Chapter 251: End of Vol 3

[Soul Bind]

The First used his skill, and for the first time, Axel truly realized why the Entity bonded itself with the First, who is like an insignificant ant-like existence compared to it.

The previous time it tried to use the soul bind on him, even when completely exhausted, Axel was able to resist the Entity, since its powers were limited due to the seal.

But this time, when the Entity did it using the First as the medium, Axel felt that it would be difficult to defend even when he wasn’t so exhausted. And as for the others, it would be even easier to take over them.

Soul Energy began filling up his soul, completely overshadowing his soul with its massive quantity. A soul is the source of life itself. Once it’s corrupted, you lose over everything else as well whether it's your body or your mind.

“Axel!”

“No!”

“King!”

“Leave the King alone, you painifera!”

The Atlantian forces had only now recovered from the explosion, and seeing Axel bound by the First far into the space, they quickly began rushing over to help, not caring for their own lives.

“Wait for your turn.” The First casually waved his hand, pinning down everyone. “Everyone gets their own [Soul Bind].”

The First cast multiple Soul casts, casually taking over a bunch of Kingdom’s forces. The taken over souls turned on the Atlantian forces and began attacking them, making for a chaotic scene.

The situation was absolutely worse right now.

Axel was too exhausted. He wanted to resist, but he simply didn’t have the mental or soul energy left to put up any serious struggle.

While previously he only had to resist the Entity’s cute attempts when its powers were bound, this time, he had to contend against the power of Entity that is not longer bound, and being used by the First, who already has a much stronger Soul Affinity compared to him.

For the first time, he felt like he had absolutely lost. And it was a resounding loss. The First beat him at all fronts.

His goal was to Bind Axel’s soul. But, he didn’t try it right away like anyone as powerful as him would do, since Axel could have left the fight any time.

So he only used a single type of attack from beginning to end, hiding his cards. Then he just kept baiting Axel into spending more and more energy, letting him believe he still had a chance.

There was a moment when Axel surprised him repeatedly when he managed to stay conscious after the full power attack, and then turn invisible. But he then used the Atlantians as leverage and managed to draw him out.

In the end, he has successfully made Axel spend every bit of his energy, and now he can actually succeed in fully binding Axel.

So, be it the battle of wits, the battle of patience, or the battle of power. The First won it all.

Axel accepted his loss, having tried everything he could.

Now, he could only hope for the System to bail him out, not seeing any way out of this mess.

‘System, is this it? Is there any way out of this?!’

He wasn’t really expecting there to be an option. He had clearly lost due to his own mistakes.

But surprisingly, the system gave him an affirmative reply.

[You haven’t checked the notifications properly. You haven’t used the reward from your last mission]

?!

Checking notifications? Really? With the events there are continuously taking place here, did he even have the time?

In fact, right now isn’t a good time either, if he did say so himself, what with his soul being taken over and all.

But, at this point, what else could he do? He clearly couldn’t do much to resist the Soul Binding.

The notification of the last mission.

The last mission was a combined mission of first taking the Trident and then reinforcing the seal.

It was pretty much an impossible level difficulty mission, since the Trident was being wielded by Aslot, and the Seal was being guarded by Zeta.

It was so difficult that Axel never even thought about what he’d get for the reward since he never thought he’d complete it.

‘What’d I get?’

Axel quickly pulled up the notification of the mission completion.

[Congratulations! You have Completed the Mission at an impossible difficulty]

[You upgraded your class from Arcane Thief to Arcane Plunderer.

You have awakened the Special Skill: Arcane Siphon]

‘What the—’

A class upgrade?

Axel did not see this coming. He wasn’t sure how this happened, let alone what this meant.

“Why… is this not working?” At this moment, he heard the First’s voice. It was only then that he realized, he still… seemed to be alright?

Like, it has been a while since the First used [Soul Bind], but there doesn’t seem to be any corruption yet?

There was definitely the First Soul energy taking root in his soul, but it couldn’t really make ‘bind’ or ‘influence’ his Soul, letting him continue to have his own free will.

Axel checked the description of the Arcane Plunderer.

[Arcane Plunderer: You are no longer just a mere Thief, but a Plunderer. Instead of stealing, an Arcane Plunderer ‘claims’ the Arcane as their own. Uninfluenced by others, you create a path of your own.]

[Your records are now so impressive that you have managed to upgrade your Class to a unique one. No one other you has this class. With this your authority has significantly increased, giving you a higher exemption to the laws]

It was at that moment that it began to click.

There have indeed been changes, but he has failed to notice them

But, when he read the words “you are no longer a mere thief”, it began to click to Axel.

Gone were the days when he used to struggle to make ends meet, when he had preferred to stay in the shadows, uncomfortable from any attention.

Now, he no longer stole out of necessity, but more for the enjoyment.

Now, he was no longer afraid of being discovered, rather, he was just taking things openly, consequences be damned.

He was not a thief, but more like a thug or bandit.

Unknowingly, his actions, his reactions, his status, and his capabilities… everything had changed, But inwardly, he was still perceiving himself as a thief.

And as soon as the realization hit him, Axel’s mind began to change.

Someone is trying to take over his soul?

DID HE ALLOW IT?

NO

Then…

“Fuck you.”

There was no way he was going to let that happen.

What? He no longer had the energy to resist?

The First still has it, right?

Axel began to try and take over the first’s soul magic that

[Arcane Siphon: 1%...2%...3%]

“What… are you doing?”

The First noticed that, not only was  the Soul Bind not working on Axel, but the bindings were also becoming weaker and weaker while Axel’s soul no longer seemed so drained anymore.

“How is this even possible?!” 

The First couldn’t understand what was going on here. Someone else’s magic is, in the end, someone else’s. You can’t just take it and make it your own! This defies all laws! And… this is straight up robbery!

Just like that, Axel recovered, now having much more power compared to before.

Axel looked up, his water body once again being activated. “Well, destruction might be your path. ‘Plundering’… is mine."

“Stop it!” The First couldn’t just let Axel just recover like that. 

He blasted him with a healthy dose of Destructive energy. Axel didn’t bother defending, the energy hitting him directly, pushing him several meters back. 

“You know what, you can keep it.” 

The destructive energy started to revolve around him, before he returned it while adding some elemental energy to it, blowing the First away. 

The First looked at the Axel in disbelief. He had never thought that this could be possible. 

Emerging from the shield of tentacles, the First shook his head. 

“You never cease to amaze me with your tricks.” 

A Soul Path is not a joke. It takes years to even figure out which path you have to follow, and then decades to actually develop your soul along the way.

What took him years to find and develop… Axel speed-running his way through it as they speak. 

This means that aside from having immense talent for Soul Magic, he already has a very strong sense of self, which should not be the case for someone his age. 

“This… is not going to work.” 

Axel was already strong on all fronts. His only weakness has been his Soul, which was quite weak compared to the First. That’s why he thought he could control Axel through soul bind, and even eventually take over his body. 

But, the way Axel is growing, that is no longer a viable option. Even if he somehow manages to take over Axel now, it seems that Axel will somehow manage to break through soon enough. 

And once that happens, the consequences will be disastrous, as he’d have grown even stronger by then. 

“I tried. I really did try to give you a chance. But you were too stubborn to take it.” 

The First appeared in front of Axel, the tentacles extending out to attack him. 

Axel was ready with his blade, but—

BOOM

This time, the speed and power of the tentacles was beyond his comprehension, easily blocking the blades and cutting through his body. 

‘What the—?!’

What really shocked Axel was not just how faster and stronger the tentacles were, but the fact that they could give him so much damage even in the [Water Body] state. Axel could feel the water molecules breaking down where the tentacles passed through, furthermore, it was canceling the [Water Body] state of the portion, making the area revert back to fresh and bones. 

The First looked at Axel superciliously. 

“You might have become immune to my attacks. But I don’t really need those to kill you,” said the First. “Thanks to the previous explosion, the Tentacles have now evolved to a whole new level.” 

One of Entity’s traits is constant observation, learning, and evolution. And after going to the last explosion, it learnt a lot about water. Then it evolved accordingly, the tentacles becoming more stronger, and generating anti-water properties. 

‘Damn it.’ Axel gritted his teeth. 

The First was right. Even though Axel had managed to prevent the First from taking control of him, and found a way to recover, he was still not out of danger. In fact, the danger had only increased now.

First of all, even though Axel could now plunger energy to retain his combat state, he still has to fight the Entity, which can constantly evolve the more the fight continues. 

Then there’s the fact that, there’s no way left to kill the Entity that he hasn’t already tried, meaning the fight will only continue and the Entity will soon evolve into something that can kill him. 

Finally, the First no longer thinks Axel can be converted to his side, meaning now, Axel is now number one on his kill-list, since he has too much potential. So, he’s no longer going to pull any punches when facing Axel. 

The fight continued with Axel now having one solid hand and shoulder which could no longer turn into water.  

What was worse was the fact that he could no longer control the space here, since it had already been completely broken, which would take a long time to restore. 

But, Axel wasn’t going to go down so easily. 

Tendrils of energy extended out of his water body, eerily similar to the First’s as they began to clash with the Entity’s tentacles.

“Even the Entity?” 

That’s right. Axel began to copy the Entity itself, recreating Entity’s tentacles in order to fight it. 

He couldn’t even copy much, as the Entity was a higher level being, but it did help him put up some fight instead of instantly dying. 

Axel’s  tentacles improved with each exchange, but the Entity evolved more. And having been thoroughly  angered by Axel, it didn't hold back, trying its best to thoroughly crush Axel. 

The battle went on and on. Every time it seemed that Axel would die, he would still somehow manage to pull through.

In the end, almost all of Axel's body had lost the [Water body] state, only leaving his heart and head still in the fluid state. Also, one of his legs was cut off in a way that he couldn't regenerate it through ordinary means, and, there was a gaping hole in his stomach. 

But still, every time the First would look into Axel’s eyes, he'd feel unsettled by the sheer will battle-intent contained within them.

Good thing he had been preparing for a countermeasure.

While the Tentacles fought Axel, the First pointed his hand towards the city. 

Immediately, blue markings began to emerge on the skins of more Atlantians. And, this was happening throughout the city. 

‘Seriously?’

Worn out from the fight, Axel assessed the situation in the city. 

There was mass panic throughout the Kingdom as more than half the residents turned Krak-heads, and began attacking those who still had not.   

                  `

This… this was beyond his control. 

“I'm going to kill half the population of this Kingdom. You know what that means, don't you?”

Of course Axel knew. If the First really went with it, then with so many deaths, the seal will be weakened to a huge extent. Once that happens, the First’s power will receive a massive boost while Axel will no longer be able to borrow the power of Atlantis. 

‘Is this the end?’ 

Filled with injuries from head to toe, and a massive amount of fatigue, Axel saw no way further. 

From the start, the battle was not fair, to begin with. One side is immortal, infinitely evolving, and able to cast mass Soul Bind on so many people. What can the other side even do to beat this?

Seeing so many people dying, the will to fight finally began to fade from Axel’s eyes. 

‘System…? Is there any hope?’ He asked, But even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have anticipated the system’s response. 

[Help Kyrin Tenebrous]

That’s all it said. 

???

Kyrin? What is SHE going to do in this situation?

While fighting the Entity, Axel sharply turned his head to look back at the Atlantian forces. 

BOOOM

Almost at the same time, a huge amount of darkness energy was released from Kyrin. 

“Hold him down!” Amber eyes met pitch black ones, and Kyrin immediately called out, her hands already forming seals. Yes, surprisingly enough, at this time of life-and-death, instead of the strongest of Atlantian magics, she was using Ancient Japanese hand seals. 

Axel wasn’t the guy to waste time during crucial moments.

[Limit… Break]

All kinds of fatigue vanished from Axel’s body as power filled every fiber of his being. The tentacles he had created increased in size and numbers, and even temporarily managed to emulate the Entity’s characteristics as he clashed with the Entity, holding it down..

"Sensei…" While fighting the Soldiers who had been soul-bound, Akiko looked at Kyrin in worry. She didn't know what Kyrin was doing, but she knew that this much darkness energy is not good for her.

Black lines appeared all over Kyrin's body as she finally finished making the hand seals. 

"""Death Magic..."""

"""DEATH SACRIFICE!!!"""

The darkness began to revolve around one spot as a dark portal appeared in front of her, radiating the aura of death.

"What… is that?!" Asked the First in surprise. This was magic he had never seen before. And even the Entity, that has faced the worst of the Aetherworld, now seemed scared. 

"Death... Magic?" Axel's astonishment was no less. A was suddenly feeling an incredible pressure. The pressure of facing a higher being.

It was similar to facing the Entity, only this time, it was at a level that he couldn't even comprehend.

The First increased his attempted to escape, but Axel wasn't going to let off this time, now even sure of whatever Kyrin was doing. 

Having successfully casted the magic, all energy drained from Kyrin, and her body began withering rapidly, having used too much darkness.

This was the ancient spell that the previous owner of the [Eyes of Death] left behind. It requires an extremely high amount of darkness magic to cast. 

This was given to her by Akiko's grandfather when Akiko woke up and straight away ran back to Atlantis, madly seeking revenge for Axel's death. 

Kyrin recalled Yujiro's words when he handed her the spell. "I blame you for everything. If ever a day comes when Aki is in danger and you do not have the power to protect her, give me your word that you'll use this." 

Well, this was it. This was the time. 

Kyrin has lived a vain and selfish life. All her life, she has done whatever she wanted, never caring much about the rules. 

But, she genuinely viewed the Kingdom as her home, and she genuinely respected her ancestors, who had protected this kingdom loyally throughout the millennia. 

And finally, she loved Aki as her own daughter.

So, if the situation asks for it, she'll gladly sacrifice herself. For the Kingdom, for her ancestors, and for Aki.

An aura of death spread throughout the Kingdom as a cloaked figure descended through the portal.

""""What do you want?"""" A cold and eerie feminine voice was heard. It was extremely low, but upon hearing it, darkness started to spread in front of everyone's eyes as they felt themselves being drawn to the other side.

 Kyrin raised her hand. "Lady Death, I only have one wish. For you to claim Trisdesis Arhunt." 

'Death?! Holy Shit!'

Axel could hardly believe what he was seeing right now. That... was death? He didn't know Death was an actual entity, let alone the fact that he'd ever get to see it like this.

The figure titled its head, looking at Kyrin, and then at the First Overseer. Then, it finally looked towards Akiko. 

""""How curious...""""

It faced Kyrin once again.

""""So, you agree to the price?""""

"Yes," said Kyrin. "A life for a life. A soul for a soul. I volunteer for the sacrifice." 

"No!" Screamed Akiko immediately, as Axel's eyes also widened as he realized what Kyrin was doing.

""""Very Well."""" 

The Death extended its hand toward the First and a suction was created.  

A formless energy began to be extracted from the First. 

The First screamed in absolute pain as his soul was literally ripped apart from the Entity's soul and the Entity also received a backlash, its control over everyone in Atlantis vanishing. 

Having gathered the First's energy into its hand, Death turned his head in Axel's direction, looking at him for a moment too long. 

Thoroughly creeped out, Axel faced death, still in disbelief of the whole situation. 

But surprisingly, the Death slightly bowed Its head in Axel's direction before turning back to Kyrin. 

It extended its hand and life started to leave Kyrin's body, which was already withering. 

"NOOOOOOOO!" Akiko screamed, running forward. "Not her! Take me instead!"

The Death turned to look at Akiko. "Your time is not here yet, young one. And those who use the spell must pay the price. For it is the price of seeking Death." 

"Aki," Kyrin called out with the last of her energy. "Let me leave. You know… I didn't have long to live anyway. And besides," she smiled. "I've been completely useless. I couldn’t take your revenge, and I couldn’t save Axel. This time… let me do both." 

"No... no... no..." Akiko fell to her knees, repeatedly shaking her head. 

Kyrin finally turned to look at Axel. "I am sorry for all you’ve been through because of my negligence. But really, seeing you return and seeing you fight…" Kyrin sighed, tears forming in her eyes. She bowed deeply. "It has been an honor, my King. I am leaving Aki and the Kingdom… in worthy hands."

With that, the last of her life force was extracted as her body disintegrated, turning into ashes. 

...

A.N. guys, leave likes. No one can tell there are 170 of you