HP: The Arcane Thief

Axel raised his eyebrows, putting on the glasses. "From a friend. Why? Are these also no good?"

"That's whaleshit!" said Kyrin. A "Tell me honestly, where did you get it?"

"What's the matter?" From what Axel could recall from Nerio's memories, several of the Kraken members had this item, meaning it can't be that rare.

"Axel, that's not an ordinary sub-relic," said Estris, while Kyrin dealt with the creatures attacking them from the sea.

"The sub relic you're holding is an extremely rare commodity in Atlantis. Its production blueprints have long been lost, and now only Kraken has the Technology to build them. After all, along with having a built-in ai that has lots of features which are useful in this terrain, it also has the most precious benefit of protecting the mind.

So, there is no way that someone just 'gave' it to you."

Axel shrugged.

"So, in short, I don't have to knock myself out anymore?" He asked, coming to the point.

"..."

Does this guy not feel any sort of obligation of telling them how he got it? Both Estris and Kyrin felt helpless.

'That fucking contract.'

Kyrin looked at Axel with narrowed eyes. The curiosity is just killing her. Someday, she simply wants to strap this guy to a chair and spill all his secrets using truth serum. But of course, that is not possible due to the contract and Aki being so protective of him.

"... Whatever."

Kyrin hadn't forgotten that they were currently not in a situation to have the luxury of pondering on these matters. Their crash seemed to have attracted a lot of attention as a number of creatures were now approaching their location at once.

The ground began to tremble, indicating the approach of other creatures. Meanwhile, the creatures from the sea were also starting gather.

[Darkness Camouflage]

Kyrin's darkened and darkness coated all of them. "This should do it for now."

They remained in their place as the threatening presences in the area increased. Waves started churning the ocean. And then, huge figures emerged from the water.

It was an army of creatures, all of them coming towards them at a fast pace. But its constituents…

"What… what the fuck are those…?" Asked Akiko, looking positively creeped out.

It would not be fit to call it an army of creatures. It was an army of abominations. Twisted body parts of different creatures, grotesquely joined together with machinery. That's what it looked like.

"Fuck…" Whispered Kyrin, upon getting a clearer look. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck… what is HE doing here?!" She muttered, looking at a fat man sitting on a particularly large dinosaur like creature.

Axel, who could see the situation even more clearly, thanks to his glasses, narrowed his eyes. "What is SHE doing here?"

"Who?"

It was only then that everyone's attention focused on the small figure that was moving in front of the huge hoard of monsters.

"Sylthia…?" Estris's eyes widened.

"That's her?!"

Yep, it was Sylthia Eryndor, of the Relic Wielder division. Both Estris and Kyrin seemed alarmed upon seeing her.

"Where is the rest of her unit?" said Kyrin in confusion. Being a Relic Wielder of the Eryndor clan, there is no way she would move without sufficient backup.

Estris pursed her lips. "Boss…"

"I know, I know." Kyrin knew what Estris was hinting. The only reason why Sylthia would be alone at this point would be because she was in trouble. "Don't worry. I know she's your friend. We'll help her. Besides, I do have some scores to settle against that disgusting guy."

It might come as a surprise, but Estris and Sylthia were actually kind of friends. And even if they weren't, Kyrin was still going to try to help as long as it was someone on their side.

The only problem was…

Kyrin glanced behind at Axel and Akiko. The only problem was the fact that they had some dead weights with them right now, making things much more complicated.

If she made a move, she would also be exposing Axel and Akiko to danger. Though Axel and Akiko are great, but they are still young and inexperienced, while this is a relic wielder level affair.

If she made the wrong decision, she could end up losing this once in a lifetime gem Axel, that is filled with potential, or worse, it could end up hurting Akiko.

"Who is the guy chasing her?" Asked Axel.

"A sick bastard. We call him the butcher," said Kyrin, disgust apparent in her tone.

"He's one of the relic wielders of Kraken. His relic is BioTech related. He likes to experiment on humans and animals in order to make them create abominations that can be called living beings anymore," said Estris. "He usually doesn't come out personally, opting to remain safe within the confines of his lab. If he has been mobilized then that means that the Kraken is making a big move."

"This guy won't be easy to handle. Axel, he can disable your glasses. You stay bac." Kyrin turned to Akiko. "You too. Stay inside the camouflage. We'll handle this."

Axel shrugged. He didn't mind slacking off. Akiko on the other hand pouted, also wanting to join the fight. Right now, Akiko was also trembling with energy. With the enemies she'd wished revenge upon so close to her, she was raring to go. So, trying to hold back at this moment was really torture.

"Aki, listen to me. This is not a normal situation. We're too deep into the enemy territory. I was planning to train you for a few more years before you're ready."

Akiko was still pouting, but she nodded unwillingly. Kyrin turned back to face the incoming army.

"Estris, keep an eye on them."

"Of course, boss. But please hurry. Sylthia seems to be having trouble."

Kyrin looked again, and her relaxed attitude vanished, "Fuck, it does seem like that. There's no way an Eryndor would be that slow."

Sylthia Eryndor has always been someone who can handle herself. That's why Kyrin wasn't in a hurry. But upon closer inspection, she realized that Sylthia seemed to be struggling to even stay afloat, her clothes were disheveled, and her flying speed was quite slow.

"Let me go check her first." Darkness gathered around Kyrin as her feet rose from the ground. [Darkness Domain]

The old man Wilis produced a staff and touched it to Kyrin's back, chanting words in a low voice. In a couple of seconds, the darkness around Kyrin intensified. And then, she disappeared under the shadows, emerging instantly from Sylthia's shadow.

Meanwhile, Estris brought out a huge rifle from her storage space and took aim.

'A shooter?' Axel had wondered what Estris's abilities would be. After all, with her small and delicate frame, he couldn't picture her fighting close range like the lean and muscular Kyrin.

It does make sense that she's a shooter. As for the old man Wilis, he seems to be… a spellcaster. Despite having passed the Trial for the path, Axel doesn't know much about the Atlantian spellcasters. But from what he could see, after the old man cast his spells on Kyrin, he could feel the threat coming from her increase by several times.

....

Sylthia Eryndor was NOT having a good day. She and her team were making their way towards the seal, slowly but surely reaching closer to their destination, but they were ambushed by a team of Kraken's relic wielders.

Usually, this wouldn't be much of a problem. The Relic Wielder division is extremely strong. Enough to take down a larger number of enemy relic wielders. But this time, something was different.

'How in the devil's tentacles did they manage to do it…?' Sylthia wondered, horror still gripping her upon having the flashback.

To think Kraken was hiding such a powerful card up their sleeves. Their group would have been completely annihilated if they hadn't all fled in different directions.

Unfortunately, Sylthia wasn't lucky enough to escape unharmed. She was poisoned, and now she's unable to exert her strength, or even run away properly.

"Hey little birdie, how long will you fly?"

And of course, just her luck, the worst one of the group decided to chase her. With a half robotic, and half obese body, one artificial eye glowing red and other having a monocle, this disgusting being was none other than the Butcher, known for having a passion of capturing live prisoners to experiment on.

"Stop, little birdie! I promise I will turn you into the most beautiful art! Even better than these babies!" Yelled out the obese man, giving Sylthia goosebumps.

Not for the first time, Sylthia considered killing herself. She didn't have many options at this point. The poison had made it incredibly difficult for her to run and her body was giving out.

Dying right now and completely erasing her body would be much better than what would happen to her if she is captured alive, or dead with her body intact.

But, Sylthia was not resolved! If she died now, she would be losing the Family's relic here to Kraken. Not only that, if she dies now, the rest of the team is also going to be in danger, not to mention the fact that she hasn't even passed on the intel to the Kingdom yet.

In her dazed state, she felt that she heard the sound of a crash, and her flying direction changed, going towards the sound. It may be some on their side, or someone from Kraken's side.

But it seems that it wasn't something she needed to think about, as she reached her limit long before she could make it.

*Hiss*

Another wave of long ranged attacks poured out from the army, and this time, she was unable to avoid one of them, making her groan in pain. Another wave of vertigo hit her, making her fall to the ground, no longer able to fly.

"It's over now, little birdie. You've been quite a difficult subject to capture."

Sylthia kept wondering what went wrong. She has been the most talented and most hardworking person in the younger generations of Atlantis. She has become as strong as anyone her age could be.

'Well, maybe not the most talented.' she thought with some annoyance, as the image of a boy flashed in her mind. But whatever. She was still the most talented person overall, considering that she could control a relic.

But in the end, it would seem that it was all for naught, and she's going to die like this, at the hands of such a despicable person.

Sylthia got up with difficulty and began gathering her remaining energy. She's going to die, and she's going to take down as much as she can with her.

But at this moment, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her soften. A silhouette emerged from beneath her feet, catching her off guard.

"Hey there."

She was met with pitch black eyes of a familiar person.

!!!

As the rest of the body of the person emerged, Sylthia froze as the recognition dawn in her muddled brain. She simply couldn't believe her eyes. "You… You are…"

Kyrin.... Tenebrous.

There's no mistake! This is the legendary Kyrin Tenebrous! Sylthia has seen all her clips. Especially since she is the supposed Mentor of Estris!

Kyrin with her eyes pitch black with no whites, Kyrin gave Sylthia a wink. "Estris sends her regards."

*BOOM*

Behind her, darkness swept over the huge army of creatures.

….

"What… What do you mean?" Asked the princess, having a bad feeling. She looked at Axel again.

The general hesitated. "The prince… he grew up in a small orphanage, and…"

"Wait…" The princess put a hand to her forehead, stopping the general. This was too much to take in at once. For the first time in her life, the princess was feeling that her brain capacity was not enough.

She had just found out that her sister's son is alive, and he had been in the outside world till now. Chris Martin, or Axel Hunt, is her nephew. But this information creates more questions rather than answers.

And over that, the absurd information that she just heard...

The princess really hoped she had a few more brains so that she could process this shock better.

She took a deep breath. "Orphanage? Did I just hear you say Orphanage? Are you sure he did not live with his uncle Thorin?"

"...I'm afraid not, Princess."

The princess looked to the ceiling. "Gods of the sea… an orphanage…" The Royal prince of Atlantis grew up in an orphanage… if father heard this, he might directly pass on.

The General had a strange expression on his face. "Princess, it might be for the best… if you don't know the rest."

"No," the princess immediately shook her head resolutely. "I must know everything about his life."

This was her sister's child. She has already missed his whole childhood. What kind of aunt would she be if she doesn't even know what it was like?

Recalling the scenes of him talking to her with grace and also destroying the monster hoard easily, she felt a bit more prepared. Considering that he has grown to become such a fine young man worthy of being the crown Prince of Atlantis, his upbringing can't be that bad, can it?

The general scrolled through his bracelet and displayed several images and videos in the projector, all featuring a kid Axel.

Instantly, the princess's heart dropped.

....

A.N.: Exams are finally over! I can finally sleep now! And also post more chapters! Since it's a cliffhanger, the will arrive quick. Well, I'll try