I Reawakened as an Inferno Hero-Chapter 19: Decision Taken

He had finally made a decision, and now time could continue at its usual pace.

The wind tore right into his face, and now he could hear the last stretch of Dan's voice.

Dust's body was looking like a cloud—only the wind was blowing it, and it appeared like he was dissolving. Not away, but around. The dust's components swirled around him.

Axel's decision was, well, to go after Dust and Corusca. Of course, it sounded daft and dumb, but he was going with his gut.

SWOOSH!

Axel went after them. Corusca was raising his hands up in the air, conjuring the portal.

It was a swift move, very fast, because soon a shimmering portal was in front of him. It was tiny, but nonetheless, Axel thought they would just fit.

The flames around Axel's body sliced through the air. And ZOOM! His flamy fists were delivering a punch to the side of Dust's jaw.

Dan (Electro Sonic Fists) had already summoned the portal. It was a large thing, seemingly looking like it would contain a very large elephant.

Dan was shouting very angrily now.

"What are you doing!"

His hands were forward, the portal blazing, and then reducing in its blazing appearance, looking dimly lit. He was still holding the portal and shouting at Axel:

"Damn, don't do this. I can't hold this portal open for long! It drains my energy!"

Axel acted like he wasn't hearing him—which, obviously, he wasn't, noting the mode he had entered.

Dust reeled in the air with the punch and hit his head on a wall, making him slide down and hit his head on the ground again.

Axel spun himself very briskly in the air. Doing so, he rotated like a drilling machine and thrust himself at Corusca, who fell with that, a loud cry even escaping from his mouth.

Dan was shouting loudly now.

"If I close the portal, you're on your own! Enter!"

Axel looked at him and said—a shout, actually:

"I'm coming, a sec!"

Axel was about to use the golden armor, but he stopped. He wasn't in trouble now, so he didn't see the need to use it. That was his earlier plan—to use the golden armor and tear these villains apart. But Corusca had been his best friend before this apocalypse stuff, so he didn't see the need to cause any harm to him.

And so Axel only stared intently into the eyes of Dust and came at him, holding him by his neck.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Corusca only looked at Axel, there on the floor, his hands behind him, also by the floor. He felt terrified by the sight of Axel, the Inferno Hero.

Dan was grunting loudly now. He had now concluded that Axel was a jerk, and if he hadn't been sent to rescue him and bring him safely to Superpolis, he would have abandoned him.

In fact, he saw Axel as a big jerk. He was in pain—a big one—and the person he was enduring it for didn't know the sacrifice he was making because of him.

Dan saw Dust and Corusca, all right, but he didn't know them. And so, there were many villains in Khaos Realm and Superpolis. Going after all of them unnecessarily would be a waste of time. Moreover, the only reason he had defeated the monster was because it was a menace and was going to hurt people.

"Damn!" Dan finally said. What was he even doing?

With a loud grunt, he clapped his hands, and that closed the portal.

The thing was, he wasn't mad at Axel for fighting villains but for it being uncalled for—and at the worst time, when he was supposed to enter the portal that would get them out of this goddamn city.

Damn!

Dan rushed over to where Axel was.

"What was that, man?" he asked. "Why are you fighting these villains? This place has got enough of them already."

Axel dropped Dust hard to the ground now.

"They're up to something. They want to go into Khaos Realm," Axel said. He pointed to Dust's shoulder, even touching the place roughly.

"Look at this symbol. It's the same as the one we saw on the dead monster's shoulder!"

Dan was thunderstruck by the words. So, after all, he had been underestimating this kid. Perhaps Axel was onto something, and he had been insulting him in his mind earlier.

He smiled at the thought.

Maybe he was the jerk after all, and not Axel.

Dan gently pushed Axel aside from Dust and held the latter by the neck, slamming his back against the wall.

"Who do you work for?" Dan asked.

Dust almost looked appalled.

Dust remained silent, and when Dan was about to throw him a punch, he twisted his face—and the shape and form also shifted, leaving it faceless and with a hole.

Dan punched the hole, and his clenched, gloved fist met the wall behind him. Without even giving space for Dan to react, Dust made himself a spear and drove it into him.

THOOOM!

That lunged Dan onto the ground. Axel was about to intervene and attack Dust, but instead, he received a shocking sensation that drove through him.

It was like he had hugged a transformer.

He fell to the ground and lay there. Dan was now struggling to get up.

Dust and Corusca quickly plunged into the skies—Corusca flying and Dust swirling himself up.

Axel was about to chase them when he saw a cascade, just in the corner of his right eye, of bullets aimed at them.

He quickly, not even minding his own safety, grabbed Dan by his cape and threw him upwards.

He followed and shouted:

"Please summon the damn portal!"

Men and women in corporate suits, thick, heavy, and dangerous-looking guns in their hands, were all firing bullets at them.

Dan was weak, but nonetheless, he shook his head sideways and tried to gather his strength. Then, with all the power left in him, he spun in the air and thrust his hands forward, summoning the portal.

And then...

BOOM!

It was in front of them. Axel didn't hesitate this time. He plunged into it, catching a last glimpse of Dust and Corusca entering theirs.

Dan, too, entered the portal and...

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Zilch.

...it was no more.

The bullets being fired from the people in corporate suits just went into the air.