CHAPTER 253: THE TICKING TIME BOMB

Ken’s eyes abruptly shot wide open, and he gasped for breath as if his body had forgotten how to breathe, sweating all over. A lingering trace of soul-shuddering terror ran through every single part of his body. His hair stood on end, a harrowing goosebump overflowing within his existence. Multiple waves of powerful emotions raged in his mind, almost going out of control. The biggest was fear, a catastrophic level of fear.

He sat up and looked around frantically, looking for something he did not know or understand. Or maybe it was the very opposite, and he was making sure what he feared wasn’t there. But seeing that there was indeed nothing there, he heaved a sigh of profound relief. Yet, he frowned at himself right the next instant. What was he looking for? What was he afraid of, as he looked at his hands? They were still shaking.

He spoke to himself in a fearful chuckle, "Just what the heck did I even see in my dream? What kind of stupid nightmare could make me shake this much?"

***

Axel was in his own apartment, lying on his bed, accomplishing one of the two major roadblocks that stopped him from progressing any further; one was to purge the lingering influence of the original Axel Nomrad. Since the original Axel was much too soft, that personality directly contradicted the nature of the demon bloodline, which was hungry for brutality and slaughter. After all, demons are said to be the condensation of sins in a living form.

The next step now remained, but he would have to wait a few more days, perhaps. To make the perfect opportunity. So, that there will be nothing else to interfere at that moment, and he would have to be in his full might.

Time passed, the classes continued as usual, and his buddy Heinz instantly managed to notice that there was something different about him, a subtle shift in his presence, a difference in his gaze. But he tactfully chose not to ask Axel about it; Axel appreciated that understanding gesture of his friend because he wouldn’t be able to say anything to him. Because he wouldn’t trust him with everything until he had some control or trump card over his dear friend.

Axel also noticed the strangeness of Lumina; she seemed to have erected a silent barrier around herself, maintaining a distance from the valkyrie, even him, which was why she had been avoiding him for a while. However, she came to check up on him immediately after he woke up, at the end of the final round.

Though their conversation was unusually dry and short, without much humor and bickering, perhaps a lingering remnant of Axel had more of a thing for her than himself. He sighed. Regardless of any of that, he needed her, so Axel couldn’t simply let her dry away on her own in some corner, when even her brother seemed to be lost in his world, similarly having some rift between him and the valkyrie.

Something which Axel presumed to have happened because of the valkyrie reaching the side of the fortress and holding him when he went unconscious, stopping him from falling to the ground. As soon as the class was over, he bid a temporary farewell to Heinz and went towards the 5th princess, who seemed to be chatting with some of her new friends, including Vyra.

The girls noticed him coming towards them and sent furtive glances. Vyra looked at Lumina meaningfully, but the princess seemed to be in a somber mood, unwilling to entertain her friends ’ not-so-meaningful suggestions. Axel stood right in front of Lumina, not even giving a second glance to the other noble or wealthy girls, coming from reputable merchant and noble families, every single one of them staring at Axel, unable to take their eyes off the blue prince of the academy.

Who was by now ever more handsome than the Golden Prince Lucien himself. However, the man in question was oblivious to these various useless gossips of the academy’s girls. His eyes locked onto Lumina’s ruby red eyes, and the 5th princess was unable to look him in the eye for some reason. He asked in a neutral tone, "Are you avoiding me?"

Lumina looked at him, her eyes widening, for Axel being so direct like that out of nowhere, she didn’t expect him to say it outright, at least not in front of all those girls, Axel would never usually be so direct because that would cause more rumors to be spread about the two of them, more than what already was going on, though now there were too much gossip going on around about Sophia and Axel, specially, after what she did back then. Just the thought made her eyebrows arch involuntarily.

Axel noticed that she seemed lost in her own thoughts, so he leaned in closer to her face and bent down slowly to her eye level, as he was a bit taller. Lumina was stunned by that action of his again and blushed furiously, stepping backwards. This brought a wave of gasps from all the girls who were in that area or had previously chatted with Lumina.

Axel’s eyes remained locked onto the golden-haired princess, who, seeing his unbothered expression and closed eyes, stomped her foot on the ground, her mind unable to find a balance between shyness and frustration overflowing at the same time. So, she grabbed his hand and dragged him away to an isolated corner where they could hold some private conversation.

Heinz, who was watching this from afar with a trace of visible amusement at the antics of his friend, noticed another expected anomaly. Something that only a few would notice. The valkyrie watched this from afar, and somehow, no one paid any attention to her at the moment. But Heinz saw it; the expression of the otherworldly beauty remained as impassive as always. Yet, one hand was behind her back, which was clenched so hard that drops of dark gray colored blood were dripping from her hand.

As the drops of gray colored blood dropped on the tiled floor of the academy campus, the tiles were all made of Archon grade tier 2 material. The gray drops of blood melted the tiles as if they were hot acid or lava. He wasn’t entirely sure. From what Heinz remembered, the valkyrie did first get a small cut when Axel had confronted her, back when she was assigning roles. But it was a tiny cut; likely, no one was able to notice the strange color of her blood.

However, he soon shook his head; too many mysteries were wrapped around the enigmatic and decorated future savior of humanity. But seeing that gesture of the valkyrie, how she had clenched her fists so tight, unknowing to herself as well, seeing how Lumina was dragging Axel away, holding his hand warmly. Could there be a more obvious gesture of jealousy? But regardless of how Heinz wanted to view this entire thing as a mere romantic drama centering on his dear friend, he was unable to acknowledge it as just that.

He glanced towards the 4th prince, and as expected, his eyes remained locked on the hand of the Valkyrie, how she had clenched her fists. Heinz could feel the storm’s impending spiral approaching. There was something profound and strange going on between his dear friend and the valkyrie. Something which his friend was unwilling to share.

Axel’s recent abrupt change in demeanor, the strange interest of the valkyrie in Axel, the calculative jealousy of the prince, and how the powerful prince remained as helpless as a kitten against the colossal strength of the valkyrie, unable to do anything about the entire situation. Heinz could almost see the barely contained chaos that was soon about to unfold. But that didn’t scare him, oh no, on the contrary, it only excited him very, very much. Perhaps even the innocent Lumina will not be able to escape from this nearly exploding mayhem.

Heinz turned towards Vyra at this moment, the girl he liked very dearly, the girl he fought alongside since the very first masked competition, one of the two people who never treated him any differently before or after while knowing his status as a mere commoner, while her being the heir of one of the most influential families in the strongest human kingdom. Yet, she also saw him favorably.

So, he wanted to keep her out of this mess at least. Vyra also noticed the strangeness of the valkyrie; she also looked back at Heinz and smiled. But two different kinds of thoughts were going through both of their heads; the girl saw this as a romantic drama between two friends. The boy saw the wrongness of the situation and only wanted to protect the girl from it.

***

As Lumina dragged Axel to a secluded spot in the academy where they could converse privately, she realized she was holding his hand too tightly and immediately let go, feeling shy again. Axel noticed her shyness but chose not to comment on it, nor did he care too much about that fact at this point.

Without wanting to extend the drama further, he asked her again, "So, why are you avoiding me?"