I Reawakened as an Inferno Hero-Chapter 52: How?

The ambience was rather too necrotic.

Dour, sad and...

...bloody.

The tears in Axel’s eyes trickled down his face. His head throbbed, his eyes were swollen, his brain seemingly damaged, his backbone broken, and his vision now blurry.

All caused by a monster, a monster who transformed to become his father.

It just wasn’t possible. At all, it wasn’t real?

Axel thought that he was in a nightmare and he should be woken up.

How?

Just how was this possible.

Axel didn’t believe that this was his father, he thought of it as a shape-shifting monster who was in disguise, acting like his father just to kill him.

But then...

His system:

[DEATH AVERTED]

So was this really his father?

A silent noise.

[Hero Profile]

Name: [Axel]

Rank: [Amateur] [F]→

Hero Points: 500/800

+500 for surviving against a villain stronger than the highest ranked Monsyeran monsters who turn out to be your father.

Axel sighed, why so personal?

[Attributes]

Power: 40

Speed: 73

+3 added for running very swiftly after towards the monster.

Endurance: 30

+5 added for enduring through this seething pain.

Intellect: 65

Axel waited for his Skills and inventory to show but it didn’t. He tried to shrug but couldn’t, not when his father was hugging him tight.

He guessed his Skills and his inventory had nothing new in it so there was no need in bringing it up.

He smiled. This seemed to be a great improvement to his system as it earlier brought it up when it wasn’t even needed.

His father now pulled out from the hug. On his face, embarrassment. Looking at the state his son was, he couldn’t help but shed tears, his face full of grief.

The other superheroes watched intently, although not too keen as they were still feeling hurt from their pains. But they stared, shocked at how the monster had decided not to kill them all again and was now a human, a man to be precise, hugging Axel, crying, and then talking to him.

To them all, this was clearly the most eccentric scene they had witnessed in their lives. Although they didn’t know that this was Axel’s father.

"How?" Axel asked, his voice almost a whisper. "How?"

That was clearly the best way to put it. He could only ask why. There was no other way to intone it.

How? expressed many things:

Axel thought he was dead.

How did he survive?

How did he gain powers to turn into monsters?

How is he, just..., how is he here.

Axel’s father only sighed and scratched his head, like the words he was about to say were just too big to be said. Like he couldn’t say it, like he honestly didn’t know how to put.

He began with this though:

"After I shouted at you to enter the portal and awaken powers, you glanced backwards and saw a monster’s claw into the side of my neck. Well, I didn’t actually die. I slumped to the ground, which you saw, but you didn’t actually see me die but you concluded I did."

He took a pause and stared at the others. They didn’t seem to be a problem. All were catching their breaths and nursing their injuries and even Mirrormeld was just waking up since she fainted.

They didn’t seem to listen to their conversation, they were just less concerned and in pain.

They didn’t bother to regroup and take on him. The ’EPIC’ battle that just ended was still fresh in their memory and they didn’t actually want to be in another.

Axel’s father continued:

"I didn’t gain powers but instead mutated them. I sort of awakened them but through mutation. And so, I got the powers to turn into monsters and become very strong. I quickly rushed into a portal to come look for you but when I did so, I couldn’t find you. I scoured the whole Khaos Realm for you and not finding you, I-, I-"

The words seemed hard to come out. It actually seemed like it was choking him in his throat even though he wanted to let it out.

Axel looked at his father’s face with blank expressionless eyes. It seemed like he was just remembering the face again because quite frankly, it looked different. His father now had a beard, one with strokes of black and white.

"And so I was restless. I couldn’t control myself, I turned into this monster and started to kill everything I came across, trying to look, and the more stronger people I kill, the more stronger I become."

Axel was appalled.

"You killed people?"

Axel’s father sighed.

"Well, not really humans, I killed monsters. The only humans I killed were three, and all were very powerful villains. The thing is, I couldn’t really find superheroes in Khaos Realm, seems all had joined the dark side..."

Axel almost scoffed.

’Come to Superpolis’

Axel’s father continued again:

"I stumbled upon a tiny hidden portal and entering it, I came here and so I continued becoming restless, not for once wanting to believe that you were dead. I knew I would find you and I’m sorry if I had beaten you and your friends to stupor, I didn’t mean to."

Axel smiled.

"I believe you dad, I know you’d never hurt me."

That made Axel cry the more and so did his father, it was a perfect family reunion.

They stood up and now, Dan trudged over to them, the other superheroes behind him, his fists clenched.

"This son of a b***h doesn’t deserve to live, I say we kill him."

Axel was surprised with that question.

"Let him be, we’ll explain when we get into the Realm Plunger as it is not that too safe here."

Dan was infuriated. "Bullshit, this monster man is not getting anywhere near the Realm Plunger, he tried to murder us!"

Axel’s voice was calm. "Let him be."

Dan wasn’t hearing him, he was instead shouting:

"I said no!"

Axel’s flames burned more vibrantly now and his body no longer ached him at that moment, he walked over to Dan, looking at him very ferociously in the eyes.

"I said he’s my father!"

Dan shuddered.