Chapter 71 : Frozen

Admiral Maskmana immediately brought Axion to ICU. The medical team immediately tends to her. Kaizo and the rest of his team watch anxiously as she is brought in.

Kaizo remembers the state of her hands. It was frozen. Even her suit was frozen. The memories of sparring with her after defeating Scrozux comes to his mind.

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"Longer than this and I would lose my hand in frostbite," said Axion as she shows her partially frozen hand.

"The ice sword is a magic sword. It emits frozen air. Freezing everything it touches. You saw what happens with your sword when we cross swords right? The same goes for my hand. The longer I use it the more my hand will freeze. Long usage of ice sword would make the user freeze to death," Axion explains.

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"She'll be alright," said Ramenman. Noticing the worry on Kaizo's face.

"You guys. Come here so we can tend to your wound," said a Medical officer.

Ramenman smiled. "Come on, let's go," he said as he taps Kaizo's shoulder.

Kaizo sits on a bed while letting a doctor examine him. Captain Albi sits on the bed beside him.

"Did you know about this?" Albi asked.

Kaizo looked at him. "What?"

Albi turned to him and smiled. "About her power. That ice thing."

"...she called it ice magic," said Kaizo.

"Well, that sounds 'original'," Ramenman chuckled.

"She probably calls it so to make it easier to understand," said Rum.

"Magic... Rubrum does have something similar to the term 'magic' but I'm not quite sure I know what 'magic' means," said Albi.

"It's a rather primitive theory, isn't it? The existence of magic. Some things that are called magic could be science that has yet to be understood," said Lahap.

"That makes sense. Imagine what it was like hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago. People wouldn't imagine that we can make a ship that can fly through the stars," said Ramenman.

"Maybe. But as far as I know Lady Axion. She can show unimaginable things. I wouldn't be surprised if the power she has is indeed real magic and not simply a scientific theory we have yet to learn," said Albi.

Kaizo sighed, "Why are you here anyway? Your Rubrum ships should be right outside."

Albi flustered. "Oh, well-. I was worried about Lady Axion so I instinctively follow you here," he chuckled. He turns to his doctor. "I... hope you don't mind. I'll be in your care."

"Oh, not at all. It's my pleasure," said the doctor.

Ramenman chuckled as he saw Kaizo with an unimpressed expression.

Hours passed. None of Kaizo's team left the medbay. Under normal circumstances, they will look for things to do as soon as they're done with their medical treatment. But for some reason, no one left. They stayed, waiting for news about Axion. The fact that Admiral Maskmana hasn't come out gives more reason why they should wait.

They keep the chatters on and on. Though it may look lively, deep down they know something is wrong. Feeling the uneasiness, they put down the conversation about ice magic and talked about anything else as they waited.

Admiral Maskmana walks out from the ICU. Kaizo's team and Albi looked at him expectantly.

"Admiral," Rum greeted.

"How is she?" Ramenman asked.

Admiral Maskmana silent for a moment before he answered. "Her condition is stable," he replied, short.

His short answer explained it all. Tense builds up in the room. They prepared for the bad news.

"Is she alright?" Kaizo asked. There's so much meaning in his question. Admiral Maskmana can see it in his eyes.

Ice magic.

Admiral Maskmana silent again for a moment. "Her power took a great toll on her body," he finally said. "The ice magic has frozen both her hand up to several parts of her internal organ."

The whole team was shocked.

"What does that mean?" Kaizo asked.

"...her body temperature drops drastically. She suffers from hypothermia. The doctors tried to tend to her slightly frozen internal organs. Though, it seems her body has its own way to heal itself. The frost hasn't reached her heart so she still can survive. But we can't say much about her hands. Both of her hands got frostbite. Her hands have turned black up to her wrist," Admiral Maskmana explained.

"Is she going to lose her hands?" Rum asked.

"Okay. There are so many things going on here..." Ramenman flustered as he shook his head in confusion. "What?!" he exclaimed.

Admiral Maskmana looked at Kaizo for a moment before he decided to say more. "The ice magic she used is a double-edged sword. It can freeze things but it could also freeze herself. Overuse of ice magic can freeze the user to death."

The whole room was shocked upon hearing The Admiral's explanation.

"You saw how she used ice magic to lock all criminals at the Circus. It's very powerful magic," said Admiral Maskmana.

"And because of that magic, she freezes herself," said Kaizo.

"Yes. She almost freezes herself to death," Admiral Maskmana replied. "Almost, make a huge difference," he grimly adds.

"At any rate, her magical condition is out of our knowledge. The doctors do everything they can do with everything they know and learn. Only time can tell us what will happen to her," said Admiral Maskmana.