CHAPTER 6

Although there were unexpected turns along the way, Vilda continued as planned with bringing Axis with her and escaping Swinger’s establishment. There were still many questions between them; questions they had for each other, and questions they both shared and needed answers to. However, the highest priority was leaving that place. With that in mind, Vilda decided on what action they would take afterwards.

“Yeah, once we get back to Sanctum, we’ll be talking to that man right away…” she suddenly said aloud, as she was scoping the area and leading Axis by the hand towards the forest.

“Huh?” Axis inquired. “We’ll be talking to who? Before that, what’s ‘Sanctum?’”

Perhaps she didn’t mean to speak her thought aloud, as she glanced at Axis quizzically before realizing what he was asking.

“Oh… Well, ‘Sanctum’ is just what we call our home base. As for who we’ll be talking to…”

Suddenly, someone called out from a distance.

“There they are! They’re trying to head towards the forest!”

Vilda turned towards the voice, and rather than one of Demkil’s knights, she saw one of Swinger’s butler-suited servants, or “employees,” as he was calling over six more like himself. They didn’t seem nearly as strong as the Slayers, but they could easily draw more attention, allowing more time for the Captain that Axis let go free to fetch the cavalry. That happened to be related to one of the questions she had for him, but more on that later. That aside, since she still hadn’t completely recovered enough to use her Magic at full strength, she had opted to make a run for it.

However, she found herself unable to proceed, as Axis would not, even as she repeatedly tried to pull him along.

“Come on, we have to get out of here! There’s no point in wasting time fighting them!”

Then, Axis responded in the same voice that had paralyzed her before.

“I have something to ask them.”

Vilda wasn’t sure whether it was because she had learned to resist the effect after her first experience, or if it was due to Axis having a better control over his power than before and wasn’t focusing it on her, but instead of getting paralyzed again, she only felt a slight chill. Still, it was a jarring transition; in a split second, Axis went back from the child he was supposed to be to the Monster he was feared to be.

“Axis,” she started, wanting to persuade him as gently as possible, “they have no interest in answering you. If anything, they’ll only give you the same response as the Slayer from earlier. Where we’re going, you can find better answers, or at least, better people willing to answer you.”

However, he didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at her; his attention was fully on the servants making their way towards them, their auras brimming with hostility.

“Axis!” she attempted again, with a sterner tone.

However, it was no use, and it was too late; not only did Axis refuse to run along with Vilda, but the servants of the Swinger Company also caught up with them and surrounded them, preventing any escape at that point. Yet, the servants did nothing more than that; in spite of their belligerence, they were only serving the purpose of blocking their way. Vilda watched them carefully, and none of them looked particularly strong on their own, but if they were to attack all at once…

“How pointless. If I wanted to go through, plebs like you all wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

As soon as they heard Nexus’s voice, the employees’ ferociousness wavered. They weren't paralyzed by his influence like those before them, but their hesitation had certainly shown, as they each took a step back as a reaction.

She had almost forgotten: the child that Vilda was trying so hard to convince to escape, didn’t need to run. It didn’t matter if they all attacked at once, it would only be the same result as the Slayers that attempted to rush him earlier. Fortunately for the servants, they were ordered only to hold them both there, though their previous vibes stated otherwise.

“So, it’s you again…”

Then, a familiar voice called out to them, with a cold tone specifically towards Vilda. She and Axis both turned to see Dalton Swinger, doing his best to keep his composure.

“I must say,” he said in exasperation, “I really wasn’t expecting so much excitement today… Especially not this late at night. Have you no matters, Dark Elf?”

As he glanced at her with narrowed eyes, Vilda glared back in disgust. Then, his eyes shifted to Axis, and he started to act deceitfully kind.

“Now Nexus, please reconsider your actions. If you leave this place, you will surely be hunted down and dragged back here, anyway. By cooperating with us, you will spare yourself a lot of grief and needless suffering.”

Vilda immediately chimed in to expose Swinger.

“Bullshit. He won’t be spared at all. You plan on torturing him until you can find a way to kill him, and then implement that discovered method into new armaments. Go ahead and tell me that I’m wrong, you liar.”

Axis took a quick glance at her, feeling as if those words came from a deeper place of resentment than expected, but quickly dismissed it as Swinger responded. Rather than denying Vilda’s accusation, he smiled almost gleefully as he affirmed.

“You’re almost right. It is the purpose of the Swinger Company to aid Demkil in exterminating Monsters, after all. However, you misunderstand one thing: Nexus cannot die.”

Swinger and his servants probably didn’t notice, but Vilda twitched slightly at his words. She couldn’t completely deny it; after Axis’s transformation, she had seen for herself how the wound inflicted on his shoulder was completely healed. She didn’t completely understand what that power was, but she knew that it was dangerous. If she could have things her way, she would rather never see Axis use that power again, which was the true reason she was trying so hard to get him to run in spite of the servants being no threat to him.

Above all else, she felt that if he kept using that power, he would become more of a Monster than he was already considered to be.

“As you see,” Swinger continued, “Nexus is extremely valuable to us. Not only is it a Monster born from a Human’s womb, but it cannot be killed by any conservative means. Demkil has attempted to execute it in various ways before bringing it here: burning, crushing, hanging, and even by severing its head clean from its shoulders. Yet, nothing worked, as Nexus still stands before us even now, having endured all of those efforts to end its existence. If you don’t believe me, then simply ask Nexus yourself. You can attest to it, can’t you Nexus?”

The attention then shifted to Axis, who seemed unconcerned even after what all was said. Neither confirming nor denying, he responded emotionlessly.

“I don’t care about any of that, but I do have some questions for you, Swinger.”

“Sure, I’ll be happy to answer whatever questions you have tomorrow. For now, just come back with me and we’ll…”

“You’ll answer me now.”

Then, the atmosphere changed; just like before, when they were going against the squad of knights, abnormal black clouds blocked out the stars in the sky, blanketing the area in absolute darkness. Only the electricity that formed around Axis gave any form of light, but it only illuminated Axis’s ominous figure while complementing his glowing eyes.

That was when the servants surrounding Nexus realized that they were the ones in the most danger.

“Damn it all…” Dalton muttered under his breath, “So he has that much control over it already, huh?”

After clicking his tongue discreetly, he responded to Axis with a changed tune.

“Alright, if you wish. I’ll answer your questions, so go ahead.”

With that, the clouds quickly dispersed, but Axis’s aura did not fade. The atmosphere wasn’t completely reset, and since Swinger and his servants were aware that Axis could strike them down at any second, Axis was the one with the most leverage. Their lives were practically in the palms of his hands.

“So,” Axis began his interrogation, “first of all, you keep calling me ‘Nexus’ all the time. What the hell is that, anyway?”

Neither Axis nor Vilda knew why it was so unexpected, but Dalton blinked a few times before chuckling, as if the question was so elementary, it seemed foolish to ask.

“You know, you’re really good at pissing me off, and that’s the bad thing.”

“Please, excuse me.” Swinger quickly cleared his throat. “I figured this was already explained to you, but I suppose the King saw no need to tell you anything. However, I don’t mind enlightening you.”

“Then fucking get to it.” Nexus scowled. “I don’t have much patience left.”

The smile quickly left Dalton’s face as he was reminded of his predicament. In a more serious tone, he began to answer Axis’s question.

“To put it simply, Nexus is the name of a Monster that has nearly destroyed Demkil once before.”