HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 215: Rita Skeeter Found, End of Fight

The semester at Hogwarts had ended, but the school could not have its rest.

Axel Hunt had gone missing at the end of the session. And that was something unacceptable. The whole world wanted to know where the boy had disappeared. It hadn't been long since the 'Life and Lies of Axel Hunt' was released, and it was shaking up the whole wizarding world.

If Axel was a Quidditch Genius before, he had now become a Legend. Coming from the dirty muggle streets, surviving the extreme cruciatus, and then overcoming crippling injuries and then becoming so good at Quidditch and Magic to the point of being able to take on a whole team alone in an unrestricted format.

This was story of the Savage name Axel Hunt. How could people not be affected?

But this person had actually gone missing.

Thus, protest and search missions were being organised by the wizarding communities through the world. The pressure on Hogwarts had reached an extremely high level.

Many people were now out on the streets of London or interviewing Hogwarts students, trying to find out more about Axel. Everything related to Axel was getting tons of views. People pretending to personally know Axel were cropping up in droves. Many were making up ridiculous stories like watching him disappear into thin air or running faster than flying broomsticks.

At such a time, in a warded place, Daphne and Martina looked at the bound and gagged figure of Rita Skeeter, who was currently scared out of her wits.

"Are you sure it's her?" Asked Daphne.

Martina nodded her head. "I'm sure. I found out by hacking into the website." Even though she was sure, she really did hack the website, just so that she could use it as an excuse.

Martina handed her Rita's Magi-mirror. "You can confirm it if you want." On the screen were chats between Skeeter and the book website's publisher.

"Even though she kept her name anonymous, she actually took a huge amount of money for the copyrights of the book."

Selling Axel's private life for money

Daphne was so angry that the phone's screen cracked due to her magic. This woman made a gigantic mess. Not only that, but now people have even begun linking Daphne's father's death with Axel's torture incident. Both things happened on the same date. And her father's hobby for torturing muggle kids was an open secret.

So now, she and her family are receiving death threats and being called a family of torturers by the angry fans. Her mother and sister can't even visit Diagon Alley without disguise. Even her mother had been trying her best to find out who was behind this. So, Daphne was extremely surprised when Martina casually told her she found the culprit.

"How did you get her here?" She asked, barely suppressing the urge to strangle Skeeter.

Martina seemed offended by that question. "Even if I'm like this, I'm still from a Mafia family, alright?"

"Oh, right." Daphne really had forgotten. Martina is usually the type to not even hurt a fly. But since the matter involved Axel, it seems that she is not that harmless.

"So, what do we do now? Shall I call in some people to interrogate her?" Asked Martina, picking up her Magi-mirror.

"No wait. There's someone better for the job," said Daphne.

While Martina was still puzzled, there was a snap outside the place. Then the door opened and Bellatrix Black walked into the place.

"What?!" Martina pointed her wand at her in shock, but Daphne stopped her. "Relax. She's on our side."

"??? Our side? But the last time" The last time, Bellatrix had behaved very crudely with Daphne, blaming her for what her father did to Axel.

But then, something unexpected happened. Bellatrix actually bowed in front of Daphne.

Martina: ^^###!!!???

Ignoring Martina's surprise, Daphne pointed at Rita Skeeter. When she saw Skeeter, a look of surprise appeared on Bellatrix's face, before a sadistic smile slowly split her lips. "So, it was you. Why does it make so much sense?"

Rita Skeeter was an annoying reporter who had written some less than savory articles on Bellatrix. Though, a little bit of discipline had Rita learned by heart not to mess with her. From then on, Rita became much more careful on who to pick fights with. And Bellatrix just left her alone, thinking of her as nothing more than a fly.

But now, she has touched someone she should not have.

Upon seeing Bellatrix, Rita had already began shaking violently.

Bellatrix drew her want. "Hi Rita. We meet again."

.

Meanwhile, in the Gravitational Zone, a huge explosion took place.

Except for Tronis and Ender, who were exempt from the forces due to the energy barriers, everything in the area was decimated.

Lying on the ground beside the still unconscious form of Ender, Tronis drew in a ragged breath. The markings on his body completely lost their glow. At the same time, the side effects manifested. The veins all of his body bulged out to the point of bursting, and blood began to flow out from his mouth and nose.

He could not move. Looks like he would have to call for help. But, this was the only way to ensure his survival. If his power had run out before the opponent was defeated, the situation would have been worse.

"Aarrghhh...." The pain was so bad he wanted to pass out. Tronis tried to endure while dreaming of the time he would spend torturing Ender after taking him back to the base. This bastard had killed her lover, another relic wielder of Kraken. In return, Tronis killed many of his Septis members. Tronis and Ender have been bitter enemies ever since.

'Now, it's finally the end.' He had finally won. This was a long awaited confrontation, after years. Ender had grown stronger, but the increase in Tronis's power was much higher, due to the weakening of the seal. Add to the fact that the circumstances were in his favor, he has finally won.

Now, all that's left is to enjoy the torture. Thinking so, the pain became much more bearable. With much difficulty, Tronis raised his head to inspect the surroundings.

He was in the middle of a huge depression in the ground. Everything else was gone. How could it be any different? No one could escape that attack.

But at this moment, he detected movement in his peripheral vision. 'What?!'

A chill ran down Tronis's spine. He had gambled everything on the last attack. Because the odds of winning were 100%. Right now, he was in no condition to even move, let alone fight.

That's why, when he actually saw something move, he almost had a heart attack.

Did... Did he actually survive? No way, right?

Tronis squinted his eyes, trying to see through the dense mist permeating the area. But, he could barely make out a huge silhouette. Soon, the mist cleared. And

!!!!!!#*#*#!!!!!

And what he saw was so absurd that he was sure he was hallucinating.

"Theron????"

'Have I completely lost it now?' He thought. Because that was definitely the case right now. How else could he see Theron of all people here right now.

But then, Theron moved, or rather, his armor moved. Creaking of bones resounded, and from the neck gap of the armor, a person climbed out.

Axel fell to the ground and aligned his bones, which he had to dislocate in order to go into the armor.

Yep, that's how he survived. The amount of energy was crazy. All the water was getting instantaneously vaporated. In that time, instead of trying to use his own powers to survive, Axel simply took out Theron's Coral Armor and used it as a shield.

Even though he didn't activate its defense, even its base material is so durable that it was able to withstand the energy storm. The problem was fitting into it. The Armor could not be opened. The largest gap was in the neck.

That's why, Axel had to break or dislocate many of his bones in order to f

squeeze through. Pain? Is that something someone with his pain threshold would be concerned about?

While healing himself, he glanced at the unrecognizable figure of Tronis. The poor man's brain seemed to be glitching right now upon seeing him still alive and climbing out of an armour that was clearly Theron's.

"The Armor how can it be here?" That's all he could mumble. Theron and Nerio have been missing for a while. The time they reported back was when they were on a mission to take Axel Hunt.

AXEL HUNT!

A jolt when Tronis's head. Royal Bloodline, male, and having Coral Armor. "You how?"

Axel Hunt was only 13. That's why Tronis didn't think of this yet. But if this was really him, then it would explain a lot, including the reason why Theron and Nerio never returned. If who they faced was this tricky bastard, then there is a high chance that they're both dead.

Axel, who had healed himself somewhat, let out a chuckle. "So you figured it out?" He asked, slowly walking over. His steps sounded especially heavy due to the high gravity in the area.

With each step, his bones came back to their place, blood was also flowing through his mouth, but he paid it no heed.

Looking at that, Tronis snapped out of his daze. With hand, he tried to kill Ender while with the other, he took out a healing elixir.

Spurt

But blades of water formed the air and his hands separated from his body. At the same time, Water crystals formed on Ender's body, in order to prevent further harm.

Axel's footsteps halted as he came to stand in front of Tronis as he removed his mask and removed his disguise.

Tronis looked at the face of Axel Hunt in disbelief. His head was a mess. He had lost. That was difficult to accept. But, what was even more difficult to accept was the fact that he had lost to a thirteen year old.

'Those guys do they have any idea?' Tronis thought of the laid members, who were completely oblivious of the fate of Theron and Nerio. And it would seem that the same was going to happen to him.

'I'm going to die. And Ender is still alive.'

Tronis regretted it. He was among the Kraken's strongest. He has been for a while. From beginning to end, he had this confidence that he would win.

That's why, he didn't kill Axel when Axel still hadn't summoned water. Because he didn't think anyone could be a threat. And even after Axel had shown off his impressive skills, he still didn't think he'd lose. That's why he didn't kill Ender.

'In the end, I can only blame myself.'

"You fought well," Axel said, raising his hand. "Too bad, I can't let you live longer with all the things you know." Before Tronis's thought process could reach further, he saw a blade of water forming above his head. Axel stood over him, eyes glowing blue and mist gathering behind him.

At this moment, Tronis did not see a 13 year old boy. What he saw, was a ruler deciding his fate.

"Farewell. You almost won."

With that, the blade fell.

.

A.N.: Sorry for the delay, I took a break in order to increase the patreon stalkpile and plan the new book further.