HP: The Arcane Thief

The algal footage was played in the middle of the meeting room in 3d projection.

It showed a transparent train moving underwater. There were a lot of panicked cries of the people and the camera was shaking quite a big.

"It's from the Biopark, right?"

"So, it's about the small incident that happened today."

Of course, the footage was very fresh, so very few people among the people present had gotten the news and seen it.

Everyone had heard of the matter. There was a big fuss, as everyone had been called to the scene, but before they could make it, there was another report that the situation was under control.

Of course, there were some who had already reached the place to witness the incident first hand, but those were very few.

The footage shifted to show the scene outside the train, and it was only then did they all see the huge amount of creatures with Blue Marking outside.

"Those creatures are... converted right?"

"How is this possible?!"

"They could even do that?!"

Upon seeing the blue markings, there was a stir in the meeting room. The fact that Kraken could also directly control the sea creatures came as a surprise to them.

The princess paused the clip. "As everyone can see, the Kraken can control the creatures without needing to do any complicated procedures like we thought. We don't know yet what kind of process is involved but we believe that it's not easy and is most likely a lengthy process."

Kyrin looked at the footage clearly. "This looks more serious than I thought," she commented. When she heard that the matter was resolved without much loss, she had just thought it was a minor incident. But, looking at the footage, it didn't look minor at all.

"I never thought they could control creatures like that." said the Thunder Elder.

"Actually, it is possible, if they start the conversion process months prior. The creatures have weaker wills compared to humans," said one of the Division heads.

Kyrin felt that the situation was absurd. The fact that they could actually control the creatures of the biopark must have been an important card of Kraken. Kyrin couldn't understand why they decided to reveal it now. "Are they idiots? They should have used this on a bigger scale to catch us off guard. Just scaring a bunch of tourists with underwater creatures is such a waste."

From what she had heard, the matter was resolved with relatively negligible damage. So this just seems like a silly move from the Organization.

"Ah… but actually, they did catch us off guard. Completely," the Princess interjected. "Watch further."

The video resumed, and they saw the creatures trying to break the barrier. When the bomb exploded, it was met with intense exclamations from the members.

"What was that?!"

"Was that really…?"

"How…?"

"That was indeed an explosion from the Kraken's new bomb. Since the security measures have been taken since the last bombing, it's assumed that bombs were pre-planted," said the princess.

A wave of murmurs spread among the attendees. If the bombs were indeed pre-planted, then it seems that the Kraken has been planning for this incident for a while. Usually, what the Organisation plans this meticulously, it doesn't end well for the Kingdom.

As expected, things started getting worse in the video. The creatures wrapped themselves around the train, to them exploding and damaging the train. But the members only realized the magnitude of the attack when the train reached the land.

"What in the devil's trench…?"

"So many…"

"Sweet Atlas…"

The huge army of monsters really surprised the people.

Gasps and exclamations ensued.

Just how the fuck did they avoid this catastrophe?

"If even a margin managed to make it into the city…" Someone trailed off. But it didn't need to be said. Everyone understood… if even a margin of the creatures reached the gate, it would have caused a huge impact.

Since the matter was resolved, until now, they were thinking that the conversion must have been only in the sea. But now, seeing the huge army of creatures, they only had one thought in their heads.

"How... was the matter resolved?"

The princess sighed. "Indeed, as everyone can see by now, this was a major attack by Kraken which was aimed to deliver another huge blow to the Kingdom. It would have completely caught us off guards.

It is only through one lucky factor that we've managed to pull through without paying a huge price. Things ahead will be explained by the Maverick Division captain Demanis, who was the first to arrive on the scene.

The captain of the Maverick division was overwhelmed by the sudden attention from so many high ranking individuals who usually wouldn't even give him a second glance. Usually, this would be a good thing for him, but…

'Those looks…'

They were all looking at him like he had made a great achievement and played a huge role in stopping the invasion. With a throat full of anxiousness, he began explaining the complete set of events.

"The incident happened at around 6 pm in the evening. I got the call by the Guardian department to take all forces I could gather to the Biopark and check out if something was wrong. I gathered my men and reached there. But we found a huge hoard of monsters which would have already reached the exit within 5 minutes."

This raised a doubt in everyone's head.

"Why were you the only one called to the scene?" They couldn't understand this. It should have taken a considerable amount of time for the creatures to cross the non magical creature territory.

The authorities should have sent the maximum force right from the start.

The Head of National security answered that question.

"The enemy had taken measures to make sure that the authorities wouldn't be alerted till the hoard was already out. Since the Biopark is a completely separate space disconnected from the kingdom, the network there is maintained through a signal tower. The enemy blew it up completely, thus essentially cutting off all contact from the outside world.

Furthermore, they had also compromised the Head of Management of the Biopark, who ordered a complete shut down beforehand, thus preventing the people from escaping out and spreading the news," he said gravely. "It was only because of a few livestreams that had gone viral before the total shut down that we suspect something was amiss and sent in emergency support."

The Captain of Maverick subdivision nodded. "When we got there, the place was sealed, and people were clamouring to be let out. All trains had already arrived except for one, so we quickly evacuated everyone. It was then that I found out about the emergency barrier. So, even if there was one train which hadn't made it back, I decided of activating the barrier," said the Captain regretfully.

None of the members present criticized his decision. The train was far past its scheduled arrival and the creatures had already arrived.

"No one is blaming you. It is only thanks to the barrier that the creatures were contained, right?" Someone said, to which those who what happened snorted.

Drawing several nods from the members.

"Yeah. It's a pity that the people from that clip couldn't make it, but it was the best choice, given the circumstance.

The Captain almost died from embarrassment. "Actually, that is not the case…"

The princess saved the poor man by resuming the clip. Even those who had already seen it looked with full attention. Because no matter how many times they see the next part, it will never be enough.

The clip was cut to the part where the train reaches the exit and the passengers all rush out, only to be locked down by the barrier.

"Don't tell me… there was also a pre-planted bomb here?!" Someone actually guessed. It wasn't a difficult conclusion to reach in the first place, considering the fact that the attack was planned to the degree that they even took over the top management and pre-planted bombs on the connection tower. There is no way they would let this loophole go unnoticed.

"There actually IS a bomb there." the Flame Elder confirmed, making several of the members turn pale. Just when they were expecting to see those panicking people getting blown up, a waved rippling wave spread over the barrier, pushing everyone several degrees back.

"What?!"

It was only at this moment did the camera focus on two individuals, whom the camera man had somehow ignored until now.

"Isn't that—?!"

"Trial Boy! That's the boy from the trial!"

"Yeah, I've seen that video too."

There were several division heads from the Military Enclave who instantly recognized Axel.

"??????"

On the other hand, Kyrin's eyes twitched when she saw her two new recruits among the people whom she had already concluded to have to be doomed to die. 'What are those two doing there?!'

The Flame elder didn't miss the moment as he captured her reaction in his E-brace while chuckling.

"It's not further enough!" Someone commented. Indeed. The distance of the people from the field was still not further enough. They were hoping to see the people getting some sense and creating further distance, but instead, they all began charging forward. Fortunately, what force had pushed them back was not letting them back in.

"Reverse it!" (Axel)

BOOOOOMMM

At this moment, the predicted explosion actually happened, which made the cameraman fall on his butt as the camera once again pointed at Axel and Akiko, who were making hand seals. Just when the flames were about to reach the camera, they were literally stopped by some force and sucked back in.

"What… was that?"

"They actually managed to do it."

"Wasn't it ninja arts?"

It was an impressive feat, even from the standards of the people present here. Especially from two young individuals.

"It's Lightning Arts. But I've rarely seen someone cast them as proficiently as those two," said the Thunder Elder. Since his Septis mainly dealt with Lightning arts, he knew just what the two had done, and how they had done. But that only made him appreciate it even more.

"So, that boy was still holding back when he attempted the trial…" one of the Military division heads remarked. As shown, Axel had not at all used Lightning Affinity in his trial at any point, meaning the terrifying talent was still holding back when attempting a trial of that difficulty.

"And the girl wasn't bad at all too. Furthermore, they had the presence of mind to predict the possibility of another bomb and the commitment to act on it."

Now, everyone wanted to find out: What happened next?

"So, were they able to escape?" Asked someone.

"It should be possible. The barrier is already down. They should be able to escape through a vehicle."

"The rescue must have arrived... it would truly be a pity if we lost these talents here."

"Yeah, I think I saw a glimpse of Asphor in the clip."

They began to speculate on their own. No one mentioned anything about them staying back to protect the people further. There are limits to what an individual can do. The monster hoard was too huge.

Those who had already seen the video had a 'can't-blame-these-ignorant-souls' look on their face.

!!!!!

By now, the army had taken positions, so they fired their shots. But…

"What the—"

"This…"

"The Kraken's enhancement is as crazy as always."

"Those dragons are better than our fighter aircrafts right now."

It was only now that the actual threat of the creatures settled into the minds of the members. The dragons had shrugged off the concentrated fire of some of their very dangerous artillery and came out relatively unscathed.

This…

"How the hell… did we escape this catastrophe?" Someone asked.

No one was dumb here. By that one confrontation, they could tell that the situation was almost hopeless. It was already too late for even further support to arrive. Even Asphor wouldn't be able to do much.

It made everyone wonder just what sort of miracle saved them. Did the General actually make a move this time?

Meanwhile, Kyrin was still gritting her teeth. What the hell? She gives them permission to go out for one day, and another attack happens. Not only that, the place and timing also coincided perfectly. How bad was this boy's luck? He's gotten Aki in trouble on her first day into the Kingdom.

Furthermore, recalling how casual the guy was acting would have you wonder whether any of this was real. Right now, she was frantically recalling if Aki had any kind of injury when she had returned. Kyrin knows her ward all too well. There is a high chance she might have tried to help the people further.

'Well, they didn't have a speck of blood on them.' Soon, she relaxed as she confirmed that Aki was unharmed and as she saw Axel taking out a Neptunite from his storage space. 'The brat must have had her run away at this point.' She realized.

Now it made sense why he looked tired. The little boy must have been too scared after the incident.

?!

While she was still thinking about that, Axel and Akiko had already set off…

…In the direction directly opposite to the exit.

!!!!

"Go Chris!"

The cameraman cheered as Axel flew forward. This guy was a fan, so he focused the lens solely on Axel, following his every movement.

"Oh? He's a brave one," said a woman, licking her lips. Despite her young and charming appearance, she was one of the elders. This was her first time watching the clip, and she was impressed.

Flying head first into a group of rampaging dragons is not something someone would do on a fly.

"You haven't seen even half of it, Lady Garmos," said the Lightning Elder, who had already seen the whole clip.

On the other hand, there was someone who wasn't as excited to witness the scene.

"Motherfu—" Kyrin cursed under her breath. Her heart almost came into her throat when she saw Aki being brought into a dangerous situation. 'This brat!'

Even after reaching the hoard, Axel did not stop at all, still flying full throttle.

"What the hell are those two doing?!" Some members couldn't help voicing their concern. Just as it seemed they would be devoured by flames, Axel pulled the Neptunite up just as dragons blew out flames. Then, a few moments later of vertical flying, he jumped!

Those who had high hopes for Axel's future potential all were hit with a wave of anxiety while Kyrin looked at Axel in a new light. One thing was clear: The kid had guts. And he was foolish.

Everyone was expecting to see him pierced by the dragon spikes or get devoured, but Axel somehow managed to land right between the Spikes, avoiding getting pierced by inches.

!!!!

There was a wave of exclamation on the wonderful landing. The camera, using the brilliant Atlantian technology, zoomed in on Axel, who could now be seen running on the dragon's back while his hands started to move at high speed.

"What's in his hands?"

"Are those… strings?"