A brewing Storm

Gizmo informed Axel about the time before the arrival of the two Elementalists. Based on the information given by Gizmo, Axel tasked Kael to get familiar with his newfound skill quickly and devise a battle plan in a manner that would grab the attention of the two.

Axel planned to enable Kael with the "Shadow Puppet" skill and, meanwhile, use the light element as efficiently as possible. Axel knew that what he lacked the most right now was the required elemental essence, so his plan involved using the least amount of elemental essence in the shortest possible time.

He knew that even if he concentrated all of his essence into a single attack, there wouldn't be much damage done to its intended recipients. So, he intended to rely on his one intended tool that was sure to give him results.

While paralyzed, Axel had conducted many experiments in the virtual lab provided to him by Gizmo, and his favourite topic of research had been the potent poison that he accidentally acquired due to the nefarious plans of the Old Man.

Over time, Axel had come to appreciate the mystery of the poison. It was mostly neutral to anyone and everyone unless ingested. Most people would simply treat it as water because that is what it feels like in terms of its properties.

It was deadly to anyone below the domain of a Level-6 Elementalist (included), but with time, Axel had realized that with some intent, he could actually modify certain aspects of the poison, such as when the poison would take effect, which body part it would attack, or how it would affect the body of its host over time.

All this was possible due to the dimensional sacs where this poison was stored, wherein the concentration of the poison could be tinkered with, and certain properties of it could be diluted or made more potent. With time, Axel had perfected the art of poison tinkering.

The Old Man had intended for Gizmo to do the tinkering using the dimensional sacs and then torture Axel with different poison dosages. Such potent poison, given outright to a non-Elementalist, would outright kill them; hence, the use of dimensional sacs in modifying the nature of the poison. However, the Old Man didn't expect Axel to gain control over this intended bane.

Axel had strategically placed part of his modified poison on the ceiling. He had devised a strategy that would force Liam to stand immediately below the points where such poison was kept, and then he intended to use the Shadow Puppet via Kael to somehow make the poison fall into Liam's mouth.

And that is what happened. Liam had ingested the inconspicuous drops of water earlier, which were now a ticking bomb inside him unless Lia had some other mysterious way to save him.

The effect that Liam and Lia mistook for essence depletion was actually brought on due to the poison taking effect. Axel had also soaked his hand in the same poison to counter Lia.

After a discussion with Gizmo, Axel came to know that most poison Elementalists at Level One would need to make contact with their intended target to deliver the poison.

The same probability would increase for a snake-like beast that would have the poison sacs in its body. So, Axel had placed his bets on the same.

Axel's initial plan was to also introduce the poison into Lia's body using the same method as against Liam, but to his surprise, Lia had barely used her powers against him, and thus, the opportunity to do what he intended didn't arrive.

Thus, he arrived at a makeshift plan, betting his life on Lia's speculated nature. This was also the reason why he tried to provoke her as much as possible to ensure that Lia would try to bite him at a close distance, from where he could introduce the poison into her bloodstream.

He knew he was taking a risk, but he had calculated the outcome to some extent. Liam was not afraid of the poison that Lia would possess, as while experimenting with his own poison, he had made sure that his own poison resistance would increase.

So, what Axel really feared was the physical prowess of Lia. With a casual flick of her tail, Lia could injure Axel easily. Thus, Axel had kept the last of his elemental essence for Kael to utilise in time of emergency to brace for the physical impact, if such an impact actually arrived.

The trio of Axel, Kael, and Gizmo had not noticed this, but their teamwork was becoming terrifying with time. Axel is well aware of the pros of having Kael, and thus, they have been prioritising the division of labour wherever possible.

So now, with all his cards in place, the last thing that Axel intended to do was to extract some information from Liam and Lia and then take care of the threatening snake.

All of Axel's strategy for Liam had been fruitful, but he had not expected such a level of inaction from Lia. And now, standing in front of Liam and Lia, his gut was telling him to stay away from Lia.

He had expected the threat to a certain extent, but seeing the deep, abysmal eyes of Lia, his confidence was shaken. Still, Axel put on a brave front and executed his plans without a hiccup.

He had realised the threat Lia possessed, but there was not much that he could do at this point. All his elemental essences were nearly depleted, and he did not have a hidden card to play.

Only if Axel knew how true his gut feeling was. The threat that Lia possessed was real and way more than he expected, all linked to her origin and nature.

Lia was only passive because she feared exposing her location, and that would ruin her plans. But if push came to shove, she was ready to take the risk because the situation had somehow enraged her.

A lowly non-elementalist had mustered the courage to go face-to-face with her and almost threatened to derail all her plans at this point.

The only thing that was keeping her calm was the fact that the whole scenario was still under control. According to her, Liam would soon regain some of his elemental essence and end the pathetic creature in front of her.