Mass release In honour to the support {6/10}
Axel and the others stood frozen on the platform, their eyes wide with disbelief as the massive dark portal swirled into existence before them. Its sheer size and ominous energy were unlike anything they had ever encountered. This was no ordinary portal, nothing like the ones the Fateks used to travel between dimensions.
Instead, it had the same eerie energy that Trisha had once wielded when she teleported them back to Earth after their abduction. Now, it felt like something much worse was about to step through.
Axel swallowed, only to realize his throat was dry, devoid of any moisture. His heart pounded in his chest as his instincts screamed at him to stay alert, to prepare for whatever was coming. Around him, the hunters stood equally tense, their weapons at the ready but held cautiously, unwilling to charge blindly into a situation they didn't fully understand. They knew better than to attack recklessly.
"Whatever you're planning, Hendricks, I urge you to stop now," Wukong's voice cut through the tense air. His gaze flickered to the group, noting the absence of other Metorion hunters. Aside from Trisha, only two S-rank hunters remained to face whatever came from the portal. If an army came through, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"Do you really think unleashing an army of Fateks will be enough to conquer Kyota, much less the world?"
Axel yawned, but it wasn't from exhaustion—it was a sign of his deep irritation. He strolled up beside Wukong and patted him on the shoulder, his voice casual yet laced with a sharp edge. "Don't waste your breath trying to reason with him, Wukong. You can't have a rational conversation with an earthworm."
With a flicker of his eye, Axel activated one of his newer abilities, **Eyes of Senses**. A translucent screen hovered before him, revealing Hendricks' information.
**Name: Hendricks Max
Abilities: Mind Control...Unknown**
Axel's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right. "Wukong, Vicky," he called out, his voice suddenly grim. "Please, take a step back. Let my team handle this." There was an underlying urgency in his tone.
Vicky, however, wasn't convinced. His face twisted with barely restrained fury. "Why should I listen to you?" he spat, his distrust palpable. To him, Axel was still a criminal—a former associate of Dawning Blood, the infamous group that had terrorized their world. His eyes burned with disdain, unwilling to follow the lead of someone he saw as tainted.
Trisha nodded beside him. "That's the plan. Finish them off here and now. No more second chances for these bastards."
As if on cue, Hendricks dropped his arms, and the portal stabilized. A heavy silence fell over the platform as two figures began to emerge from the dark vortex. The first was a grotesque Fatek with two heads, each snarling with jagged teeth, its hulking frame covered in thick, armored skin.
The second figure was far more unsettling—a humanoid with no face, only a gaping mouth where eyes should have been. Its bald head and muscular, shirtless torso made it look like something out of a nightmare. A long, whip-like tail flicked behind it, sending chills down Axel's spine. It looked... incomplete. Like a twisted version of something far more powerful.
Loki's face twisted in disgust. "That thing... It looks like a failed science experiment."
But it wasn't just the creatures that caught Axel's attention. The faceless humanoid held something—or someone. A beaten, bloodied woman hung limply from its grasp, her clothes torn and stained with dirt and blood. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she struggled weakly against the creature's hold.
Axel's heart stopped. His blood ran cold as Hendricks pointed lazily at the woman. "Oh, look. Here she is," Hendricks sneered. "Bridget Teras—your mother."
Time seemed to freeze. Axel's mind went blank, his vision narrowing until all he could see was his mother, hanging helplessly in the monster's grip. His muscles tensed, rage bubbling up from the depths of his soul, threatening to consume him.
"You just crossed the line," Axel growled, his voice barely above a whisper, but the malice in his tone was unmistakable. Dark, swirling fumes of energy began to ooze from his body, his aura growing more intense by the second. With a flick of his wrist, his sword materialized in his hand, its blade gleaming menacingly under the harsh lights of the platform.
Hendricks didn't flinch. He met Axel's murderous gaze with a smirk, tapping his temple with two fingers. "You think this is about Kyota? About conquest? How shortsighted." His voice dripped with disdain. "The Metorion Cell is only the beginning—a mere prototype.
Half-god, half-Metorion... but with you, Axel, your corpse will give me what I truly need: the Infinite Gods System."
Axel's eyes widened as the full weight of Hendricks' plan became clear. This wasn't just about control or domination—this was about something far more sinister. A weapon, a power beyond anything he could have imagined. Hendricks wanted to use his death to unlock the full potential of something unimaginable.
But Axel didn't care about that. All that mattered was the woman hanging in the faceless creature's grasp—his mother. And for that, Hendricks was already a dead man.