Axel and Trisha walked through the quiet, sterile hallways of the hospital dormitories after checking in with the receptionist. The fluorescent lights above cast a harsh, pale glow that only deepened Axel's brooding thoughts. As they approached Annie's room, his heart raced with anxiety.
He had left her unconscious the last time he saw her, and though he had a gut feeling she'd pull through, it didn't stop the guilt gnawing at him.
'I hope she's awake by now,' Axel thought, clenching his jaw. His eyes briefly drifted to Trisha, who walked beside him with an unreadable expression. There was something about her that unsettled him. She had made him promises—big ones—and while he wasn't the kind of guy to look a gift horse in the mouth, it seemed too good to be true.
'Nobody is this nice without wanting something in return,' Axel reasoned. His eyes narrowed. 'Must be the Mana weapons. She's probably sticking around to get closer to them. Well, good luck with that.'
They reached Annie's room, and Axel let out a deep breath before peeking through the small window on the door. His body froze mid-sigh. His eyes widened, his throat suddenly dry.
'What the—' His heart slammed against his ribs, his blood running cold at the sight.
Without thinking, Axel bolted for the door, leaving Trisha in confused shock behind him. He twisted the doorknob with such force it nearly broke, storming into the room like a whirlwind. Inside, Loki and Hera, two of his most trusted comrades, were sparring.
But it wasn't the friendly training session that had Axel's blood boiling—it was the fact that they were doing it right in front of his unconscious sister.
"What the hell are you two doing!" Axel roared, grabbing Loki by the ear and pulling him away from Hera. "Are you out of your minds?! My sister is in a damn hospital bed, and you're playing karate next to her?!"
Annie, who was now wide awake, looked on in a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Axel, calm down," she said, half-laughing, though her voice was laced with concern. "It's not what it looks like. They were just keeping me company."
Exclusive content from m,v lem|p,yr
Axel ignored her, his temper still flaring. Hera winced in pain, tears forming at the edges of her eyes as she rubbed her sore ear. "Boss, you didn't have to go all Hulk on us! We were just entertaining your sister!"
Loki, on the other hand, remained unfazed, pocketing his hands and heading towards the door. "We should grab something to eat, Hera. Now that Axel's here, we can leave the hospital bills to him."
Axel's eye twitched as Loki's words hung in the air. 'Over my dead body,' he thought, but didn't have the energy to argue further.
As the two troublemakers exited the room, Annie's eyes gleamed with mischief. "You've gotten taller, Axel," she teased, grinning at him from across the room. "And look at those muscles. I see you've been taking my advice and eating more!"
Axel let out a small chuckle, unable to stay mad. "Yeah, well, I've been working on it." His smile faded as Annie's expression turned somber.
"Report," Seo demanded, his voice sharp and cold as ever.
Hera straightened. "We've successfully swiped Axel Teras' phone. Loki's going through the data now."
Seo leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Anything of note so far?"
"Nothing yet," Hera admitted, her stomach twisting with nervous energy. "It's mostly just contact lists. A few criminal clients buying strange Mana weapons, but nothing that directly proves he's a mole."
Seo narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenched in frustration. "He's been making a lot of connections in a short time. That's suspicious on its own, but it's still not enough. Keep looking."
Loki's fingers froze on the screen, his face paling. "Wait... I found something."
Both Hera and Seo turned their full attention to him. "What is it?" Seo asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Loki swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper. "Axel... Axel is the mole."
The world seemed to stop for a moment as the words sank in. Hera's mind raced as she recalled everything they'd seen and done in the past few weeks. The bodies. The connections. The lies.
"Dear God..." Loki whispered, his hands trembling. "He's working with the Dawning Blood."
Seo's breath hitched, his face hardening with rage. "You're telling me... the enemy that devastated the entire world... Has been under our nose this entire time?"
Hera's knees nearly buckled as she whispered, "Noel... Noel is the Dawning Blood. She killed our parents... Mum and Dad's murderer... She's here."
Seo's fist slammed down onto his desk. "Damn it."
***Author's note***
Shocking reveal... Give me magic castle, or dragon or race car or space craft or magic castle...
I did this chapter at work, my boss must not catch me doing so... Hahahaha. thanks for reading.