HP: The Arcane Thief

...

Nerio gritted his teeth as he activated the anti-teleportation field once again. Those girls somehow escaped. It was bad, since their involvement would be revealed now, but what matters the most is, they still have their target within their sights. After all, the main thing they're after is the key around his neck.

"Hah... Axel Hunt. I believe it's best if you surrender peacefully, Nerio said, as Theron pointed his fully charged Darkness flames at him.

Axel looked down at the bloody stump that used to be his hand. The part from his wrist down was missing, teleported away with Martina. He knew exactly what had happened. Just when they were about to teleport, Nerio had used the spiral device in his hand, which Axel now realized, was a freaking magic gun!

While it's true that expert wizards can increase the casting and traveling speed of their spell, but that was on a different level. The casting and the moment of impact was almost instantaneous.

Axel glanced at Nerio, who was once again pointing the gun at him, and then at Theron, who looked ready to burn him alive, and sighed. Great, just great.

"The weather is rather lovely today, don't you think?" He said conversationally. "It'd be a pity if it rained."

"Theron, he is stalling. Go bind him. We don't have time," said Nerio, adjusting his glasses.

"Hey, I was just trying to make small talk," said Axel. Though, at this moment, his gaze went behind Theron and Nerio, and a smile came to his face.

?!

Theron instantly looked back before he knew what he was doing, and even Nerio did too. It was almost irresistible! But then he realized just what he was doing! Without thinking, he pulled the trigger of the spiral equipment which was pointed straight at Axel.

*Thump*

Aghast, Nerio's gaze fell on the motionless form Axel which lay sprawled on the ground. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He felt goosebumps upon realizing just how similar this situation was compared to when the boy cut down Lockhart into pieces.

"Hey, why'd you shoot him?" Asked Theron in bewilderment.

Nerio shot another blast at Theron, whose armor blocked it. "You stupid seashell! He made us look back! If that boy was in a better condition, either I would be dead or he would have escaped!"

Theron was a bit slow but also realized that Nerio's words were true. "Damn it, you're right! We made sure that no one else would come here, but when I saw his face, for a moment I completely believed someone was behind me," he said, as he walked up to Axel's paralyzed body.

He gave the body a good kick. "Bastard! I'm starting to hate him just as much as his dad."

Nerio added 'mastery over deception, defense, and attack' to the list as well. And upon realizing that this was a thirteen-year-old boy, he felt like his whole life had been a waste. He wondered just how it was possible for a boy so young to be so... freaking dangerous. In fact, he was so curious that finding it out would be the first thing he was going to do.

"Let's get out of here quickly," he said, creating a portal.

They stepped through, and entered a dark place.

Theron lit up a light orb, looking around. "Aren't we going to the HQ?" He asked.

"No way. Why would we do that?" Asked Nerio. "We are the ones who discovered and captured him. Obviously we should have the first stake over questioning him. You guard him while I secure the place."

Theron dumped Axel into a chair, not at all caring about his bloody hand. "You heard that, we get to torture you first," he said gleefully.

'Fan-fuckking-tastic,' thought Axel sarcastically. He was in a state of complete paralysis. And he couldn't really break free, what with him already having expended every single drop of energy he had on surviving Voldemort. He inwardly sighed.

He wondered if it was the right decision... not running away and trying to save everyone instead. It really wasn't like him to think about anyone but himself.

Fuck, who was he kidding? It was a fucking idiotic decision, and stupidly naive. He should have run away at the first opportunity. Nothing should be above his own life. And if he really had a little bit of time to consider, he WOULD have run away. He really thought so.

But, he didn't. And now he's paying the price. He almost died, once again damaged his soul, and then got captured by the Organisation. Oh, and how could he forget the hand he just lost?

Anyways, he was captured, he didn't have an ounce of energy, and he was missing a hand. That was about it.

'Not too bad,' he thought calmly, beginning to turn the gears in his head once again. He still had his greatest asset with him after all.

So, these are powerful high level members of the organization. Their power level? Indeterminate. But those relics give them a huge advantage in specific fields.

From what he can gather, Theron has an extremely high level of physical and magical defense. And he can also turn that into attack power. He isn't too smart though.

As for Nerio, he is sly as a Slytherin. Low defense, at least lower than the Tank Theron. But attack? Insanely high. The so-called magic gun? Axel was sure it was a relic. That attack speed might even be faster than muggle bullets. Axel didn't fancy his chances in a head on fight even in his top condition.

It's so good that he doesn't have to fight them on. Axel has always been a cheater, a thief, someone looking for an easier way. He just has to find a way to combat these two with his limited options, while keeping in mind their unfairly powerful Relics.

Easy, right?

While Axel was still busy thinking, he was released from the paralysis spell. But of course, now he was bound by some incredibly strong bindings, making sure he had no possibility of escape.

Now that he was able to move, he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dark and dingy room, with the only furniture being three chairs, one for each of them, there were no windows, and a single orb as the only light source. The only path of escape was the door, which was already heavily secured by Nerio.

"Don't worry, you can't escape from here. And no one will come to find you here," said Theron, who was observing Axel's reactions closely while sitting on the chair opposite to him. "We're in a safe house right now. We'll take you to the organization once we've properly questioned you," he said menacingly.

Axel nodded. "Can't wait," he said blandly.

Theron gritted his teeth. "You bastard, that's the exact reason why I hated your traitor of a father. Why do you always have to be such a smartass?"

Theron had known Tristan. The guy was too talented for his own good, and he liked to let others know it too. Theron had always wanted to wipe that calm and collected expression off the bastard's face. Too bad, he never did get the chance.

Even when that man died, he took the Organisation's second key along with him, leaving them all in immense frustration. Now that he met Axel who was like a replica of Tristan, only more talented and cockier, his old hatred had been once again reignited.

He leaned forward. "Don't you realize the situation you're in?" He asked. "You have been captured, you can barely move, let alone fight us off, you have lost a hand, we are going to torture you, and then you are going to be killed. Now do you realize? You couldn't be in a worse situation. Why the hell are you so calm and cozy?!" he explained, as a sadistic smile came to his face.

Axel chuckled. He couldn't help it. "Couldn't be in a worse situation? Bitch, you don't know anything about me."

He HAD been in situations which were much, much worse than this. That was exactly why he was so calm. His life has been throwing him into such situations long before he even stepped foot into Hogwarts. So what if the past year was somewhat lax? Situations like this are still routine for him. The only thing that keeps changing is the power of his enemies.

"Calm down, Theron."

Theron was just about to hit Axel but Nerio stopped him as he came to sit on the chair beside him. He looked at Axel deeply.

"You know Axel, I really admire you."

"I'm thirteen, you pedophile."

Nerio wasn't provoked. "You… there's something about you that terrifies me," he continued. "You have such great powers, and yet you didn't show even 10% of that when you had the chance to show the whole world. And as you said, you are only thirteen. HOW? And how are you mature enough to hide it. Heck, how are you composed right now? I have so many questions."

Nerio was genuinely curious. Axel was too abnormal for his abilities to be natural. He could sense many secrets behind his power, and he wanted to unearth them. It's one of the reasons why he didn't take Axel directly to the headquarters.

"Well," Axel shrugged. "Too bad, you'll never get the answers. It would be a waste to even try."

This, he could say with confidence.

Nerio raised his hands. "Now, now. Don't be so hasty in making a decision. I know you have high endurance, and I'm trying not to go into the torture route just yet. So, how about a deal? You tell me how you acquired so much power at such a young age, and I'll tell you about your parents.

"What?" Axel wavered at that.

Nerio smiled, like he had caught a fish. "Yes, your parents. From what I researched, you don't remember anything about your parents, right? Well, we happened to have a detailed account of their lives, even first hand memories. I don't mind sharing them with you at all. Won't you like to see it?"

"How do I know you won't go back on your words?"

Nerio shrugged. "Why would I need to go back on my words? Telling you something about your parents is nothing disadvantageous to me. So, What do you say, do we have a deal?"

"Fine." Axel grew serious. "Then I'll tell you," he said, looking at the ball of light, seemingly remembering his past.

"Once, there used to be a boy, living in an orphanage where he did not belong. His parents had abandoned him, and he couldn't fit in with the ordinary muggles at the orphanage. He was set to live an ordinary and insignificant life. But then a fateful encounter changed his life."

Theron and Nerio unknowingly leaned forward in anticipation.

"He met an old man who saw something in him which no one else could. This old man was no ordinary person. He was from a mysterious place called 'Aether'. 'Comprehend the meaning behind my words, and I'll pass down my legacy to you,' he said."

"The words were: Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi."

Axel paused after coming this far, letting them absorb it.

Theron had a look of realization on his face.

"Aether? Hey Nerio, it can't be, right? He was from the Aether World! No wonder this brat is so freakishly strong."

Nerio nodded, deep in thought. "It would make sense. Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi…" he muttered seriously, looking at Axel. "You were able to comprehend their meaning, weren't you?"

Axel was unimpressed. "No shit."

Nerio type the words into the transparent screen that appeared between him and Axel and hit search. "Noreht dna Oiren era stoidi"

He frowned. "It doesn't match any dialect of this world. Not even from the little bit we have from the Aether World. How did you comprehend it?" He asked.

Axel did an eyebrow-shrugged. "Because I'm not an idiot. I can read it pretty clearly," he said, looking at the words which were appearing inverted on the transparent screen.

Theron was not so patient. "So, what DO the words actually mean?"

Axel sighed. You two really are what I said you are. Turn the screen around."

Sensing something wrong, Nerio turned the screen around.

!!!

When the words became inverted, suddenly they could read it.

"theroN and neriO are idiots."

"....."

Axel laughed. "I am not telling you anything. You can take the information about my parents and shove it up your cunts. I don't give a fuck who they were."

Theron directly sucker punched Axel, and this Nerio didn't stop him this time. But Axel only laughed, feeling no pain. "Hahaha... haah... damn, your faces… I should have recorded it."

"Alright, playtime's over. Let's get the key first," said Nerio as he stood up.

He decided not to waste time anymore. Their number one priority was of course, the key. "We have been searching for it for a decade. We had thought that it was destroyed, but to think that it had been hanging around the neck of a brat all this while…" he said, tugging at Axel's neck.

Though he suddenly paused, as an expression of doubt came to his face. He removed Axel's half-destroyed hoodie to clear the view and saw—nothing.

"What in the—"

"Where is the key?!"

Yes, the key, which they had clearly seen hanging around Axel's neck, was nowhere to be seen.

Axel began laughing once again.