The night slowly passed and morning finally came. Sunlight entered lyras room as she opened her eyes and sat up on her bed, it was the weekend which made it the perfect time for her to go out and look for axel. She got up, took a shower, got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast, after finishing she didn't waste any time and left the house, heading straight to the police station.
After some time she arrived and walked inside, looking around until she spotted her uncle who was the station commander.
She walked towards him. "uncle, I need to talk to you"
He looked at her with a slightly serious expression. "what is it?"
Lyra took a small breath before speaking. "it's about the fire that happened yesterday"
Her uncle stayed quiet and listened.
"I think… someone might still be alive"
He raised an eyebrow.
"what do you mean?"
"they said only one body was found"she said and paused
"…but axel was there too"
Her uncle's expression changed slightly.
"axel?"
Lyra nodded.
"He's my friend… and he was badly injured before that fire happened"
She paused for a second.
"…I don't think he could have died like that"
Her uncle crossed his arms.
"what's your relationship with this boy?"
Lyra stayed quiet for a moment.
"…we're childhood friends"she paused for a second
"…and I'm just worried about him"
Her uncle looked at her for a few seconds before nodding.
"alright, I'll send some officers to look for him"
Lyra immediately responded.
"I want to come with"
Her uncle looked at her seriously.
"this isn't a game"
"I know..... but I want to help"she said, she also explained about the kids who bullied axel as she was suspicious of them
After a moment of silence, her uncle sighed.
"…fine"
He then called two officers into his office, a female and a male.
"I want you two to investigate a missing person case"
"start by asking around and visit the homes of the students involved in bullying him"
The officers nodded.
After that, the three of them got into a car and drove off. Their first stop was the house of the gang leader, Jack.
They arrived and went inside, sitting down with his parents as they explained the situation, then Jack was called into the room.
"do you know where axel is?"asked one officer
Jack shook his head quickly.
"no… I don't know"
"when was the last time you saw him?"the officer asked
"…yesterday…we only beat him up… and then we left"replied jack
Lyra clenched her fists slightly but stayed quiet.
"We will be coming back for you and your group bullying is a serious offense"said the officer
Jack stayed silent.
After leaving the house, they continued searching around the city, asking people and checking different areas but they found nothing. Time passed quickly as the sun slowly began to set.
"We should take you home"said the officer
Lyra shook her head.
"no… let's keep looking a little longer"
The officers looked at each other before agreeing.
As it became dark, deep in the forest axel was walking back towards the bridge holding the corpse of a wild rabbit in his hand. Its body hung lifelessly as blood slowly dripped onto the ground, but axels expression didn't change. He reached the bridge and placed the animal on the ground before turning and walking towards a nearby tree.
He stared at it.
His eyes locked onto the branches.
Without moving his hands, invisible slashes cut through them and the branches fell to the ground. Axel walked over, picked them up and carried them back under the bridge.
Once he was under the bridge and the branches had caught fire, he sat down and began removing the fur from the wild rabbit. His hands moved slowly as he worked, then he grabbed a stick and pushed it through the rabbit so he could hold it over the fire.
The flames burned steadily as he cooked it.
Then suddenly—
A bright light appeared again.
It came from the sky, from the direction of the moon, moving fast before crashing down near axel.
BOOM
The ground shook as dust spread everywhere, the fire flickered violently as axel looked towards the explosion.
As the dust cleared, the goblin stepped out.
This time it wore armor made out of obsidian, dark and heavy, and there was no crown on its head.
Axel noticed immediately.
"…why are you here?"
The goblin looked at him with a disappointed expression.
"…you haven't been doing anything interesting"
Axel frowned.
"…what do you mean?"
The goblin sighed.
"The only reason I gave you that power… was so you could entertain me"
Axel laughed slightly.
"…I'm not your puppet"
The goblins expression became cold.
"If you have no intention of entertaining me…then you don't deserve that power"
Axel looked down.
"…are you going to take it back?"
The goblin shook its head.
"I can't… because of our contract…so I'll take your life instead"
Axel smiled.
"…I was actually looking for something to test my power on…nothing in this world can survive me…but something like you might"
He placed the rabbit down and walked towards the goblin, his eyes glowing bright red as he looked down at it.
The goblin looked up.
"don't get confident just because you're bigger"
Axel immediately tried to kick it, but the goblin reacted quickly and moved back. It raised its hand and suddenly axel felt a powerful invisible blow hit his stomach, sending him flying through a tree before crashing to the ground.
Axel forced himself up and raised his hand, forming a fireball as the air around it distorted from the heat. The goblin charged forward and axel launched the fireball.
BOOM
A massive explosion lit up the forest, flames spreading in all directions.
Back in the city, people looked towards the distance as the explosion could be seen from far away.
"…that's not normal"
"we need to call the firefighters"
Back in the forest, as the explosion cleared, the goblin stood there completely unharmed. It dashed forward and appeared in front of axel, landing a powerful punch that sent him sliding across the ground.
The goblin didn't stop, it kept attacking, each punch connecting while axel failed to land a single hit. It grabbed him and slammed him into a tree before throwing him away again, then formed an energy blast and fired it.
BOOM
The blast tore through the forest, destroying trees and sending debris flying everywhere as axel crashed to the ground, blood covering his face and body while his clothes were torn apart.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw the goblin above him charging another attack.
It rushed forward and slammed its fist into him, causing another explosion of dust. The goblin continued beating him, each hit reminding axel of the times he was bullied, the pain, the helplessness.
In the distance, sirens could be heard as multiple fire trucks and police vehicles approached, Lyra was inside one of the police cars.
Back at the battlefield, the goblin raised its fist again—
But the air suddenly changed.
The temperature rose.
The ground started cracking.
Axels eyes opened.
Burning red.
He grabbed the goblins arm and punched it in the face, sending it flying through multiple trees.
Axel slowly stood up as flames erupted around his body, spreading across the forest, growing stronger with each second. His eyes glowed intensely as heat waves distorted the air around him.
In the distance, the police and firefighters felt the sudden heat.
"…it just got hotter…"
Suddenly, a figure came flying through the trees and crashed in front of them.
It was the goblin.
Moments later—
Axel appeared.
He dashed forward, leaving a trail of fire behind him as the ground burned beneath his feet. He reached the goblin instantly, his hand igniting with intense flames.
He pointed it forward.
A massive stream of fire burst out.
It burned through trees instantly, destroying everything in its path before colliding with the goblin.
BOOM
A huge explosion formed, rising into the sky and taking the shape of a mushroom.
The firefighters and police stopped and stared.
"…what is that…"
As the flames cleared, the goblin stepped out, its armor completely destroyed.
It looked at axel.
Axel slowly walked towards it.
The goblin raised both its hands to attack—
But its arms suddenly fell to the ground.
Cleanly cut.
The goblins eyes widened in shock.
Axel had used his slash ability.
Axel stepped closer and placed his hand on the goblins head.
The goblin looked up, fear on its face, then suddenly smiled.
"…you can't kill me!! …I'm immortal!! .... I'll just come back!! "
Axels face remained emotionless as his grip tightened, his eyes glowing bright red.
The goblin suddenly felt something inside its body.
"…what is this?!"
Axels hand glowed red as the goblins stomach began to expand unnaturally axel smiled.
"…it is death"
BOOM
The goblin exploded from the inside out, flames bursting through it as green blood spread everywhere, some splashing onto axels face.
Back near the road, the police and firefighters looked around.
"…where's the girl?"
Lyra was gone.
Back in the forest, axel stood there surrounded by flames and blood.
Then—
A voice came from behind him.
"…axel…"
He froze.
The voice was familiar.
But it sounded scared.