After staring at Axel's face for a moment, Ciri narrowed her eyes. From a distance, she silently mouthed a few words.
"You know me?"
"Oh, it's Ciri. What a rare surprise."
Axel grinned and casually tossed Saburo Arasaka's head toward Arasaka Tower.
The head shot through the air like a missile. Guided by Axel's telekinesis, it smashed through multiple obstacles, including an active elevator shaft.
Before anyone inside could react, Saburo's still-bleeding head landed directly in Yorinobu Arasaka's hands.
At the same time, Axel called out to Ciri from nearly two hundred meters away.
"Ciri, give me a minute. I have some business to finish here. After that, I'll buy you a drink, and you can tell me about the White Wolf and the Wild Hunt."
"What?!"
The shock in Ciri's eyes deepened.
She wasn't looking at Axel anymore.
She was staring at the head that had just flown hundreds of meters through a building.
Beheading someone wasn't difficult by her standards.
Throwing a human head with enough force to cross that distance and punch through walls was something else entirely.
Even the strongest witchers she had ever heard of couldn't do that.
While Ciri stood frozen, Axel turned toward the stunned Yorinobu.
"Yorinobu, I need to leave for a while. Take good care of Saburo's head. My toilet still needs it.
When I come back, if it's damaged, I'll replace it with yours.
Good luck."
"Wait, Boss! You're leaving now? What about our security? You brought fewer than ten people, and the entire corporation is watching us. We..."
Boom!
Axel raised his hand and slammed it downward.
A deafening explosion echoed across the city.
Moments later, a colossal crater appeared in the distance.
Ciri's jaw nearly hit the ground.
She stared at the devastation in disbelief as Axel continued speaking as though nothing had happened.
"There. You don't have many enemies left now. Good luck."
"But... the medical center... the doctors..."
Yorinobu stared at the live feeds.
The facility was gone.
The medical staff were gone.
Everything was gone.
How exactly was he supposed to preserve his father's severed head now?
A thought kept repeating in his mind.
Why not just throw my head into the toilet too and get it over with?
Exhausted, he lowered his gaze and met the fading eyes of Saburo Arasaka.
Axel ignored him.
"I don't care how you manage it. Figure it out.
If I don't see Saburo's head when I return, I'll come looking for you."
With that, Axel picked up Michiko Arasaka's head and walked through the terrified crowd toward Ciri.
Seeing Ciri, Michiko took a breath and spoke.
"Lord Axel, her clothing is unusual, and her appearance is quite distinctive. Do you actually know her?"
"The head talks?!"
Ciri immediately pointed her sword at Michiko.
Noticing her reaction, Axel glanced at Michiko and casually prepared to toss her away.
Michiko immediately panicked.
"Lord Axel, please don't abandon me. I can still be useful."
"Then be useful to someone else. Good luck."
Axel tossed her head into the arms of a bewildered Arasaka employee.
The man caught it on instinct.
Axel waved at him.
"That's Michiko Arasaka's head. The corporation is finished anyway. Enjoy your promotion."
Ignoring the chaos behind him, Axel continued toward Ciri.
As he approached, Ciri stepped backward.
Half her body disappeared into the glowing portal behind her.
She raised her sword.
"Don't come any closer, Higher Vampire."
Axel blinked.
"Higher Vampire?"
"Don't play dumb. Power beyond reason, a human appearance, and impossible abilities. What else would you be?"
Ciri's expression turned cold.
"I never expected to find something like you outside my world."
She stepped backward again and vanished into the portal.
Just before disappearing completely, she raised a very deliberate middle finger.
Axel rolled his eyes and stepped forward.
The world around him shifted.
Sweet, unfamiliar air filled his lungs.
Several meters away, Ciri spun around in disbelief.
"Impossible! I crossed into another world. How did you follow me?"
Before she could finish, Axel casually grabbed her wrist.
"Don't touch me!"
Ciri immediately attacked.
Her sword flashed toward his neck.
Clang!
The blade struck his skin and bounced away.
No matter how much force she used, she couldn't even scratch him.
"Damn it!"
She changed tactics and launched herself at him.
Moments later, she realized nothing she did could move him even slightly.
Axel simply looked amused.
"Finished?"
"I'm definitely not finished."
"Good."
He lightly patted her shoulder.
"Relax, Ciri. I'm not one of the monsters you're thinking of.
If you need a simple explanation, think of me as a god."
"I don't care about your title."
"Neither do I, honestly."
Ciri narrowed her eyes.
"You know me. That means you've been to my world before."
"Something like that."
"Strange."
She studied him carefully.
"I've never heard stories about anyone like you. And trust me, someone like you would attract attention everywhere."
She folded her arms.
"You know my name. You know about the Wild Hunt. So what exactly are you?"
"Someone who can solve your Wild Hunt problem without much effort."
Axel released her wrist and casually ruffled her hair.
Ciri immediately swatted his hand away.
"If gods spend their time messing with people's hair, that's a poor advertisement for gods."
"Fair point."
She glanced around the unfamiliar forest.
The trees towered overhead.
The vegetation was unlike anything she recognized.
"You should pay attention to the world around us. Even gods can have enemies."
Axel shrugged.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Then he frowned.
"You really haven't washed your hair in a while."
Ciri stared at him.
"I've been running from the Wild Hunt across multiple worlds. Bathing hasn't exactly been a priority."
"Fair enough."
She pointed toward the forest.
"Besides, I was planning to rest in the last world until you showed up."
Ciri suddenly stopped.
Something in the grass caught her attention.
She crouched and picked up a massive scale.
The scale was larger than her hand.
"This came from something enormous."
She examined it carefully.
"It resembles a dragon scale, but it doesn't feel like any dragon I've encountered."
After a moment, she rushed toward a nearby tree and started climbing.
"If you're not planning to kill me, help me out a little. I need a better view."
As she climbed, another thought struck her.
"Wait."
She looked down.
"How did you even get here?
The Aen Elle told me I was unique. Crossing worlds should be my ability."
Axel smiled.
"So you've already met the Aen Elle."
"Unfortunately."
She climbed higher.
"Their king was far less impressive than he thought he was."
Axel laughed.
Ciri continued.
"You're not connected to the Wild Hunt, are you?"
"No."
"Good."
She paused.
"Because if you were, this conversation would be going very differently."
"Noted."
A few moments later, Axel floated into the air.
Ciri suddenly felt herself rising as well.
Her eyes widened.
"Now that's useful."
The forest stretched endlessly beneath them.
Glowing plants illuminated distant fields.
Beyond the horizon, the ocean shimmered under the light.
For a brief moment, Ciri forgot about the Wild Hunt entirely.
"This place is beautiful."
Then her expression changed.
She stared into the distance.
A massive shape crossed the sky.
"Is that..."
Her eyes widened.
"A dragon?"
Several kilometers away, a giant red dragon flew through the clouds.
"Did we end up in a world ruled by dragons?"
Axel followed her gaze.
"No. That's just a dragon."
"Just a dragon?"
"More specifically, a fire dragon."
He pointed farther away.
"And not the only one."
Ciri turned.
In the distance, two more enormous dragons were locked in a fierce aerial battle across the sky.
===
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