenly recoiled, her darkness weakening considerably.

    "Holy shit, third. You were right!" said Cravix as heughed in disbelief. "You''ve even transferred your bloodline to her, haven''t you?" He asked the now sessfully bound Kyrin with glee. Those with real Tenebrous bloodline have a certain immunity towards light, which Kyrin no longer has. "I mean, that makes sense. How else would an outsider have such a powerful darkness affinity when its not even in her parents."

    The space around her constricted to the extreme this time, temporarily making Kyrin immobile, and the branches of tree quickly wrapped themselves around her.

    "It worked!" Clenching his fists in victory.

    "My calctions were right," came the Third overseer''s voice. "You''ve already spent the remain darkness in the past months, haven''t you? Trying to make up for your blunder, no doubt. After all, at your peak, you could have easily saved your Crown Prince from the space whales. It''s definitely your fault he died."

    "You¡ª!" Kyrin struggled with all her might, Scitius''s words hitting her sore points.

    It was true. Kyrin''s capacity had decreased dramatically after the overuse in the past few months, since she had almost spent the remaining darkness energy she could use before her body''splete breakdown.

    And it was because she, no doubt, med herself for what happened with Axel. Through and through. Forget recklessly getting them into the Trench for training. Even if she had just gone all out the moment Axel was picked up, she could have saved him.

    But, she hesitated. And that brief moment of hesitation led to him being transported right into the Whale''s mouth, forcing him to use his teleportation to escape.

    She knows that no one really speaks about it, but deep in their hearts, everyone else mes her too. Including Aki. Though that girl mes herself more, and that only makes it much worse.

    "How the mighty have fallen," said Cravix, looking at Kyrin all bound up in light attribute tree branches.

    "Never thought I''d see the day, let alone be the one to actually contribute the most," he bragged. But looking at the situation, he didn''t actually do much. The whole observation, preparation, and nning were third''s idea, and the tree was the contribution of Second Overseer, having her fill it with a huge amount of light attribute magic and making it programmed to trap anyone with Darkness affinity.

    "So what if I lose?" said Kyrin, knowing the third could hear her. "I was already pretty much useless. Even if you do manage to win against me, it achieves nothing. We are still much stronger than you. There''s no way you''d win."

    "First of all, you''re useless? I''d have to disagree on that," said Scitius. The darkness was cleared away, revealing Kyrin who had beenpletely subdued.

    Those who saw the scene were shocked, including Estris and Willis, who were fighting as buff caster and ranged spell caster. But of course, the most shocked was Akiko.

    "Cravix, proceed with the n."

    "Yes, boss!" Cravix was gleeful he worship the Third right now, let alone follow his order.

    Grabbing Kyrin, he put a space-de over her throat.

    Figuring out their intentions, Kyrin''s eyes widened. "Aki! Watch out!"

    Kyrin tried to warn Akiko, but with the ongoing war, her voice couldn''t reach Akiko at all. And the moment Akiko got distracted, Kraken soldiers attacking her simply exploded, tree branches filled with light magic sprouting out of them.

    The Tree branches covered her from head to toe, putting special emphasis on the eye area. And then, they released sharp thorns that wereced with venom that would prevent her from concentrating on her eyes.

    Akiko tried to resist with her darkness aura, making the tree cells dies quickly, but more reced them untill the venom kicked in, making her immobile.

    At the same time, Cravix bound the space around Akiko and teleported her to his domain right alongside Kyrin, for safe measure, thuspleting the entrapment.

    "See?" Said Scitius. "Capturing you wasn''t useless at all. Thanks to you, we''ve got the Legendary [Eyes of Death] in perfect state. You have no idea how much trouble they''d have given had she been given the chance to mature. These are going to be extremely helpful in our expeditions to other worlds," he said, a distinct excitement in his voice.

    Those eyes give Akiko scary reflexes. Had she not relieved her trauma at seeing Kyrin about to be taken the same way as Axel, she would have definitely cut down the roots before they could reach her.

    "Mff¡ª! MFFFFMFMF!" Kyrin increased her struggles, but to no avail. She had gotten too weak. And Akiko was in herte teens with no relic. The most powerful thing she had were her eyes, but they had been made useless now.

    Scitius let out a wheezyugh. "Oh, as for your delusion that your side is actually stronger, well, I have to disagree with that too."

    As if to match his time, the ground began to shake, causing instability to both sides. And then, the giant statue of An, the first king of Antis moved, turning its head.

    "What... what is that?" The fight slowed down as both sides witnessed the movement of the biggest structure in Antis.

    The statue raised its foot, and then, it put it down in the direction of the war, crushing any building in its way and causing a huge earthquake.

    It was sorge, that with 2 step, it managed to arrive over the scene of war. The next time the foot rose, it descended over the Kingdom''s ranged forces.

    "Oh no..."

    "RUN!!"

    "What kind of madness...."

    The panicked ranged spell casters had no idea how to stop that foot. Some started to flee, some casted spells in vain, while some just stood there in a daze, too stunned to move.

    At this moment, the general was the first one to head for the Giant, but, at this moment, water appeared in his way, blocking his path.

    ??

    "You''ve gotten slow, Torr."

    The General''s head instinctively lowered upon hearing that voice, only to raise it back up with conflicted eyes.

    Water started toe down from the sky, gathering around inrge quantities.

    Sure enough, there in front of him, wielding a Trident and radiating power was the King Atasis himself. And when he saw the blue markings on the King''s skin, pain shed in his eyes.

    ''My friend, how could you?''

    That''s what he wanted to ask. But with the Giant foot descending, he didn''t have the time.

    "I need to pass," he said, raising his sword. He flew forward at an astonishing speed.

    The King raised the Trident, which was also a relic, just not the Royal Relic. He disappeared from his ce.

    CLANG

    Weapons shed as the King appeared in the General''s path.

    The foot had already decided at this point and the army being densely packed, many hadn''t yet managed to escape out of the range at this point.

    Other Relic Wielders tried to stop it but realized they were toote or were otherwise engaged by the Kraken warriors.

    Estris''s gray magic surrounded the foot and descent slowed down a little, but being that big, it wasn''t powerful enough to slow it down by much.

    A huge magic shield appeared below the foot, cast by Willis who was also among the Ranged Spellcasters and shooters. But still, it wasn''t enough.

    At this moment, a huge body flew over,ing beneath the foot in time.

    It was Martina''s mecha, which had arrived after decimating Karlock''s Giant Biomaton. But, even though it was absolutely massive, its size only amounted to the equivalent to the size of the statue''s foot.

    The magic batteries that Martina had designed went into overload as the Giant tried its best to rise.

    "GO!!!"

    In the past four months, Martina''s ss [TechnoMage] and Teachers at Antis had given her a lot of knowledge, increasing both her engineering and magical skills dramatically. That''s why, when the foot had almost reached the ground, a miracle happened.

    A huge magical wave was released from thrusting the Guardian Knight upward while pushing all the remaining ground units.

    The foot''s descent slowed further, just long enough that the tens of thousands of ranged units managed to escape from beneath.

    The Guardian Angel waspletely crushed, but thousands of lives were saved, thus also preventing another massive increase in the Kraken''s strength.

    But in the aircraft, overlooking the battlefield, Scitius just smirked at the desperate attempts by the Kingdom.

    "Congrattions. You''ve stopped one foot," he said, his deadpanned voice echoed throughout the battlefield.

    "Here, take another."

    ???!!!

    The Giant began raising another foot into the air. And this time, it descended with an evenrger momentum.

    "What¡­?"

    "A-Again?"

    "How¡­ are we supposed to fight that?"

    "By the sea god...."

    At this point, the Kingdom''s soldiers were filled with despair, looking up at the Giant foot heading down.

    The King manage to trap the General with Water who had been distracted with Statue. "It''s finally, the beginning of the end." He said, also looking up at the sky.

    Sitting on the ground, Anti looked up at sky and realized that the Kingdom was about to be destroyed, by her own father, no less.

    "No¡­"

    And thus, broken as she was, she stood up and raised her staff, pointing it at the sky. She knew she wasn''t strong enough to stop it.

    And so did the rest of the Antians who could manage to spare a few moments from the fight.

    Everyone had lost hope at this point, but still, they tried. Because that''s all they could do.

    But.

    At this moment, thepletely unexpected happened.

    The descent of the giant foot stopped. Along with most of the Kraken''s army.

    ??

    Momentster, high in the air, space fluctuations urred as a silhouette emerged.

    With one red and one blue eye, and a silver trident and wand in its hands.

    ¡­.

    A.N.:. Sorry for the dy, I was nning the next volume

 Chapter 239: King Axel Regius Arhunt l

    Chapter 239: King Axel Regius Arhunt l

    "A few days?! I don''t have that much time!" Axel eximed, standing over the seal.

    He had no idea what was going on at Antis, but he definitely knew that whatever it was, it would be over ''in a few days''.

    [Reinforcing the Seal is not an easy task. And near impossible for a single individual. The seal has a self-repairing mechanism, which can only be triggered once it has stored enough power.

    And please do not forget that it is currently holding the Entity that threatens the whole Aetherworld, a ce with a farrger power scale than Earth.

    Considering everything, you cannot expect the reinforcing the seal to be an easy task.] the system exined.

    "Damn it."

    Even though the system made sense, Axel did not like this. But, what choice did he have?

    Sighing, his closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them, they were burning in ember light.

    Through the markings, he used his soul connection to draw power from the Entity. Suddenly, the blue markings on his skin lit up, bing extremely bright. Power flooded through his soul, filling his whole being, making him feel a simr rush as the one he get upon using [Limit Break]"Limit Break¡­ for free. Fuck those lucky bastards."

    Now feeling the power for real, Axel really envied those guys from Kraken. And more importantly, there were no harmful side effects of this power, like damaging his very soul.

    Too bad, he could only use a minor amountpared to what the other overseers were snorting. Why? Because it''s simply not possible to use arge amount of power and not end up losing control over yourself to the Entity. After all, the connection wasing from the soul itself.

    Axel raised his trident and channeled the formless energy through the seal, starting the process. All the while, he kept thinking of a way to elerate the process.

    ''System, how much more?'' He asked after a few minutes.

    [About 0.127%. Keep going.]

    ''Fuck, this won''t work.'' He muttered, giving up in frustration. Axel didn''t know what to do. [Limit Break] wasn''t an option. His soul is not some y figure that can be broken and repaired whenever he wants.

    "I can help." At this moment, he heard an unwilling sighe from his wand. Who else could it be other than Zeta.

    "You can?" Axel raised eyebrows, looking suspiciously at the wand. "How can you even do that?"

    "I can. You have no idea about the amount of magic I had stored up in the world tree. If I knew how to use it properly, I could have killed you multiple times. And now that you''ve absorbed the core, all that magic is now just dispersing into the surroundings with nothing to store or control it," replied Zeta.

    It was indeed true that Zeta had no idea how to use her light element properly. And it was also true that the amount of magic was ginocerosourrrrmous.

    But.

    "Even if that''s true, your asking me for what? Letting you have control over it again? So that what? You can kill me for real this time?"

    "I''ve already thought of that," said Zeta in frustration. "But that won''t work. In actuality, I cannot be free from this wood through ordinary means. My lifeforce is bound to the core, and the core has beenpletely bound by your wand. It''s not going to release me even if you ask it to."

    "So what? You''re stuck with me for forever?" Axel did not like this. He did not like this at all. He was actually hoping to eventually get rid of her, since he didn''t want an enemy staying with him 24/7, but that does not seem possible anymore.

    "I say I can help you and give you the reason why I can''t betray you, and THAT''s what you''re focusing on?" Asked Zeta. "Young man, I''ve noticed this for a while, but you have issues."

    Axel clenched his mrs, controlling his temper. "You''re very lucky that a friend of mine is also a nature lover. Or I''d have had a lot to say about YOUR issues."

    Daphne also likes nature, but she ims there are other things she likes way more though, so she has never been too annoying in that field. The most she''d do would be to also try enlightening him to be a man of nature.

    So, respecting her passion, he is not using the great roasts he has on this woman''s extreme love for nature.

    "But I would say that you definitely had the small breasts issue. It''s good that I destroyed your body."

    "You¡ª!"

    "Anyways, why would you even want to help me? You clearly hate me more than anything in the world."

    "To be honest, you''re not the person I hate the most. It''s actually my younger brother."

    "Your brother?" Axel narrowed in eyes in confusion. "Wait, do you actually¡ª?"

    Zeta was silent for a while.

    "Yes. Not only are my thoughts no longer being influenced, but my memories are also returning. They have been since you helped me get rid of the Entity''s control," she said. "My brother is the reason I lost my memories and ended up here. Why? Just because of inheritance. And, he has also be a vile person. So, I definitely hate him more than you."

    ''It''s the brother again,'' thought Axel as he shook his head. Those with Royal Bloodline should just stop having siblings. He was curious about the life of an Aetherian Royalty and exactly how managed to arrive here from the Aetherworld, but right now, the seal definitely took priority.

    "Anyways, what I mean to say is that I can think rationally now. I''m really grateful to you for stopping my life of ignorance. And the trees and nts had to go anyway since they were slowly weakening the seal''s power, so I can''t me you too much for that."

    "And despite what you might think, I''m actually not a bad person. I do not want your Kingdom to be destroyed."

    Zeta seemed to go on and on, but Axel stopped her.

    "Alright, alright¡­ I''ll give you a chance," Axel decided atst. Did he even have a choice? He was in a hurry. Besides, this woman couldn''t kill him when free, let alone now that she was under his control.

    With much convincing, he got the wand to enable Zeta and the core to wield their power.

    He was fully expecting an attack. but surprisingly, Zeta didn''t. Rather, the huge amount of light magic in the surroundings began to gather around, before it started pouring into the seal.

    ''System, Is it working?''

    [It is. Progress: 2%¡­. 3%¡­ 4%]

    ''Fuck... I can finally return...?''

    Axel couldn''t believe it. Knowing his luck, he was 100% sure Zeta was going to pull something. But so far, she seems to be really doing exactly what she said.

    ''Is she waiting for me to drop my guard?'' Axel stayed vignt, not willing to believe that for once, everything was going smoothly. He was curious just how Zeta was going to try and fuck him over.

    Though, when he was focused on the wand, ready to shut it down at the first sign of abnormality, he received a red alert from the system.

    [Axel, you need to leave quickly. The First Overseer is being awakened from his slumber. He will arrive here within one minute.]

    ''Knew it! Fuckkking KNEW IT!''

    Axel cursed the bitch nameddy luck a thousand times in an instant.

    It''s not that his luck had improved, it''s just that he was expecting it to fucking him over the wrong way. The seal is currently being reinforced, of course the entity would try to prevent it.

    "Zeta, hurry up!"

    "That''s no way to speak, young man. I am already doing you a favor by volunteering to help!" Said Zeta, sounding annoyed since she had no idea about the conversation between Axel and the system.

    "The First overseer ising, damn it!"

    That got her attention. "What? That''s not possible! He should be currently in the synchronization process!"

    "What''s synchroniz¡ª Damnit, there''s no time! We only have one minute!"

    "What¡ªHow would you even know that?"

    "I have my sources! Now hurry up! I''m not in the mood to fight the strongest overseer on the Entity''s turf."

    Now Zeta panicked too. "If you''re serious, then we can''t fight at all, whichever turf! Run right now!"

    Axel shook his head. "No way. Complete the seal first!"

    "You are a mad man! I don''t care if you die, but I can''t die yet! I have to stop my brother from destroying his family, if there''s any left!"

    "Then you better hurry up," said Axel calmly.

    "You¡ª! You''re so annoying!"

    The energy in the surrounding turned violent, starting to gather up at a fast pace. "If I find out you''re lying¡­ I''m going turn you into nt fertilizer!" Said Zeta, her voice straining.

    The huge amount of energy was gathering into a massive ball, which slowly began to descend.

    [10%...15%...20%...]

    "Faster!" Said Axel, checking the time and progress.

    "F-Fuck you!"

    "You shouldn''t. I''m 14..."

    "I really¡­ do¡­ hate you.., the most!" Screamed Zeta, pushing the energy down with each word.

    [60%... 70%...]

    The pressure on the entity increased further, causing Axel to sink to the ground, his skin tearing up and mind in a mess. The whole ce began to shake as the Entity seemed to be trying its best to stop Axel.

    But pain was thest thing he was afraid of, and even if his mind took damage, his will was unshakable no matter how much the Entity tried.

    !!

    But at this moment, an external force came and locked onto Axel, shaking his very soul. ''What the¡ª?''

    Axel was caught off guard with the sudden power, finding it impossibly hard to contend against the power.

    [90%... 100%]

    But the seal was activated right then and the magic circle lit up, causing the force to be cut off.

    Axel gasped, sinking to his knees. ''What¡­ What the hell WAS that?!''

    "GO! HE REALLY IS COMING!" Zeta screamed,pletely horrified.

    Despite his drained mind, Axel forced himself to turn into water and use [Water Travel]

    "You''re too slow!" Suddenly,st bit of light Zeta had left surrounded Axel and then sted him away at an incredibly high speed. Very soon, they were out of the area of restricted teleportation and Axel immediately activated [Arcane Travel], his destination, the Kingdom!

    ¡­.

    On the other hand, back at the Kingdom, as the blue lighting from the Entity suddenly started to fade dramatically.

    Even though he couldn''tprehend exactly how it happened, the Third Overseer Scitius was the first person to realize exactly what was going on.

    Indivisible energy started to revolve around as a third eye opened in the center of his forehead. And then a wave of mental energy was released, affecting every member of the Kraken.

    And, it contained only one instruction: Kill through any means!

    !!!

    Suddenly there was a dramatic rise in the power of the Kraken warriors as everyone waspelled into using everyst bit of power they could gather on the Kingdom''s forces.

    Sciutius had figured it out. Somehow, someone had managed to reset the seal! Which should have been impossible considering the fact that the Second herself is guarding it. The woman might not be a fighter, but there''s basically no way to defeat her.

    But Sciutius had no time to think about the ''how'' of the matter. What matters is that, the reset process has begun. And now they only have a window of a few seconds to minutes till the seal ispletely reset, thus decreasing their power by a huge margin.

    This is why, he gave the order to the soldiers to not conserve anything, and use up remaining power to its limits, before they''re no longer able to use it.

    But it created chaos, with Antians falling one after another.

    The Kingdom''s forces were confused as fuck. One moment, they thought the war was as good as lost with the Giant foot about to cause a huge earthquake, then it stopped, and the glow of the blue markings started to diminish. And before they could figure out why or be happy, the Kraken forces suddenly seemed to go berserk, attacking them with reckless abandon.

    Another reason they started to lose was that the key figures who had fought at the forefront of the war were until now falling one after another in a matter of seconds,pletely breaking the morale.

    Taking advantage of the momentary weakness, the General managed to free himself.

    ''Toote, my friend."

    But the King''s veins suddenly started to emit blue light, a sign that he was burning his bloodline itself.

    The General''s eyes widened. The water''s strength increased by a huge margin and while the General defended against that, the Trident cleanly pierced through his armor, stabbing him in the chest.

    "NO!" Anti used water travel to appear in front of the General, but the King was too strong, And fighting her own father was too painful, causing her to be easily blown away after just a few attacks from the King.

    The slowly approached his daughter, raising his Trident. "You have suffered, Ti. Let me end it for you."

    Not far away, Cravix also received the same orders. He grinned at Kyrin. "Looks like it''s the end," he said, creating a space de and taking it to her neck.

    But, as he swung the de down, Kyrin spat out ck blood on his face at thest moment, causing him to miss.

    "What the¡ª?!" Cravix backed away. "You''re asking for it!" Wiping away the blood that had begun burning his skin, Cravix approached Akiko instead.

    "I''m first going to kill her in front of you."

    Martina had just crawled out of the emergency ejection box, feeling extremely weak. Stopping that giant foot that even relic wielders couldn''t stop had drained herpletely.

    "There you are."

    But, when she looked up, standing right in front of her was Karlock, grinning at her with malicious intent. "You are a unique specimen," he said, picking her up with one of his bionic arms. "Just like that boy. I''m going to have fun studying you."

    "I''d sooner kill myself." said Martina, taking out her sword. RIght now, she really didn''t mind dying either. In the past few months, she had learnt a lot more about life than she ever had in her past life. She realized there''s more to it than just being locked up in a room.

    That kind of life won''t matter much even if you live a long life.

    Life should be lived¡­ at max. By experiencing things, by constantly pushing yourself, by being scared of nothing, and by following your convictions. If you''ve lived that kind of life, only then, when you finally die, even if you don''t live long, you''d regret nothing.

    ''Just like him.'' She thought, feeling bittersweet.

    If there''s any regret, it''s the sorrow of people we leave behind.

    So, even if it was not what she wanted, Martina faced the moment boldly. ''If there''s another reincarnation. I want it to be where he is.'' She prayed, closing her eyes.

    But, at this moment, a de plunged down at an unimaginable speed, piercing through Karlock''s head cleanly. The same thing happened with Cravix and Atasis, saving Akiko and Anti.

    "Not toote to the party, I hope."

    Then, she heard a voice that made her feel like she was dreaming.

    ...

    A.N.:

    Next: All Hail, King Axel

    Come read /Snollygoster

    I''ve applied new billing meaning you can subscribe any time of the month and get full 30 days.

 Chapter 240: All Hail, King Axel

    Chapter 240: All Hail, King Axel

    Chapter 239

    When the main warriors of Antis were being defeated, everyone thought it was over.

    It''s not that there were none who had the power to prevent it. But, the Kraken had suddenly started to use an insane amount of power all at once. In this situation, it was difficult to even protect themselves and those around them, let alone rush over to help.

    Estris and Willis still tried help Kyrin and Akiko, but they were inside Cravix''s Space domain, something that couldn''t be broken into instantaneously.

    Martina wasn''t even lucky enough to be noticed. Everyone thought she was already dead when the Giant footnded, thus having no one to save her.

    "Ti!" Ender already noticed it toote. By the time he saw that Anti gone over to fight the King herself, she was already in trouble.

    sting away the Forced Relic Wielders and leaving behind the Relic Wielders, he quickly rushed over, but a wall off water surrounded the King and Anti, going through whichpletely dispersed his lightning, thus slowing his down.

    Every time Anti thought she had reached rock bottom, things would happen that would make her past seem like heavenpared to her present.

    And currently, she was at a point where just¡­ falling. Not even able to see what''s at the bottom. For the past 6 months, she spent every minute thinking she had already reached absolute low by lose Axel to Aslot.

    But now? Kingdom is falling, the General, who she calls uncle and has always been a rock for her is currently lying on the ground, stabbed by her own father.

    And now, he is going to kill her too, his own daughter.

    "Why?"

    That''s all she could ask as she struggled against the water bindings, feelingpletely betrayed.

    "Why, you ask?" The King seemed angered by her question. "Because of the pain! You won''t understand how bad it really is until you experience it! Trust me, there is no one in the world who wouldn''t give up everything, even their life, just to get rid of that pain!" He said, raising the Trident, ready to stab Anti.

    "Pain?" Anti looked at her father scornfully. "Is that it? You''re pathetic! Learn something from your grandson!" Anti yelled, struggling against the bindings, but the King was still far stronger than her, using everyst bit of his power.

    Anti wasn''t at all moved by the King''s exnation. Because of his cowardice, so many people had to die meaninglessly.

    If it really was so bad that he was ready to kill himself, then he might as well have! And yet, why did he choose to sacrifice everything else other than himself?!

    Anti couldn''t believe that the father she had spent so many years and serving and loving would actually be so pathetic.

    And then there''s Axel on the other hand, who didn''t even have the Royal Relic to protect him from most of the damage, instead going through the full extent of the Soul Extinguisher, and still not giving up.

    The difference is so stark that it makes her wonder if they were rted at all.

    "Him?" But hearing Anti, the King stopped the Trident which was about to stab her heart. "Don''t make meugh! The one who needs to learn is not me, but him! That''s why I am still alive, while he is dead without even leaving behind an intact corpse!" He eximed, stabbing the Trident down.

    Anti looked at her father, and realized that she didn''t recognize him at all. And that''s when she realized, she really had no one left now. With the current situation, the Kingdom was also pretty much gone too.

    As Trident''s de, closed in on her, she closed her eyes, epting her fate. She had regrets, a lot of them. If only she had found out earlier, if any she had seen the signs, if only she had remembered her sister''s warning to look out for father, if only she was strong enough, and importantly, if only she had not gotten Axel involved¡­

    But there was no way left for her to make things right anymore.

    ''I give up¡­ there''s no hope.''

    *Shnnn*

    She heard a sound of metal being pierced. But, it wasn''t her armor like she was expecting.

    Anti opened her eyes, only to see a shining silver de piercing through her father''s head.

    Three des pierced three heads at once, their speed, sharpness, and uracy so high they were only noticed when they had already passed cleanly through.

    "Not toote to the party, I hope."

    A familiar voice travelled through the Battlefield, somehow managing to reach everyone''s ears.

    Eyes wide in disbelief, Anti slowly looked up, following the des tond on the owner. There, high in the air stood a figure holding a silver Trident in his hand.

    Under the re of light, all they could see were eyes glowing eyes, one Amber, one blue. And blue markings shining on his body.

    ???

    Anti just stood there, her mouth gaping open as she looked up at the figure, unable to even process the series of events, let alone separate them from reality.

    The figure slowly descended, and his image became clear in Anti''s eyes. And if not for the one glowing blue eye, she would have thought he was Tristan Hunt. He had grown even taller in the few months, making him look more mature, and he had Kraken markings on his body, shining through his torn and disheveled clothes.

    "A-Axel¡­?"

    For a moment, Anti was extremely happy. Axel¡­ was still alive? She had dreamed about it multiple times. She was having a hard time believing it! And then, she realized what the markings meant.

    Anti immediately thought of the worst. That Axel had also been taken under the control of the Entity, just like her father.

    But at this moment, Axel turned his head in her direction, his eyes squinting in confusion upon being called by his real time. "Sorry? I think you''ve got the wrong person, Princess. I''m Chris Martin."

    Axel didn''t know how the Princess got his real name, and he didn''t know how to exin the blue markings, or the bloodline¡­ or the Trident. And he didn''t have the time to exin either.

    The des wrapped around the bodies of the powerhouses and then retracted, bringing to their owner like mere fishes. "I can exin everythingter, but for now, just know that I''m your side," he said, Trident''s des casually crushing the three bodies as if to prove it.

    "And trust me, you really want me on your side," he said as he waved his wand and Kyrin and Akiko were instantly freed, an extremely unholy amount of Holy energy being drawn out the trees that were suppressing them.

    ''Zeta, do me one more solid, and heal the injured with that light magic. I''ll repay youter.''

    ''You don''t need to repay me for this.''

    The energy that was extracted was spread over the Kingdom''s forces, healing all of their injuries. This was the purest light elemental magic, straight from someone with the Aetherian Royal Bloodline.

    Just a small amount was enough to heal anyone. And the amount of magic extracted in those trees was huge, considering they were built to capture individuals like Kyrin and Akiko.

    The battlefield seemed toe to a lull as gazes start turning upwards one after another.

    Cravix, Karlock, and King Atasis himself¡­ all three are no ordinary individuals. And yet, all three were dangling in the air, bound by extremely sharp des. Not only that, the person was also healing everyone from the Kingdom''s side.

    It took Anti a few seconds to figure out that Axel had no idea his identity had long been exposed. He thinking that he was still the same stranger whom she had ''graciously'' ''granted'' citizen, instead of being the person who legitimately owns this ce.

    But to Anti, he had long be family, ever since she first saw him use the Bloodline. No, even before that, when he was in a disguised, she knew that they had a special bond.

    And from that point, till now, she has found out everything about his life and seen his pictures and videos countless times, fantasizing about how great it would have been if only he was still with her.

    So, when he said ''I am on your side,'' tears started to blur her vision, her chest feeling stuffy. That single line brought her back from absolute despair to overwhelming hope and excitement.

    He really¡­ is back? If this was a dream, Anti never wanted to wake up.

    Axel turned to look at Martina, who justid there, tears streaming down her face.

    "The fuck are YOU doing here? Didn''t I tell you its dangerous?"

    Someone like Martina in a war? Who even let her in here? Even when being from a Mafia household, Martina is just not suited for this kind of environment. She''s just too kind.

    Martina shook her head, wiping her tears. "Y-You''re¡­ You''re a-alive!" she choked, as if she didn''t care about anything else at all.

    Intense Purple magic began to swirl around Martina, who moments ago, didn''t even have enough to even try and defend herself.

    Her [Child Of Magic] trait evolved during extreme moments, and this could definitely be considered one of the most extreme moments. One of extreme joy and giddiness.

    Martina was extremely giddy excitement right now. The way he spoke just now¡­ no one else can talk that way. It really is the real and alive Axel! Down to everyst detail!

    Axel titled his head. That bad, huh?

    "Of course I''m alive. D''you think I can actually let anything kill me?"

    He then turned to look at Akiko, who was just opening her eyes after being rid of the magic blocking her sight.

    "And the fuck happened to your eyes?" He asked when he saw the patterns.

    ?!?!?

    Akiko blinked, then rubbed her eyes, looking up at Axel again.

    For thest 6 months, Akiko hadn''t thought of much at all. Except killing.

    She hadn''t spoken a word, nor had she taken any rest. She just didn''t deserve it. Because, she was too weak to protect him.

    Nothing had changed within the past decade. All the training she had done was useless when it actually came down to it.

    Instead, after meeting him, she started taking it easy. Unknowingly, her goal of revenge had be less important, instead she had started to think about having fun and ying around with him.

    Whenever she was with him, it just felt like she can actually rx, and let him handle everything. It never urred to her that he might actually also need her to be there in return.

    That''s why, she was too weak and unprepared, when he actually needed her help for the first time.

    She could still see his hand extending back when he was trapped by the space whales, as if to ask for help. But there was no one to grasp it.

    That hand still haunts her to this day, every time she closes her eyes.

    It reminds her that had she been alert or strong enough, she could have protected him. And it reminds her, that she doesn''t deserve rest and peace in her life until everyst member of Kraken is dead.

    But then, after all this, imagine opening your eyes and seeing him in front of you, alive and well. It her a few moment to confirm that this wasn''t a hallucination.

    When she saw the figure holding the Trident, the tension began to drain from her body for the first time in 6 months, as the fog of violence clouding her mind started to clear up.

    It really was him. There was no doubt. Through her eyes, she can see an aura that signifies a person''s life force and their will to live, called the life aura. Those with low life aura are easy to kill, and vice-versa.

    And Axel''s aura was¡­ she had never seen anything remotely simr.

    It was¡­ unstoppable¡­ unshakable¡­ inextinguishable. It seemed to extend all over the battlefield, even influencing others'' life auras.

    It was so strong that the even energy of Lady Death inside her seemed to be suppressed in front of it, showing an aversion and dislike.

    And this was just¡­ so like him.

    This aura cannot be replicated. It cannot be passed down. And it cannot be taken away. It''s unique to every person, showing exactly who they are. And that''s why, seeing it, she knew it really was him.

    Because other than HIM, no one else can have that kind of aura, And with that kind of aura, it''s not difficult to believe he actually managed to survive even the explosion.

    "You''re back¡­" she whispered, the first words she uttered in 6 six months as a tear fell from her eye. She hadn''t cried when she saw him die, just like she hadn''t cried when she heard the news of her parents'' death. But right now, she couldn''t stop it.

    The battlefield started toe to a lul as gazes of disbelief started to focus on Axel one after another, whether they were from the Kraken or the Kingdom.

    After his death, the clip of Axel''s fight against Aslot inevitably circted throughout the Kingdom. Despite Anti''s request for secrecy, each and every leader strongly felt that it was a crime not to share such an epic fight.

    So, just a few months ago, the fight was leaked, and since then Axel has be a legend in the eyes of every warrior of Antis, and a sign of relief in the eyes of the Kraken members, for not having to face him.

    Axel looked at Akiko, and then at Martina, both of whom seemed hundred percent sure he was dead and inplete disbelief that he was actually alive, and began to think something was not right.

    "...Of course I''m back. I didn''t go through any trouble at all. It just took a bit of time after I got teleported far away," he said, lying smoothly.

    Imagine just how embarrassing it would be if they found out he was beaten until an inch to death and had screamed like a 5 year old due to the pain he was put through. Imagine almost dying due to pain¡­ how pathetic.

    Nah, it''s better if no one knows about it. Aslot didn''t live to tell the tale anyway.

    But noticing the abnormality, he looked around, and found that the fighting had stopped, everyone looking up at him.

    The General, who had partially healed, got up with difficulty, raising his sword in the air.

    "Warriors of the Kingdom! Behold the Miraculous Return!!! To Arms¡­ FOR KING AXEL REGIUS ARHUNT!!!!

    Weapons began rising in the air, along with cheers of excitement, the morale soaring unprecedented high.

    "FOR THE KING!!"

    ''''''FOR THE KING''''''

    ''''''''''FOR THE KING''''''''''

    ''''''''''''''''''''''''FOR THE KING''''''''''''''''''''''

    Axel: ???

    ¡­..

    A.N.: Here''s your update. Now give <strong>Powerstones</strong> and take me to the Top!

    Next: The Third Overseer

    Next next: The Mind''s Eye

    Next... Next: Kingyer

    Come read /Snollygoster

 Chapter 241: Offer

    Chapter 241: Offer

    Another Chapter as soon as we''re #1 by a 2k powerstone lead.

    Fuck this shit, a trantor is calling me out and thinking he is better by posting 100 chapters of anther author''s work in 2 week. Let him know his ce. While he uses google trante to steal another author''s work, other authors actually have to put in the work in writing each chapter. nning, brainstorming, improving, keeping it interesting, creativity, yeah, a trantor doesn''t have to do any or those.

 Chapter 242:The Third Overseer

    Chapter 242:The Third Overseer

    Axel''s legendary fight against Aslot had been seen by literally everyone in the Kingdom.

    Furthermore, they got to know that Five of the overseers had also been destroyed by him, their Relics framed right in front of Axel''s memorial, putting everyone in awe.

    Ever since then, every moment, the warriors hadmented how great it would have been if the Prince was actually still alive.

    And now seeing him floating in the air with the Royal Trident in his hand, and the bodies of three powerhouses causing hanging around, their dream hade true.

    """""FOR THE KING"""""

    """""FOR THE KING"""""

    """""FOR THE KING"""""

    "He''s still alive!!"

    "See?! I told you he couldn''t die! He even survived the Royal Curse AND the Soul Extinguisher!" "Not only did he return, he even came back with the Royal Trident!"

    Suddenly, the Soldiers seemed to have gotten a huge powerboost simr to the Kraken. Laughing even at the face of death, they began to face the Soldiers with tears of joy streaming down their faces.

    Because... they clearly knew what his existence signified.

    He was a fighting force, which, if on your side, it would be a dreame true, but if on the opposite side, would be a devil who will haunt their dreams.

    But most importantly, his existence signified that the Kingdom still had hope.

    Until now, the warriors were fighting a vain battle. With Anti being thest royal, if they had won this battle, the Royal Bloodline would have still ended with Anti, along with future of the Kingdom.

    But with Axel, the Kingdom can once again have a king, and a very powerful one at that.

    That''s why, their excitement was currently on an unprecedented level. Because now they knew, that even if they died in this battle, at least their future generations will thrive once again.

    Though, while everyone on Kingdom''s side was happy, someone didn''t share the same excitement.

    ''What the fuck?''

    Axel looked at the Soldiers fighting the Kraken army while fanatically shouting his name, question marks rising from his head.

    Seriously, he hadn''t thought things through beforeing here. So, he hadn''t thought what kind of impression he''d make when he arrived with the Royal Trident in his hand and Kraken''s markings on his body.

    And when he suddenly arrived and saw the Princess, it was only then it urred to him that, ''fuck, I might have fucked up''.

    Thest person to have Kraken markings and the Royal Trident had single-handedly thrashed the whole Relic Wielder division and also killed two Relic Wielders.

    And then Axel popped up with the same condition.

    But, he had also popped three people of Kraken''s side and provided healing boost to everyone on Kingdom''s side, so he was at least sure it wouldn''t be instant hostility.

    But, he wasn''t expecting THIS either.

    """"FOR THE KING""""

    Things really weren''t making sense anymore. Suppose a random person swoops in wielding your king''s weapon, are you supposed to be sus or simply dere him the next king?

    What he did expect was to be asked how he got the Trident when it was supposed to be with Aslot.

    To that, he would have answered. ''Yeah, I killed that guy cus he was annoying. No big deal.'' And then no one would believe, making it a scene simr to certain Chinese movies he had seen in the muggle bars.

    But here, they simply dered him the King, no questions asked. Is this how things work here?

    And what''s with the fanatic and worshipping look in everyone''s eyes?

    It''s like they saw their messiah or something, a big step up from the wretched looks he used to get when living on the streets, which was making him feel ufortable.

    Axel didn''t have long to ponder the issue, though.

    The body of the King that he had cut up through the Trident''s de turned into water, slowly climbing the de without him noticing.

    "Watch out!" Anti shouted, her voice rising over the chants of the crowd that was distracting Axel.

    ?!

    Axel swung the Trident with force, sshing away the water.

    ''Water body?'' Axel realized the King wasn''t as weak as he had thought him to be. The man use [Water body] without the Royal Trident, meaning in terms of Water affinity, he is far ahead of him, and even Aslot.

    In front of him, the king appeared again, not at all damaged. The King didn''t even look at Axel, instead looking at Anti who had warned Axel. "Should''ve killed you when I had the chance," he said, shaking his head.

    Anti winced, as if the words physically hurt her. She knew that once you give in to the Entity, the corruption will make you apletely different person. But still, it doesn''t change the fact it was the father who had taught her everything, and the father she had spent so much time caring for after he was bedridden.

    "But no worries, you''ll join your sister soon." The King raised his trident toward Anti.

    "Try touching her." But, Axel appeared between the two, blocking the King''s sight.

    Axel looked at Anti who was still crying. "Don''t worry. You might not believe me, but I can actually handle myself."

    Anti looked at Axel who standing with his back facing her, and suddenly wanted to cry for a whole different reason altogether.

    He can handle himself?

    He survived against Aslot and actually managed to retrieve the Royal Trident.

    OF COURSE she believes he can handle himself.

    But just looking at him protecting her as if it was a matter of course gave her a nostalgic feeling that she had long forgotten. When she was young, her sister would always protect her in the same manner.

    Slowly, the images of Axel and Ana ovepped, and suddenly, she was no longer so devastated with her father''s betrayal anymore.

    Fighting, was still worth it.

    King Atasis, on the hand, was finally turned his attention to Axel, narrowing his eyes. "So, you are the ''bastard'' my daughter had with that ingrate. I can''t fathom how someone like you can be worthy of wielding the the Royal Trident."

    Axel raised his eyebrow. "And you must be the cry-baby oldy who can''t handle a bit of pain."

    Atasis shook his head, looking down at Axel with utter disapproval. "No manners, no royal adequate, and no respect for your elders. You''re a disgrace to the Royal name."

    Axel rolled his eyes. "And I care so much for your opinion! Whatever shall I do now? A random-ass senile old man under the Entity''s control doesn''t approve of me!"

    When ites to pissing people off, few might be able to match Axel.

    "Very well. I shall be disciplining you if ce of your mother."

    The water under the control of King Atasis turned into sharp tentacles which whipped Axel with such force that they made crackling sounds loud enough to be heard over the sound of war.

    "Woah! You need to Chill, old man,"

    Axel''s eyes glowed blue and the whips turned solid, getting frozen in ce.

    Axel smirked. "Are you seriously attacking a Royal Relic wielder with "water"?" He asked. "I think you''ve gotten rusty over the years."

    Axel had thought this would further provoke the King, but instead, the old man smiled. "You have no idea what I''ve been doing for the past years, have you?"

    *SSSS*

    Steam started to rise from the frozen water its temperature increasing rapidly. And then, and then it was blown at Axel, its speed increased due to wind.

    ???

    Axel tried controlling the water again, but this time, found it extremely taxing. Giving up, he instead summoned his own water and form a shield to block the iing attack.

    BOOM

    But the water came in contact with his shield, it managed to smash through, forcing him to use water body. ''What was that?!''

    Axel was surprised. That attack just now didn''t only have water. It was a lot more than that.

    "Just how many bloodlines¡­?"

    The water¡­ no, the ''thing'' he was hit by was scalding hot, was much heavier and toxic, like mercury and had the wind force behind it, making it difficult to stop.

    "Oh, you realized? Water is not the only element I have now." Atasis smiled superciliously.

    "This is what happens when you have nothing but pain, regret and hatred in your heart,ying on bed for years due to your weakness."

    The Royal Bloodline does not only have the water element. For millennia, it has been mixed with various bloodlines of other Septises. King Atasis had med his weakness for everything that happened in the past. And so, he had spent the past decade training in all elements.

    Now able to borrow the Entity''s power, the King was able to put those affinities to great use.

    Axel''s body reformed, now having lost some hp due to the water. "Well, you might have good control, I''ll give you that."

    Axel turned invisible, attacking Aslot from a different angle. "But that doesn''t win you battles."

    Axel reappeared behind the king. The Trident''s des, covered by Lightning, shed at Atasis. The old man, with his Trident and agile water body was able to block two of the des, but the third one drilled straight through, giving him a shock, but, right after that,

    [Magic hands]

    [Lightning Charge]

    [Light Infusion]

    A fist filled with blinding energy mmed into him, smashing him away. His hands were relic grade too, and it showed as this time, despite the water body, the King was mmed straight in the ground on the Kraken side, creating a crater.

    Cheers erupted on the battlefield. The Kingdom''s forces were currently dominating, with the Kraken army being pushed back repeatedly.

    With the Seal reinforcement now in process, every moment, the energy of the super-charged Kraken warriors was decreasing while the Kingdom''s forces seemed to have found a new found power.

    The tides of the warpletely turned with Axel''s arrival.

    Looking down at the battlefield from his aircraft, Scitius mouth was pressed in a thin line. "Axel Hunt¡­" He muttered, anger apparent in his tone.

    He didn''t like it when things didn''t go ording to his ns. And it has been happening a lot ever since HE got involved in the grand scheme of events.

    First, Seventh and Eight. The two had ONE task. To bring Gorski dead or alive, with an intact brain. He knew it could have been a trap and that''s why he directly sent two Overseers, so that nothing can happen.

    But they found this guy instead.

    That was the beginning of the downfall. Until now, when they are at a stage where 6 out of 8 overseers have been taken out by this boy alone.

    At this point, Scitius is not even angry. He just wants to know, HOW?!

    How did he be strong enough to take on Overseers at that age? How did he survive the Soul Extinction? How did he take control over the Trident? And how did he manage to reinforce the Seal?

    His mind needed answers. Answers for where he went wrong and exactly why his ns didn''t work.

    "Never thought I''d have to personally step in," he muttered, finally getting up from his seat.

    "Prepare my amour," hemanded.

    He is Scitius, the Brain of the Kraken. Of course, for every situation, he always has a backup n.

    Scitius ran his eyes over the armor, which opened and attached itself to his body.

    Customized specially for his use, it covered his body from head to toe, not even leaving room for his eyes. It only had one visor, that was on his forehead for his third eye.

    The Armor was connected to hundreds of brains, stored at the back of the ship, which were also interconnected to make for a very bizzare scene.

    Thousands of tiny needles extended from the helmet of the Armor, piercing into Scitius''s skull.

    And then, his third eye opened.

    Vrrrrooooooom

    Mental waves released through the eye, prating through every area and painting the whole picture in his head.

    """You think it''s over?"""

    And then, a voice sounded inside every mind in the battlefield.

    Suddenly, changes began to ur on the battlefield.

    First thing that was clearly noticeable was the fact that the Kraken army, which had by now scattered into a mess, was slowlying back into formation.

    And then, a Kraken warrior, who was losing in a one on one battle with a Kingdom''s veteran, suddenly seemed to develop superhuman reflexes and skill, dodging ever attack. And then¡ª

    SLASH

    Another Kraken soldier came in from the Kingdom soldier''s blind spot and stabbed through the gap in his armor with pin-point precision.

    And, this was just the beginning.

    Simr scenes began happening throughout every point in the battlefield.

    This was the Third Overseer''s main ability. Every person on the Kraken goes through a process that makes thempletely susceptible to Entity''s control.

    And as the third overseer, he can ess those controls whenever he wants.

    That''s where his specialtyes in.

    He might not be a powerful fighter himself, but he has studied every type ofbat art, every type of magic, every type ofbat tactic and strategy in great detail.

    And, with his mental power and control over the Kraken''s army, he can use their body to their maximum potential, irrespective of the damage it can cause to the bodies.

    And he can do this not with just one soldier at time, but thousands!

    So, even if he wasn''t strong enough to physically defeat the Kingdom''s huge army. But, with the Entity''s support, and with his mental power, he can make the Kraken''s huge army invincible.

    In the Kingdom''s corner. While Axel was giving a beating to King Atasis, suddenly the King''s jerked, before pulling an impossible maneuver to evade his next attack, appearing a few meters away.

    The King, whose gaze hadpletely changed, now tilted his head, looking at Axel with an expressionless face.

    "Axel¡­ Regius¡­ Arhunt. We finally meet."

    "Tha Fuck?" Axel narrowed his eyes, suddenly getting an odd feeling from the King. No, this wasn''t the king. It was as if someonepletely different was talking to him through the King''s body.

    At the same time, he also noticed the sudden increase in the Kraken warriors skills all over the battlefield.

    Axel''s expression slowly grew serious, looking at the King in front of him with new-found vignce.

    "And who the hell are you?"

    ¡­

    A.N.: Here''s the Chapter as promised! Vote on refill and Widen the gap!

    Next: The Fearsome Relic: Mind''s Eye

    Next ..next: King yer

    Next... next: A ''Mind''-blowing End

    Next..next: First Overseer Iing

    Come read till the End of the /Snollygoster

 Chapter 243: Back, and Notification

    Chapter 243: Back, and Notification

    Hey guys, I''m back. Now, I know everyone must have forgotten most of the contents of the book, so... I''m going post a <strong>summary</strong> of all volumes in the next chapter.

    Also, I''m making all the chapters ahead on patreon free for a short period of time, meaning you can read them right now by just bing a free member, no strings attached.

    Why am I doing this? Because for the whole time I was absent, the patrons were still paying me. So, to make up for those patrons, I''ll be posting the chapters on patreon for free for a while, so that even those who subbedst month can read it for free.

    And during that time I can''t post here. So, I''m temporarily making all advanced chapters on patreon free. Those who really want to read more of this book will see this notification in time and head over to patreon to join the free chapter ride.

    After that, I''ll lock 242 to 255 again one by one. Those who see this notification toote, just wait for around a month, I''ll start posting here regrly again. Or, they can just skip the chapters I''ve locked and read those that are still free.

    <strong>Link: /snollygoster</strong>

    In the mean time, I''ve written another book that is better than Arcane Thief. It''s chapters are longer too.

    It''s an Original. The name is Realm of Reckoning, and it''s free on patreon, meaning you just have click ''be free member'' to be able to ess it.

    You''ll find all chapters in the ''Collections'' section. Synopsis:

    Realm of Reckoning... is a tform where the representatives of each race in the Universe are sent to fight for glory, resources, and survival of the race.

    Only the best gather here. The strong are worshipped by countless spectators all over the universe while the weak are devoured.

    Zach, an experimental subject in research facility on Earth, somehow obtains a ticket to the RoR. He is now faced with two choices: Continue staying in this hellish ce and be tortured and experimented upon, or go to the RoR tutorial and pass countless trials in order to obtain the qualifications to be a representative.

    Here''s the link again: /Snollygoster

    Or just search Snollygoster Pa treon.

 Chapter 244: Summary So Far (vol 1 to 3)

    Chapter 244: Summary So Far (vol 1 to 3)

    I understand that most of you have Forgotten a lot of parts of Arcane Thief, but good news is, 4th volume is about to start in which he goes to Netherworld, meaning we start with a nk te and all you really need to remember about the past is Axel''s power level and his motivation for going to another World.

    Still, I''m gonna write a casual summary of the three volumes in order to jog everyone''s memories, so that you can read the next volume without any troubles.

    You can read the summary of all three volumes or just the third volume and head over to patreon to read thetest chapters, which I''ve made free temporarily.

    ¡­

    Volume 1

    Axel starts out as a petty thief, though an extremely talented one. The plot starts when Axel gets caught in the act by Cyrus Greengrass. Cyrus is a nutjob due to Greengrass family curse, so he likes to torture kids. He is pretty abusive to his family as well, especially his wife.

    So, Cyrus Tortures Axel with Crutiatus but Axel manages to endure and even kill Cyrus. Here, Axel''s freakish endure and strong mind is revealed and he''s chosen by the Akashic Records.

    Axel survived, but he was permanently disabled, as his nerves have been damaged and even moving a little hurts. When he wakes up in the hospital, he meets Andromeda Tonks, who tries to be nice to him for no reason, even getting him to meet her family. Axel doesn''t admit it, but he''s a bit touched. But her sister Betrix confronts him head, demanding how he managed to survive, so that they could heal Andromeda''s husband who was tortured to insanity.

    Betrix reads Axel''s mind and finds out there''s no trick and Axel is just that strong that he managed to endure the crutiatus.Axel goes to Hogwarts while Andromeda is furious with her sister. At Hogwarts, Axel slowly trains his thief skills, trains his body, and changes his diet to magical ingredients rmended by the system. He also practices magic non-stop, even though it caused him a lot of pain and even though the Healers said it was impossible for him to learn magic, or do physical activites.

    Generally, it should have been the case, but Axel increases his pain threshold to point that he can move, and he increases his concentration to the point he can do normal activities despite his uncoordinated body and cast magic despite the damaged nerves. In short, what hecked, he made up my maximizing his other qualities.

    Meanwhile, he slowly develops an acquaintance with Daphne. Daphne has just been set free after some unknow hero killed her father, so she is enjoying her freedom while Axel is always cynical and closed off.

    Daphne discovers that Axel seems to have more and more secrets and finds him more and more entertaining once you can get him talking. When she talks to other kids her age, and when she talks to Axel, Daphne, who has already matured early after seeing her mother getting abused and with thoughts of wanting to kill her father, finds that Axel really is much more interesting than the rest of the students.

    No matter how darks and hical her thoughts were, when revealed to Axel, he would only find them cute at best. She found that when ites to being crooked, Axel had a mastery. As someone who was allowed to have no free will and no fun until now, every time she learned something from him, she would feel more free and more thrilled.

    Axel also found it interesting to slowly taint the sheltered and pure girl and teach her how the world actually works. It was also convenient that she would do Axel''s homework for him so he was happy to hang out with her.

    As they spent time together, Daphne tried to find out more about Axel, like why his hands are so shaky but Axel always said it was a casual injury.

    Daphne seemed to really like Quidditch as Axel discovered when they went to watch the match. But during the match, all he could think so while looking at the flying teams was, ''what''s so special about it? If I was not crippled, I could have done it better.''

    Daphne suddenly left mid-game. Axel followed her and found her crying in the forbidden forest. After much persuasion, she reveals that her younger sister has blood malediction and her mother just told her thest hope was lost.

    Axel calls bullshit on it as he finally decides to reveal that his injuries are unheble and extremely painful and he was supposed to not have been able to do magic, which he proved wrong by being above average in magic casting in the ss despite the injuries.

    Daphne realizes the suffering Axel has had to go through this whole time the things he overcame and felt that she could indeed not lose hope. After this the two became closer and Daphne began to fall for Axel. I can''t really exin it in a summary but Axel has that savage W rizz that just leaves Daphne no choice.

    Meanwhile a lot of other things happened, Axel met Martina during the troll attack and Martina ended up tripping with her skirt riding up, and this happened the second time, making her realize that the Valentino Mafia Genius Princess was just a clumsy girl.

    The Volume ends when Axel saves Daphne and Rose from Umbridge and steals the philosopher''s stones. With it, he manages to heal his injuries, and heal Astoria''s bloodmdiction.

    (I could write more but it would be too much timetaking for me to write and for you to read. I''ve tried to include most of the important things. The next Volume summary will be even shorter.)

    ....

    VOLUME 2

    In Volume 2, Delegation Mahoutokoro School from Japanes to Hogwarts for a cultural exchange. The two schoolspeted in the duel the first day in which Akiko Matsushima, Japan''s best student and the principal''s granddaughter reveals her lightning ninjutsu, something that is extremely rare and power.

    The next day, in the ninjutsu ss Axel discovers that he also has Lightning affinity, along with a very powerful water affinity.

    The teacher of the stealth ss, Kurai aka Kyrin Tenebrous discovers his stealth skills and is surprised. Kyrin is actually from Antis but even by the Kingdom''s standards, Axel is extremely talented in terms of stealth so she offers his personal training but Axel rejects.

    The next day, when going for training, Axel discovers Akiko training her other Affinity, the darkness Affinity, something that is frown upon to have. They ended up fighting and Axel wins and makes her sign a seal stating she would teach him everything she knows.

    From then on, Akiko and Axel trained everyday, gradually bing friends.

    During Halloween, Lockhart, who was sent by Voldemort, summons a demogorgon, a dark creature of Netherworld and an evolution of demogorgon. Axel asks help from Akiko and Martina and the three of them struggle but find the creature to be too powerful. Martina has magic and talent but no attack power, Akiko had enough of both but her dark magic was ineffective against demogorgon. And Axel has low magic power and thus low attack power.

    Axel activated [limit break] and used a special lightning spell that enables him to charge in wand with lightning, infused it with light magic, and fired, managing to kill the creature, but breaks his wand.

    After that, the matter dies down and everyone focuses on other things. This year, on Daphne''s insistence, Axel entered the Quidditch team, and as expected, he was great. In fact, he was too good since he broke all records by a huge margin.

    Christmas arrives and Axel goes to Martina''s home for Christmas to get his wand repaired upgraded. For the new version, he uses a wood that was Daphne''s heirloom, which contains immense light magic, and the demogorgon hearthstone as the core to be used.

    There, during the Christmas party, in order to reject their rival mafia''s proposal for marriage, Martina''s parents use Axel as a shield and announce that she is engaged to Axel.

    The Mikhailovs try to kidnap Martina but Axel saves her and kills the kidnappers. Touched, Martina shares her secret that she is actually a person who remembers her past life, meaning she''s a reincarnated person.

    When Daphne, who had fallen deeply in love with Axel, saw the news, she was heartbroken, which caused her family curse to activate. It manifests in a way that takes away what the host cherishes the most, so Daphne forgot all of her memories of Axel.

    When Axel returns and found out about this, he was shocked, and even more shocked by the indisputable fact that Daphne actually cherished him the most in the world. Having faced all kinds of hatred, disgusts, and betrayals from all kinds of people, Axel, who had stopped trusting in people, felt a new feeling when he found that there was someone in this world who loved someone like him so deeply. Decides to bring her memories back at all costs.

    Returning to Hogwarts, Axel ys better Quidditch to impress Daphne and also slowly starts the process of bing friends again, only this time, he is the proactive one.

    He also finds a way to cure Daphne. It''s a way to lift off her cursepletely, but the materials are scarce. He cuts a deal with the Principals to y Quidditch against the Mahoutokoro school team in exchange for the ingredients.

    After he wins, only one ingredient is left. But at this time, Rose Potter is kidnapped by Lockhart, who uses her to open a portal to theherworld and summons three demogorgons. Martina, who has upgrade now, manages to stop the demogorgons with her new spell along with Akiko and Axel fight Lockhart, whose body was being controlled by Voldemort through the Horcrux.

    Axel manages to win and rescue Rose, but just when the portal is closing, Voldemort unleashes a full powered attack, some of it manages to make it through the portal. Axel could have run away, but didn''t since Martina and Akiko were in danger, Axel used limit break along with his best shield to block the attack. Even though he survived, he had nobat power left.

    At this time, two Overseers from Kraken attack Axel. Kraken is an organization from Antis and they were after him because they wanted the key around his neck that his dad stole from Kraken.

    Axel tries to resist but ended up getting his fist cut off, getting kidnapped. The two Overseers interrogate him by torturing him but Axel reveals nothing. Instead, with his body immobile and with no magical energy left, he bides his time awakening his water affinity under pressure.

    Over the years, Axel has discovered that when under great emotional and physical pain, Axel can sometimes get energy out of nowhere. This energy actuallyes from his bloodline. Every time he suffers, Axel inadvertently awakens his Antian bloodline, which is said to be impossible to awaken without the help of proper training and resources.

    He used the painifera venom, much worse than crutiatus, and anger he felt when they also threatened Daphne when they find out that he cared for her through his magi-mirror. With these factors, he manages to awaken his water affinity to a high degree, upgrading his skill to [Water Monarch], and unlocks the ability to control water with just his thought, requiring no hand seals or a magical conduit like wand.

    But he didn''t know was the Daphne had heard the process of him getting tortured through the butt-dial on his magi-mirror. Daphne, who had memories of Axel, found that when Axel was getting tortured, it felt like they were torturing her. She felt such anger and desperation at the thought of Axel suffering that her Bloodline curse retreats and her memories return, reminding her exactly why she cared so much.

    With his water bloodline, Axel takes the overseers by surprise and reunites with Daphne. The Volume ends with Axel healing his soul which was damage due to limit break with Daphne''s help and then leaving for Antis to deal with the rest of the Kraken, who now know that he has the key.

    ¡­

    ABOUT THE ENTITY AND THE ALTINA TRENCH

    The Entity is an anomaly created by greedy Aetherians by mistake when they were trying to create a being who won''t have much awareness but would be able to store and generate immense power, which the Aetherians would be able to harness by bonding with it. Basically they wanted a substitute for the world tree, an overpowerful entity that only serves the royal family of Aetherworld.

    But like the plot of every sci-fi horror movie, they failed and identally unleashed a monstrosity into the world. This monstrosity was named the Entity. It was impossible to kill and could adapt, evolve and grow infinitely. And, it had its own will. It wanted to take over every living being and absorb them into its own consciousness, thus bing the all controlling existence in the world.

    After a lot of death and destruction, the Antian Royalty, which had nothing to do with the incident, had to do the most heavy lifting. Using up a whole lot of power of the world tree, they managed to temporarily contain the Entity. But, it wasn''t a permanent solution since the Entity could once again gain power as long as there was mana in the environment.

    So, they began to explore other worlds. They discovered the Netherworld and Earth. Netherworld also had a lot of magic but Earth had no magic of its own. So, they decided to permanently seal the Entity on Earth.

    Now the problem was how to keep the seal reinforced and how to protect it? Earth has no magic power, so the Aetherians cannot replenish their powers if they stay to guard the seal.

    So, in order to guard and power the seal, they modified Aetherians and in a way that allowed their souls to have a connection with the Aetherworld or Netherworld, allowing them to draw powers from it.

    These Aetherian with modified souls were the first of the wizards on Earth.

    The Aetherian sealed the Entity in a space at the deepest trench of the ocean. This space is now know as Altina trench. They created a Kingdom in the sea to guard this space, Antis. The whole kingdom has an array that continuously takes a little bit of magical power from its citizens to maintain the seal.

    In this way, the Entity remained sealed for thousands of years, but it could still influence people, creating a lot of chaos. It also managed to expand the space in Altina Trench, connecting it with various parts of the world in order to draw people from the outer world in the Trench.

    The followers of the Entity called their organization the Kraken, reference the tales of the giant sea monster among the outer worlders.

    VOLUME 3

    In the next volume, Axel enters Antis disguised as a teenager who knew the previous crown princess (his mother) and the princess takes him in.

    He doesn''t reveal that he is supposed to be the crown prince yet since he doesn''t know the situation and can''t trust the princess. For all he knows, he might be attacked and taken down by those who have ns for the throne, like it happens in the stories.

    Axel finds that Antis is currently under war against Kraken, the same enemy organisation he came to take down and decides that joining Antian Army is the way to go.

    Axel is taken to the academy to enroll where has to pass a trial. Axel performs so well that he breaks the previous records in this as well and gets offers from various divisions.

    Unfortunately, his trial has to end when Kraken bombards the capital city using bombs that can actually blow up despite the restrictions of Ancient Antian wards.

    But after watching the video continuously, Kyrin manages to see through Axel''s disguise and forces him to join her unit, which is Dark ops. There, he also finds Akiko who hade with Kyrin.

    After joining, Axel and Akiko spend a day outside to get familiar with the city and Akiko has fun and rxing for the first time in her life. But they are interrupted when the biopark, a ce containing numerous magical animals, suddenly faces a Kraken attack. The creatures suddenly be a lot more powerful and aggressive due to the entity''s influence and attack the tourists. Axel steps up and single handedly subdues therge beast tide, by controlling the dragon by simultaneously controlling hundreds of thousands of mana threads.

    The video once again goes viral and now Axel is famous in Antis. He is supposed to be rewarded for his bravery soon. Kyrin takes them to train in the Altina Trench for a day, stating they''ll be back for Axel''smendation ceremony.

    In the trench, they were supposed to only train in the shallowyers, where there is no danger but Axel''s key causes a space fluctuation and they end up in the deeper part, a ce where the Relic Wielders of Kingdom are fighting the Overseers of Kraken to reach to seal and reinforce it.

    Here, they first meet the Fifth overseer, the fifth overseer Karlock who is chasing a poisoned Sylthia.

    Karlock has a relic that lets him manipte machines and biological matter, using which he modifies humans and animals into grotesque creatures which he can control.

    Sylthia tells them how the relic wielder division by single-handedly trashed by one person, and he was wielding the Royal Trident, the Relic wielded by the Antian Rulers. Axel gets a main quest, part one, to take down the Royal Trident wielder and retrieve the royal relic. And part 2, Reinforce the Seal.

    Axel detoxifies Sylthia''s poison using his poison mastery skill and after a lot of struggle, they defeat Kraken''s fifth overseer. But during the fight, Karlock doesn''t fail to notice that Kyrin, the legendary warrior who has single-handedly defeated 3 overseers at once, is either no using her full power or has gotten a lot weaker.

    Before they can rx, Axel ends up being transported further deep into the Abyss due to an ident. In thisyer, the Gravitation is extremely high, high enough to suffocate normal people.

    He witnessed a fight between his Mother''s brother Ender and the fourth Overseer.

    Fourth can control all kinds of energy fields, including Gravity. He also almost as strong as Ender, kingdom''s one of the strongest warriors, but Ender''s lightning can be countered by Fourth''s control over electromaic fields and the terrain of gravitation is also in Fourth''s favour. Also, due to the loosening of the seal, the Fourth can borrow a lot of power from the Entity. So, Ender loses.

    After dealing with Ender, the fourth fights Axel but Axel manages to hold on by protecting him with his exteme water control andpletely exhausting the Fourth. Though when Fourth goes all and creates an explosion of energy fields, Axel has to protect himself by forcefully stuff his body into Theron''s armor through the neck portion by dislocating his bones.

    After that, Axel got out of the armor and reattached his bones and Killed the Fourth, taking his relic.

    By now, Axel is exhausted. But just after a small break, he has to get up and run because the Wielder of Royal Trident is after him.

    Axel wouldn''t have minded if his conditions were better but now he''s exhausted. He tries to run but Royal Relic Wielder is too fast.

    Axel finds that the Royal Relic Wielder is actually Aslot, the traitor whounched a mutiny and crippled the previous king. Unable to run away, Axel fights Aslot, but he immediately finds that this is almost an impossible fight.

    Aslot''s is much better than Axel, being it closebat skills, magic power, affinity control, or attack power. But Aslot is also impressed by Axel''s insane achievements at his age, especially about his high bloodline awakening, prompting him to not kill Axel.

    Axel starts to bait Aslot. He fights while revealing very little of his actual power and skills, making Aslot think he could win easily. In this way, the fight just keep stretching. Every time Aslot feels like he would win, Axel just barely survives, making frustrated but also scared he might kill him and lose all the secrets if he used too much power.

    And during this whole time, Axel is constantly getting stronger. The reason he was weak until now was because he barely had any real fight with a real opponent. But now that he had the opportunity, with his highly strong mind, he was able to continuouslyprehend the system knowledge, create new skills, and unlock new knowledge.

    His proficiency in controlling water also increased as he learnt from the best. In this way, Axel became a real thief and awakened [Skill Steal], stealing Aslot''s skills and making them his own.

    Aslot had long stopped trying to subdue Axel and was now actively trying to kill him, but now, the problem was, he could no longer do so. Axel had already upskilled to the point that he could survive Aslot. He even managed to survive the water curse, due to his high waterprehension and Aslot lost a lot of control over the Trident in order to cast it.

    Aslot finally uses the spell he used to take down the previous king, the Soul Extinguisher. It is a soul affinity magic that directly targets the soul, and the only one to have survived it is the previous King, or Axel''s Grandfather, and he only survived it due to the protection of the Royal Trident. He was only hit by a very small portion of the spell and the pain was so much that the King never recovered.

    The reason Aslot can use this spell is because Aslot is able to use this spell is because Aslot is because the Royal Family has been mixed with the bloodlines of all septices, which includes the Soul Septis. And the Entity helped him awaken the Soul bloodline or Arhunt Bloodline, which is extremely difficult to awaken even for direct descendents.

    So, Axel suffered the [Soul Extinguisher at full power. As expected, he almost dies. But, Axel has discovered a trick by now. When under great pain, if he manages to get his mind to focus at that moment, he can always do crazy things. But the problem was, this pain was just too much, even more him.

    Just when he was about to die, he thought of Daphne and that helped him focus and calm his soul. The reason is that Daphne is a person he can bepletely rxed with. As soon as Axel managed to focus, he awakened the Arhunt Bloodline, a bloodline that went extinct because very few descendents were actually able to awaken it even with the proper procedures.

    It is even more difficult to awaken than the royal bloodline. His father was actually from the Soul Septis, meaning he is a direct descendant, and he awakened it without any training or procedure, simply with pure will to survive.

    When Axel even manages to survive this, Aslot goes mad and creates a suicidal explosion, thinking that he would survive using the royal trident. In order to start the chain reaction, he used dimensional bombs. But Axel throws the royal trident into the st and uses the energy to free the Royal Trident by using [Unshackle]

    The explosion takes ce and both Aslot and Axel disappear. During this time, the princess, martina, general, Sylthia, and ck ops were trying to find Axel, knowing that Aslot might sense his bloodline and go after him. Just when they''re about to reach him the explosion urs.

    Estris uses her time ability and they see the previous legendary fight between Axel and Aslot and they realize that Axel is dead. No one knew that Axel used [Unshakled] at thest moment, so they think he has no chance, and they can''t even find his body.

    Seeing the fight, blood starts dripping from Akiko''s eyes and she awakens Shinigan, the eyes of death.

    They show the video to the rest of the higher ups and everyone realizes that Axel was actually the Crown prince. Every regret andment the death of who could have been the most powerful ruler andunch an all out attack at Kraken for retaliation.

    During this time, Martina hacks into the Antian database and finds the video. She watches it with Daphne, Astoria, and Rose.

    Seeing the end, Daphne''s bloodline curse recurs. She uses the bloodline awakening ritual that Axel has set up before leaving for exactly a situation like this to stop her memories of Axel from disappearing again.

    But no one knew that Daphne''s bloodline had a hidden mechanism of transporting her to Aetherworld after awakening it. It was written in her family motto that when they awaken the bloodline, they shall ascend, but no one took it literally.

    After being unable to find Daphne, Martina leaves her family to the task and goes to Antis to take revenge.

    Six months pass and the fight enters the final stage. And Axel also waves up during this time.

    He wanted to go back and see Daphne but when he found out he was very close to the seal he decided to reinforce it first. But he finds that it was being guarded by the Second Overseer called Zeta. She was a beautiful woman who reminded Axel awfully of Daphne because of her aura and her looks.

    Axel fights Zeta and realizes that she has the Royal Bloodline of the Aetherworld. Combined with the power of huge imitation of the world tree behind her, she was a formidable opponent. Only, she had very little knowledge on how to actually use her bloodline, letting Axel have the upper hand.

    But the problem was, Zeta seemed to be immortal. Even after destroying her several times, Axel fails. At this moment, Axel summons his wand which was with Martina and the wand begins to absorb the power of the world tree. Then it is revealed that the world tree was made out of a real world tree branch, and that branch had turned into Axel''s wand, so the imitation world tree was basically Axel''s bitch now, and since Zeta had bonded to the imitation, so was she.

    Antis was winning, but it turned out that Kraken had been hiding an ace with their sleeve. Then out of nowhere, all the Antian defense systems open fired at friendly forces. It was only they that it was revealed that the bedridden King was actually Kraken''s sleeping cell this whole time.

    After getting hit by a tiny fraction of the soul extinguisher, the King, who didn''t have Axel''s pain tolerance, wasn''t able to bear the pain and gave in to the entity in order to lessen the pain. The Kraken used the King and Aslot to fight against Axel''s parents, forcing them to destroy the key and disappear into the dimensional storm.

    Then the organization used the King to poison Anti in a way that destroyed her fertility, thus ensuring there would be no rulers in the Kingdom anymore.

    After that, they erased the King''s memory, and again made him disabled and left him to wallow in pain. Now that the Entity once again has the power, it once again awakened its dormant control over the king, giving the Kingdom a huge blow.

    Kyrin fights the Sixth but it is revealed that she is actually dying and has very little power left, the after effects of over exerting herself when taking the revenge for Akiko''s parent''s deaths.

    So, she is unable to save Akiko when she is in danger due to an attack of Sixth.

    Martina also loses the fight against the fifth, while the princess was about to be killed by her own father.

    At this moment, Axel returns, and three des pierce three people, saving three women at the same time.

    Axel fights the king and almost wins, but then Scitius, the third overseer takes control, controlling every person on the battlefield at the same time, including

    Scitius can maximize the abilities of the people he controls, so he is able to have the upper hand against Axel and the Kingdom''s forces.

    At this moment, it is revealed that Scitius actually has the most powerful relic, and he can only use it to some extent after using extra brains in a huge tank in his ship. But even then, his powers are extremely formidable.

    It is revealed that he is the mastermind for everything that has happened until now, and if not for Axel, he would have brought down this ancient kingdom that had never fully fallen.

    (If you have only read Webnovel chapters, the summary ahead is spoiler, so it''s better to just read the chapters. I''ve made them free for at least now.)

    Basically, Sciutius can always anticipate Axel''s every move, and Axel''s mental power is also gone due to reinforcing the seal and fighting Zeta, so is about to lose but Axel surprises Scitius by using Arhunt Bloodline and kills the King.

    But Scitius fights him himself. Axel lets Scitius into his mind, and traps him in the part of his mind that contains the memories of all of his pain and suffering, including the soul extinguisher. This ce is so sturdy and even Scitius can''t break out immediately and Axel force him to experience his painful memories. While Sctius is in shock, Axel destroys his body.

    After this, Axel knows that the first overseer ising. So he prepares well, shoving down potions and stabbing syringes that can boost him for a while and help him recover his physical, mental, and magical energy.

    Then the First Overseer finally arrives. Axel was not surprised when it turned out to be his Grandfather, the father of Tristan Arhunt. He has an extremely high proficiency in Soul Magic. In Soul Magic, you have to follow a path. A path is something that describes you, your nature, and what you like to do.

    The path the First follows is destruction.

    (After this, just read from 246 or 247 to thetest chapter. They''re temporarily free. Would only take a few minutes and it will be more fun)

    ¡­

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 245: The Minds Eye

    Chapter 245: The Minds Eye

    Those who have forgotten due to the break, read the summary of Vol 3 in the previous chapter to catch up.

    ....

    "No¡­ the question is, how many are you?"

    Axel was really confused right now. He had thought that the fight was pretty much decided with the way things were going. But then, suddenly, every person in the Kraken army suddenly seemed to turn pro, turning the tides yet again.

    And it had something to do with this guy. He just couldn''t figure out how.

    "First of all, I am only one. Whether you believe me or not."

    As if to prove his point, suddenly, each and every soldier and creature on the Kraken''s side suddenly waved in Axel''s direction midbat.

    ?

    "But seriously, who am I?" Atasis, or who should now be his controller, suddenly beganughing, seemingly finding his question funny. ''What is this guy snorting?'' Axel was weirded out.

    The King finally stoppedughing, shaking his head. "No, I''m not under the influence of drugs. And I AM finding it funny," he said, as if having read Axel''s mind.

    "You see, I have spent the better half of the past 7 months thinking about you, even eventually regarding you as my greatest enemy. And it''s funny that I got beaten again and again, by a guy who didn''t even know about my existence, let alone my powers."

    "Let me introduce myself, Prince Axel. I am Scitius Marcellus, the Third Overseer and Chief Strategist of the Kraken and the wielder of what is, in my personal opinion, the strongest relic, the Mind''s Eye."

    "And I am here to satisfy my curiosity."

    "The Strategist?!"

    "Oh, so you are aware of my existence," Said Scitius, seemingly satisfied.

    Now Axel was looking at the guy with positive hostility.

    "Since when?" That''s all Axel asked.

    And Scitius understood exactly what he was referring to, as he smiled proudly.

    "Since the beginning. From the very first instigation."

    Axel gritted his teeth. "So, it was you," he muttered.

    Antis is not a Kingdom that can fall easily. In fact, it is almost infallible.

    There are numerous fail safes designed for every situation in order to keep the Entity in check. The King, only when judged by the throne and trident to be worthy, wields most of the power.

    And the development. Prosperity, security and control in the Kingdom is enough to make sure that the citizens do not have any dissatisfaction living in Antis and never want to leave.

    Even the Army and Septises are managed in a way that no one goes beyond the line.

    In such a situation, a revolt happened that eliminated most of members of Septises, and result in the death of the King and the Queen.

    Soon after, the King was taken under the Kraken''s control and he eliminated one princess and make other one infertile, before being put on stand by, to be used in the future.

    Within just a few years, the strength of Kraken has grown and Kingdom''s strength has decreased, to the point that today Kraken is able to directly take on the Kingdom''s forces head on.

    All these things didn''t happen on their own. There has always been a mastermind, pulling the strings behind the scenes.

    And it was the Third Overseer from start to end.

    "Well then, it''s a good thing you haven''te out," he muttered, taking a stance.

    "Oh, I don''t need to," replied Scitius, using the King''s body to take a stance.

    It happened very quickly. One moment, they were both more than 10 meters apart, and in the next, their weapons shes in the middle, clearing a shockwave.

    Axel was surprised. Not only had the King''s fighting style hadpletely change, the new style was several times better too. Their weapons shed several times, but Axel wasn''t able to gain an advantage in term of purebat skills.

    Both of them weren''t going max yet. As if by tacit understanding, they were currently throwing out the beginning moves, testing each other, studying the other''s tactics, evaluating their skills, looking for weakness.

    Axel raised it up a notch, the Trident''s des extending and attacking from different angles at the same time.

    But instead of getting of overwhelmed like thest time, des made out of abination of Elements manifested in front of the King.

    The first few times, the Trident''s des managed to cut through, damaging the King''s water body, but the structure andposition of the Elemental des changes with each both, bing more and more firm.

    "Your bloodline¡­ is really amazing," muttered Scitius in appreciation. Suddenly, number of des under his control increased, overwhelming Axel, who only had two.

    ''What the¡ª''

    Now outnumbered in terms of des, Axel added [Fluid Movement] into his moves, going on the defensive. Parts of his [Water body] would extended from his body, absorbing the momentum of the elemental des and slowing them down.

    "You have a uniquebat style." Scitius''s fighting style changed, now getting customized for focusing on the weakness of Axel''s movements.

    But, the weaknesses couldn''t be exploited for long, as the holes were filled with new, perfected moves.

    Axel''s fists glows and they were also added to the mix, block and attacking and then¡ª

    BOOM BOOM BOOM

    Three fistsnd in three different parts, causing Scitius to retreat.

    Axel reformed from his water body, his eyes narrowed while looking at Scitius.

    ''He''s like me.'' Axel realized. When he looked at his hands which he had used to block the de, he found deep wounds on them which had managed to prate through his protective covering and actually damage his hands which were extremely hard.

    Those des that he was using. They were made with the magic of all elements.

    There was a reason why the King didn''t use them earlier. Because even if he did have the affinity, he didn''t have the mental power to use so many at once, let alone so perfectly.

    And Scitius was using them for the first time. That means first he studied the King''s mind to know all about the technique, and then he executed them. And with each trial, he was able to perfect them mid-battle.

    So, they were indeed simr. They both had high mental power and highbatprehension and application.

    Axel just didn''t think there would be another like him.

    Just like Axel, Scitius was also making his own observations. "That legendary talent. I always wanted to see it in person," he muttered, looking amazed. "You seem to get better every moment of the battle. It''s almost as if you have someone in your head, teaching you new things."

    "¡­."

    ''Fuck.''

    Axel did not like this. That hit too close to home. He would unlock new knowledge the more he practises andprehends his move. So, it is indeed simr to have an instructor in his head, constantly giving him hints.

    Scitius tilted his head. "Seems like that IS the case. I knew it. Talent alone does exin how good you are at your age."

    Axel didn''t let the guy talk more, attacking him again.

    "You have too many secrets. I can see it. And they''re making me really curious." But Scitius was ready this time.

    The number of des under his control kept increasing, while his control on each one remained wless. And Axel couldn''t match it with it with his limited mental capacity. Not only this, but he also began to evade Axel''s attacks even before they were executed, as predicting his moves or reading his mind.

    ''Just what the hell?'' Axel never thought he would see the day, but he was actually losing a fight in terms of mental capacity right now.

    Granted that he had already exhausted most of his mental energy back when he had created the Giant sword to fight Zeta and hadn''t recovered yet, but it has to be noted that while fighting Axel, Scitius also currently fighting against the whole Kraken army by controlling thousands of Kraken warriors at once.

    And Axel had to ept, that was a notch above what he did with Giant avatar and the sword.

    This time, it was Axel who pulled away after getting overwhelmed, taking distance.

    Axel looked around at the battlefield and saw simr scenes being yed everywhere else as well, with ''Scitiuses'' dominating every battle.

    "How I''m doing this you asked?" Scitiusughed. "You don''t even know about the strongest Relic of your own Kingdom."

    "Strongest Relic?" Axel was even more puzzled. Wasn''t the strongest Relic supposed to be the Royal Relic?

    "Royal Relic is the Strongest Relic that can be Wielded without the Wielder dying. My Relic, Mind''s Eye on the other hand, didn''t have a single master until it acknowledged me. Simply because of the fact that no one''s mind could ever handle the pressure of its powers," said Scitius proudly.

    Mind is a person''s most powerful weapon. And the Aetherians knew that. So, investing a huge amount of resources and using the best minds, they began preparing the strongest relic in history, a Relic that could remove the limits of mind.

    But, they failed. Not because they couldn''t make the Relic Powerful enough, but...because they made it too powerful. It refused to acknowledge anyone.

    The First King of Antis had a huge obsession with the Relic, so he decided to bring it with him. Until it was eventually stolen by the Kraken.

    That''s why Scitius took pride in being able to wield it. No one other than him could wield the Mind''s Eye. And even he need external support of so many brains to actually bring out its actual powers. Ever since knowing about his deeds, the Kingdom''s higher ups have lived in regret andment for not giving him the recognition he deserved.

    ''So, the Relic was indeed rted to the mind,'' thought Axel, suddenly feeling a little better.

    His mind had always been his biggest asset, even more than his bloodline and other abilities. And suddenly this guy shows and absolutely smashes him in that field.

    That really made him question whether he was actually still too weak.

    Well, now he at least knew that''s Scitius is an extremely unique case. And the main reason could be attributed to his Relic, the Mind''s Eye.

    But, if this guy''s mind really was so strong, there was another thing Axel didn''t understand.

    Why?!

    "Why are you doing this? You can easily resist the Entity''s Control," he decided to ask. Axel really couldn''t understand. Since even he could resist the Entity, then this guy, having such a huge amount of mental capacity should also be able to do.

    But to that, Scitius simply shook his head.

    "You won''t understand. Not with your impressive physique and natural talent."

    Axel raised his eyebrows. "So, that''s it? You''re butthurt because you didn''t have talent?"

    "It''s not that I didn''t have the talent," said Scitius, appearing in front of Axel. "But I never got the chance to show it."

    A multiple elemental st was released from his hand which blew Axel backward. Scitius followed, des forming behind him.

    "Back when I was an academy student, I had wanted nothing more than to be Relic Wielder. But, let alone bing one, I found out I would never even be qualified to try!"

    Being a Relic Wielder has extremely high requirements, the first one being physical and magical ability, then the morality criteria. If you don''t pass the requirements, you''d never even be allowed to have a chance to try bonding with a Relic, let alone wield them.

    "I always knew I was special. But the Kingdom didn''t thing so. With just a simple test, I had been unworthy of ever wielding a weapon. My dream was shattered, just like that!" He said, shing a Axel with hundreds of des, big and small.

    "That''s when I decided. I needed to let everyone know what I''ve always felt. That I! DON''T NEED THEIR VALIDATION!"

    The markings on the King''s body shined brightly, and different elemental energiesbined together, creating an ominous energy above his head.

    The energy was released in high intensityser beam, and it was released at an angle which it had Anti in the line of motion, in case Axel decided to dodge.

    "NO!"

    The fight was so intense that others could barely follow it, let alone intervene. By the time Scitius attacked, it was already toote to save Axel.

    Axel was hit head on, the energy burrying him straight into the ground.

    Scitus wasn''t satisfied though,unching another Elemental beam in the wreckage, just to be sure.

    "Talent means nothing in terms of absolute mental power."

    But, around the same time, a simr energy beam hit from behind, burrying him in the same ce Axel was sted into.

    Axel appeared behind Scitus, multiple elements revolving around him.

    [Skill Steal]

    "Nice!" He muttered, adjusting the energy to be more stable.

    "Thanks for taking the time to teach me."

    But, he wasn''t satisfied with just this.

    He currently couldn''t use the Royal Relic, or his powers to their fullest extent. Because hecked the mental power.

    And the Solution was right in front of him.

    The Mind''s Eye

    The Thief inside him was getting excited.

    .....

    A.N.: I''m not fully back yet, since I still have to release a lot more chapters on patreon, but I''ll still release weekly here.

    Also, I''ve released Arcane Thief on Royalroad. And it''s an edited version. You can check it out if you want. Give it a follow if you want to help me out

 Chapter 246: King Slayer

    Chapter 246: King yer

    Axel got into the line where the warriors were registering for the Tests.

    As he waited, he watched the Screenings of other applicants. By observing them, he can get an idea of the general level of the people in this world.

    If there was a rating scale, then average students of Hogwarts woulde at 5, and trained wizards woulde at 10.

    The Elite level figures he faced like the Chinese and Russian Ministers would be around 50.

    Then, average Antian warriors would also not be low, around 30.

    Powerful and Talented Antian warriors would be 100, through bloodlines and Septise Magic.

    Relic Wielders, meaning those of Relic Wielder Division and the Overseers would be 500 onwards. But it''s really subjective. They have weaknesses, but they have absolute dominance in certain fields.

    A Figure like Aslot would easily take 500 ''without'' a Relic, and 2000+ with a Relic, because, well, can even take down 2000 wizards without breaking a sweat, and he was able to defeat the whole Relic Wielder Division by himself.

    Based on this rating scale, (which is neither too urate nor reliable), these warriors in these trials are around 100 to 500+ (Reaching Relic Wielder Level even without Relics).The races in this world are much more strengthened and evolved due to the presence of Magic, and they have received training and magical education that is far more mature andpletepared to the Wizards on Earth.

    Another thing to be noticed is that they can use the magic in the Environment as well, which the Wizards on Earth cannot do due to theck of magic, also contributing to vast the power difference.

    Also, ording to this rating, the beast [Void Stalker] that Axel had killed can be considered more powerful than most of these warriors, and that''s why no one messed with Axel after he had thrown out its carcass.

    So, being much stronger than even Aslot (2000+) now, Axel can be considered quite strong in this world.

    But the upper ceiling is not clear here, as he saw from Valerion the Archon, who took him on even when injured.

    This makes Axel''s current situation a bit tricky.

    <How much should he show here?>

    This was the question.

    In order to be a scout of Aetherworld, he has to show off a lot of his power, but doing that is also likely to bring troubles.

    What to do in this situation?

    ''Let''s hide it for now,'' he decided. For now, he won''t show off too much.

    Having thought things through, he continued watching the Trials of other applicants.

    Most of the people were trying out for the positions of Basic Warriors and Mages and even other test had decent traffic. Except for the Giant War Qualifier.

    The number of people were small, and yet, it seemed to garner the most attention. There didn''t seem to be any concept of taking turns, as everyone was attacking the Giant together.

    As he watched, an Orc Warrior also joined the fight.

    This Orc Warrior seemed to have a reputation since some of the orcs in the crowd seemed to recognize him and shouted his name.

    "It''s Oracius!"

    "GO! Oracius!"

    Hearing the cheers, the participants waiting in line with Axel also got curious.

    "This one seems to be good enough."

    "How rare to see someone actually strong these days."

    "Yeah, almost all of the capable warriors have already joined the Allied forces. Only the dregs are left now."

    ''These¡­ are dregs¡­?'' Hearing their casual discussion of the applicants waiting in line with him, Axel was a bit stunned. These warriors are already strong enough, but it seems that they are not much impressivepared to the real deal, which have already joined the Allied Army.

    The Orc''s face was quite serious. He took out a cylindrical piece of wood with intricate carvings and mmed it into the ground.

    Then, something surprising happened. The surrounding energy was attracted to the pole and directed into the orc. The Orc''s muscles swelled and a fierce aura surrounded him.

    "Strength Totem¡­" Someone behind Axel murmured.

    "Such an increase with a single totem, he really deserves his fame," said an Orc in the line.

    So, it seems that the Orcs aren''t a mindless race and do have a power system of their own, which are totems.

    Now that he was aware they could be a threat, Axel studies the orc race more carefully. Their bodies seem simr to humans, only much stronger and bigger. In fact, their face is not much different either, except for the protruding nose and teeth, making Axelpare them with pigs and their ears, which were pointy.

    Seeing the discussion of the people, a Goblin standing in the line snorted. "It''s powerful, but not enough. Physical attacks do work on Giants, but they need to be extremely precise and strong. Otherwise there is no chance."

    As if knowing what the Goblin knew, Oracius the Orc didn''t stop there, as he took out yet another totem, this one shing with lightning and the eyes of the face carved in it were glowing blue.

    "The Lightning Totem! He actually has it!"

    Further discussion spread around Axel, and listening in, Axel found that magic doesn''t seem to have any effects on the Giants due to their natural resistance, except Lightning Magic.

    But the Lightning needs to be on a high enough threshold in order to have any effect.

    Oracius raised his hands in the air, chanting in a strangenguage and the clouds gathered out of the arena.

    Lightning fell on the totem, getting transferred to Oracius.

    And then¡ª

    BOOM

    Lightning fell on the Giant, making it let out a cry that shook the arena. It sounded like a deep, reverberating voice that would continuously impact your eardrums and even cause vibrations into the ground.

    To put things into perspective, Axel was not even the size of the Giants thumb. That''s how huge its body was.

    Though the Lightning was powerful, it seemed to fall short in front of the Giant''s defense. The Lightning managed to hit the Giant once on the head, but then, ayer of magic seemed to on its whole face, blocking the rest. Shielding its head with its arms and retracting the magic, the Giant turned its attention from other warriors and red down at Oracius.

    !

    It let out a loud roar which actually had magic in it. The sound waves hit therge area epassing Oracius.

    Using lightning, Oracius escaped the strike zone but it seems that his eardrums were still impacted, as he stumbled and covered his ears.

    For outsiders, the voice seemed to be muffled due to a barrier covering the area of Giant Trial, but it seems that the rest of the Participants had to bear the impact as well.

    "Even he can''t do it," someone muttered after seeing this.

    "The Giants really are in a league of their own."

    "Yes, but he managed to damage the Giant. I''m sure he''ll be included in the Giant war."

    "He will be included, ''if'' he manages to stay alive till the required survival time."

    "Yes, with how he has managed to irritate the Giant, I''d be surprised if the Giant let him survive."

    It seems that defeating the Giant is not an absolute requirement for selection, rather it is being able to damage the Giant and being able to survive.

    "Postion?"

    "The Giant War Qualifier."

    At this moment, the tall figure said these words in response to the Goblin who was doing the registrations, attracting everyone''s attention.

    After the registration wasplete, the person shrugged off the Cloak, revealing a conspicuous pair of purry ears, his head and muscr body.

    "A Lycan?"

    "He doesn''t look weak."

    "It seems that there''s more to watch."

    Silver colored magic gathered in his legs before he jumped,nding directly in the Trial Field. The Lycan let out a howl and silver magic fell down on him. His body erged and morphed, turned half wolfish.

    On his body, which now had white fur, markings began to light up, onyer after another.

    "Fouryers? Who is this Lycan?"

    The Lycans have a different magic system. They get a majority of their power from the moon, called Lunar magic. And that power is harnessed through the markings on their bodies. The moreyers you light up, the more power you can use.

    Obviously, fouryers is a decent amount, since Axel could feel the Lycan''s power skyrocketing to a rating of at least a thousand plus.

    ''What incredible muscle power,'' Axel was impressed.

    The Lycan''s ws elongated, glinted with magic. A silver streak flew across the Giant''s leg,nding on the other side.

    Blood spurted out from the giant''s leg, causing it to stagger. Oracius used this opportunity to fire several more lightning bolts at the Giant.

    The other participants, who were still alive, also started to bombard the Giant.

    The Lycan made it look easy, but from the attempts of the previous warriors, Axel knows that the Giant''s skin is extremely tough to pierce.

    The Lycan must have enormous muscle strength and extremely sharp ws to be able to pull this off.

    The Lycan continued the offense, attacking the Giant from different angles. For a moment, it seemed that the Giant was going to die.

    But then, it let out a loud roar. The whole arena started to shake.

    Axel realized that the vibrations were originating from the Giants body. Despite the barrier, he could still feel a huge amount of power brewing inside him.

    "By the dark dragon King¡­ is this Giant¡­?''

    "Yes! It looks like it''s a Warrior Giant."

    Ordinary Giants can''t use magic, but the warriors of the race can.

    The frequency of vibrations kept increasing as dark magic rays began to escape from the cracks of the Giant''s skin. And then¡ª

    !!

    A huge explosion rocked the Arena, causing everyone to stumble. And that was despite the barrier blocking almost all of the st energy.

    Those inside¡­ weren''t so lucky, many getting incapacitated or dying.

    And now, it was finally Axel''s turn for registration.

    Once again, it was a Goblin who was sitting at the counter.

    "Race?"

    "Vampire."

    "Name?"

    "Valex."

    "Identification?"

    "Thrall.... Phoenix Coven," said Axel, lifting his sleeve.

    When Axel mentioned Thrall, the interest of those around him faded, until he mentioned the Phoenix Coven.

    Obviously, it wasn''t an ordinary Coven, being infamous to the point of being known by other races despite all these years.

    Thralls are Vampires who areckeys of the main members of Covens. They don''t know the core heritage of the n, meaning even though being from Phoenix n was a big deal, it was not something that would bring him too much trouble.

    Axel decided to keep it like this for now, until he could safely reveal more.

    a Thrall mark of the Phoenix Coven, the Goblin and everyone else who was listening in were shocked.

    Not quite believing his words, the Goblin checked the Phoenix mark with a mark detector, a tool specifically designed to identify Vampire Coven Insignia.

    When the mark did indeed turn out to be real, a murmur spread through the line, everyone having a lot of questions.

    ''System, you really yed me,'' Axel couldn''t help but say, seeing the reaction of the people.

    The system had informed him that he would be able to get the Thrall mark of a reputable Coven while being the only member, which would have been enough to get him a smooth energy.

    But it didn''t mention that he would actually be the Archon of an infamous Coven and have the ability to change the mark between Thrall''s, Main member''s, and Archon''s as he pleased.

    "Trial?"

    "Giant War Participation."

    The Goblin had to look up at Axel, scrutinizing him as if wondering how soon he would die. But there was also curiosity, due to him being from the Phoenix Coven.

    "A Vampire against a Giant?"

    "Even after what just happened?"

    "Even a Thrall?"

    Behind him, Axel heard lowments of the people. Obviously, after watching such powerful warriors fail, they just don''t feel like Axel can really make a difference.

    Using his magic, Axel quickly signed the security waiver that said he was responsible for his own death in case he dies that everyone had to sign.

    "Take him," said the Goblin, and Axel was escorted towards the huge section of the arena where the Giant was bound.

    In the stadium, cheers arose when a new participant entered the Giant Arena under the lead of the Guards. They opened up a small gap in the barrier and Axel was in.

    Inside, the remaining contenders were struggling. A sort of dark magic had covered the Giant, protecting it from all damage. Beneath theyer was its thick skin, which was already almost imprable.

    Seeing Axel''s white skin, the others already knew his race. "Hey, Vampire! Distract the Giant with your tricks for a while. I''ll kill it with the Lycan!" Shouted the Orc.

    It seems that Vampires have some stereotypes among different races. No one seems to think that he can pose any threat to the Giant.

    But it''s understandable. Vampires'' bodies aren''t too strong, meaning they can''t do physicalbat. Their main strength lies in magic, since their blood can store a lot of it. But the problem here is Giants are resistant to magic.

    That''s why no one really expects anything from him.

    "Oi Sucker! Do it already!" Yelled the Lycan, running from the Giant''s stomps.

    !!

    At this moment, a familiar vibration travelled throughout the space. Axel looked up, and sure enough, the Giant was gathering its magic once again.

    Seeing the disdainful attitude of the two warriors, Axel felt a bit miffed.

    ''I know I''m not too strong here, but¡­''

    Axel disappeared.

    High in the air, a whirling spear of blood formed in the air, crackling with energy. Before anyone even saw the source of the light, it wasunched, straight into the Giant''s eye.

    The sphere prated the outeryer of magic so fast that the Giant didn''t even have the time to blink.

    !

    Blood rained as the unprotected air was pierced, causing the Giant to roar. Usually, the spear should stop here since the Giant''s interior was tough, perhaps even tougher, and it was constantly absorbing the magic from the sphere, trying to make it lose its momentum and energy.

    But the problem was, Axel still had full control over it. Once in contact with the Giant''s blood, it took over control over it as well, and Axel manipted the blood to continue the rotation while alsopressing it further.

    The spear continued to pierce the bony orbital cavity before entering the frontal lobe, causing the Giant to go mad and almost release all of its energy.

    Axel raised his hand and clenched his fist, causing the blood topress. Then he released it, causing an explosion.

    The dead Giant slowly fell to the ground, and Axel appeared on its head, still covered in his cloak.

    He nced at the two weaklings who had tried ordering him around.

    !

    The Wolf''s tail drooped and Orc also lowered its head.

    With that, Giant war selection came to a close for the day.

    In thisst session, Axel, the Lycan, and the Orc were selected, while the rest, who were still alive, were told to apply for other trials.

    As Axel exited the Arena,

    ¡­

    A.N.:

    <em>Excerpt: "It''s quite long and thick. I''ve never seen one like this."</em>

    <em>"What next?"</em>

    <em>"Next, I''m going to shake it. When it leaks the sap, I''m going to collect it."</em>

    <em>"Do it gently!"</em>

    <em>"Don''t worry, I know what I''m doing."</em>

    <em>"It''sing!"</em>

    <em>"Hm¡­ this juice is actually quite delicious. I love it."</em>

    <em>After curfew, in the abandoned Greenhouse, Axel and Daphne were on the ground¡­. collecting the ingredients that Axel needed for his diet.</em>

    <em>While picking up the magical herbs, Daphne also highlighted a few features about them as well as the correct ways to harvest them, which would help Axel find them in the future.</em>

    <em>....</em>

    This is from the version I''m posting on Royalroad (ch 24).

    While keeping the plot same, I''m adding a few more Daphne/Axel and other scenes which I couldn''t before, fixing some holes and error, removing redundant things, and making it overall better.

    I''m inserting a few chapters like this ch 24 which is filled with Axel-Daphne interaction.

    So, in case you want a re-read someday, go follow it. Just search Arcane Thief on Royalroad or follow the /fiction/99323/the-arcane-thief-harry-potter-litrpg

    <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 247: A Mind-blowing End

    Chapter 247: A Mind-blowing End

    The battlefield seemedpletely under Scitius''s control.

    Axel wasn''t the only person suffering from his machinations. Each and every soldier under the Kraken army was his chess piece. And while not as powerful as the King, but still, by utilizing their abilities to the max, he was able to even put stronger opponents into trouble.

    The forced relic wielders, now having the Entity''s powers back, and also actually being able to utilize it under Scitius''s control, were now able to disy might almost asparable to the actual Relic Wielders.

    And Scitius used them effectively against the stronger opponents who could be a threat, like the Relic Wielder Division, the General, and even Akiko and Martina.

    This was effectively blocking them from helping out the soldiers who were unable to contend against the Kraken mobs which had suddenly gotten skillspared to top fighters and along with perfect coordination.

    The whole Kraken army was now working like a well-oiled machine, and each and every individual was fighting like an experienced and highly skilled veteran.

    With his hive-mind, Scitius was able to know exactly which Kraken soldier needed help and when.

    The big monsters, which had been running rampant earlier and being handled easily by the Kingdom''s army were now being used at the forefront, bearing the brunt of the Kingdom''s forces'' assault, and targeting the right spot to disrupt the Kingdom''s army.

    The enhanced bio-soldiers were right behind, using the Monsters as shield and fighting perfect skills and perfect coordination.The ranged unit were suddenly perfect at aiming and also perfect in their timing, knowing exactly when and where to fire.

    So, suffice it to say, the Kraken army was currently absolutely obliterating the Kingdom''s forces.

    That''s why when even half the army went on to attack Axel, their new prince who had miraculously returned and the Kingdom''sst hope, there was nothing anyone could do about it but watch while trying to survive themselves.

    In this situation, the calmest person from the Kingdom''s side was Axel himself, who was currently also under a mental attack that was disabling him even using his water affinity at a high enough level to sustain [Water Body].

    The Trident, which wasn''t his style to begin with, was now transformed.

    The handle was partially wrapped around his torso, protect his heart and neck. To protect the head, there was one loop over the forehead, with spikes jutting out, inadvertently making it look like a crown.

    Two of the des were wrapped around his hands and palms, before extending out of like knives,

    With his head still ringing due to the brain waves, Axel began walking towards the iing army.

    His steps, which were still unsteady, quickened until he broke into a sprint.

    One guy, about to fight against an entire army.

    The ridiculous scenario was being witnessed by all the Kingdom''s forces. And it ovepped with the video of Axel''s trial, which had basically been seen by everyone in the Kingdom.

    Axel was about to face against the Kraken army in that simtion as well, but it was interrupted due to the emergency situation, making everyone regret not being able to see what would have happened next and demanding a redo.

    But now, the scenario was being re-enacted in real life, and against a Kraken army that was significantly stronger.

    "Scitius! Do you have any honor?!" Roared the General, who was currently being held up by four forced relic wielders, getting injured in the process of trying rush over towards Axel.

    Everyone in the Kraken army echoed the General''s words. Scitius was really being quite shameless for using an entire army just to deal with Axel. And even using a mind attack on him on top of that.

    Scitius justughed. "One vs all. I know it''s unfair. But winners write history and there''s nothing you can do about it."

    A volley of ranged attacks arrived, containing destructive magic high-speed projectiles, and even toxic and acidic substances.

    Axel sped up his pace, zig-zagging through the attacks while urately cutting off the remaining.

    "You''re talking about unfair? I''ll show what unfair actually means."

    Scitius was trying to y dirty against ''Axel'' himself, the person is the master of the game.

    Suddenly, Axel disappeared, causing the ranged units to momentarily pause, unable to locate him.

    And then, silently, heads began to fall at the front of the Kraken army at a rapid pace. The big creatures would be stabbed through their weakest points, and those with no weaknesses would have cuts appear all over their body, before falling to pieces.

    The Tridents des, now invisible, would extend, twist, retract along with Axel''s movements cutting through the army without leaving any trace.

    "Just what kind of-?!" Scitius tried use the usual methods to counter stealth and invisibility. True sight spells, magical sensors, thermal vision or heat sensors, enchanted dust, everything!

    But somehow, nothing seemed to work at all! Axel''s stealth seemed like aplete cheat, achievable only through a Relic.

    Within just a few seconds, hundreds of Kraken units were dead, and Axel was still at work, methodically ughtering the army one-sidedly.

    Axel was aplete ghost, his existence only being validated from the numerous kills he was racking in.

    "Now, this is what you call unfair," muttered Axel.

    "You can''t hide from me!" Scitius could track Axel''s mind, just being able to tell his location. But, even if he knew the general area, how to you fight someone you can''t see?

    Unable to even see his moves, the warriors only swing their weapon in his direction, unaware of his counter.

    "DIE!"

    Scitius directly bombarded Axel''s general location, not caring about the friendly fire.

    But Axel appeared in a different moment in the next second, continuing his killing spree. From then on, Axel would randomly appear in different locations and wipe out the whole area before disappearing again.

    "¡­."

    The Kingdom''s forces just looked at the army that was giving them so much trouble, now being wiped out like weeds.

    Their necks felt a chill, finding no way to counter this themselves either.

    Scitius realized that he really didn''t have any tactic against Axel.

    "Fine. Then I''ll also not be holding back," said Scitius, as the pressure on Axel''s mind suddenly decreased. "I ept you have a great mental mental resistance to fight even under that condition. But, they can''t!"

    Suddenly, Martina, Akiko and Anti clutched their heads, as they felt the same mental attack that was used against Axel.

    Only, while it was only ''annoying'' for Axel even when he was low on mental power due to his tolerance, it was downright nightmarish for the three of them,pletely incapacitating them.

    At the same time, the Kraken forces they had been fighting the three started to use more power, intent on finishing them.

    Scitius decided to give up on neutralizing the strange entity that was Axel. He will shift the target to the weaker people. From what he is seen of Axel so far, even if he might deny it, he will still not let them die.

    And he was right, as Axel, now having a bit more leeway on his mind, forced out more of his water affinity.

    Shields of water were erected in front of the three women. At the same time, the water started to strangle every Kraken soldier in their proximity.

    "Hehehe! Let''s see how long you can keep this up!" Said Scitius victorious, knowing he had grabbed a nerve. Now, all he had to do was to put more pressure!

    The long-range units which Axel had been able to render useless by easily avoiding them now began targeting the three as well, making the job of protecting them that much more difficult.

    "As someone with a superior mental prowess, I expected more from you, Axel Regius Arhunt. But as expected, you are weak, just like everyone else," Scitius said, continuing to exploiting the weakness.

    Since he couldn''t be at three ce at once, Axel struggled to keep the water affinity going, blocking the attacks and sweeping off the iing tide of Kraken warriors.

    At the same time, the condition of Akiko, Martina and the Princess grew worse.

    Unlike Axel, they did not have minds strong enough to contend against the mental attack of Scitius, the third overseer with speciality in mental power.

    Scitus can induce emotions like fear, anxiety, panic, even brainwashing along with the mental pain, thus making for an extremely dangerous opponent.

    It was only because it waspletely ineffective against Axel, who simply doesn''t give a damn about emotions that Scitius seemed weak in front him.

    ''This¡­ won''t do,'' Axel thought, his mind straining.

    His mind hasn''t had a chance to recover yet, as things kept popping up one after another. His mind was tired like never before.

    It was a feeling simr to not having slept for days, and still having to do write a whole chapter at a rapid pace and in best quality.

    Thus, he can''t keep this up. Same for Akiko, Martina, and the Princess, who were struggling to keep their sanity right now.

    Axel has to end it once and for all. And that, can only happen by eliminating the root of the problem, i.e., Scitius, the mastermind behind the scenes.

    ''But, where the hell is he?! Is he even on the battlefield?'' He thought.

    Since Scitius can control the minds of the Kraken forces, there''s no need to be physically present here.

    Looking at things from his perspective, he should to stay inside the safety of the Kraken base while remotely controlling the battlefield.

    But, if that was the case¡­

    ''Then why did he hold off until the end?''

    Scitius had this amazing ability to one-sidedly end the Battle quickly. But he didn''t use it until Axel killed 2 more of its overseers, disabled the power of the Entity and the control over the Royal Throne, and started to get the upper hand against the king.

    Why?

    There can only be two reasons.

    One, it''s extremely taxing to him, to the point of permanent sacrifice.

    This could be a reason why he wouldn''t use it and try to end the battle the easy way.

    But, this doesn''t seem likely, as Scitius seems to be in no hurry to end the battle right now, even having the time to leisurely taunt Axel and use half the army just to eliminate him rather than eliminating the Kingdom''s forces.

    And even now, his ability doesn''t seem to have decreased the slightest.

    So, the second reason¡­

    ''He''s actually here!''

    This could be the only reason! Because he was afraid of exposing himself!

    ''Should have realized sooner!'' Axel cursed.

    All this while, he was taking it as a given that Scitius wouldn''t be present here since he hasn''t shown himself and can remotely control the battlefield.

    Why would he even need to be here?

    But Axel made the mistake of thinking Scitius to be a perfectly logical being.

    ''So, you aren''t perfect either, huh?''

    Due to his sense of superiority and his vanity, Scitius wanted to personally witness the downfall of the Kingdom that he had orchestrated from beginning.

    While staying invisible himself and still protecting the women through water, Axel went over to the ce where the dismembered bodies of Karlock and Cravix were lying.

    ''Got it!'' When he searched through their storage spaces, he quickly found what he was looking for!

    Dimensional bombs, 5 of them, probably thest of the batch. The fuckers were most likely saving these for emergencies. Too bad, they got killed before they could even see the emergence of the emergency.

    ''Now, where are you?''

    All that was left was to find out where Scitius is hiding.

    Axel tried using Arcane Eyes, but found nothing. He needed to be able to concentrate in order to increase its intensity, which he couldn''t do right now.

    Axel couldn''t track him using the mental power either for the same reason, as Scitius was being really cautious.

    At this moment, ck lightning shot out from the ground, seemingly in a random direction in the sky. But, it was stopped by something in the air, causing fluctuations.

    Looking back, while struggling against the mental attack, Akiko was ring daggers at one ce in particr, the pattern in her eyes revolving.

    ''Is it really?!''

    Axel''s eyes widened. He had no idea would about the change in Akiko''s eyes. But he knew her, and he knew the look she had right now. It was the one she makes whenever the subject of Kraken is brought up, the one that screams absolute murder.

    ''It''s all or nothing.''

    cing his bet on Akiko, he teleported, appearing right where the lightning had stopped and activated all the Dimensional bomb.

    As soon as they were active, he teleported back to the ground, creating a water shield above the Kingdom''s forces.

    ???

    Both the sides were confused at the sudden manifestation of the wateryer above them. But, before they even had the chance to think about it¡ª

    BOOOOOOOOOOOM

    A huge explosion urred in the air, ripping open the shield. The shockwave reached the ground, along with debris of a giant ship.

    ''Did it... work?'' Axel quickly looked at the girls, only to see them no longer in pain.

    But, was it just because Scitius was surprised with his random move or was he really hit?

    *SQUISH*

    At this moment, a gooey and spongy substance fell near his feet, the same thing falling on the rest of the battlefield as well.

    Axel looked at it closely and found it to be¡ª

    ''Is that a fucking brain?''

    As someone who has killed many and seen many killed, Axel could confirm that it was definitely brain matter. The problem was that it was a huge chunk, much bigger than any human brain. And it was falling everywhere on the battlefield, meaning there was a lot of it on the ship.

    ''¡­ Seems like I hit the mark.''

    Axel was beginning to realize where all that processing capacity wasing from.

    ¡­..

    A.N.: <strong>POWERSTONES</strong>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 248: Shouldnt Have Gone For the Head

    Chapter 248: Shouldn''t Have Gone For the Head

    The explosion was so strong that both the Axel''s shield was torn open. And the shockwave even reached the ground, shaking both the armies.

    Brain matter rained everywhere, along with the wreckage of the aircraft that had been hidden perfectly this whole time high in the air.

    The Kraken''s army, that seemed to have been fighting like a single elite unified unit, suddenly turned disorderly, as they began looking around in confusion, seemingly no longer even knowing what to do.

    And the Kingdom''s army seemed to feel like a load had been taken off their minds, along with their emotions no longer being influenced.

    The targeted mental attacks on Akiko, Martina, and Anti also stopped, making them slump in relief.

    Everyone, now suddenly having the room to breathe, turned to looked up at the sight of the explosion, now beginning to understand what had happened.

    "Did he really¡­?"

    "He¡­ killed the Third¡­"

    "THE THIRD IS DEAD!"A wave of cheers spread throughout the battlefield. The Third Overseer, Scitius Marcelus, had turned the battlepletely one-sided with his involvement.

    No one had imagined that aside from being extremely cunning and devious, Scitius could also be this powerful, to the point that they wondered how was he only the third overseer.

    A person who can control every Kraken member on the battlefield and make them fight like that, and then also have the leisure to read the opposite forces moves and influence their state of minds? Just how much mental capacity would that need?

    Scitius had quickly be an object of terror in the minds of the Kingdom''s forces, making them wonder if they''d lose after all.

    But, now that they saw the charred remains of brain matter falling to the ground, and it felt like they were seeing pies dropping from the sky.

    The unexpected gain made them cheer in jubtion, feeling like they had been saved from what seemed to be a certified disaster.

    But, at this moment, as the distortions of the explosion cleared up, they saw a faint lighting through the explosion cloud.

    The intensity of the Light increased and all the smoke was cleared up, revealing an armor d figure.

    And on the forehead of the armored figure, an eye with a crystal iris glowed, changing colors and patterns intermittently.

    "Of course you''re still alive," muttered Axel in annoyance, now seeing Scitius for the first time.

    The st was quite powerful. Powerful enough to make him thing that perhaps, he had easily managed to kill the third overseer without even having to put any effort into it.

    But, looks like that mental power isn''t only for controlling other.

    With his single eye, red directly at down at Axel.

    "You! Do you have any idea what you have done?!"

    A concentrated wave of mental power fell on Axel, burying him into the ground.

    "Those brains had been developed and interconnected over decades!"

    Scitius was genuinely angry now. The Mind''s Eye was the most powerful relic. But only when the Wielder can actually bear it''s load.

    It had taken a substantial effort for him and a whole team of researchers to develop those brain to the point that they could help him handle the processing capacity of the relic.

    But Axel just casually blew them up, using the dimensional bombs he had developed himself, no less. And the person who knew the key technology behind it, had already fled, living under the alias of Jacob Gorski.

    Of course, Scitius was now mad, trying his best to make Axel cry out in pain.

    "Cry about it." Despite being sunk in the ground, Axelughed, blooding out of his nose. "Don''t think¡­ you had¡­ an insurance for that, did you?"

    That didn''t help the situation. Scitius descended, to the ground, increasing the pressure on Axel with the decreasing distance.

    "First your parents, and now you. You. Always. Ruin. Everything!" He said, burying Axel further down with each word.

    "Stop!"

    Anti, Martina, and Akiko were already barely holding their onto consciousness. But General, who hadn''t been able to heal from the Fatal wound he got from the King hurled himself at Scitius,unching an aggressive onught.

    "NOT NOW!" But, Scitius wasn''t in the mood to be interrupted right now, activating his domain.

    The Mind''s Eye shined, and a mental forcefield appeared around him, blocking everything froming with 10 meters of him.

    "Prince!"

    "Not Him!"

    "No way!"

    Along with the General, the rest of the Kingdom''s forces also tried to pierce the barrier, including Ender and the relic wielders, but to no avail.

    "No one can save you from me today," he said, finally reaching Axel. He couldn''t keep this domain up for long due to the strain it was putting on his mind. But then again, he didn''t need to, with First having awakened early.

    He was trying to finish things up here to make things less troublesome for the First, but since everything is already messed up right now, he can no longer cares.

    "And who will save you from me?" Asked Axel,unching himself at Scitius with the Trident des wrapped around his hands.

    With Scitius''s mental pressure, he couldn''t concentrate enough to use magic attacks, but he still pushed himself to break through the Telekic pressure.

    "Nice try." But, the a crystal eye glowed, and another wave of mental power fell on Axel.

    As it turned out, his Physical body''s power was simply not enough to break through Scitius''s telekic powers as they pinned him down, while the pressure on his mind also increased further.

    "You have no chance against the Mind''s Eye right now," said Scitius, pressing him down to the point that his bones began making crackling sounds.

    Without the capacity of those numerous Artificial brains, the Mind''s Eye was pretty taxing on Scitius''s mind. But still, even if not for long, he coulde up with power far stronger than any relic, even the Royal Trident. That''s why, he was invincible for atleast a few minutes now, even without the artificial brains.

    "Now, the moment of truth has arrived. Tell me your secrets!"

    With Axel finally pinned down, even if temporarily, Scitius force him to make eye-contact.

    The Mind''s eye let out a radiant light as a Scitius''s mental consciousness went into Axel''s mind, breaking through his shields.

    ''Shit!''

    Axel was able to take on all the mental attacks Scitius threw at him, but this¡­ this one he found trouble dealing with.

    With a huge force, Scitius attacked Axel''s mental shields.

    Now, with someone with as good lumency as Axel, it would normally be pretty much impossible to break his lumency barriers.

    But, right now, all of his mental energy was pretty much drained. And the person who was trying to breach his mind was Scitius was the person with the Relic called the Mind''s eye.

    This thing could help him control so many people at once, it could let him use highly taxing skills like Elementalbinations with ease, and even help him defend against physical attacks like that explosion and the General''s assault with just using his mental power.

    So, this time Axel found it really difficult to keep up his defenses against Scitius''s legilimency. It was like an overpowered tsunami that he had no way of resisting with his small boat.

    Very soon, cracks formed on his shields, before getting entirely broken through as Scitius got ess to Axel''s mind.

    "Didn''t I tell you? I would find out one way or another." Scitiusughed triumphantly, looking down at Axel. "You should have told me your secrets when I ask you civilly. But you just had to be a smart-ass and insult me with your taunts!"

    Scitius quickly began scouring through Axel''s mind, in search for the secret''s to his strength and his other secrets, like how he managed to ensure the Soul Extinguisher.

    Axel''s mind was built like a train, with different memories arranged in differentpartments.

    Scitius began looking through them all one by one. The first fewpartments had memories of his childhood, which were basically gloomy and dark.

    "Truly amazes me just how bad your luck is," Scitius couldn''t help butment.

    Then the furtherpartments contained his memories of Hogwarts. Thesepartments were noticeably brighter.

    There Scitius even found onepartment dedicated to his training. But, he still didn''t find what he was looking for.

    He didn''t find HOW Axel was getting all that knowledge. Neither did he find out HOW Axel had managed to survive against things like Soul-Extinction.

    Then, he came across the nextpartment. This was a luxurypartment, installed with the finest door and interior.

    "Yes, this must be it."

    But, contrary to his expectations, thispartment only contain happy memories, almost all of which only came after he had entered Hogwarts.

    Many of them contained Martina and Akiko, but most of the others contained a blonde girl Scitius had next seen.

    "Ah, your girlfriend, perhaps?" Asked Scitius. "Don''t worry. I''ll kill her the first thing after I''m done with this Kingdom, just like I''ll kill Akiko Matushima and Martina Valentino. Oh, and no need to thank me. You deserve that much after all the troubles you''ve caused us," said Scitius.

    !

    But, he realized he shouldn''t have said that. The whole train began shaking, and at that moment, despite having the Strongest mental Relic on his side, Scitius felt a hint of danger in Axel''s mind.

    But, the danger was gone as soon as it came, as if it was never there.

    ''Must be hallucinating.'' thought Scitius to himself dismissively. After all, there was no way Axel could do anything to him with just the mental power.

    But, he didn''t dare to taunt Axel anymore, nor did he look at more memories of thispartment.

    Moving on to the next one, he found himself in front anpletely differentpartment.

    It was bigger than any otherpartment, and it was emitting an ominous aura. Moreover, it had an additionalyer of security, locked down with multiple chains.

    "This must be it, huh?" Asked Scitius. Of course, the additional defense was useless in front of him as he was able to break through easily.

    But, when he went inside, he found nothing but darkness. Going further in, he began to see the memories stored in this ce. They were, actually the memories of all the pain Axel had endured.

    "Huh?"

    BANG

    Suddenly, thepartment door was sealed shut, and the familiar feeling of danger returned in full force, this time not going away at all.

    "What?" Scitius was rmed. He tried to opened the door with his mental power, but found to his utter disbelief, that it wouldn''t budge!

    "Surprised?"

    At this moment, Axel''s apparition appeared in front of him, startling him. It was not because of his presence, but because of his appearance.

    This Axel was not like his well-built and healthy looking outer appearance. This was an Axel who was injured throughout every part of body, making for a terrifying appearance.

    "HOW?!" Still trying to force the door open, Scitius failed to process the situation. This was a mental in, meaning it was under Scitius''s domain. It should be impossible for Axel to be able to hold against his will.

    Axel smirked, showing his bloody teeth. "This ce is able to hold all of my pain, including the experience of my soul itself being torn to shreds. You think it can''t hold a nerd like you?"

    "It CAN''T!" Eximed Scitius, releasing his mental power. But, it seemed to have no impact on Axel, or the ce.

    "You wanted to know how I managed to survive the Soul-Extinction, right? Well, you can now see for it yourself."

    Said Axel, showing him the memory of himself being hit with by the Soul Extinguisher. Along with it, other memories also began ying around Scitius.

    But Scitius wasn''t affected. "So what if you''ve trapped me here? That can''t stop me from killing you."

    Scitius had had enough. Despite his mental avatar being trapped here, he still increased the pressure on Axel''s physical body, intent on killing him right now.

    "Actually, I can," said Axel, as suddenly, Scitius felt a burning pain on his cheek.

    Scitius suddenly found himself lying on the ground, held down by many men, as a man with numerous scars on his face slowly ran a knife through his cheek.

    "You¡ª! How can you¡ª?!" Scitius tried to speak, but couldn''t with his face being cut apart right now with a knife dipped in acidic poison.

    "How I can hurt you despite you clearly having superior mental power?" Axel asked his question for him. "Well, I once read in a children''s book."

    "If you look into the abyss¡­. the abyss stares back at you."

    "Pretty funny, but its actually true in this situation," said Axel, ovepping another memory on top of the ongoing memory.

    And now, Scitius found himself put under the Crutiatus for the first time in his life, making him scream in agony.

    Axel spreading his arms, looking down at Scitius writhing on the ground. "This is a ce where I hold in pain that you can''t even imagine. This is a ce that contains the power of my will. This... is the part of me that never gives up."

    "So, in this ce at least, I alone, am the Superior one!"

    The memory of the painifera memory floated into Axel''s hands.

    "Despite all your genius, you are a wed being too, Scitius. You couldn''t focus on simply killing me without showing off your superiority and learning all my secrets. You still had a chance when you hadn''t entered this ce."

    "But, by walking in without even me having to invite you, you sealed your own fate," he said, as the painifera memory also ovepped with the ongoing pain, making Scitius almost mad due to the pain even with his high mental power.

    "You clearly had the upper hand. You could have gone for my neck, my heart, my lung, my limbs. But¡­" he paused, finally taking the [Soul Extinction] memory into his hand. "You shouldn''t have gone for the head," he muttered as he pushed the memory down as well.

    This time, Scitius''s pain knew no bounds as he lost all the control he had managed to hold on for so long.

    Taking advantage of the opportunity, Axel''s physical body leapt up. His hand glowed before plunging straight into Scitius''s forehead, pulling apart the Mind''s Eye.

    Scitius screamed, this time in real life.

    Still not wanting to take any chances, the Trident''s des shed, cutting Scitius into a thousand pieces within the blink of an eye.

    Now bathed in Scitius''s blood, Axel wiped the blood his brows. "And this, is how you make sure to kill the enemy when you get the chance."

    Utterly exhausted, Axel slumped to the ground, looking up at the sky. His mind was shutting down. He really needed a break.

    Meanwhile, the Kingdom''s forces nkly looked the scene, still processing the situation. This time for sure, the third was dead.

    Six Overseers in a year... all killed by the same person.

    One time, could be called luck.

    The second time, could be a coincidence.

    But six times?

    The General knelt down on one knee,ying down his sword. "All hail! KING AXEL! THE STRONGEST KING IN HISTORY!"

    Turning towards, Axel every soldier on the battlefield slowly started to kneel in awe, acknowledging Axel''s sovereignty. Those still fighting the remain forces of Kraken knelt right after finishing off the enemy in front of them.

    Axel''s who still had his eyes close, was hugged from front and back by Martina and Akiko, who were crying right now, making him almostsh out in reflex.

    But when he saw it was them, he just sighed. "Long time, huh?"

    "You... you aren''t going anywhere alone again!" Said Martina firmly, which was quite unlike her usual pushover self.

    "I don''t need revenge... Let''s... just go back now," said Akiko.

    But, Axel didn''t have the time to respond to them. Because the alert came from the system again.

    [Emergency Mission: Take back the Royal Throne right now. The FIRST ising]

    ....

    A.N.:

    <strong>I''m back now, would be posting regrly!</strong>

    <strong>Give me POWERSTONES everyday!</strong>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!