Vol 4: Chapter 253: Miles to Go, World Rulers To Kill

“But… Aetherian Royalty… on Earth…” muttered the Princess, looking extremely puzzled.

She was still having trouble believing that Axel’s friend turned out to have the Aetherian Royal Bloodline. How did that even happen?

There was never even a case of Aetherian Royals coming to even Atlantis, let alone going to the mundane world outside, something about the environment being too dry of mana. And they treasure every offspring. Then, how could one of them end on Earth, let alone in Britain.

It just solidifies that something IS wrong with Aetherworld. Something terribly wrong.

“I don’t know how either. She's from the House Greengrass. And they've been living in Magical Britain for Centuries,” said Martina.

About that, Axel was also puzzled.

‘System, what’s the situation in Aetherworld?’ Axel decided to just ask the system.

[Sorry, you cannot access that information yet.]

‘Damn it!’

Axel really needed to know the situation in Aetherworld. Why did the Aetherians cut off all contacts with Atlantis? Did they really not care about the Entity or have they really fallen?

But, at this moment, a sudden realization hit Axel.

Why not simply ask Zeta? She was an Atlantian Royalty who had somehow ended up in this world while running away from her vile brother due to inheritance issues.

‘Hey Zeta, how is the situation in the Aetherworld? Why did the Royalty suddenly stop contacting us?’ He asked.

But, there was no response from Zeta.

‘Zeta? Hey! Can you not hear me?’

But, instead of listening to his question, Zeta seemed to be lost in a different thought process entirely.
‘This Daphne you are talking about… Can you tell me her father’s name?’ Zeta asked him, her voice shaking.

‘Cyrus Greengrass. But why are you asking this?’

Zeta gasped.

‘So… she really is... the daughter of my brother!!’

Axel frowned. “Your brother’s daughter? What are you talking about? She was born here, and you came from the Aetherworld,” he corrected her.

Sure they were blood-related, but the two families should have had no contact for like a thousand years.

‘Who said I came from the Aetherworld?’ Asked Zeta in puzzlement. ‘My name is Signatora Greengrass. And I told you I ended up in the abyss while running from my brother due to inheritance issues. That’s Cyrus Greengrass.’

???

Axel was confused as hell for a moment, before he started to get the urge to punch himself.

‘...Is that… so?’

‘Of course! Why else would you think I was never allowed out of that space after the Organisation Awakened my bloodline? It’s because I’d have gotten teleported straight to Aetherworld, just like your friend Daphne. The Entity’s domain was the only place where my physical body could exist without activating the teleportation.’

Axel blew out a breath of frustration. So, Zeta was not from the Aetherworld, but just another Greengrass, and she ended up here through one of the many entrances that the Trench has in the Outer world.

Even though it sucks, it also makes more sense why she was so weak. It’s because she grew up on Earth and never received any Royal training or knowledge about her bloodline.

Also, it didn’t make sense that Royalty of the Aetherworld would still be ruling and not contact Atlantis for over a thousand years.

‘System, are the Greengrasses really the last of the Atlantian Royalty?’ He asked.

And this time, the system answered.

[Indeed. The Aetherian Royalty was in danger of being wiped, having been put under a bloodline curse restricting their powers. At that time, they cut off any way of Contact with Atlantis, so that the usurping force couldn't access the Entity.

And in order to prevent the end of their bloodline, they sent out the last member to the Earth, to live in hiding among the weaker magicians and continue the Bloodline until they find a way to lift the curse.]

‘Fuck…’

Axel finally understood now.

So, that’s why Daphne got transforted. Those mfs are really expecting her to fight whoever defeated the Aetherian Royalty and took over Aetherworld. Meaning, she has to overthrow someone who was even more dangerous than the Entity when it was unsealed.

This is Daphne we’re talking about.

The girl who doesn’t even like to hurt a fly. And apologizes if she even steps on an ant.

Sure, she had changed a lot under his influence, but Axel didn’t think she could still tolerate any violence or bloodshed.

‘I really do need to get there fast,’ Axel realized.

He gave up trying to figure out more about Aether. The more he knows, the more he’d worry anyways. Instead, he now focused on the next subject: How to get there?

As he understands it, the Key to the Aetherworld has already been destroyed. So that option is out of the window. And Zeta turned out to be from Earth just like him, so she doesn’t know anything either.

Next up, Axel searched for the information through the Royal Throne about ways to travel to Aetherworld, and came out empty too. The Key really was the only way Atlantians used to travel. Other times, envoys from Aether would just… appear, like it was their own backyard. There was no information how.

So, Axel could only ask the system.

‘System, how do I go to the Aetherworld right now?”

[Sorry Axel, it is not possible to go to the Aetherworld right away.]

‘What? How is it not possible?’

[The Aetherworld Key has been destroyed. And you do not have the power, knowledge, or the resources to travel across dimensions.]

‘So, what do I do ?!’

[You do not have the means, but Voldemort now does.]

'Voldemort?'
Axel froze, the name itself bringing him memories.

‘That mf can go to Aetherworld and not Earth?’ Axel asked in surprise. Traveling to Aetherworld should have been a more or equally difficult task compared to traveling to Earth. If Voldemort has figured out a way to Travel to Aetherworld, then why not Earth?

[It was not someone on Voldemort’s side who found a way. But someone who is opposing him. They provided the method to him in hopes that he’d give up on Earth, attack the Aetherworld, fail, and get weakened or die in the process.]

‘Hellishshit.’

To hand over another world just like that? Just who is this enemy of Voldemort? Axel really wanted to thank them.

With this, at least the guy might finally give up his obsession with Earth, Hogwarts, and Rose Potter. Who knows? He might even end up dying.

There was also the added benefit of him weakening or defeating whoever it that overthrew Daphne’s ancestors and took over the Aetherworld.

This was hitting too many targets with one arrow?

‘Seriously, who was it?’ He asked curiously. It is not often that someone else does something this helpful to him. ‘You should have told me there were other big players opposing Voldemort.’

[It is another soul whose fate has been altered. Therefore, this event was also out of expectations for Akashic Records. The usual task would have been to deal with the rulers of both worlds dealt separately. But now, there are chances they might fight each other.]

‘Then I really do owe this person,’ Axel decided. He had thought he’d have to fight a Ruler of Another World all alone, but now, the burden on him might actually decrease. Only, there was one problem.

‘Is this Volddemort really idiotic enough to actually go through with it?’ Asked Axel. Voldemort already has the Netherworld in his hands. He wouldn’t know anything about Aetherworld. Why risk attacking another world that could be much more powerful than him?

[Voldemort has always had high ambitions and he’s not afraid of failure. Also, he’s not stupid enough to directly attack Aether. He will be sending out scouts to survey the world first.]

‘Scouts…?’

Suddenly, the gears of Axel’s mind began spinning as he realized why the system told all this information.

He doesn’t have the means to go to the Aetherworld, but… Voldemort does. And, he’s going to send out his armies to the Aetherworld.

‘So, you’re saying…’

[Affirmative. The fastest and easiest way to Travel to the Aether would be: to go to the Netherworld and join Voldemort’s army.]

‘Damn…’

This…

This was just…

“Awesome!”

‘System, you actually are becoming useful now,’ said Axel. Previously, the system wouldn’t give him any information even if he did ask for it. But now, even if some things are still restricted, the info that it does provide is pure gold.

[Thanks. Then you have a new mission, if you choose to accept]

[Main Quest: Join Voldemort’s Army]

[-Help Voldemort Open the Portal to Aetherworld

-Make sure the Confrontation Between the Rulers Don’t End in Peace

-Participate in the War and Make Sure Both Rulers Suffer Losses]

‘I’ll be damn…’ seeing the mission, Axel would have laughed out loud, had he not had company.

This mission was devious.

And he loved it.

‘I accept it gladly,' he replied.

To join the enemy that almost had him killed multiple times?

‘Why not?’

If it helps him get to Aetherworld, then really, why not?

As Axel understands it, his beef with Voldemort has only been due to the system missions, and Axel was the one who provoked him every time in the first place. The poor guy doesn’t even know who Axel is.

So, why not just temporarily forget about it when they have a common enemy?

Let him attack and kill whoever is ruling Aether right now. At least Daphne wouldn’t have to do it herself.

Axel would most likely be useless even if he does travel to Aether right away anyway. According to the First Overseer, he was still not strong enough by the standards of other worlds.

So, it was decided.

‘I am officially a Voldemort supporter now,’ Axel announced.

On the other hand, while Axel was busy with his conversation with Zeta and the system, Martina just waited patiently while the Princess started to get concerned, having no knowledge about the system.

‘Is he okay?’ The Princess whispered to Martina, looking at Axel with worry. To her, it just seemed that Axel was just staring into space, frowning from time to time.

“Oh, he’s okay. He’s just… gathering his thoughts,” replied Martina, not revealing anything about the system.

At this moment, Axel finally snapped out of it as he blinked. “Alright, I’ve thought things through. It’s going to be a bit troublesome, but I’ll handle Daphne’s matter.”

Martina’s guilt still doesn’t seem to though. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have shown her the video of your fight against Aslot.”

“Wait…” Axel blinked, finding too much to process in that sentence. “What did you say?”

Martina winced. “Actually, when I didn't hear from you, I just couldn’t help it. I hacked into Atlantis’s database to find out about you. And there we saw your fight against Aslot, which resulted in Daphne’s curse to relapse. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had to activate the Bloodline awakening ritual.”

Axel shook his head. “No, I’m not talking about that. And no one’s blaming you for it. I’m asking, how is my fight against Aslot on the Atlantis's database?”

Axel couldn’t care less about Martina hacking into Atlantis server right now. Since Axel had no idea about the side-effects for lifting her bloodline-limiting curse, she would have been sent to Aetherworld sooner or later.

What he really couldn’t handle was that the fight against Aslot was seen by other people. He didn’t mind the ‘getting beaten to death multiple times’ part. That’s badass as long as he doesn’t flinch. But he couldn’t tolerate the part where he was screaming in pain like a softy during the [Soul Extinguisher].

“We recovered the footage through Estris’s ability,” said the Princess, already flinching just recalling the fight. “It shocked the whole kingdom when it got leaked.”

*cringe*

Axel clenched his teeth so hard his jaw muscles started to show. “... The whole kingdom saw it?”

“Of course! I thought it would trigger mass panic, but in actuality, it did the exact opposite! Everyone was greatly motivated and inspired!” Replied the Princess enthusiastic.

Axel shook his head. “Inspired from what? It was an embarrassment of a fight.”

At that, both the Princess and Martina looked up at Axel with widened eyes, as if he was speaking a different language.

“Embarrassment? How was THAT an embarrassment?! You fought against Aslot the Great Betrayer! And forced him to a tie! While you’re still 13!”

“How was it not? I couldn’t even take a Soul Extinguisher.”

“...” x2

For a moment, both Martina and the Princess were speechless from the sheer absurdity of that sentence.

“How is that embarrassing?” Asked the Princess in shock. “You were hit by THE Soul Extinguisher! You have a pain-threshold of over 100,000! No one before you even KNEW how painful it was because no one in history has gotten past a pain threshold of even 10,000, let alone survive a Soul Extinguisher. You had every right to even die, let alone scream! It’s like blaming someone for being thirsty after they survived 100 years without any water!” The more the princess talked, the more her agitation increased.

Martina also shook her head, looking at him with pain. “It’s just like you. Why do you always hold yourself to such unreasonably high expectations? Why do you never give yourself credit for what you do achieve? You are already a million times higher than what is considered the ideal level, in every field. I can not think of any person I could admire more. Then why are you never satisfied?”

Axel sighed, not really expecting the two women to be so offended by his words. “I’m sorry, that does seem like a useless thing to worry about.”

“But, for most things, I’ve never had a choice,” said Axel. “For a long time, being anything less than perfect has led to dangerous consequences for me. And it continues to do so. I would be alive right now if I was ever, at any point, satisfied.”

Martina and Antilla wanted to refute him on this point as well. To tell him that it was a wrong outlook to have towards life, never being satisfied, never relaxing, always struggling for more. But, when they thought of Axel’s case, they realized that he was, in fact, right.

Axel would have been dead on the streets had he not always tried to perfect his skills of thieving. He would have been dead if he hadn’t learned to take the pain, he’d have been dead if he hadn’t trained continuously until now, even training during the time his body was permanently damaged from the Crutiatus.

It was messed up, but it was the Truth. Axel was not wrong in his outlook. And that only served to further break their hearts.

Antilla couldn’t stop herself anymore. She stepped forward and hugged Axel, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Axel raised his hands, surprised by the hug, but then he just let it be, feeling that Antilla’s emotions were genuine.

“I’m so… so sorry I couldn’t be there…. If I could, I would take all of your sufferings instead.” she said, squeezing him with all her might.

Antilla has wanted to do this for a long time, just hug Axel and apologize for all of his sufferings. And, there was another thing she wanted to do.

“From now on, you do not have to suffer anymore. You’re home, Axel. What’s past is in the past. Everything from now on is a new beginning. Let me make up for all the years you spent away from home.”

Home...?

Axel stood there, feeling complicated emotions. Some part of him did find the idea appealing. But, he shook his head. “I'm sorry, but I can’t relax yet. I need to leave soon.”

“What?” Asked Antilla, pulling back a look at him. “Why?”

“There's just... a lot to do. My fate is not the only fate I am responsible for.”

Ever since Axel accepted the power on the verge of death, he has known he will be paying the price for it.

Axel couldn’t really relax yet. There were still miles to go, and World Rulers to kill.