HP: The Arcane Thief
chapter-219-1

On Bellatrix'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 Blacks, why did he never mention it before?

But Bellatrix 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 related 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 places 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—! You cougar bitch!" Martina and Bellatrix 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 to come true. Axel had somehow cured his disease and he even started to look more and more mature, to the point that he couldn't be compared 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 Bellatrix, 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 Bellatrix, 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 Bellatrix 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 Bellatrix 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 blackmail."

Colour drained from Bellatrix'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 biggest commotion 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 in combat."

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, slashing it at the water. The water suddenly turned violent, launching 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 in complete astonishment. He was so surprised that a dumbfounded laughter 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, comprehension, and the consumption of precious resources. Aslot was pretty sure the boy did not grow up in Atlantis, 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 accidentally 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 blades 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 relaxed.' His muscles were in a tense state and couldn't immediately relax 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 the last 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 Atlantis, including Atlana and Tristan, Aslot had thought he had seen it all. But today his assumptions were completely 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 those combat skills… refined to the point of perfection in order to bring maximum results with minimalistic efforts.

Atlana and Tristan… Just what kind of monster have those two released into the world?

"I have to accept. 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 blades and began slashing 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 the combat 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, coming from the water and the trident.

Axel's knives flashed, 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..."