Lear panted as he finally stopped in front of the gate. He had almost run half the way through the district.
'Don't die on me, Axel…' He wiped his sweat, and once again made a mad dash towards their staying quarters.
It took him less than a minute to reach the place, and he hurriedly went up the stairs before reaching the door.
"Axel!" He shouted as he opened the door, and the next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief.
He saw Axel on the ground. He was tied to a chair, and it seemed that he had fallen to the ground along with it while trying to struggle out of it. His eyes for some reason were hollow and lifeless. There was no sign of movements on him. His soul seemed to have left his body.
"I-I didn't...d-do this.."
A voice scared Lear, and he turned his head to see Eren sitting beside the door with his knees tucked and his arms wrapping around them. He seemed to be mumbling something, and seemed to be badly shaken about it.
"Eren...Eren…" Lear tried to shake him up, but he wasn't responding. In the end, he forcefully turned his face towards himself, "Look at me! What in hell happened here?"
"I-It was him...I shouldn't have given into his threats….that red ogre...he will make you suffer in hell…"
Lear was speechless for a second. He obviously understood who the red ogre was, but just what in hell did one need to do to leave people mentally unstable like this?
Seeing that his words were not working on Eren, Lear left him be and went ahead to check on Axle.
"Axel? You there?" He lightly slapped his cheeks, but couldn't get him to come to his senses. There didn't seem to be any life in him, and once could probably turn him into a puppet.
'Don't tell me?' Leo gulped inwardly as he nervously brought his fingers close to Axel's nose. Luckily, the guy was breathing. He really wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't breathing honestly.
'He seemed to have fainted due to shock..' Lear muttered inwardly. There was no sign of injury except for the black eye which Axel had. It didn't seem like he had been through much of physical torture.
As for mental torture, well that certainly was a question that Lear didn't want to be answered.
"You are back early?" A voice entered Lear's ear, and he turned his head to see Wilson coming in with a box in one hand, and a bucket in another.
"What in hell did you do to them?" Lear asked him with a frown.
"Well, nothing much. It's just beginning actually." Wilson smiled as he kept the box on the table, and in front of Lear's widening eyes dumped the bucket of water on Axel on the ground .
"Splash!"
"Waahh!!" Axel immediately came back alive. He seemed to have water entering his nose, and began to cough vigorously. He really felt like drowning for a second there.
"Y-You b*stard!!! Yes!! I did you sister!!! Isn't that what you wanted to listen?!! I did it to her! What are you gonna do now?!! Kill me?!! Do it then!! Or I swear, I will kill you one day!" Axel screamed in anger, he wasn't even looking at him. He was just screaming with his eyes closed. He seemed to have lost it as well.
"This b*tch..let me make your dream come true then.." Wilson's face turned menacing, and lighting crackled around his hand as he took a step towards Axel.
But, by the grace of god, Lear was here. If not, only God would know what would have happened today.
"Stop it you guys!" Lear immediately jumped in between, and immediately held Wison back.
"What the hell is wrong with you two? Are you really crazy?" He asked with a frown looking at the two.
"You two need to goddamn diffuse the situation, and not make it worse. Can't you guys just talk with each other, and sort this out. At least have a bit of trust in each other." Lear berated the two.
And, let's just keep in mind that this was the same guy, who hadn't even given Max a chance to explain any thing earlier. He had built a castle in the air through his assumptions, and did the same thing as the two here.
"Don't give me that look! I know I made a mistake with Max earlier, but believe me. It made me understand things well. I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I definitely will not. I already regret it now." Axel said to Wilson, seeing him snort with a mocking gaze. It was written all over his face that 'I don't want to hear this from you'.
"Besides, do you really think that a geek like him could get Erina? Bro, are you blind or what?" Lear asked him with a frown. This really made him speechless. Even a fool could tell if they knew Axel for even a week.
"You assh*le! Whose side are you on! And, that hurt me!" Axel cursed the guy from below.
Wilson obviously understood Lear's words as well. And, honestly he totally agreed with it. That was the reason he was going easy on Axel.
Yes, this was him going east. I mean, he didn't beat him up at least.
But, that didn't matter. He was angry because the damage was done now, even if there wasn't actually anything like that, would people believe it after that thing happened on live T.V.
At least, he could take a bit of his frustration out on this guy. After all, who asked Axel to play that stupid act with Erina? Now, see how much trouble it had caused?
"And give that to me." Lear snatched the box from Wilson. It seemed that only a few materials of Axel had been burned.
Apparently, there were still a few boxes left.
Axel sighed in relief seeing that his Mio-chan was finally rescued.
Lear then went on to untie Axel and calm down Eren.
The situation in the place was finally under control due to Lear's early return. But, the environment was still a bit tense as Axel and Wilson continuously glared at each other while Eren sat in the corner mumbling things.
"Come on guys, just watch something and chill. We are all just friends, you shouldn't get so angry even if one just plays a prank or goes a little overboard." He said with a sigh, and shook his head as he switched on television, "Only idiots would threaten to kill each other over stuff like this."
"A report has come from Trinity, the Feud between the Barnes and Roxley's that has been running from decades has finally been resolved."
Lear smiled looking at the news. He knew about it from Max already. He was really happy. It made things easier for him, and Lora. Now, he only needed to make the girl give in and come out with a confession.
"And, the main credit is seemingly being given to two people from the younger generation."
'Hmmn?' Lear was taken back a bit. He wondered whether Max had somehow earned himself credit during the incident.
"The first one is none other than, Lear Barnes. The youngest son of the Barnes Lord ."
A smile immediately blossomed on Lear's face. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't mind the fame. It seemed that Max had done some work behind the scenes to boost his fame.
He really loved the guy!
"And, interestingly, the second person is the daughter of Roxley Lord, Lora Roxley. According to the source of information, the two seemed to have fallen in love and are dating. This has made the two Houses consider their relations."
"And, love seemed to have prevailed over hatred it seemed. The love of the two young ones was heavier on the hatred accumulated over the years forcing the two families to end the feud which had lasted for years."
"Stories like this are needed out there. It is an example that must be followed…"
The news anchor continued his merry report, but someone else wasn't having a merry time at all.
Lear's face had turned ugly, and he grinded his teeth in anger. He knew very well who was behind it. The guy had after all warned him to be prepared for the present that he was preparing.
"I am so gonna fricking kill this guy…" Lear said with a crazy laughter, which left others speechless at his hypocritical behavior.