Reborn With the Infinite Gods System

"Nameless."

Axel's heart skipped a beat as his attention snapped away from his notifications. His gaze shifted anxiously toward the source of the voice. Standing to his left were two familiar figures: Thor and Trisha. His pulse quickened as he processed their unexpected appearance. How long had they been watching him?

He quickly masked his surprise, burying it beneath a neutral expression, though a flicker of unease betrayed him.

'Shit,' Axel thought, his mind racing. 'They must have seen my ability. I'm not ready for people to know. Not yet. But it's too late to hide.'

Thor, the towering S-rank hunter, stopped just a few feet away from Axel, his imposing presence casting a long shadow over the debris-strewn ground. His eyes glimmered with something Axel couldn't quite place—curiosity? Threat? Ambition?

"How would you like to join our association, Nameless?" Thor asked, his voice low but heavy with intent.

Axel had anticipated this. Rumors of his recent feats were bound to reach the higher-ups, especially after the alien ship incident. Still, the offer stirred an inner conflict. Joining an association was inevitable at some point, but was now the right time? And more importantly, was Thor's the right one?

He clenched his fists, the weight of his past as a weak, struggling hunter rushing back to him. 'I'm not who I used to be,' Axel reminded himself. 'If I join their association now, I'll be shackled, bound by a dog contract. That's not what I want. Not anymore.'

Axel narrowed his eyes, letting his hostility surface just enough to make his point. "Please, call me Axel," he said, his voice cold and defiant.

Thor's expression barely flickered, but Axel could sense the rising tension between them. This wasn't the reply Thor had expected. "What do you say about joining us?" Thor pressed, his tone harder now, more insistent.

Axel locked eyes with the S-rank hunter, his stare unwavering. "No, thank you," he said flatly, his voice a dagger. "You can keep your offer for another dog."

The words hung in the air like a threat. Thor's face darkened, and a low growl rumbled from his throat. His eyes flashed with anger, and for a brief moment, Axel felt the weight of Thor's killing intent bearing down on him.

"Don't get cocky just because you've killed a few Fateks," Thor snarled. "I'm an S-rank, and from what I know, you're nothing but an untested brat."

The air around them crackled with impending violence. Axel could feel the adrenaline flooding his veins. Thor wasn't going to let this slide—not easily, at least. He could already picture the headlines if they fought: "Rising Star Faces Off Against S-rank." It would make his name known, but at what cost?

Sensing the rising storm, Trisha stepped forward, trying to mediate. "Calm down, Thor," she said, her voice firm but measured. "He's still tied to the Tiger Association. He can't join Storm, nor can he join mine."

Her words were meant to defuse the situation, but Thor's fists remained clenched, his muscles taut with restrained rage.

"Then we'll settle this the old-fashioned way," Thor growled, eyes burning with a dangerous gleam. "We fight."

Axel's stomach dropped at the challenge. A battle with a seasoned S-rank was not what he had expected today. 'This guy really doesn't want to let me go,' Axel thought, his mind already racing with strategies, each one more desperate than the last.

Trisha stepped between them, arms outstretched to block their line of sight. "Are you two seriously going to fight here? Now?" she snapped, frustration bleeding into her voice. "Everyone is exhausted. We haven't had a decent meal in days, and the battlefield is already littered with enough corpses. Use your heads!"

Her logic was sound, but both men were too deep into the conflict to care. Still, her words seemed to cut through the haze of aggression, at least for a moment. Thor let out a disgruntled growl, finally breaking eye contact with Axel.

"This is why I don't team up with women from other associations," he muttered under his breath, though loud enough for Trisha to hear.

She sighed, clearly relieved that the tension had subsided, but the undercurrent of hostility between the two men remained palpable.

Axel, eager to change the subject before things escalated again, asked, "How do we get back to Earth?"

His question seemed to hang in the air, and for a brief second, he thought Thor might challenge him again. But instead, Thor's demeanor shifted, the irritation in his eyes fading into something more businesslike.

"The higher-ups have contingency plans for situations like this," Thor explained, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "We have these cubes—devices that create portals back to Earth. They work for a few seconds, just long enough to get through."

Axel's eyes widened in surprise. 'A cube? Could it be like the one given to me in the package?' Anxiety gripped him as memories of that mysterious item resurfaced. He had a sudden, overwhelming urge to see Thor's cube, to compare it to the one in his possession.

Before he could ask to see it, Trisha spoke up again. "One of us will need to stay on the ship for a while, to search for any other survivors," she said, her voice carefully neutral as she looked between Axel and Thor. "The others can use the cube to return."

Her suggestion hung in the air like an accusation. Silence followed as both men stared at each other, neither willing to volunteer. The tension returned, thicker and more suffocating than before.

Trisha broke the stalemate. "Thor should stay," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Thor's eyes blazed with fury. "What? Why the hell should I stay? Why don't you stay behind?" he barked, his voice dripping with resentment.

Trisha scoffed, arms crossed defiantly. "Do you have no courtesy for a woman?" she asked, her tone mocking.

Thor's jaw clenched, his fists tightening by his sides. "Fine," he spat, his voice like venom. "But when I get back, we'll have that duel."

Axel felt a knot of unease in his stomach. 'He really isn't going to let this go, is he?' He stared at Thor, the weight of the upcoming battle pressing down on him like a vice.

Axel met Thor's gaze one last time, his expression hardening. "I won't lose," he said quietly, his voice a deadly promise. "Prepare to lose."

Thor's lips curled into a dangerous smile, and in that moment, Axel knew their conflict was far from over.