Chapter 1.23: Axel's Heart of Valor

Who needs a plan?

Axel and Mikah both had headaches when they heard this familiar phrase from their best friend. This was something he usually said before he did something crazy. Coincidentally, the two exchanged a horror-stricken glance when they thought up to here. However, when they looked forward again, they saw Riot scaling the three-meter tall wooden fence next to them before jumping down on the other side and out of sight.

"W-wha...what do you think he's going to do?" Mikah chirped nervously.

"......" Axel was speechless. He knew there was no way to predict the actions of that little madman.

Honestly, Axel also felt hesitant to run into danger without a plan. He didn't possess Riot's courage and confidence, but the latter left him incredibly motivated to obtain it. If his best friend didn't fear death, how could he fall behind? Axel held his breath and stored his fear away. He turned and scaled the gate, mimicking Riot's actions and dropping to the other side.

"What the hell is wrong with these maniacs?" Mikah pulled at his green locks frantically. After slight mental warfare, Mikah was ultimately unwilling to be left behind. "Ah, screw it!"

Mikah nimbly hopped on top of the trash can before propelling himself over the fence.

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Past the shootouts and battles persisting outside of the light barrier, and within the barrier itself was an abandoned apartment complex. This building once housed up to one hundred people, but everyone in the west slums knew there were currently only two people living here. One was a sickly older woman with nearly five small strands of silvery hair hanging from her scalp, the last of the last. The other was a rather pretty young girl who took dear care of her old grandmother. Normally, people would give this area space, not daring to bother the sick.

After all, the distorted liver spots of the woman made many people question her affliction.

However, today, the entire west slums might as well be a warzone. Originally, the Black Tyrant Legion arrived in grand fanfare. However, when the legion's crazy mistress attempted to demolish the entire building with her ship on a whim, a barrier of light was erected to disable the ship before it could go any further. While the legion's crazy mistress was on the outside the powerful barrier, a few elites made it in. Meanwhile, the Mistress ordered her pirates to attack the barrier with weapons, while the mistress also withdrew her whip and started attacking the barrier like a freak.

Every crack of her whip was like a crack of lightning, sending bursts of electricity into the barrier. However, the barrier rippled, and nothing more. Before the mistress could make any progress, a dashing swordsman in white robes appeared between herself and the barrier. Moments later, the World Government discovered the activity. Just like that, a big battle started to take place.

However, the Black Tyrant Mistress fought the military back on her own! She was like an unstoppable force, killing a dozen soldiers and injuring many more. Before the heavy artillery could come out, a dashing man in white robes appeared with a sword in his hand. This man and the mistress were currently fighting in the air. However, the speeds they moved at were truly extreme.

"Anything else?" Riot held the stolen saber against the already bloody neck of a captured pirate.

"I swear, kid, that's all I know! Come on, little buddy, relax, please, relax," the pirate's face was full of bruises and swelling. He was even having trouble breathing. However, he was not having trouble begging for his life, "Please man, let me go, please. I've got a wife, man, three kids. I ain't seen the little one or her mama in a minute either, bro, please, man."

"Oh?" Riot looked indifferently down at the man. "Funny. A man like you, who wants to kidnap and a young girl from her soon-to-be-dead grandmother? Who wants to send a granddaughter to be bedded and ruined by some worthless rich brat? What if that was your own daughter?"

"Please, man, please..." The pirate lowered and shook his head, not willing to let the boy see the forlorn look in his eyes.

Riot stood up and kicked the man hard in the temple. The enemy groaned twice as he slid across the ground. Fortunately for him, Riot was a child and had never considered killing someone before. So he left to find his friends while the goon was unconscious. Returning to his friends' new position, a mere 40 meters away from the light barrier, Riot quickly recounted all of his discoveries.

"Well, then the plan is totally boned, man," Axel said. He placed his hands behind his head and shrugged. "I don't know, Lucky. We've literally hit a wall."

"We don't know anything about magic yet, guys. Okay, let's get out of the slums and..." Mikah jumped at the opportunity to escape this crazy situation.

He was destined to be disappointed.

"Wait. I think I can get through the barrier." Riot's eyes had a strangle twinkle in them as he spoke.

"Really?" Axel was stunned before becoming excited again. "Did you find a way? Is it the crystals?"

Mikah's mouth hung open with a stunned expression. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Well...no," Riot shook his head. But he still smiled confidently. "I don't know how to explain it. I just understand this barrier. To me, it doesn't look like a barrier but an entrance. We just need a key."

"Wah..." Mikah was stunned, but his eyes still lit up the next second. "Wait, Luck, can you really get us in the barrier?"

"I think so," Riot nodded calmly. There wasn't so much as a ripple in his deep hazel eyes. "You guys really don't have to come if you're afraid. I won't blame you. I'm going, though."

Axel and Mikah glanced at each other. Although Mikah was terrified, he was also excited. After all, this was a huge brawl in front of a magic barrier! This type of thing typically never happened in Acadia. To walk the path of formulation was to transform yourself and evolve to new heights constantly. How could they possibly hope to be heroes if they didn't dare to follow their friend into danger?

"Lucky..." Mikah's voice was solemn. He looked at Riot seriously, saying, "I'm going to trust you! I'll do my best to help you reach that barrier."

Riot smiled and looked at Axel. Axel appeared to be deep in thought, but he smiled wryly when he caught Riot's gaze.

"Heh...sorry. I'm definitely going." Axel rubbed his nose embarrassedly. "I was just thinking. You guys are both becoming so cool and strong. I mean, Lucky, you're fearless. You're both heroes now. I don't want to get left behind, you know?"

"Be brave!" Riot suddenly took a step forward and put his hands on his friend's shoulders. Staring the stunned Axel in his eyes, Riot's own eyes blazed with conviction, "Having a heart of valor isn't about being fearless. It's okay to be scared and to feel weak. You have to march forward anyway! Figure out what's important to you and commit. Don't let yourself down! You have to grasp the power in your heart!"

Axel felt like a bomb had gone off in his mind when he listened to Riot.

'My heart of valor. Be brave...?' Axel couldn't help but think. 'It's okay to be scared...but what's important to me?'

Axel was one of the top athletes in the school, and even outside of school, he worked in construction with his father. In truth, Axel's physical condition had already been pushed to an extreme due to the lad's extreme personality. Axel always got into fights in the outer neighborhoods, and Riot was usually right there with him. The gangsters around town had tried to harm the youths on various occasions. Thanks to such an exciting young life, the youngster's mind had already matured to a certain degree.

In this life, all Axel had was his father and his younger brother. He had never known his mother as she had died giving birth, and his step-mother also died in a gang-related incident. It could be said that Axel had always harbored deep resentment toward pirate gangs and the lawless villains. If there was anything that could be said to be important to Axel, what would that be?

'I want to protect those who can't protect themselves. I want to stop so many tragedies from happening to the weak and helpless like step-mother,' Axel eyes suddenly grew incredibly determined. A fiery passion seemed to be tugging at his chest. 'Luck is right! It's not about it being Micky or Haan. We can't keep letting these pirates get away with whatever they want! What's the point of living in fear? I'd rather die making a difference!'

Ba-dump!

At this moment, Axel felt like his apprehensions had all melted away. At the same time, he felt an irregularly powerful heartbeat thump in his chest. This sensation immediately made him short of breath. Axel groaned and hunched over in pain, sweating and gasping as if he had just been running for his life.

"Axe, bro, are you okay?" Mikah was startled by this and tried to rush over to support.

However, he was stopped by a frowning Riot.

Riot's brow furrowed because his blood was starting to pump vigorously due to the strange fluctuations leaking from Axel's body. After considering for a moment, Riot felt perplexed. If Miracle's words were to be taken as fact, Riot could only assume that his friend's heart was transforming. The part that confused Riot was that Axel appeared to be in far more pain than what he experienced. This made Riot skeptical of his guess.

"Hey, there's some energy disturbance in this yard!" a voice came from the other side of the fence next to the youths.

"Crap, soldiers," Riot cursed under his breath.

"Lucky, what are we going to do?" Mikah asked nervously when he heard the approaching footsteps.

Riot felt vexed right now. Who knew that trying to enlighten his friend on a whim would actually result in his friend being enlightened? Now Axel was seemingly enduring incredible pain, and white steam seemed to be gathering around his body.

"Why is his so different?" Riot was flabbergasted at this moment, but he remained calm. "The intensity of his muscles is starting to resemble mine... it's definitely the same. But still, while my upgrade hurt, it didn't hurt this much."

Riot looked nervously at the shadows gathering on the opposite side of the fence. He would have preferred being discovered by pirates, as he would just fight them. However, Riot couldn't fight against the World Government for no reason. With Axel like this, how were they supposed to sneak away?

"I don't know who you're protecting, but you'll all die!" screamed an angry and hoarse voice in the distance.

"Explosive! Everyone scatter!" bellowed the same soldier from earlier. Panicked shouts and scrambling accompanied his voice.

BANG!

Before the youths even had a chance to react to the change in events taking place, orange flashed as an explosion immediately splintered and blew apart the fence separating them from the battle. Riot hurriedly dashed in front of Axel and crossed his arms to block the impact for his vulnerable buddy. His heart released a valorous thump and filled his flesh with a vigorous strength. Thousands of wooden splinters crashed into the youth with heavy force. Riot's feet dug into the ground, and the force of the explosion pushed him back ten meters until he was able to stop.

"Lucky!" Axel groaned in agony seeing his friend's heroic action.

This was it! This was what a true friend was like! This was how a hero should act! Axel's eyes shined as if he had just discovered something. His heart beat vigorously, and the heaven and earth origin energy formed a white mist around his pores, sinking within slowly. As these wisps of energy reached his heart, a change started to take place. Axel's pained expression relented, and he had to stop himself from moaning out. A cool and refreshing feeling was suddenly spreading through him with every vigorous heartbeat.

This was a welcome improvement.

Mikah supported the groaning Axel, unaware of what the latter was experiencing. At the same time, Mikah held Axel as he slid to the right, withdrawing and launching his battle disk into the smoke past Riot. Mikah could sense movement in the air particles beyond the fence. The battle disk tore through the air without resistance, increasing its speed significantly. However, its power remained at the humble standard.

Bop!

"Agh! The fuck is this metal disc? I'm actually bleeding," a heavyset voice grunted in pain.

"There's someone in there! Clean these waste ass soldiers up, and we're going in!"

"Yes!"

"Kill!"

"Luck, bro, are you okay? We have to move!" Axel whispered through grit teeth to Riot, who had been pushed back to a couple of feet ahead of them.

They could already see shadows in the smoke and hear the injured soldiers' brutal screams being picked off.

"Open fire!"

"Shit!"

The military swiftly responded, and another battle broke out in an instant.

Riot's arms were bloody and full of wood chips. In fact, many parts of his little body had been impaled by the flying wood. He was in severe pain, but the youngster gritted his teeth as he lowered his arms and retreated. Riot's heart thumped vigorously as he compressed and jumped and expanded all his muscles. Hundreds of wood chips burst from his arms. If one were to look closely, they would notice some of the deeper splinters slowly pushing themselves out.

"I don't think anyone is home..." Riot glanced at the house at the other end of the yard. He leaned down and supported Axel from the other side, saying, "Let's go. We're going to rush to the barrier from the other side."

"Got it!" Mikah immediately acknowledged this new direction, and his mind focused on escaping their current crisis. While moving as swiftly as they could, Mikah asked, "Wait, what if the door is locked?"

"Easy," Riot and Mikah supported Axel to the house whose yard they were invading when the latter suddenly pushed them aside gently. "These locks in the slums are pathetic, you know?"

"Axe! Are you okay now?" Mikah was started to see Axel suddenly crouch down and rush over to the door ahead of them.

"By the glory of the gods, I am well," Axel spoke in a rather humble way. Axxel pulled out a little tool from his pocket and picked the lock on the door while talking.

Mikah was appalled and looked at Riot as if for confirmation. Riot shrugged, equally confused. Thanks to Axel's recovery and ingenuity, the kids managed to break into the house and scurry through it to the front. Inside they were horrified to find three corpses in the house with gruesome wounds. The walls and windows all had holes, many still smoking. Mikah turned sheet white and vomited twice. Axel was much better, but he still stared at the sight for a while, as if mesmerized.

Riot felt great shock when he witnessed this scene as well. However, he immediately moved past them and into the next room. By the time Mikah and Axel joined him, Riot was at a window in the front. Peeking out of the window, the boys saw several battles and beams of light. However, less than 60 meters ahead, there was a barrier rippling with volatile energy.