C77: Against the Abuse, True Story
Overall Word count = 1974 on 5/5/2024.
Here are the skills as promised
Berserker Development skill: For every hit taken or dealt through PURE physical means, boost strength by 1/8rd of a letter grade with only the body as a limit. Limit = (10 x 1/level )+ (2^skill rank). Skill obtained through recklessly fighting a monster overwhelmingly stronger than oneself and surviving.
Note: 10 = base normal humans. Current skill rank = F which means 6 while unsealed stated would be 4
Axel's body is malleable since it has to fit his soul which means that 10 turns into 50 or something. So his equation currently looks like (50 x .5)+(2^6) = 57. So now 89x.80 depending on how you like your stats. At full stacks, Axel's strength grows by around 7,120 points.
But don't forget that strength works differently on different actions, so someones bench press is not the same as their dumb bell lifts (idk, i only exercise to maintain my weight). So the extra stats are not always in full use to prevent overloading the body. Especially with Axel's other abilities and even chain attack being stacked on this.
Abyssal Body: : Gluttony remake, Now works as Layers instead of one time use 'smoke'. One layer of gluttony is naturally active on the user's body without mind consumption. Whenever gluttony is activated, this one layer triples as a regular cost while every subsequent layer is half cost. Max number of layers = 12 then cost doubles. Overall layer limit = 50. Upon reaching 6 layers or more, all gluttony contains Flames of Hell which assist in devouring speed to triple.
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Axel stands up straight, roughly 80 ft away from the gorgon sisters as they have frowns on their faces due to the 'slanderous' words he threw at them. Granted they did it first and they are abusing their sister for no reason. Axel doesnt think this would be a very long fight as they are far too fragile for even a basic attack from him.
He bends low and dashes forward while the duo call out "Slow" "manifest". Axel's speed slows down but not for long. Still the wait is long enough for a bow to form in Euryale's hands and a pair of knives in front of Stheno. "Rapid" Stheno states and she suddenly accelerates just as fast if not faster than Axel's speed. She dashes around the warehouse before coming at him from behind. A set of mantra arms is created on Axel that covers her hands, and grabs her neck and both her feet. This is made possible by having both shade and his own mantra arms be formed at the same time. With one set of arms being around his shoulder. The other set is around his biceps and back of his ribs.
Stheno is quickly immobilized and seeing this Euryale blows into a greater rage as the threads binding her power are forcefully undone as she pulls her golden bow, "Unhand Stheno. Pierce your heart! Eye of the Euryale!"
A tremendous amount of magic power gathers with a pink glow as an arrow manifests. Euryale herself floats up as the magic gathers. Gorgon tries to hurriedly create a barrier to contain the attack as well as protect Axel. Unfortunately her magic was too sloppy and did little but buy a moment of time before being pierced by the cupid-like arrow.
Axel reinforces his body with magic before overlaying it with his strongest Ken (combo of Ten and Ren aka outburst of defensive aura). He then activates the asura abilities of immortality as while he isn't outright raging, his wrath mantra can serve as the fuel for that instead as his skin turns a deeper slightly more burnt hue akin to ceramic. Even with all this, Axel still feels a threat and makes a few last minute adjustments before the arrow which is specialized in piercing the hearts of men, human or otherwise collides with him.
Boom, SWISH, drip drip drip
A powerful explosion is heard far and wide but not as Gorgon contained all the sound by creating a barrier around the building to contain the magical force being released by Euryale Stheno is unharmed as Axel had released her arms and legs to only hold her by her neck with one arm as he punched out with all the others. The end blast had become much weaker but the results show for themselves.
Axel is left with a hole on the left side of his chest but it did not penetrate all the way through. The mantra arms had been dispelled except for the one hand on Stheno while his normal ones are covered in blood from his veins rupturing before they were thrown to the side. . Axel is spitting out blood from his rib cage and lungs missing but just after throwing up the first gallon of blood, his heart moves back into its normal position. Dr. Blythe makes its appearance and begins to restore his chest bit by bit.
Euryale who lands back down is wide eyed as she was about to rush forward to save Stheno but halts when she finds that Axel remains alive. With blood filling his lungs, He keeps coughing it out but remains lucid through all the pain as he takes the first step forward. Then the second. Then the third and soon enough is before Euryale. Blood covering his chin and chest with his clothes torn to shreds from the explosion. His pants are covered in bits of various chunks of meat from his own chest but luckily his asura ability allows him to remain alive. He isn't even angry at this point. Just annoyed that his clothes are ruined and there is a hole in his chest.
Stheno is still trying to get out of his grip but he just tightens it as he lifts her up further.
"You two glouff, need to cough cough, learn some manners." He states with a bit of blood still being coughed out as he slams stheno head first into Euryale's head with all his available might in one arm. The impact knocks both of them down to the floor and while they are still conscious. His nen conjures a hammer that he then slams onto Sthenos head which is still lying on top of Euryale and that full power impact knocks them both out. Axel dispels the hammer.
"I'm gonna lie down now. Just for a bit" Axel says and does so while Blythe can properly get to work on since all the damage to the lungs is quickly fixed up. Gorgon hands him a potion whilst saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. You are a guest who was harmed in my own home. I've failed you"
"Heh, uh, I don't blame you. Stuck up people are plentiful but I just didn't expect this from people who have lived a long life."He hands the potion to Blythe who dips it's tools within the red liquid. The healing speed increases while small bits are poured on emergency areas.
"I think it's best that I explain a bit about our upbringing to shed some light on their animosity with others." Axel nods in agreement
She goes on to tell the story of how they were raised in an ancient orphanage at a young age where the person who they would refer to 'father' would adopt them. The first few months had been peaceful as they got to know their other siblings but it was soon enough revealed to them that they were being used as guinea pigs for their 'fathers' experiments. Within the experiment chambers were plenty of more children, some with mutated faces depicting wolves and other beasts while others had mechanical parts attached to them for various cybernetic augmentation to enhance their power as the future fighting force against the monsters.
A monster versus monster sort of ordeal. For Gorgon and her sisters, they were experimented on with the Gorgon monster's blood. Medusa was the only one who took to it in its entirety. While Euryale and Stheno got youthful appearances and high magic ability. Stheno also got a bit of agility.
Now it had to be noted that their father was A, a woman, and B, a legend just like they are now. Euryale and Stheno were eventually able to escape and they used their cute appearances and charm to subdue the local village to help fight against their 'father'. During their time away, medusa lost her mind and became a gorgon. In a moment of weakness, she submit to the monster's voice inside her and had gone on a rampage where she broke everyone out and had killed our father.
She eventually broke out where all the villagers were. They laid witness to me devouring our father, our capturer, our torturer. They only knew that she was a legend, a saint, and me, a saint-slayer. That is my legend. My sisters had then had the villagers run away while they worked to help me get my mind back but to the villagers. It appeared as though they slayed me and became saints through that method. They use the name Medusa as a form of anchor to my human origin but I have accepted the path of a beast that I am.
"I see. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten involved uninformed like this' ' Axel accepts that he overstepped his boundaries but Gorgon shakes his head. "This is a good thing for them. Otherwise they might have soon transgressed into the path of calamities with their distaste for normal humans and 'mortals'."
"I can at least be considered a beast of freedom, but they would have become beasts of pride if they continued on this path. Hopefully this serves as a wakeup call to them that they aren't invincible nor that their attitudes are correct." She explains and Dr. Blythe finishes healing Axel. He sips down what is left of the potion to accelerate the setting process of his injury.
"But has your life here in Orario been good? I'd assume that most people would run in terror since they are ignorant of your situation?" he worries for her now that she has openly revealed herself to him.
"People don't run…unless i get too close. The guild has long informed the people of my existence and while people did want me to leave for a while after Evilus attacked the city a decade or so ago. They have calmed down since." She answers his questions and he nods in understanding.
"You are always welcome in my home if your sisters grow too tiresome for you" he says with a tone that tries to be more jokingly to lighten the mood and show he cares.
Axel gets up and Gorgon shows him out but not before she says, "thank you, ill keep your invitation in mind."
Axel nods once more and waves goodbye while she cleans up the mess and puts her sisters to bed, nursing them as well. She rebrews a fresh pot of tea. All for herself now that she knows how the stove works.
Sigh, "it's been a long day" Axel says a bit tiredly as he had crafted his false ring. Cleaned up a hundred avalanches and then fought the sisters of his new magic teacher and had his chest ripped out as a result.
It's late at night now as it took a while for him to recover as well as Gorgon's story. There are very few people walking about. This is afterall still the immortal district. He is making his way through it when a voice coming from a person he had just passed calls out to me.
"Um. Excuse me. I was wondering if I could ask you a question."