Axel’s heart thudded. It sounded simple—just another defensive skill like Burning Fla—but the scaling potential was monstrous.
It might not match a C-rank Original Instrunt yet, but as his power grew, Rock Armor would only beco more terrifying.
Then, to his surprise, he noticed movent from the Heavenly Spirit Fruit sapling at the base of the tree. It had looked dormant for days, but now its pale roots wriggled playfully around the trunk, like a child celebrating a new playmate.
The rock spinal cord, however, trembled under the oppressive aura of the fire spirit.
“Don’t be a coward,” Axel muttered inwardly. “You’re neighbors now—act like it.”
As if hearing him, the fire spirit’s aura eased, and the tension between them subsided.
anwhile, Axel could feel his Force, body, and mind expanding in sync. Like the fire spirit, the spinal cord wasn’t just a passive defense—it was a fountain of raw energy.
This ti, the process flowed faster. “Two hours, maybe less,” he calculated.
The Ancient Sky Tree inside him flourished, its branches heavy with growing Force.
Axel glanced at the small Heavenly Spirit Fruit sapling winding happily around the roots. It still wasn’t of much use in battle—its only gift so far was calming his thoughts—but it continued drinking in his energy hungrily.
“I wonder what you’ll beco when you finally grow up,” Axel thought.
For now, he closed his eyes and let the power flood through him.
......
“This is it.”
Under the pitch-black sky, a taxi pulled up beside the edge of the industrial zone. Vaughn stepped out, his face hard and shadowed by the dim streetlights. He turned his head toward a single lit cabin in the distance.
“Axel,” he muttered, fists clenching until his knuckles went white. His expression darkened as he started walking toward the light.
......
Inside the cabin, Cassia and Annabelle sat by a small heater, the faint orange glow softening the chill of the night.
“Annabelle, it’s been more than six months. You’ve grown taller,” Cassia said with a smile.
“And you’ve gotten prettier,” Annabelle replied sweetly, sitting close beside her.
Cassia was about to ask about her recent months when Annabelle’s face suddenly stiffened. Her eyes darted toward the door.
“Who’s there?”
Almost before the words left her mouth—
BANG!
The entire cabin shuddered violently. The wooden door exploded inward, and a furious man stord in, a long blade glinting in his hand.
“Where’s Axel?! Where’s that bastard?!”
Cassia instantly recognized him. “Vaughn… from Stormwatch.”
Annabelle froze. She could feel the crushing weight of his Force filling the room, pressing down on her lungs. She knew imdiately—she couldn’t beat him.
“What do you want?” Cassia demanded, stepping in front of Annabelle. Her heart pounded, but her stance didn’t waver.
“I want to kill him!” Vaughn roared. He slashed twice—his blade slicing through the sofa and shattering the TV in a single sweep. Splinters flew across the room.
“Are you out of your damn mind?!” Cassia shouted, struggling to stay on her feet against the shockwave of his strikes.
Vaughn spun and grabbed Annabelle by the throat, hoisting her off the ground. His bloodshot eyes burned with rage as he pressed the tip of his blade against her face.
“Tell where he is. Now. Or I’ll gut you right here!”
Annabelle’s face turned crimson, her legs thrashing helplessly in the air. “My brother’s not here—he’s out! Let go, you bastard!” she choked out between gasps.
Seeing Annabelle dangling helplessly, Cassia swallowed her fear. With a flick of her hand, the lted candle wax and the slush on the floor twisted into motion. Two streams of water shot toward Vaughn.
Thwip!
The jets hit him dead-on—but only soaked through his clothes, barely leaving a mark on his iron-like skin.
“Who the hell dares attack ?! Get the fuck out here!”
With one swift motion, Vaughn backhanded Cassia across the room.
CRACK.
She slamd into the table leg, her head splitting open. Blood seeped into her long hair and down her neck, staining her clothes red.
“You’ve got three seconds,” Vaughn hissed, his voice low and deadly. “Tell where he is, or you die first.”
Annabelle’s eyes welled with tears as she struggled for breath. Her body was limp now, her kicks weaker and slower.
Then Vaughn felt it—sharp pain stabbing into his side.
Cassia, barely conscious, had sohow stood up again. Her blood-sared face twisted with determination as she drove a knife into his waist.
“Let… her go…” she rasped, her vision spinning, her voice shaking with fury.
“Sister Cassia!” Annabelle’s voice trembled, tears spilling down her cheeks.
The knife barely broke skin against Vaughn’s hardened body, but Cassia didn’t stop.
The candlelight flickered wildly as a cold gust blew through the shattered doorway. Cassia’s fingers slipped down the knife’s handle to the blade itself, slicing her palms open as she pushed with everything she had.
She didn’t even feel the pain.
Vaughn snarled. “You’re his good friend, huh? Fine. Then I’ll let him feel what it’s like to lose one.”
He threw Annabelle aside like a rag doll and clamped a hand around Cassia’s throat, lifting her clean off the floor.
The knife slipped from Cassia’s hand and clattered against the floor.
Her whole body shook as Vaughn’s grip tightened around her throat, forcing a violent cough from her chest. Blood spilled down her wrists where she clawed at his arm, her nails digging deep—but the pain only made Vaughn’s eyes blaze hotter.
As Cassia’s struggles weakened, a twisted thrill crept into Vaughn’s face. All the humiliation he’d swallowed these past days—losing to Axel, being scolded by his father, mocked by his so-called teammates—ca flooding out now in one violent surge.
Then—
“Let her go!”
A stabbing pain exploded in his side.
“What the—?!” Vaughn’s head snapped down. The knife that had fallen to the ground was buried in his waist—driven in by a trembling hand.
By a girl.
A ten-year-old girl.
Impossible.
Even a Level 2 Awakener wouldn’t have been able to pierce his skin, but this child—how?!
He dropped Cassia, who fell limp and gasping to the floor, and turned toward the girl. What he saw made his blood run cold.
Annabelle’s long brown hair was no longer brown. It shimred with a wild, violet-red hue. Her eyes glowed like molten rubies. Thin, crimson scales rippled across her pale skin, and her small teeth had stretched into fangs.
The air turned sharp, thick with the scent of blood.
“You’re—infected?!” Vaughn choked out.
For a heartbeat, his rage cracked, replaced by raw disbelief.
Axel’s sister was infected—and he’d been keeping her by his side all along?
The thought hit him like a sledgehamr. His body froze, his hand still gripping the knife stuck in his waist.
Then a grin crept across his face, ugly and triumphant. “Axel… you’re dead this ti.”
Annabelle’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened as she forced the transformation back, her scales fading, her hair darkening again. She’d always known this day would co. If anyone ever found out what she really was, she would run—before her brother could be dragged down with her.
She turned to flee—
But slamd into a warm, solid chest.
“Brother…” she whispered, trembling.
“I’m here.” Axel’s voice was calm—too calm—as he held her close. His hand brushed her hair, his eyes cold and still as they swept across the wrecked room.
“Axel, you’re harboring an infected,” Vaughn started, smirking despite the pain. “This ti, you’re not—”
CRACK.
The sound of breaking bone cut his words short. Vaughn’s jaw hung uselessly as Axel’s hand twisted and drove him down into the floorboards like a hamr striking steel.
The whole room shook.
Axel stood there, breathing slowly, then gently shut what was left of the splintered door. The wind and snow howling outside dulled to a faint whisper.
When he turned back, his expression had softened—but only slightly. He knelt beside Cassia and lifted her carefully into his arms. Her face was pale, streaked with blood. For a mont, his fingers trembled.
Then he looked at Annabelle. She nodded once, her eyes full of guilt.
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