Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler[English]

Silence filled the room.

After a long moment, Axel lifted the pill to his mouth and swallowed it in front of her.

Riley exhaled softly. “The choice of a wise man.”

She stood, walked toward the stairwell, then suddenly turned back.

“You’ll stay in the room on the left on the first floor. You can move freely—except for the basement and the study.” Her eyes flicked toward him. “And they’ll be coming for you soon. You’ll have to figure out how to deal with that yourself.”

Axel nodded, pushed the door open, and stepped into the yard.

Riley’s house sat in the heart of Everton’s commercial district. From the courtyard, the entire city seemed to stretch out beneath a canopy of lights and noise.

Axel walked a few steps, pressed a hand to his stomach, then spat a mouthful of dark, viscous phlegm into a tissue. He crumpled it and tossed it into a trash bin as if nothing had happened.

.......

Krythos.

An abandoned amusement park on the city’s outskirts.

Beneath the howl of the northern wind, eleven figures in cloaks and masks formed a circle around a solitary man standing at the center. Their cloaks snapped violently in the cold air. After a long stretch of silence, the man in the middle slowly opened his eyes.

“Savannah,” he said, his voice calm and cutting, “you’ve made a catastrophic mistake.”

A long-haired woman wearing a cat mask flinched.

“Mr. Scott… I only— I wanted him too much.”

The others all turned their gazes toward her. The pressure was suffocating.

“You exposed the existence of the Saints to far too many people,” someone said coldly. “There’s no way to fully suppress this information now.”

Savannah’s fingers twitched nervously at her nails.

“From this moment on,” Mr. Scott said slowly, “we move with absolute caution. No more leaks. Not before the Master awakens.”

All eleven figures bowed their heads.

Then one of them—a massive man in a tiger mask—laughed lazily and spoke up.

“Mr. Scott, Savannah’s mistake is unforgivable. I suggest stripping her of her Saint status and turning her into my nourishment.”

Savannah snapped her head toward him, murderous intent surging like a tide.

“Lorenzo,” she hissed. “You’re courting death.”

Lorenzo completely ignored her. He crossed his thick arms behind his head and said casually,

“If it were me, I wouldn’t let the target escape. I surely wouldn’t leave any witnesses alive, either.”

His words were met with quiet agreement from the other nine masked figures.

“Enough.” Mr. Scott raised a hand, and the air instantly stilled.

“Savannah made a grave error. But she also discovered a beast of extremely high quality. In recent years, only Sethan compares.”

At the mention of Sethan, the man wearing the Blacksnake and Pheasant mask shifted slightly.

“Back then,” Mr. Scott continued, “we sent Blacksnake and Pheasant together and still underestimated Sethan. So this time…”

He lifted his hand and pointed.

“Blacksnake. Pheasant. Lorenzo. Savannah.”

“You four will move together. Lorenzo, you lead.”

Lorenzo rolled his neck, the bones cracking as a savage grin spread beneath his mask.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll drag that beast back alive.”

Mr. Scott nodded.

“He’s currently undergoing treatment in Everton. With his talent, the authorities will protect him carefully. It’s highly likely he won’t leave the city until he reaches Level Six.”

Then his gaze returned to Savannah.

“How is the spacetime worm?”

Savannah closed her eyes, her mental energy spreading outward. After a long moment, she spoke in a low voice.

“It’s weak. It can barely sense Axel’s general location, and even that isn’t reliable.”

Mr. Scott stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“That’s enough. Continue monitoring. Only move when he leaves Everton—and only when you’re absolutely certain of your safety.”

Lorenzo and the others bowed in unison.

“Understood.”

Moments later, the eleven masked figures vanished into the night.

Mr. Scott remained alone. He slowly removed his mask, revealing an ordinary face—thin mustache, deep-set eyes, and a gaze as sharp as a blade.

He looked toward the distant lights of Everton.

“I wonder,” he murmured, “when Master will awaken once more…”

Three days later, the ancient tree finally loosened its branches and leaves. The Time–Space Nematode hung weakly on one of the branches, completely motionless.

“Good. You survived,” Axel murmured as he quietly studied it.

He knew that once the branches opened, Savannah would be able to sense his location again.

“A decoy and a hunter…” Axel gave a faint smile. “In a straight fight, I don’t stand a chance against her.”

His gaze turned cold and steady.

“But I’ve got time. And I’ve got patience.”

A fragment of life crystal—once belonging to a member of Dale’s team—was being steadily absorbed into his body. Power surged silently beneath his skin.

“I’m close,” he whispered. “So damn close to breaking into Level Five.”

With the Blood Needle embedded within him, Axel no longer needed to train his physical strength or Force. Every last scrap of his focus went into sharpening his mental power.

At this moment, he stood infinitely close to the Level Five threshold.

Seven days later, Everton Airport.

Millers checked his watch and looked toward the arrival gate. The moment he spotted the familiar figures, his face lit up.

“Captain! Rosaline!”

He waved vigorously.

The group emerged carrying bags upon bags of luggage—large and small, many packed with expensive tonics and recovery supplies.

“Whoa—are all these for me?” Millers’ eyes shone as he happily reached out. “You guys are too kind!”

Kaia slapped his hand away without hesitation. “Dream on. These are for Axel. Don’t act like I don’t know your so-called ‘metal limbs’ can fix themselves.”

Millers withdrew his hand awkwardly.

Vince smiled and stepped forward. “How are you holding up, Millers? How’s Axel?”

Over the past few days, they had first been summoned back by the Whisper Syndicate and forced to sign a strict gag order. Then they escorted Annabelle back to Dune, returned to Shiverstone, and finally buried Charles.

Nearly twenty days had passed since Axel had fallen into a coma.

“He’s better off than I am,” Millers said honestly, a trace of envy in his eyes. “But Miss Riley says he still needs close observation. He’s staying at her place for now.”

Kaia squinted suspiciously. “Miss Riley? She’s got to be over forty. What, you got a thing for older women now?”

Millers panicked for a split second, then put on an exaggerated, devoted expression. “Kaia, you wound me. There’s only one woman in my heart—it’s you.”

“Get lost.”

Rosaline and Vince shook their heads helplessly at the exchange.

“Let’s go,” Vince said. “We’ll see Axel first.”

At the mention of his name, Rosaline bit her lip. Her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Vince earlier that day.

In the hallway, she had overheard Dale’s frightened muttering. Only then did she realize how impulsive she had been.

Axel had barely survived. He’d been struck by that mysterious needle and left in a fragile state. Her anger slowly gave way to worry.

“Riley and Clarissa are both top-tier healing Awakeneds in Everton,” Vince said quietly. “If Riley’s still keeping Axel under observation, then his condition must be serious. We’ll check on him—and find out when he can rejoin the team.”

Rosaline forced a smile and nodded. “Once Axel comes back and reaches Level Five, we’ll push for elite squad status… and then—” Her eyes darkened. “We’ll avenge Mr. Charles.”

Even with the gag order in place, they weren’t forbidden from hunting that woman. Capturing a Saint would be a massive military achievement.

.......

The villa district.

After finishing his meal and clearing the dishes, Axel heard a knock at the door.

“Your teammates are here,” Riley said calmly as she entered. “You can talk to them.”

Axel froze for a moment. Through the window, he could already see their familiar figures in the courtyard—smiling, waiting.

His emotions tangled in his chest.