HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 249: The First Overseer

Martina hugged Axel tightly, as if to thoroughly confirm he was still alive.

She didn't care that he was covered in blood, sweat, and water. Firmly holding him, it finally registered to her that he was indeed alive, and it just made her extremely feel happy and annoyed at the same time.

The past few months had been a torture. Due to her introverted nature, she had always been a loner at Hogwarts, and even in her previous life. It was only after meeting Axel and the series of coincidence that let up to them becoming friends that she realized just how having close friends feels like.

It was only because of him that Daphne and Akiko also became friends with her.

And then she saw the video. It was the first time she lost someone so close to her, and it completely devastated her. What hurt more was how helpless he was at the time of his death.

And whose fault was that?

When she, being a transmigrator and being so gifted, just wasted her time simply playing around with her gifts, he instead invested every second of his time into getting stronger. That's why, when he actually needed help, she was too weak to be of any help even if she HAD been there.

She spent the last few months trying to be better for Axel's sake, hoping beyond hope that he'd still be alive.

But, after seeing his return, she was still not strong enough. That's why she was both happy and frustrated right now.

Akiko on the other hand could finally feel relaxed. Like Martina, she was also blaming herself. But she felt it more because she was THERE.

If only she had stopped him from getting into the Black Ops, if only she convinced Kyrin sensei to not go into the Trench, if only she had stopped the space whales, if only she had put a tracking seal on him so that they could reach him in time…

There were so 'if only's that she hadn't taken a rest, hadn't spoken a word, and hadn't even eaten properly for the past few month, with killing and revenge the only thing in her mind.

But, now that Axel was actually alive and safe, she felt like the weight that had killing her has been lifted and she could finally breath again. She no longer wanted him to get involved with Kraken and get into more danger.

All she wanted was to go back to the days when they would peacefully train in the quiet of the Forbidden Forest.

But, at this moment, both Akiko and Martina felt Axel tensing up. He looked into the space, seemingly having read something.

"What is it?" Asked Martina, not liking his expression. It was the same one right before he told them about the attacks on Hogwarts.

And sure enough, Axel did not have good news.

"It's the First overseer. He's about to come."

?!

Both Martina and Akiko were shocked. The first overseer. The Third alone had given them so much trouble! What would happen if the first came here now?

"Let's leave," said Akiko decisively. Revenge? She didn't care about it anymore. The past 6 months had made her thoroughly release that some things were much, much, more important than revenge.

And, Axel had already killed 6 overseers. Is that not enough?

While Martina didn't feel comfortable with it, she still agreed with Akiko. "You've done enough. Let them handle the rest."

So what if he was the Royal Descendant? What has Atlantis ever done for him? Nothing! He has had to go through such a tough childhood while no one came looking for him. Why should he now fight the First Overseer?

Axel was only fourteen, for god's sake! And he had already done so much! He endured torture of the Seventh and Eighth before killing them, and then there was that brutal battle against Aslot, recalling which still brings tears to her eyes. And just now he practically won them a losing war.

Therefore, he has definitely done more than enough.

But Axel shook his head. "You don't understand. I have to do this," he said, getting up.

"We'll talk later," he said, before disappearing in a flash.

If he stayed any longer, he might have really agreed to leave just then. But he knew that the situation was not that simple. The FIRST wasn't that simple.

Scitius is not the Kind of person who'd acknowledge just anyone. And, Axel can still remember how confident the man was about the Kingdom's defeat despite the loss of the Kraken's army.

And, he also mentioned something about the Synchronization and him now being to defeat them no matter what.

Even the system has warned him he has no chance without the Royal Throne.

If the First has really somehow managed to become that powerful, there's a realistic chance that he can defeat the Entire Kraken army alone.

If that happens, pretty soon the Kraken would be revived again and he'd have to do it all over again.

Axel appeared above the Royal Castle. Visiting this place the second time, now he could understand what the odd sensation was. It was the Royal Throne. It had been trying to call on to him, asking for help, just like the Royal Trident. But it was too weak, since Axel never reached close enough.

[Water Travel]

This time, he reached directly about the inner part of the Palace. As he descended, he felt a sensation of his body being scanned as the wards recognized his bloodline, granting him entry.

Axel followed the calling, passing through the lavish hallways, passing through multiple gardens until he finally reached the place from where he had been getting those calls.

The Throne Room.

Axel stood into front of the large door that led to the Throne room. He pressed his hand on the door and the sigils on it lit up, accepting his Royal Bloodline.

Going inside, he found himself in the dimly lit large dome shaped room. The curved walls showed footage of different parts of Atlantis. Two rows of seats led up to the a high platform, sat atop which was an ornate throne that radiated majesty.

The Throne pulsated with power, and visible energy lines could be seen coming from all directions to connect with the alter.

But currently, throne was covered with the blue markings of the Kraken, which were restraining it.

The ringing increased as Axel finally appeared in front of the Throne, causing energy fluctuations around it, as if to show him the marking.

"Chill, I know what to do." Practically a pro at this point, Axel put his hand on the Throne and sensed the Entity's connection.

[Soul Affinity]

[Unshackle]

The Skill [Unshackle] was actually related to soul as well. But since he hadn't unlocked the Arhunt Bloodline before, it always used to extremely taxing to use.

Now that he knew more about the Entity's subjugation process and had more knowledge about his new affinity, his [Unshackle] proficiency, which had been stagnant for this whole time, had increased considerably.

So this time, the process would have been much easier, had his mind wasn't in such a poor condition.

Thankfully, the corruption process of the Royal Throne was way less and it's resistance was strong too, thus making it possible.

!!!!!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The Kraken's markings glowed extremely bright, and then an energy wave emerged from the throne as a center, passing throughout the Kingdom as the markings finally disintegrated.

Suddenly, the numerous energy grids around the Throne room lit up, brightening up the room to the point Axel had to close his eyes.

The Royal Throne, now free, release its energy as it eagerly called for Axel to claim it, to be the new King.

'System, are you sure this is the only way?'

Axel really didn't want to be the next king, even if for the emergency situation. Because he didn't like the responsibilities that came with it.

[You have no chance against the First without it]

'Fuck… that powerful, huh?'

Unwillingly, Axel turned around and casually threw himself into the seat.

Suddenly, the Royal Throne changed its shape to accommodate him, and then, a sharp sensation prickled through his head, travelling down his spine.

!

Immediately, the whole city lit up in celebratory lights and a huge pattern of a Trident appeared high above the sky, showing that they had gained a new King.

Meanwhile, inside the throne room, Axel's eyes widened as the Throne got connected with him. An unprecedented feeling of power and control enveloped him, as he felt connected with the whole Atlantis.

It was similar to the feeling when he had first entered Atlantis. The feeling of being more powerful after entering the Kingdom.

Only this time, it was magnified multiple folds. Energy surged through him as his deep mental fatigue began to clear up and his body started to recover.

'What in the—?'

Axel was surprised, not having expected this apple to fall in his lap. Now he understood why the system insisted he take the Throne.

New information entered his mind, explaining everything about the functions of the Royal Throne.

And the more he learnt, the more surprised he began. The Royal Throne is a different type of Relic. It doesn't grant the user its own powers, but the power of whole Atlantis.

So, it's actually a host that wields the Relic called the Kingdom of Atlantis, making it a relic on a completely different league compared to other relics.

And it doesn't let the King wield all of its powers.

Unlike the Trident, the Royal Throne has been made with even stricter set of fail safes, making near impossible for a ruler to wield it's full power unless they're fully worthy.

That's why there have been bloody wars in the Kingdom in the past even though the King could have easily solved them with one swipe of the Throne's power. It's simply because those Kings were not worthy.

And due to this exact mechanism, the Kraken couldn't obtain its full powers despite trying to corrupt it for years.

So, turns out, what the previous king had managed to use in the previous now was the lowest level access.

What Axel was currently worthy of wielding, despite having just sat on the Throne, was far more than what the previous King ever had.

Guess that's just the Royal Throne's way of thanking him for freeing it.

'First things first.' Not wasting any time, Axel immediately got to work.

The First thing Axel did, as the King of Atlantis, was to shut down the portal and re-establish all the protection wards, including the Teleportation Restriction.

'This should buy me some time.'

With this, the First Overseer shouldn't be able to come into the Kingdom.

Axel needed as much time to recover as possible before another fight. With the trouble he had against Second and Third, he could only imagine what would happen against the First.

"Now, let's check this out," Axel muttered, deciding to test out the Royal Throne's functions while he was recovering.

It seems that every part of Atlantis is under surveillance. To test that out, he gave out a mental command.

'Bring up the Battlefield.'

Since the Throne did have a conscious of its own, it seemed to know which battlefield Axel was talking about as the footage of the Battlefield appeared on the screen, showing the Kingdom's forces currently cheering while clearing up the remaining Kraken forces.

'Let's speed up the process.'

Options popped up in Axel's mind and he selected one.

And in response, above the Giant wall that defended Atlantis, large panels opened up, through which high-ranged Giant Energy Turrets popped up, aiming at the Battlefield.

These needed a higher clearance level than what the Kraken had managed to hack, and thus hadn't been used yet.

Many Kingdom's warriors, who were still celebrating the arrival of the new King, saw the Turrets and got PTSD, recalling the time when their own weapons had fired on them at the start of this battle.

But, that didn't happen this time.

Energy began charging up the turrets before they blazed to life, firing away at hyper-speed precision shooting which pulverized the enemy lines.

A chorus of elated cries erupted from the Kingdom's ranks, feeling great to be on the side that dishing out this time.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about." But Axel didn't stop there. Nope, he was having too much fun to stop with just that.

The Giant foot that was held up with the Crystalized Water Avatar was raised up again.

And this time, it's movements were much faster and smoother compared to when the King was controlling it, it's fast movements creating giant air vacuums.

Then, the foot was dropped right in the middle of the Kraken army's now messy formation, crushing down many like ant.

Then, a Giant bend low and raked it's humongous hand through the Kraken formation, completely decimating everything it is path, which mostly included giant monsters that had been giving the army a tough time.

And then, it did it again, and again, as it to thoroughly crush the Kraken army.

The Kingdom's army could only stare in shock as their formidable enemies were mangled down in a matter of seconds, any form of resistance being useless.

Chills ran down their spines as they realized just how lucky they were to have survived that and how strong those on their side were who managed to stop it in time.

After making a piece of work of the Kraken army, the Giant rose back. Raising the same hand, it put three bloody fingers over its chest, the standard Kingdom's salute.

Axel only did it to let the Atlantians know the Giant was still on their side, but he didn't know how moved the Kingdom's forces were when they saw the Gesture, tears breaking out the eyes of most.

Today, they had lost too many of their comrades to these squids, having to fight an uphill battle right from the start. Their own King betrayed them and they even had to defend against their own Kingdom's defenses.

How low was their morale, how sad were they?

But, the sight of the Giant Statue utterly pulverizing the Kraken forces and then Saluting with a Trident's sign, it just made them feel many emotions.

It was as if it was paying tribute to those who died and those who have fought…

How long had it been since they had going on without a King?

Most of them had only heard stories and seen past videos, where Kings had single-handedly won wars, hearing from the old people how great it is to have a King.

But only did they finally understood the true meaning of having a one.

This... This is a True King.

If this person can rule Atlantis, then their efforts have not been in vain.

Right now, everyone in Atlantis was rejoicing as even Axel was pretty happy, feeling how quickly he was receiving and discovering new features of the every second.

But, their joy couldn't last long.

Because at this moment, the wards of the Kingdom started to become visible, causing an disturbance in space throughout the battlefield.

'Huh?'

Axel was also confused as Red Lights began blaring in the throne.

'System, what's happening?'

[It's the First Overseer. He's trying to break the Wards and force his entry.]

'What?! But that's not possible, right?'

Now that he was sitting on the Royal Throne and had been hit with a whole lot of information about the Kingdom, Axel knew just how powerful those wards were.

They were set up by the best of the Aetherians thousands of years ago and have still worked fine till today, despite there having been multiple civil wars.

Even if someone can borrow the Enitity's powers, there's no way they can break through the wards that easily.

[That should usually be the case. But the First Overseer has attempted to combine his soul with the Entity, practically becoming a host. Although the process was not completed, the power he's able to wield has drastically increased.]

The Entity's... Host?

Axel's jaw dropped.

'Fuck me reverse cowgirl!'

Suddenly, the third's confidence made a lot more sense.

....

Take me to #1 and I'll post another chapter