HP: The Arcane Thief

[Special Mission: Prevent the creatures from escaping into the city.]

Axel's attention was focused on the unique situation of the sea. He could sense the strange changes that were happening throughout the artificial ocean.

By now, most of the creatures had been put into inactivity by the safety mechanism, But still…

'They are resisting!'

Some creatures were able to resist these anesthetics due to their ongoing transformation, which had now gone into full swing. The size of these few sea animals had started increasing, and they had turned more violent and ferocious, attacking the creatures around them.

But what was truly shocking was the final change: Blue markings had now started appearing on the skins of these creatures.

"H-Hey… what is that?"

"Aren't those… blue tattoos?"

"Fuck!"

"Mommy!"

"Could it really be…?"

"It's Kraken, isn't it?!"

Axel and Akiko weren't the only ones who noticed the change. The blue markings of the Kraken were infamous throughout the Kingdom. There's no way they won't make the connection upon seeing it.

Instantly, this matter turned several degrees more serious. The panic had started to settle for real among the passengers. Even those joking about it and those live-streaming it could no longer keep their calm.

'System, what the hell? What are those blue tattoos? How is the Kraken doing this?' Asked Axel.

[The information on this topic is restricted. Here is what you can access at the moment: there are some entities that can be so powerful that they can share their power with their followers. One such Entity is behind Kraken.]

'Share their power?' Axel's brows furrowed as he looked at the jacked up creatures. What kind of power does one have to have to do that?

'Hey! How the fuck am i supposed to beat someone like that?' He protested. If the Kraken is really that powerful, then how is he going to fight them?

[Axel, the entity is sealed, and its ways of exerting its powers are limited.]

'Sealed?' Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle started coming together to Axel. From what the system has been able to disclose without breaking the laws of the world, the organisation is controlled by this identity. He recalled how Theron and Nerio described being 'enlightened'. Now, he was beginning to understand what that meant.

It also seems that this sealed entity is restricted in ways in which it can exert its influence, hence having the Organization.

What he couldn't understand was… 'Why? Why go this far? Those zoo animals can only kill civilians even if they're released.' he asked. Even the bombing incident a few days ago seemed like a waste. It didn't really do any significant damage on the Kingdom's forces.

[The Entity gains power through negative emotions.]

'Fuck....' Axel instantly understood, and his headache increased. If fear is who it wants, then a bund of crazy animals roaming throughout the city will definitely make it happen.

'What have I gotten myself into?' Axel was disconcerted. With this, it was clear that he wasn't dealing with small fries that he could just rush into confronting.

"Dear passengers, please stay calm. The animals cannot break through the protective layer. I repeat, please remain calm..." an announcement was made. While Axel was busy contemplating, the situation of the train was getting more and more precarious.

They had now reached a part of the ocean where dangerous magical creatures were supposed to start appearing. And the threat level of these creatures was further amplified with their transformations.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Originally, for passengers' convenience, there was sufficient lumination throughout the artificial ocean, and the train would glow in this dimly lit surrounding, attracting the creatures from all around into coming closer to the train. But now, that was backfiring as these creatures had now begun targeting the protective layer around the track in order to get to the train.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ripples spread throughout the surface of the shield as the creatures repeatedly threw themselves at it, as if possessed.

"H-Hey, isn't this getting a bit dangerous now?"

"What the hell? Is this another attack?"

"Don't worry, these mindless beasts can't break the barrier. We're safe," some said with confidence.

"Yeah, they would have stopped the tour if the barrier was really going to break."

The protective barrier was something that has been in place for centuries. Even the best of the Atlantians will have trouble breaking through it, let alone the magical creatures who can only use brute force.

"BOOOOOOM!"

And at this moment, a huge impact was heard, which even caused the train to shake violently.

"....W-What?"

A huge explosion had taken place up ahead, causing the protective layer around the area to start fizzing out.

"Damn it, did they actually pre plant bombs here?" muttered Axel incredulously. There was no other explanation.

As if taking advantage of the opportunity, a giant silhouette which invoked a feeling of terror in just a glance rushing towards the place of explosion. It was a massive sea serpent, with glistening black scales. Blue markings could be seen glowing throughout its body, which had been expanded to a ridiculous degree.

"BAAM"

When the giant sea monster made the impact on the weakened layer, this time, cracks appeared on the barrier.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was a pause in the train, after which,screams erupted from everywhere as even the people who were still having fun suddenly realised that this is no longer a fun event to watch.The danger… was real.

"Are we going to die?"

"What is going to happen?"

"Everyone, please calm down. Due to the emergency, the tour will have to be suspended now as the train will start the return journey."

The announcement did not do much to alleviate the panic. Because as the cracks appeared in the barrier, more and more creatures started to swarm the area.

Soon, the barrier was broken as the train had already started to retreat.

"Are we saved..?"

Whoever said that raised the flag. Because in the moment, the train violently shook, as if impacted by something surprising.

"What is that?!"

"Mommy!!"

"AAAHHH!"

"We're going to die!"

"Call for help!"

"I'm trying! But the signal is dead!"

"My internet is also down! Damn it, I was beginning to get a lot of views!"

The last one was from a idiot, but overall, everyone was terrified now. Ever since the explosion the network was down for reason, something they had never experience outside this Biopark.

But... this was just the beginning of their troubles.

Before the train could make it far, a tentacle had wrapped itself around the train, slowing it down.

!!!!!

The people screamed like little girls this time. The sight of a tentacle wrapping around the transparent train was truly frightening. Its colour was a mixture of pink and purple. The suction cups present on it immediately latched onto the glassy surface of the train, scaring the shit of the passengers. And of course, it had glowing blue markings all over it.

*Pop* *Popopopopop*

Another tentacle came before the train could free itself, then another. By now, a lot of big creatures had surrounded the train. The train entered max acceleration in order to not let the creatures attack.

Of course, it seemed a futile act at this point. These creatures were in their home domain, and they were strengthened to a ridiculous degree by the blue markings. There was little chance the train could leave after being surrounded like this.

But surprisingly, the resistance slowly decreased as the train started to move forward. But that did not at all mean the end of the danger.

Because now the train had more passengers. A sea serpent, the sea dragon, the giant octopus, these XXXXX danger level creatures were already visible since they had wrapped themselves around the train. And more creatures were latching on to these creatures to join the free ride.

"Axel..." By this point, even Akiko had decided that the situation was bad. Even for them. She turned to Axel, who was silently watching everything unfold like a bystander.

"Hm?" Axel turned to look at her. There wasn't a hint of panic on his face. There was only annoyance.

Seeing his composure, Akiko calmed down as well. "What is happening?" She asked.

She wasn't asking the obvious, she was asking Axel's opinion on the matter. The whole situation was fishy. The creatures suddenly started to go wild, and attack each other, and now, instead of trying to attack the train, they're clinging onto it.

"Their target isn't the tourists. It's the city," said Axel, looking at the creatures. What the creatures were aiming for wasn't just to terrorise a bunch of tourists. They were being controlled to escape this place and go into the city. Only then will this all be worth it for the Organisation.

That's why, only those creatures have latched onto the train which can move and breathe on land as well.

"What do we do?" Asked Akiko, looking at the creatures which were holding on tightly even when the train had already accelerated. The obvious choice was to attack the creatures hanging onto the train, but that was an impossible task.

The suction pumps of that octopus and the iron coiling of the sea serpent. At the slightest sign of disturbance, these creatures can easily crush the train.

Axel closed his eyes and took in a deep breath in exasperation. After which, he just shrugged. "Well, our fun day ends here."

History repeats itself. Whenever he gets a little bit of peace and quiet in his life, something always happens to fuck it up.

When he opened his eyes, they were glowing. "Don't worry about the ones in the sea."

*SQUASH*

Red blood bloomed all around the train as the creatures holding the train started to burst apart one by one.

Going against him in the middle of the ocean? They might as well be fighting against the gods.

The sea serpent, the giant octopus, the sea dragon, and whatever creatures were attached to the train were torn apart like red confetti burst in celebration.

Axel casually dusted off his hands.

"Now, we only have to worry about the creatures above land," Axel muttered, trying to think of a solution.

Land was not going to be as easy as the sea. First of all, he didn't want to show too much when facing the monsters. It would be more than what he used to show in Britain since he's in an alternate identity, but still, he can't expose all of his cards yet. Second, he couldn't use the water affinity to the fullest. Water affinity is the affinity of the Royal Family. He doesn't want to raise any suspicions. With these handicaps, it was going to be difficult to handle those creatures.

Even though they were free from the grasp of the creatures, but now people were even more terrified for some reason. Axel casually killed all the other giant creatures in the ocean which had undergone the Transformation. People were screaming and crying, absolutely horrified by the way the creatures just exploded into smithereens.

Even Akiko was looking at Axel with her mouth slightly agape. "You…"

Even though she knew that Axel's water affinity was stronger than his lightning affinity, THIS was not what she was expecting. She realised that Axel had once again gotten stronger.

The train began travelling towards the entrance as fast as possible, but the speed had lowered drastically. Axel tried to kill the monsters as carefully as possible, but it had still damaged the train somewhat. Along the way, they could see numerous creatures with blue markings, all making their way towards the entrance. The speed of the animals now was just a little bit slower than train, making everyone anxious.

"Fuck... just how many are they?" Muttered Axel, looking at the huge number of creatures.

"If they somehow entered the city…" Akiko's voice trailed off, and Axel nodded heavily.

"Then it'll be similar to the explosions." It would be chaos through and through.

When they finally reached the entrance, the passengers who had alighted all scrambled their way towards the exit while Axel and turned turned to face the incoming mob of monsters.

"Huh? Why is it closed?"

"What?!"

"Why can't we go any further?!"

Hearing the panicked voices from behind them, Axel and Akiko looked back to investigate, only to see the passengers banging on a new barrier that was not present when they had entered had entered the place.

While everyone was still in confusion, complaining and calling the staff, Axel had already realised. The Biopark can't afford to let those animals go into the city. Because that would be a catastrophic event which would lead to a lot of deaths.

The better option is to lock the place down, so that the creatures can't break out.

Evacuation had already taken place while they were in the ocean.

As for the remaining tourists in the last train? They were most likely left to die when the barrier broke.

Axel sighed. "These fools..."

As if the creatures could be blocked by the useless barrier.