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 ti 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 sothing 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 seed too good to be true.
'Nobody is this nice without wanting sothing 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 slamd 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 amusent. "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 company."
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 sothing 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 glead 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.
"What about Aunt Noel?" she asked quietly.
Axel hesitated, unsure how to answer. "I haven't heard from her. She might be lying low. Don't worry about it."
Before he could say more, Trisha stepped up beside him, cutting into their conversation. "Your sister doesn't look a thing like you, Axel. She's way cuter. You're like a low-contrast sketch, and she's the finished masterpiece."
Annie burst into laughter, and Axel felt his mood sour again. 'Why is everyone out to insult today?' he grumbled inwardly.
"Haha! She's right!" Annie's playful energy filled the room, the earlier tension completely shattered. She leaned back on her bed, her eyes dancing with amusent.
Axel could only groan as the two won began a long, giggling conversation about his looks—or lack thereof. Their voices beca background noise as his mind drifted. 'I miss hanging out with the guys. At least they know when to shut up... and leveling up... Man, I miss that too.'
Unable to take the jabs any longer, Axel interrupted, "Annie, this is Trisha, an S-Rank hunter. She's going to be living with us for a while."
Annie's eyes widened, her grin widening mischievously. "Ohhh, is that so? So she's your girlfriend now?"
Trisha gasped, her cheeks flushing crimson. "W-what? No! I'm not his girlfriend! We're just working togeth—"
"Yes," Axel said, cutting her off with a deadpan voice. "She's my girlfriend."
Trisha's jaw dropped as she whipped her head toward him. 'What the hell is he doing?' Her heart pounded, confusion swirling through her mind. 'Is he trying to ss with ? Or is he just an idiot?'
"Well, that's... sweet!" Annie bead, completely oblivious to the awkward tension between the two. Axel gave Trisha a small wink before turning serious.
"Excuse us, Annie. Trisha and I need to discuss sothing outside. Urgently."
Trisha blinked, her mind reeling from the sudden shift. 'Urgent? What's he playing at now?' Begrudgingly, she followed Axel out into the hall.
***
anwhile, outside the hospital, Loki and Hera stood in a shadowy alleyway, the air around them thick with tension. Hera nervously glanced down at her phone, placing a video call. Loki leaned against the wall, his fingers flying across the screen of Axel's stolen phone, sifting through the information at lightning speed.
The phone rang once... twice... before the screen flickered, and President Seo Jihnyuk appeared on the video call.
"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 ti. 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 sothing."
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 seed to stop for a mont 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 ... the enemy that devastated the entire world... Has been under our nose this entire ti?"
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 slamd down onto his desk. "Damn it."
***Author's note***
Shocking reveal... Give magic castle, or dragon or race car or space craft or magic castle...
I did this chapter at work, my boss must not catch doing so... Hahahaha. thanks for reading.
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