Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Meanwhile....

Back inside Solara, Atlas remained standing beside the open window of his room, his gaze fixed on the streets below. The panic that had swept through the city only moments ago had already begun to disappear. The people who had rushed out of their homes and buildings gradually returned to their daily routines, although their conversations still revolved around the same topic.

Every group spoke with complete confidence about their Queen, believing there was no possibility that the unknown monster could threaten someone who stood at the absolute peak of Celestara.

Atlas quietly listened to some of those conversations without interrupting his own thoughts, their confidence was understandable. Even from the brief exchange he had witnessed, the Queen had displayed a level of composure that no one below or at the same level of SSS-rank individual could possess.

From the moment she appeared before the monster until she took it away from the city, she had never shown the slightest urgency. Even after witnessing the monster’s strange structure and abilities, she had looked more curious than threatened.

After observing the streets for several moments, Atlas shifted his attention far away from the Inn, ahead toward the Guild building. High above it, a lone figure still floated silently in the air. Atlas had ignored him until now because every bit of his attention had remained on the confrontation above the Palace, but with the battle now moved elsewhere, that figure naturally caught his attention.

Enhancing his perception, Atlas observed the man more carefully before recognizing him almost immediately.

’The Guildmaster? or is it one of his clones?...Why didn’t he move when that monster appeared? Did he already know the Queen would handle everything herself?’

The Guildmaster had remained in the same position from beginning to end, simply watching the events unfold without interfering. Considering the overwhelming pressure the monster had released earlier, Atlas found that reaction somewhat strange.

However, after thinking for a brief moment, he dismissed the matter. If even someone as powerful as the Guildmaster had remained still, then perhaps the appearance of the Queen had already answered everything.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, another presence suddenly entered the range of his perception.

Atlas’s expression changed slightly.

Someone was approaching the Inn at astonishing speed. Unlike ordinary movement, the person’s entire presence seemed to blend perfectly with the surrounding wind, making it difficult to distinguish unless one observed carefully.

’A Unique Ability...but who is it?’

His perception followed that presence without missing a single movement. Within only a few seconds, he realized the destination was not simply the Inn itself.

It was his room.

The moment that conclusion formed, Atlas immediately stopped observing the Guildmaster. Without wasting another second, Spirit Energy flowed quietly through his body as he activated one of the Traits he had recently assimilated inside the Abyss-Rank Ruin.

Spirit Cloak.

It was the Trait he had obtained from one of the A-rank monsters guarding the Boss Gate, before the creature even had the chance to use it he had already beheaded and had taken that trait.

When Atlas first read the description recorded inside the Bloodbound Codex, even he had questioned whether its rank had been classified correctly. Judging only by its name, Spirit Cloak sounded like nothing more than a concealment ability, something that merely hid the user’s body from sight. The actual effect, however, was far more abnormal than that.

Instead of concealing the user through illusion or camouflage, the Trait folded the surrounding space itself around the user’s body. Rather than becoming invisible through ordinary means, the user was effectively separated from the space others perceived.

For a Trait recorded as merely A-rank, such an effect felt completely unreasonable.

The next moment, Atlas activated it, He immediately felt the surrounding space respond.

The air around his body twisted inward before folding over itself in an almost imperceptible manner. A brief ZZZTZZ sound escaped into the room before everything became completely silent once again.

The distortion covered only a small area around him, just enough to envelop his entire body. Once the process finished, the room appeared exactly as it had before. The furniture remained untouched, the curtains still moved gently with the night breeze, and nothing within the room suggested anything had changed.

Only Atlas himself had disappeared.

His figure could no longer be seen. His Spirit Energy vanished entirely from perception, and even his physical presence seemed to have been erased from the room.

Atlas quietly examined his surroundings once before nodding slightly while thinking inwardly, ’Even now...I still think this Trait shouldn’t be A-rank.’

Barely a second passed before the presence he had been observing finally arrived.

A sharp current of wind slipped through the open window before gathering naturally inside the room. The wind circled once before a figure silently emerged from within it, there was no sound of footsteps, no Spirit Energy fluctuation announcing his arrival, and no unnecessary movement that would have alerted any Explorer in that Inn unless they ranked Higher, and if they were higher rank, they simply did not care.

The newcomer stepped into the room as though he had always been there.

One hand rested lightly upon the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist while his sharp eyes immediately swept across every corner of the room.

’I clearly sensed him here...where did he go?’

Kaelion carefully observed everything before him without lowering his guard, ’His Spirit Energy is too distinct. I couldn’t have mistaken it for someone else’s.’

Every corner of the room entered his vision one after another. The bedroom, the couch, the dining table, even the bathroom entrance yet...still Nothing.

Atlas had seemingly vanished, Hidden behind Spirit Cloak, Atlas silently watched every movement the Angel made.

That confirmed his suspicion he had.

He had never concealed himself simply to avoid this unknown Angel. From the moment he sensed someone heading directly toward his room, he had already decided to determine who this person was, why he had come searching for him, and whether his purpose involved the Relic, the recent assassins, or something entirely different.

From the way the Angel had entered without making a sound before immediately searching the room, Atlas could already tell one thing with certainty.

This man had come specifically for him. Unlike the assassins from before, however, this person was an Angel.

That was what stopped Atlas from killing him immediately, Before deciding anything else, he needed answers.

And the simplest way to obtain those answers...

...was to capture him alive.

Atlas slowly adjusted his footing without making even the slightest sound. Spirit Cloak remained active while Spirit Energy stayed completely suppressed inside his body.

The next moment...

He moved.

His body disappeared from its original position as overwhelming speed carried him across the room before even the surrounding air could react.

At almost the same instant, Kaelion, who had still been searching every corner of the room, suddenly froze.

Every movement of his body stopped.

His instincts screamed.

A sharp warmth pressed lightly against the side of his neck, accompanied by a familiar fluctuation of Spirit Energy that he recognized immediately.

His pupils contracted.

Atlas...

...had already appeared behind him.

A Spirit Blade rested quietly against Kaelion’s neck. There had been no footsteps, no sound, and not even the slightest indication that someone had moved before the blade had already reached its destination.

Atlas’s calm voice echoed behind him.

"Who are you?...And why were you searching for me? Speak...or I kill you."

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