HP: The Arcane Thief

Princess Antilla waited with baited breath as the General went to call Kyrin Tenebrous.

It was happening! She is actually going to meet her Nephew! Antilla's mind was racing, picturing their reunion.

But for some reason, it was taking him a lot of time.

When the general returned, he had a grave expression on his face. "Princess, there is a situation."

"What is it, uncle? Surely it can't be more important than meeting my Nephew?"

"Actually…" The General remained silent for a few seconds, giving out urgent orders through his communicator.

Looking at his serious demeanor, Antilla was getting a bad premonition.

"What? What happened?"

"Princess, it would seem that the Black ops division has already ventured into the Trench."

Antilla relaxed. So it was only that. "Oh, already? I thought Kyrin would at least wait till I reward my Nephew. It seems that she can't wait to end the war," she said as she shook her head, slightly amused. She could still recall how disappointed Kyrin was to learn that the so-called 'Squids and Octopuses' had gotten such a huge advantage over them.

"Well, it matters not. Uncle, you should personally go and get him back. I can't entrust this to anyone else. Also, that division is too dangerous for Axel. Please have the rule-keepers make arrangements for the termination of his contract."

The General sighed. "That won't be possible right now, princess. Actually, Division Head Tenebrous once again did something... eccentric this time. She brought her new recruits with her."

"... Could you please repeat that?" Surely, Antilla must be too tired. Because she thought she heard something really outrageous just now.

"I said, Miss Tenebrous brought her new recruits down with her to the Trench. The prince is currently in the enemy territory."

What...? Axel... in the Trench? IN THE TRENCH?!

*BAAM*

"That reckless BITCH! Has she completely lost it?! WHY would she do that?! Wasn't he recruited just yesterday?!"

It was so outrageous that the princess herself lost her temper. All the etiquette, elegance, sophistication, dignity, and grace that had been trained into her from a young age was abandoned as the royal princess slammed her foot into the ground like a primitive being while cursing.

It is standard protocol to not allow any new recruit into the trench without proper training which lasts for over a period of at least a year, in which they receive education and training in order to increase their chances of survival in that hellish place.

It is completely inconceivable for any newfish to be brought into the Trench without all that training.

"If you're asking the reason, it's supposed to be a secured short-term training expedition into the shallows, to give her new cadets some hands-on experience."

"Secured?! This is simply being reckless and irresponsible! No one below 20 is allowed into that place. And Axel is—" Antilla clutched her head. "Gods! He is only 13! What was this woman thinking?!"

Sure, Kyrin might not think much of the shallow areas of the Trench, but that didn't mean they were completely safe. The Altina Trench is a mysterious and unpredictable place with possibilities of numerous mishaps. Without proper training, no one should be allowed to venture there.

Antilla was really mad this time. She understood that Kyrin liked to remain independent of rules, and do things her way, but this? This is intolerable!

Sure, there are some rules which are meaningless and can be bent or broken, but there are boundaries that should NOT be crossed. And this time, Kyrin had crossed that boundary by miles.

"Even the shallow layers aren't exactly safe. There are just too many dangers in that place! General, quickly have them return."

"Princess… I'm afraid there's more to the matter."

".... What?"

"During their entrance, they were reportedly hit by a space turbulence."

"WHAT?!" The water of the surrounding ocean churned. "That can't be possible!"

A space turbulence?! A SPACE TURBULENCE?! And that too, right when Axel's ?! Antilla couldn't understand. How could that be possible?! Space turbulence only happens when the space in the trench becomes particularly unstable. And to prevent any losses, their Technomancers are always monitoring the stability of the space in order to minimize the risk. Entry and Exit is forbidden in case there is red light at the portal.

Despite her reckless behaviour, Antilla refused to believe that Kyrin would be mad enough to even break this rule and ventured during a dangerous time.

"I understand your disbelief, Princess. But this is a unique case. The Technomancers saw no signs of turbulence beforehand. It happened too suddenly, without any warning. And the prince was unfortunately caught in it."

"So… so Axel…" Antilla's breathing got laboured. She was actually beginning to panic now 'This… this is real… It can't be real...'

Previously, she was only sad. Because, despite all the difficulties Axel had faced, and despite all abuse and torture he had gone through, in her heart, she the assurance he had managed to come out on top, and that he was currently in safe and healthy in his kingdom, where he belonged. All she had wanted to do is to quickly be by his side and start making up for the lost time.

But right now?

Right now he was in actual danger! Serious danger!

The water disturbance was getting worse.

"Princess, please stay calm. I have already sent out search parties."

"Calm? How can I stay CALM?! He got into a space turbulence! You know how dangerous they are! And even if he does come out unscathed, there is no certainty where he might land!"

That was the problem with the Trench. Since the space there is so unstable, no one even uses portals there, let alone getting stuck into a space turbulence. To make matters worse, the time flow was different in that place. For all they know, Axel might have already been stuck there for days!

It was a horrible, horrible situation.

But… Antilla understood that she didn't have the leisure to panic right now. "Search parties are not enough…" she murmured, wiping away the tears. Right now, she stopped all emotions and activated her mind art to enter a state of thinking.

She had just gotten back her long lost family. There is no way she is going to lose him like this. Axel… must be rescued! At all cost!

....

"After this is over, we're going to have words."

'Fuck!' Axel was creeped out upon hearing Kyrin's voice in his head. So, she can do this too? In his system occlumency, there was also the skill of telepathic communication, but he didn't think Kyrin would know it too.

"Fuck off!" He replied back to Kyrin using the same method. Though he was new to the skill, it wasn't all that difficult for someone with his mental calibur. He was not going to be intimidated by her. This woman had planned to forcefully make him reveal the origin of all his skills just yesterday. If not for Akiko, he and her would have been enemies for sure.

She can't be trusted. That's why, he didn't want to reveal any more of his secrets to her, and neither was he obligated to tell her, having signed a contract that granted his protection from her.

"""Oh? You managed to avoid it? Then how about this?"""

Axel had to break eye contact with Kyrin as Karlock used his mega blaster once again after they had successfully evaded his last attack.

But this time, the huge blaster fired something else. Some kind of liquid was sprayed, raining on them. Wherever the liquid fell, a sizzling sound was produced as it simply burned through any matter it came into contact with.

"It's acid! Everyone evade!"

Since they had fallen not far away from each other, Willis made up barriers that covered everyone and Sylthia made the winds blow away liquid.

Karlock merely laughed upon seeing this.

""""KHEKHEKHEKHEKHE... that liquid can't be defended against so easily.""" And the liquid that had fallen on the ground began to move on its own, congregating into their location from all sides.

""""KHEKHE! How's that? That's an organic matter, meaning I can CONTROL it!""""

'Fuck, is it his piss?!' Thought Axel while gagging at the smell coming from the strange acid. He was quite exasperated right now. This organic pile of shit is making things real difficult for him.

First he recognised Nerio's glasses and almost uncovered all of his secrets, and now this. Axel decided he has to be eliminated before he reveals any more of his secrets. But how?

The strongest in the group is Kyrin. But, can she really defeat this colossal giant? From what he has seen so far, Kyrin's main strength, much like Axel, is either melee or concentrated ranged attacks. But melee attacks can't really do much against this giant and the ranged attacks are blocked by his extremely powerful shields. The rest of the team also has similar problems. The defense of the giant is too strong, and the area they need to damage is too vast.

If it really went like this, the fight might take a lot longer, long enough for Karlock to reveal everything with his continuously chattering mouth.

'I'll have to do something.' Axel decided. It seems he'll have to make a move himself in order to finish things fast.

But what?

Use water?

That's not an option. It has to be noted that Karlock's real body is not here. Revealing water affinity would be foolish when they can't even kill the guy. He would simply find out about his water affinity and reveal it to the rest of Kraken.

Then, is it finally time to try out that skill?

"Hey, Karlock!"

While he was still in thought, Kyrin called out to Karlock.

Pitch black energy blooming around her, lifting her off her feet. The atmosphere suddenly turned several degrees colder and everyone suddenly felt a sinking feeling of dread creeping up despite being Kyrin's allies.

*Boom*

Karlock involuntarily had his giant avatar take a step back as he looked at the energy readings in shock.

"What… what's with that power?!"

How could a single individual produce such an amount of destructive energy?

The shield had been created from the preparation and energy charging of so many years.

And that shield... it could be actually be breached by a single person?! It was only at this moment that Karlock realized. Kyrin had been merely playing with him all this time.

Right now, to him, Kyrin, who was overflowing power, looked much bigger than his giant Biomaton.

.....

'Is she… finally going to stop holding back?'

Axel's jaw also dropped upon seeing the huge amount of darkness. He knew that Kyrin had been holding back her power, having underestimated Karlock all along. He just didn't know how much. 'Looks, like I won't have to take action.' he thought in relief. Kyrin may be a terrible enemy. But when they're on the same side, she's that much more reliable.

Though, just when he had relaxed, he saw Kyrin actually dissipated her aura, having only used it to show Karlock his place.

"Axel Hunt! What do you want to know about him?!" Raising her voice, she just shouted one name.

'Obsessive bitch!' Axel cursed.

Kyrin's words caused Karlock to freeze his attack. On the other hand, Axel, whose name was called out, flinched. 'What… in the craziest hell is she doing?!'

"Oh? So you're willing to talk now? Tell me, did those two manage to kill him or not?"

"First YOU tell me! How did you find out about him?!" Asked Kyrin.

'Wily bitch!' Axel realized what Kyrin was doing! She was fishing for more information! It seems that previously, she thought she would interrogate him after beating him, or interrogate Axel directly. But with Axel's tight lips and Karlock's loud mouth, she has changed her plans.