HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 95: Axel on a HUNT

Going forward for a few more turns, they quickly found the girl in question, and Damien held his breath as he saw Martina.

In the woods of the Valentino estate, the girl wandered around aimlessly, seemingly in search of someone. The dim moonlight illuminated the purple cocktail dress she was wearing and there were slight traces of tears in her violet eyes, which only enhanced her beauty.

"Mar...tina..." Damien almost forgot all of his anger, all his thoughts of revenge starting to vanish. Even though she never reciprocated, and even though it was a task given to him by his family, the fact was, he did have feelings for her. If he saved her from all this mess, maybe, just maybe, she might also start to…

"Axel?!" Called out Martina, completely disrupting Damien's thoughts.

"Where did you go?!"

"I really need to talk to you about what you saw! And I need to thank you!"

"Look, I'm sorry for what my parents did, okay? I'll…I'll do anything to make up for it!"

"…This... This BITCH…" Damien's anger returned with a vengeance. Here he is, thinking about having a life with her, and there she is, having a hide and seek game with her boy toy. Why?! Just why couldn't she see how much he had loved her?! That how better an option he was, compared to that guy with no background, who treats her horribly, and who is openly fooling around with other girls as well?!

There was no other explanation to it. Martina was just another shallow bitch, who likes going after low-life rogues, just like other shallow bitches. She'll only understand how wrong she is after her heart is broken.

He was the fool here, idolizing her as some sort of pure goddess who wouldn't look at mere mortals like him. But as it turned out, she was no better than the two-knut whores of the knockturn alley, choosing someone like Axel.

Damien decided he had had enough. He had enough of simping, he had had enough of the grovelling, and he had had enough of being a nice guy. All he wanted now, was payback.

"She's beautiful, boss," said his second in command Dimitri, also scanning Martina with a lustful gaze. He was holding the device which had created the bubble around them. It prevented them from being seen or heard so there was no problem.

Damien gave the guy a warning look. "You pay attention to your job, Dimitri. She's mine," he said, dead serious. The device was complicated, and if Dimitri pressed the wrong button, the invisibility might disabled, exposing them, or worse, the bubble might deactivate and they'll be exposed to the Valentino wards.

Damien seriously looked at his men. "Nobody touches her! She's mine!" He declared, his men giving out their reluctant agreement.

"But...if you do your job well, you might get a show," he said with an evil smirk, getting perverse grins from his men.

"So boss, Do we make a move?"

Damien took a deep breath, looking at Martina still searching for Axel. And then, he gave out the order, knowing that there was no going back now. "Take her down."

Instantly, red beams of stunning spells shot out, catching Martina completely by surprise. And despite all her genius, Martina was helpless against such an assault as she crumpled to the ground.

"Princess!"

The few guards who were still guarding her were alarmed, but multiple beams were already headed their way to take care of them. And this time, they weren't non-lethal.

*Zap*

*Zap* *Zip* *Zip* *Zap* *Zip*

"Good one!"

"Bloody Hell"

"Hey! who fired the Eviscerating one?"

"Don't know, mine was eye-gouging."

The men went completely on town, not holding back like they were with Martina. The guards never stood a chance, their bodies being hit by multiple spells, all intended for lethal damage. Too many spells came out of nowhere, and there was no sound since it was blocked by the bubble. Most didn't even see it coming while the one or two shields that were conjured were rendered pretty useless. Within a few seconds, the poor guards were nothing more than a gory mess.

"Hey! Didn't I say Killing curses were enough?" Damien was more than a bit unnerved by this scene of violence. Though, he kind of knew he had it coming. These men were the most powerful force of the Malcolm Family, each of them extremely skilled. But, along with that, they were extremely violent as well.

Fortunately, in the face of what he was just about to accomplish, all the unnecessary thoughts about all the blood and gore quickly went out of his head. "Come on, let's take her in!"

Under his men's control, Martina was levitated into the bubble and brought to the ground in front of his feet. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Damien muttered, kicking her unconscious form viciously.

"And this is for ignoring me while pining for that scum!" He said, kicking her again. But he felt it wasn't good enough without her being conscious. Taking out a knife, he made a long cut on her cheek, drawing blood.

"Why poison her, Boss?" Asked Dimitri, his right-hand man as he looked at the cut.

"It's the mind-numbing poison," said Damien. "Believe it or not, the bitch can actually do wandless magic," he revealed, surprising everyone. He had seen Martina perform it a few times, when she thought no one was looking. With this poison, her mind would be too dizzy to concentrate and she would be too disoriented to resist. It's similar to what happens when people get drunk, only this is a lot stronger.

Taking out his wand, he cast the renervation charm, bringing her back to consciousness.

Feeling extremely dizzy, Martina slowly opened her eyes, her belly throbbing with pain. "Uh…Axel? Cough cough…" due to the kicks, she coughed up blood as soon as she woke up.

*Slap*

Damian slapped her, hard, making her wide awake. "That git isn't here," he said, an exhilarating thrill running through his body at slapping her.

Martina frowned, squinting her eyes as she blinked away the tears that came due the pain. Always living in a protected environment, she had never been hurt like this.

"You…cough?! What…cough… are you doing… here?!" She asked, a distasteful expression settling on her tearful face.

Malcolm nodded with a sinister smile, "Yes... me. I warned you, Martina, did I not? Right before the holidays. You should have listened... you should have left that son of bitch for me. Now you'll regret it."

Martina was still disoriented, her hand coming to rub her stinging cheek where a red bruise was quickly forming. "How the hell… are you here?" She asked slowly, her voice coming powerless as she struggled to draw her wand.

"Uh-uh, no magic now." He said, her hands getting tied up at his gesture to his men. Damian took out her wand from her wand holster and threw it away. "And don't ask questions. The only thing you need to know, is you're going to have a wild night tonight. Merry Christmas, Martina Valentino," he said lewdly as he grasped her delicate neck, making her choke.

*boom*

Martina looked in horror as Malcolm leaned forward. Everything around her was revolving and it was too difficult for her to think coherently, let alone concentrate enough to do wandless magic. She didn't know what was happening, and how exactly she had ended up in this situation, but she was in pain and she knew she was in danger, powerless to do anything.

*boom*

Martina tried using Occlumency, but she just couldn't, her mind wasn't working properly. But...it did bring her some clarity. Just enough to form one thought, one...wistful...thought.

*boom*

In her each and every moment of extreme danger or helplessness, someone had been there with her. First with Dementors, then the Lethifold, the Basilisk, and then the Demogorgon. Someone. Had. Been. There. With his help, she had been able to fight out of any situation, no matter how difficult. That's why, remembering him at dangerous moments had already become imprinted in her subconscious. Despite the very small rational part in her mind telling her that it was useless, there was only one wishful thought that still dominated her mind: 'I wish… Axel was here.'

*Boom*

Just as he was about to touch Martina, Damien stopped, his eyes narrowing. "What's that sound?" He asked.

*BOOM*

In the next moment, he disappeared from his position, followed by a powerful gust of wind, as another person appeared in his place.

Malcolm was blasted off, bumping straight into several of his men, taking them down with him as everyone scattered. Some of the men were even thrown out of the circle, which instantly exposed them to the powerful wards, knocking them out.

Dimitri was also bumped, the device falling off his hand, and suddenly, the invisibility provided by the bubble was gone, creating even more panic as they were now exposed to the outsiders' eyes.

"!?!" Martina blinked her eyes in confusion, a joyful expression coming to her face as she looked at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of her. "Ax..el?"

And indeed, the person who had suddenly appeared, was none other than Axel. But right now, he looked extremely scary. Waves of magic radiated from him, causing a ripple in the surroundings. His skin had turned a shade of blue, and so had his eyes, as he examined Martina's condition. She had a long bleeding cut from one cheek and a bruise on the other, her hands and legs were tied in ropes, and she was crying. Overall, she was in an extremely sorry state.

"It's my fault…" he said in barely anger, picking her up, and disappearing before anyone could react.

*Boom*

[New Skill Unlocked: Launching Boom]

[Gathering magic in your hands or legs, and releasing it to generate an incredible opposite force.]

Instantly, he had moved several meters away from his original position, landing softly on the ground. Walking up to a tree, he put her down, letting her lean against the trunk.

"It's… really… you?" She asked, her weak hands trying very hard to stay around his neck.

Axel looked into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes were red. "You've been drugged," he discerned, realizing the reason for her odd behavior. "Where does it hurt?"

Martina pouted, tears pooling in her eyes, "Every-where!" She complained, hugging him. Now that Axel was here, her mind had already stopped resisting the poison.

[Heal: Max]

[Poison Arts]

Axel started patching her up, slowly bringing her back to soberness, and also healing her injuries the best he could. But while he did so, Martina did not stay still.

A drugged Martina was not an easy patient. "What… happened to you? You're all blue…!" She giggled, poking his nose.

"Don't move."

Martina clung to him, "Alright, my little hero…ouch! That hurts! Be gentle~"

As Axel healed her, visuals of how those injuries must have been inflicted flashed in his mind, increasing his anger further and soon, he was done.

"Oh…" as she came to her senses, Martina stopped clinging to him as she realized what she had been doing. "Oh fuck," she used the f-word for the first time in front of him, displaying just how discombobulated she was with the whole situation.

Wrapping her hands around herself, she curled into a fetal position, her eyes tearing up again. "That bastard…"

Now that she was alright, Axel gave a light pat to her shoulder as he got up. "You stay here. I'll be back."

Martina looked up at him in alarm, "Where are you going?!" She asked, but Axel had already disappeared. His only parting words were, "Don't get hit by stray spells."

?! Martina's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do, but it was already too late, as Axel appeared in front of the men, who were still trying to find her.

She couldn't help but notice that he had made a detour to reach them, so that she does not remain in the line of the fire of their spells.

"What... are you doing?!" She muttered, feeling scared for his life. There were too many enemies!

...

*Cough* *Cough*"Where the fuck *cough* did she go?!" Demanded Damien, whose ribs had been shattered and was currently getting healed by his men to their best of their abilities. "Find her! Find her and quickly get me out of this place!" He exclaimed.

"And Dimitri! *Cough* Quickly fix that damn thing! *Cough* We're sitting ducks like this!" He ordered Dimitri, who was trying to make them invisible once again.

"We're trying, boss."

"Was it *cough* Was it really Hunt?" He asked, unable to believe it. How could someone like Hunt appear like that out of nowhere and take Martina away from right under their nose?! He was thinking that his men must have seen it wrong. That low-life bastard won't even face him, let alone so many of his men.

But, as if to prove him wrong, the guy in question himself suddenly appeared in front of them, alarming everyone.

Damien's eyes widened, "So… *cough* it really was you, you bastard!" He said in anger. "You've pissed me off! *Cough*!"

Axel veins almost burst out. "Pissed? You?" He would have laughed if he wasn't boiling with anger right now.

His anger had already been plenty high because of the party. And after this incident, it was really taxing for him to restrain himself. There was so much anger inside him that it was difficult to hold it back even with Occlumency. And... he wanted an outlet.

"You think you're angry?" He asked, his fists crackling. "I'll show what it is like to be truly angry," he said, lifting off his Occlumency Shields.

*Vroom*

With the restraints holding him back vanishing, a magical shockwave erupted, with Axel as the center. His eyes disappeared, hidden under the overflow of magic and two knives appeared in his hand.

Damien almost bricked himself as somehow, real terror st4ruck him upon seeing Axel right now. "KILL HIM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, his men already shooting out their best even without his instructions.

"Too late," said Axel, grinning like the devil as he disappeared from his place, reappearing right in their midst.

...

A.N.: Well, hence the :Massacre

Next next: Ideal Son-in-law, but no medicine for regret

Next next next: Past revealed

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