"Uh," Axel spoke, confusion laced in his voice. "What the hell is going on?"
The moment he spoke, Axel knew he was foolish. He knew what was happening, yet he had foolishly walked into it. Really great for him.
"It's the non-awakener." One of the guys in front of him spoke. "Looks like Ripper's beating didn't give him the sense he desperately needed."
Axel stared at him. The mysterious girl had certainly been right about people already knowing he hadn't awakened. He then remembered the moment when Keala was disgusted at him and then told him to kill himself. It didn't matter what she thought or said to him. He had already died before.
Axel unsheathed the blade, his eyes on the three opponents before him. He didn't know their abilities, so he couldn't make a move. He had to be absolutely sure first.
The three opponents saw his motion of bringing out the blade, and they laughed.
"Are you seeing this? Demi." One of them asked.
"Obviously." Demi, who looked like he was the leader, smirked. "This repulsive bastard has forgotten he's not on our level. Maybe we should kill him and be done with him and then go for that bastard Darren next."
"Please run!" The boy, who must be Darren, behind him, screamed. "They're after me. Please don't get into this mess."
Axel heard his words and smirked. It looks like he was defending someone who was understanding and competent. Thank the heavens, he knew martial arts and had trained in his former world. What people didn't know was that he wasn't the former Axel. He was something else.
Suddenly, Demi and his sidekicks had grown tired of the silence. They charged at Axel, ready to harm, their intent visibly clear to see.
He watched as Demi smirked, his arms hardening into jagged stones. He slammed his fist together, the sound reverberating like a thunderclap.
"I'm going to beat you to a pulp." He growled, getting ready to attack.
His first sidekick, a wiry figure with eyes glowing as red embers, inhaled deeply before unleashing a torrent of fire from his mouth. The second sidekick crouched low, his body swelling grotesquely before transforming into a monstrous frog, its croak shaking the ground beneath them.
"Great," Axel muttered sarcastically. "A guy spewing out flames from his mouth and now a frog. Unique people."
He didn't flinch at all. He dropped the blade on the grass. He wasn't going to need it. He slid into a fighting stance, his fist raised, his breathing steady.
As the fire roared towards him, Axel pivoted sharply, his footwork precise, and rolled across the stone floor. He sprang up with a powerful kick, his feet slicing through the air and connecting with the fire-breather's jaw and cutting off the streams of flame, mid-blast.
"You useless bastard!" Demi screamed, charging as his stone arms were swinging like wrecking balls. Axel blocked with his forearms, the impact rattling his bones and making him wince. He countered with a sharp elbow strike to Demi's ribs, forcing the stone warrior to stagger back in pain.
The frog leapt high, its massive shadow blocking out the sunlight.
Axel's eyes widened. "Shit!"
His instincts kicked in---he sidestepped, then launched a spinning back kick into the frog's belly. The frog croaked in pain, tumbling across the courtyard, but quickly regained its footing, its tongue snapping out like a whip. Axel ducked, the tongue slicing through the air above his head, and cutting a tree as if it were butter.
"What's that tongue made of?!" Axel called out in shock. "Steel?"
The fire breather recovered his mouth flowing like a furnace. He unleashed another wave of flame, this time sweeping it across the ground to corner Axel. Axel sprinted forward, his fists pumping, and dove through the blaze. His skin singed, but his momentum carried him into a devastating uppercut that sent the firebreather sprawling.
Demi seized the moment, his stone arms crashing down like twin hammers. Axel twisted, catching one arm and redirecting it with a judo-inspired throw. The stone fist smashed into the ground, unleashing spiderwebs of cracked soil, while Axel followed up with a flurry of karate punches to Demi's chest. The blows echoed, but Demis's stone armor absorbed the punches while they echoed.
"That's not gonna work on me, you bastard!" Demi snarled as he swung his stone fist again.
The frog sidekick lunged, its massive body slamming Axel into a sandy wall.
"Uh!" Axel grunted in pain.
He gritted his teeth, his muscles straining as he shoved the creature back. He delivered a kneestrike to its throat, causing the creature to croak violently and stumble away. The frog retaliated with a powerful leap, its webbed feet crashing down like boulders. Axel rolled aside, narrowly avoiding being crushed, and countered with a sweeping kick that sent the creature sprawling momentarily.
"This is impossible!" Demi sprang in anger, clearly not believing his eyes. "You have no ability! You are not awakened! How are you besting us, you wretched, rotten animal!"
The area where they fought had become a storm of chaos---- fire streaked across the ground, stone fists shattered the ground, and frogs croaked filled the air. Axel moved like water, flowing beneath attacks, his karate attacks precise and unyielding. He struck with raw strength, making sure they wouldn't overpower him.
Demi's stone arms crashed against Axel's fists, sparks flying from the collision. The fire-breather circled, spitting bursts of flame to keep Axel on edge while the frog bounded unpredictably, its tongue snapping like lightning. Axel's sweat glistened under the sunlight., his breath steady under the relentless assault.
"This," he muttered to himself, realising. "Is actually fun."
He launched into a flying kick, striking Demi square in the chest, and then he spun to deliver a crushing punch to the fire-breather's gut. The frog lunged again, but Axel caught its tongue midstep, yanking it forward and slamming his knee into its face.
Darren watched with both fear and gratefulness in his eyes. Someone who had just met him for the first time was helping him, at the expense of his test. Who would do that for him?
He clenched his fists in anger. "I can't sit here being weak. I need to help."
Out of the corner of his eye, Axel watched as Darre opened the jar that he had held and then picked out a white pill before he ate it.
'What on earth is he doing?' Axel thought as he narrowly avoided the slimy tongue that lunged for him.
Suddenly, a deep growl split the air. Axel foze. Was it a beast? He immediately spun in the direction of the growl and saw a sight.
It was Darren holding his head in his hands, his skin had gone frighteningly pale as if he was sick. Veins emerged from his body, giving him a frightening look.
His pupils were not visible at all as his eyes glowed a white eerie light. A berserk scream followed,
The fight had just escalated.