ANGEL'S LANDING | BL

CHAPTER 17 | THE BILLIONS

Sweat beaded on Axel's temple as he carefully swung Genyr over his head. The sun was nearing its peak in the sky signaling it was nearly time for Axel to begin learning the basic stances of swordsmanship. It had taken him an hour to be able to lift Genyr over his head and another two to be able to swing the blue blade through the air. Recalling how easily Rae had wielded Genyr, Axel knew he had a long way to go before he would be able to move the sword with ease.

Axel had been practicing moving the sword around for seven hours before he could swing it above his head in a controlled manner. His arms and back ached from the stress and power it took to wield the sword, however, he continued to push forward and practice moving the sword for as long as he could.

"Take a break, Axel." Aniela's calm voice reached Axel as he swung the sword over his head for the nth time. "Your body needs to rest."

"She's right, Axel," Makio agreed with his fellow vernal. The raven-haired had joined Aniela in watching Axel a few hours into the hangel's practice session. He had remained quiet up until this point, so Axel heeded his commanding officer's words and carefully lowered Genyr. Makio approached Axel with a bottle of water, which he accepted and drank from while Aniela walked up to him with her arms crossed.

"You're going to pass out at this rate if you're not careful," Aniela said as she took the sword from Axel and slid Genyr into the elegant scabbard she had been holding. "You've just started and haven't built up as much stamina as you need to continuously train like this."

Axel acknowledged Aniela's words of caution with a nod, but he had no intentions of slowing down. It had been nine days since Harlim was invaded, and hundreds of thousands if not millions had already lost their lives to Hades' wrath.

Nine days. It's been only nine days. How long will it take for me to be ready? Months? How many will die until then? I can't waste any time. I must push myself harder. I must do more. Axel's eyes slanted as determination coursed through him. With the new surge of energy, Axel took the scabbard from Aniela and unsheathed Genyr.

"Axel-" Aniela started to stop Axel from continuing, but Makio placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Let him be. He needs to do this. Not only for the billions he will save but also for himself.

Aniela closed her eyes as she heard Makio's voice in her mind. She tilted her head to the side and released a sigh before taking a step back and joining Makio in watching over Axel as he continued to practice. Makio was right. Aniela could only imagine the stress Axel must have been going through. It had not been long since the hangel had lost everything and everyone he held dear. And now, he had been told that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders.

The fate of billions of lives depended on his strength. If he could not master his abilities, the universe would burn.

So, Aniela and Makio silently watched over Axel as the hangel continued to practice the basic stances of sword-wielding techniques.

The sun had just set when Axel lowered Genyr for the final time that day. His arms shook as he set the sword's point into the soft earth. Hurrying over to the exhausted hangel, Aniela quickly took Genyr and sheathed the sword as Makio steadied Axel when he swooned.

"That's enough for today," Makio voiced softly as he held each side of Axel's shoulders.

Axel nodded in agreement as he slowly walked toward the group of chairs Makio had fetched from one of the storage rooms. Makio grabbed a water bottle and handed it to Axel as the hangel sank into one of the chairs.

"Thank you," Axel said as he accepted the water bottle.

"Take this, too," Makio told Axel as he dispensed a vitamin pill. Taking the white pill from Makio's palm, Axel set it on his tongue before taking a swig of water.