The figure who spoke those words moved. His body did not even become a blur before vanishing completely from where he stood, leaving behind only a loud WHOOOSH as the ground beneath his feet cracked apart. The very next moment he was already in front of Atlas, his slim sword leaving its sheath as it descended from above in a clean vertical slash aimed directly at Atlas.
To everyone watching, time seemed to slow around the two of them. Atlas remained standing exactly where he was without moving even an inch, his eyes did not even lift toward the incoming blade. Among all those present, only the SS-ranks could somewhat follow the attack, while the S-ranks stared with contracted pupils as they watched that speed for the first time in their lives. To them, the attack had already exceeded what they believed an Explorer could achieve.
Even Alberion’s expression changed slightly as a thought crossed his mind. ’Even some of the strongest Knights and Revenants of the Elven Continent haven’t displayed this much speed...how is this even possible?’ Just as that thought appeared, another scene immediately caught his attention. His brows slowly furrowed as he looked ahead.
The sword that was only moments away from reaching Atlas suddenly stopped. Not only the sword, even the figure himself froze in front of Atlas as though all the momentum he had built had disappeared in an instant. Time seemed to return to normal while everyone frowned in confusion. ’What just happened?’ The same question appeared in the minds of every person present, including the remaining SS-ranks.
Before anyone could understand the situation, something white appeared around Atlas’s right hand. It was the same transparent Spirit Blade everyone had witnessed before, quietly extending from his palm while Atlas himself had not changed his posture since the beginning. Their eyes immediately shifted from the blade toward the SS-rank standing in front of him.
His body remained standing for only a brief moment before it slowly separated into two pieces. The upper half slid away from the abdomen while the lower half collapsed in the opposite direction, blood and internal organs spilling onto the ground the instant both halves landed. Silence filled the surroundings as every SS-rank, every Special SS-rank and even the S-ranks stared with widened eyes, none of them able to understand how a fellow SS-rank had been killed before any of them even saw Atlas move.
One of the SS-ranks standing beside the broad-built Angel, a female figure immediately dropped to her knees.
"Guuakh!"
She threw up onto the ground while keeping her head lowered, unable to look at the body that had been cleanly split apart. The grotesque scene before her was enough to make even someone of her level lose control for a moment.
Alberion immediately turned his head away from the corpse before instinctively looking back toward Atlas. Almost everyone else did the same. Atlas himself had not moved from where he stood, his eyes fixed on the white Spirit Blade extending from his right hand as it trembled ever so slightly. This...was the first time he had killed a person. Not a monster. Not a monster inside a Ruin... A real person.
He had acted purely on instinct. The moment the thought of killing crossed his mind, his body had moved before he even thought about the consequences. Only now, after everything had already happened, did the weight of that action begin settling inside him. It wasn’t his body that reacted, but his mind. Although his expression remained unchanged, countless thoughts quietly surfaced one after another.
’...What did I just do? Could I have simply knocked him unconscious like the others? Why does this feel...different?’
Another part of him seemed to answer these churning thoughts almost immediately, ’He was going to kill me, If I had hesitated, I would have been the one lying there instead.’
That much was undeniable, this world had never been fair to begin with, the strong decided the lives of the weak, and the weak disappeared without anyone remembering them. Atlas understood that better than most...yet even after accepting that fact, the hollow feeling inside his chest refused to disappear. It remained there quietly, making him realize that understanding something and experiencing it himself were two completely different things.
His mind stayed blank while countless thoughts continued appearing one after another, making him stand there without moving for a long moment. Around him, no one spoke. Every person present remained frozen where they stood, their eyes fixed on Atlas himself.
The remaining SS-ranks finally exchanged glances before communicating through telepathy, ’We should leave. Romanos died at a speed even we couldn’t perceive. Forget about the Relic...this Human is far stronger and stranger than we assumed.’ The broad-built Angel was the first to speak.
Another SS-rank immediately replied, ’Can’t you see his condition? It was probably his first time killing someone. He’s completely distracted right now. If all of us attack together, we can still kill him.’
Both of the remaining SS-ranks turned toward him before the third one finally spoke, ’Have you lost your mind? We don’t know what abilities or techniques he possesses. Yesterday he escaped the Guild with some kind of spatial ability, today he killed Romanos before any of us could even react. If you want to gamble your life, do it yourself. I won’t.’
His gaze shifted toward the female Angel still kneeling on the ground, ’Alesria can’t even stand after seeing Romanos die. That should answer your question.’
The next moment he disappeared and reappeared beside Alesria. Crouching down, he held her by both shoulders before turning toward Himalton and the others.
"I and my companion Alesria will withdraw from this matter. We will not pursue Mr. Atlas anymore. I apologise for the trouble our Angelic Individuals have caused."
He gave a slight bow before disappearing together with Alesria. The remaining two SS-ranks silently looked at one another for a brief moment before making the same decision. Neither of them wanted to become the second Romanos. Both vanished without saying another word, leaving only Atlas, the Asfalon members and the unconscious S-ranks behind.
No one stepped forward, No one even spoke.
Every pair of eyes remained on Atlas, waiting to see what he would do after killing an SS-rank with a single strike.
Among everyone present, Alberion was affected the most. The moment Romanos’s body had separated into two pieces, every intention of fighting Atlas had disappeared from his mind. It was no longer caution or hesitation...it was fear.
A fear so intense that every instinct inside him screamed not to move another step toward that Human. As he looked at Atlas, the black silhouette he had seen surrounding him the other day seemed even larger than before, as if it had become far more terrifying after witnessing what Atlas had just done.
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