HP: The Arcane Thief

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 eggplants 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 Antilla never said anything, they didn't know the final outcome. 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 exclamations 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 Flame 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 Atlantis, 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 exclaimed, 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 clarified.

It has to be noticed that Aslot was one of the best fighters in Atlantis, 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 blades, 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 access 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 non-combative 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 calculated, 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 calculated by scanning the body's reaction.

The video of the Axel getting hit by the Soul Extinction was still playing on the side as he ran calculations 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-accurate?" 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, the combat-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 rich combat experience or high medical knowledge knew that despite how unbelievable it appears, the numbers were actually correct.

"The readings are accurate." said the commander-in-chief, frustrated at lack of awareness of the non-combat 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 outer layer 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 also come 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?

Antilla 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 Atlantis. 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 Atlantis, the King is like an Anchor that holds the whole Kingdom in place. 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. The last 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 alas, 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 Atlantis.

"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, playing 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.

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