Vol 2
Axel rose to his feet, groggily standing as he stared at the floor, his breathing shallow yet steady. 'So, this is it...' His thoughts echoed through the silence, the weight of the situation crushing him.
"So, this is the group sent to kill me... but by whom?" Axel locked his gaze onto the cloaked figures, but something was off. Moments ago, there had been three of them, yet now only one remained, standing ominously. The other two had either vanished or—had he been imagining them? Doubt crept into his mind, but he quickly brushed it aside.
The single cloaked figure burst into a chilling cackle, the sound reverberating through the air, twisted and cruel. "Hahahahaha! You're fun to watch in despair, boy. We killed the girl and your sister, and yet, here you stand, so calm. I expected you to be more enraged... not this...
detached."
Axel's face betrayed no emotion, though his mind was in utter chaos. The system was at work, keeping him calm despite the storm within. His fists clenched involuntarily, his heartbeat slowing to a controlled, steady rhythm.
"Who sent you?" Axel repeated, his voice hollow, devoid of emotion, almost mechanical. His eyes, however, gleamed with a darkness that spoke of barely-contained fury.
"Fool! Why would I ever tell you anything?" The cloaked figure sneered, his lips barely visible under the hood. He didn't get to finish the sentence. Axel's fist collided with the man's face, the sheer force of it lifting him off the ground, sending him hurtling through the air.
The cloaked figure twisted mid-flight, barely managing to land on his feet, though he spat out a thick glob of blood, its metallic scent lingering in the air. "Quick... very quick. That's more like it." His light blue eyes began to glow with an ominous, eerie light, and Axel felt an unsettling shiver crawl down his spine.
"For the last time... who sent you?" Axel's voice was more of a growl now, a low rumble that seemed to hang in the air, as though the very atmosphere tensed at his words.
The cloaked figure burst into laughter once more, throwing his hands out, releasing a massive blast of red, searing flames that roared toward Axel with terrifying speed. The ground cracked beneath the heat of the oncoming inferno.
'That explosion...' Axel's mind raced, and his body reacted instinctively. He leapt out of the way, barely avoiding the scorching beam as it scorched the earth where he had just stood.
He sprinted toward his enemy, the distance closing rapidly. But the cloaked figure had anticipated this. A wall of flames erupted from the ground, towering between them. The heat was suffocating, and the flames danced wildly as if alive, mocking Axel's approach.
"Not yet!" Axel shouted, his voice cutting through the roar of the fire. His fist pierced through the flaming wall, shattering it like glass. Flames scattered in all directions, and his knuckles connected with the cloaked man's face once again.
The cloaked figure steadied himself, creating a small circle with his hands, his stance low and sturdy. "The hottest form of flame is blue," he sneered. "Typically, blue flames can reach temperatures of 1,980°C. But with my ability, I can double that! My final move—flames reaching 3,960°C!"
As he screamed, his body was engulfed in a maelstrom of blue flames, hotter than anything Axel had faced before.
'If this doesn't work... I'll die,' Axel thought, his body steady, his mind sharper than ever. He was betting everything on this next move.
With a deafening roar, the cloaked man unleashed his full power, the blue flames racing toward Axel, consuming everything in their path.
BOOOOOMMMMMM!
The ground shook violently as the flames made contact—but when the smoke cleared, Axel stood there, unscathed, his hands still raised. His body was untouched, as if the flames had never existed.
"What the...?" The cloaked man staggered backward, drenched in sweat, his body trembling. "That's... impossible..."
Axel's eyes glinted with something beyond rage, beyond power. He stood like a god among mortals, his very presence commanding the battlefield.
"You... you're not human," the cloaked man stammered, his voice faltering as his energy drained from his body, his knees buckling beneath him.
[Deceased Touch is active.]
Axel's voice echoed through the battlefield like a death sentence. "I used Deceased Touch to decay the air... killing your flames, and draining your mana. Now... I'll take my time."
The cloaked man fell to his knees, powerless, as Axel approached. The end had only just begun.
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Volume 2 begins