novelraw Chapter 93: I’m Screwed
Chapter 93: I’m Screwed
If Aurora had a face, it would have been displayed in clear disgust.
"Big boy?" she snapped inside Axel’s head. "How dare she refer to you, a shadow imp, as a boy."
"Bloody hell. It’s nothing, just something humans say when they’re being playful..."
Aurora scoffed. She clearly refused to accept that explanation.
"You better not be planning on going easy on her just because she looks cute," she warned. "That girl is dangerous. There is a reason they call her Whiplash."
Axel didn’t answer. His eyes stayed on the red-haired fighter standing across from him.
"Looks like the Red Imp is already stunned by his opponent’s beauty!" the commentator mocked loudly, and the crowd laughed.
Axel ignored them. He had learned long ago that reacting to noise only made things worse.
The countdown appeared above the arena.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
At five, that familiar blue screen flashed in front of his eyes.
< [New Mission Generated: Defeat Whiplash in a brawl in under 5 minutes] >
[Reward: 50 EXP]
Axel grinned. The system had a way of doing that. Giving him just a little push when he needed it. He tightened his grip on the sword as the countdown continued.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
The moment the countdown hit zero, a whip snapped into Whiplash’s hand from nowhere, long and flexible, crackling with pink electricity. Without hesitation, she lashed it forward. The strike was fast, faster than most people could react to, but Axel was not most people.
His body shifted the instant danger registered. With a speed and agility stat at 28, he slid to the side like a blur. The whip slammed into the ground where he had been standing, tearing a line through the arena floor.
Then he rushed forward, his mind already working on conserving energy. There were two more fights after this, so he raised his left hand, pointed two fingers at his opponent, and red infernal energy swirled and settled there.
< [Infernal Bullet Activated!] >
Two bullets shot out and struck Whiplash’s shoulder. The impact burned into her skin, making her hiss in pain.
With the Godrend sword in hand, Axel activated something else.
< [Ruin Echo Activated!] >
He stopped just a step away from her and drove the sword into the ground.
Whiplash was too focused on controlling her whip to fully react. She tried to knee him, but Axel was already gone. He blurred to the other side and planted the sword again.
Then, with another movement, he used the blade to slash across her side, and Axel retreated instantly.
To the audience, it looked strange. Like Axel was attacking empty space and missing his target. But Axel knew better about the Ruin Echo power.
As he expected, three explosions erupted around Whiplash at once.
"Ahhhhh!" She screamed as her body was sent flying around.
"WOW! IT SEEMS LIKE THE RED IMP WASN’T BLOWN AWAY BY WHIPLASH AFTER ALL!"
Seeing her in pain, a dark smile appeared on Axel’s face. One that showed how much he enjoyed watching her scream.
The moment he realized he was smiling, he snapped out of it.
"What the hell? Why did that feel good?"
The thought disturbed him. Watching her in pain had stirred something inside him. Something dark. Something that shouldn’t be there.
Before he could dwell on it, Whiplash had recovered, and she struck back.
Two whips lashed out at the same time, attacking from opposite directions.
"Okay, let’s try it again..."
< [Hellrend Slash Activated] >
< [Ruin Echo Activated!] >
< [Energy Burst Activated!] >
< [Fire Based Infusion Activated!] >
This was the exact same move he used with the Skavvern back at Exo. With one clean slash, both whips were cut apart mid-air.
The crowd erupted. Even the commentator shouted in excitement, praising the move.
Axel didn’t feel proud; he felt unsettled. That thrill he felt earlier still bothered him, and he wanted it gone.
"Time to end this fight," he told himself.
With one smooth motion, he finished it with Hellrend Slash.
The announcer’s voice rang out moments later, declaring the Red Imp the winner.
< [Reward Received: 50 EXP] >
Axel stood there, sword lowered, trying not to think about the smile that had come so easily when Whiplash screamed.
---
The arena barely had time to settle before the announcer’s voice boomed again.
"Looks like our Red Imp didn’t need to sweat at all! And now, ladies and gentlemen, we move on to the next match!"
Axel stayed where he was, breathing steady. His HP bar stayed full, glowing calmly at the corner of his vision. He hadn’t even broken a sweat.
A teenager stepped into the arena from the opposite side.
He was tall and lean, with pale hair that moved even when there was no wind. The moment he entered, Axel felt it. The air shifted. The temperature dropped just a little, enough to raise goosebumps.
"Next up!" the announcer shouted. "Storm! A fighter who bends wind and temperature to his will!"
As expected, another mission was generated for Axel to fight and win Storm. His reward was 50 EXP.
The crowd roared when Storm lifted a hand, and the air responded. Wind gathered around him in slow spirals, the temperature dropped further, and Axel saw his breath turning faintly white.
’Wind and temperature control...?’ he thought. ’Annoying.’
Aurora spoke calmly inside his head. "He is trying to dominate the battlefield. Don’t let him."
The countdown began again. Axel didn’t wait this time.
The moment the match started, Storm thrust both hands forward. A blast of freezing wind tore across the arena. It would have sent a normal person flying, but all Axel had to do was move out of the way.
"Seriously, why do you guys always deliver sloppy attacks like these?!" Axel screamed as he appeared in front of Storm.
He barely had time to widen his eyes before Axel’s sword stopped inches from his back.
Axel didn’t strike.
Instead, he dashed around in a blur.
Storm spun around in panic, throwing wind in every direction, trying to hit Axel.
"IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE RED IMP IS TOYING WITH STORM!"
Some people in the crowd mumbled in disappointment. Most of them must have bet on Storm. They all watched in confusion as his attacks kept missing Axel.
Storm’s breathing grew uneven. His control slipped, and his wind lost shape.
Axel dashed in front of Storm one last time and tapped his chest with the flat of his blade. Infernal energy pulsed, and Storm flew backward like a broken kite, crashing into the arena wall. The wind died instantly. The temperature returned to normal.
The announcer hesitated, then shouted, "Winner: THE RED IMP!"
"Easy.... Too easy."
< [Reward Received] >
The second fight ended without meaning anything to him.
He walked back to the center of the arena as the crowd buzzed with excitement. His HP was still full.
Then the announcer’s tone changed.
"And now..." he said slowly, dragging the moment out. "For the final match...."
Axel straightened up.
"This fighter needs no code name," the announcer continued. "He is a king. A ruler... A hybrid."
Axel frowned. "Hybrid?"
"DRAX TAN!"
’WHAT?!’ Axel froze.
The crowd exploded with noise as Drax stepped into the arena.
He looked relaxed. Confident. His smile was calm, almost amused, like this was exactly where he wanted to be. His eyes met Axel’s.
"You should have picked the easy way, Axel," Drax said lightly.
Axel’s vision flickered as a system window appeared.
< [New Mission Generated] >
< [Objective: Survive Drax Tan for 5 minutes] >
< [Reward: 300 EXP] >
< [Penalty for failure: All infernal abilities deactivated for 96 hours] >
Axel’s fingers tightened around his sword. The system told him to survive, not win. That alone told him everything that he needed to know.
"I’m screwed.."
The countdown began.
Ten.
Nine...
Axel kept his eyes on Drax, trying to read him. Trying to feel something, anything.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Zero.
Drax vanished.