Eletantron stared at Atticus with such intensity that the air around him vibrated.
"I told you," he said, his voice sounding like steel. "I will make you regret this."
And then it ca, his killing intent. It bled into the air like ink spreading through water, thick enough to fill an empty ocean.
In the human domain, screens had appeared all over once again, just like in the past during the Nexus and many other events.
They showed the live image of Atticus, hovering just beyond the Aegis Shield, facing off against Eletantron, Jezenet, and the dragon elders. Just behind them were three massive warships, ready to get into action at any given mont.
And despite being in the safety of the Aegis Shield, many of the people watching still found themselves shuddering.
Sothing about Eletantron's presence pierced right through the screen. His hate, his bloodlust, felt like a force all its own.
It wrapped around him like a cloak, drenched the skies like a warhead ready to burst.
And from his eyes alone, it was clear: if given the chance, he wouldn't stop at Atticus. He would wipe out the entire human domain.
Many humans watching felt their spines chill, their eyes trembling. To think… to think they had actually considered betraying their Apex to side with Eletantron.
They had thought there was a chance for Eletantron to spare them.
But with that one look, everything was made plain.
He wasn't coming to spare.
He was coming to erase.
And his chilling words sohow echoed across the domain. Everyone heard it. Every last one of the humans. And they knew without a doubt, it had been ant for their Apex.
They waited for him to respond…
Yet… the response never ca.
Seconds passed. Long, stretching seconds. But still, silence. Atticus wasn't even looking at him.
He wasn't looking at Jezenet either.
And the dragon elders… well, they weren't worth looking at in the first place.
Instead, Atticus turned his head slowly, left, then right. As if he were searching for sothing else entirely.
As though the ones in front of him didn't matter.
The air turned tallic in an instant.
Jezenet's bloody aura surged, roaring through the air, and her voice thundered across the sky.
"Wretched human trash!" she spat, her claws extending.
"I've waited for this day… the day I finally get to remind you of what you are."
Her eyes radiated an intense crimson.
"You humans are nothing. Weak, pitiful insects scrambling for survival while clinging to the strong. Compared to us, you are nothing but filth."
Her gaze cut into Atticus like a dagger.
"You will die. And I will be the one to break you."
Another long mont of silence passed. And as the seconds dragged on, Jezenet and Eletantron's fury only grew, swelling to staggering levels.
Their killing intent thickened the air, pressing down like a star about to go supernova.
Because Atticus… had ignored them once more.
He was still looking around, casually, as if the two overwhelming presences in front of him weren't even worth his ti.
At this point, insults between them were pointless. It should be. They clearly wanted to kill him no matter what, so why should they care if he returned their words or not?
But that wasn't what shook them.
They had been waiting for this day. The both of them. The day they would finally put him down.
Despite his age, despite what he was, they had unknowingly taken Atticus as their enemy, the one they hated most.
And yet…
He hadn't done the sa.
He hadn't even acknowledged them.
That disregard… it rattled their bones. Chilled their hearts.
To think they had marked soone as their sworn enemy, only to find he hadn't even considered them worth the title.
And still, Atticus didn't seem to care.
While their rage continued climbing, his mind was spinning, completely elsewhere entirely.
'No one…' Atticus thought to himself.
The instant he stepped out from the Aegis Shield, the first thing he did was scan several kiloters ahead. Every breath of air, every tremor in the ground, every hint of mana.
He had to be sure. He had to know if any others were nearby. Most importantly, if the Gardener was on site.
But there was no one.
And that… disappointed him. At the sa ti, it made him wary.
'What's his plan?'
Just because his goal was to wipe out all his enemies at once didn't an he had stopped thinking.
Eletantron and Jezenet each had three cores. He had five.
Yes, their strength had risen greatly and their battle power was clearly no joke. But Atticus didn't believe for a second that the Gardener thought they could win.
This wasn't coming from a place of pride. Instead, it was fact.
And considering everything Whisker had told him about his brother, the Gardener wouldn't make that kind of gamble.
Which ant…
'He's planning sothing.'
Unfortunately, the lack of information made figuring out what impossible. The Gardener was from the mid planes, aning a whole new realm of powers Atticus knew nothing about. Which made predicting his moves almost impossible.
Still, there was nothing he could do. Not now, anyway.
Finally, after so seconds, Atticus stopped scanning.
He turned.
His gaze locked directly with Jezenet, whose body was already bristling with rage, her form beginning to twist and transform.
Then, calmly, Atticus spoke.
"You work for the Gardener."
Jezenet's eyes widened in shock.
She hadn't expected that. Not even a bit.
'How did he…'
She couldn't understand it. Couldn't wrap her mind around how he'd known.
As far as she knew, the Gardener had never shown his face in public before. He always gave her orders from the shadows and had never acted himself. The fact that Atticus knew him… she couldn't make sense of it.
"H-How?"
It was Eletantron who asked, just as shocked. They both worked for the Gardener, and to them, he was soone above their world, untouchable, unreachable. Yet Atticus had spoken his na like he knew him personally.
The dragon paragon elders watched the interaction silently in confusion.
Many of them were already mid-transformation, and their killing intent was bleeding into the air. When Atticus ca out from the shield, they had expected the battle to begin instantly. They were ready to rip him into bits.
But instead, they were… talking? The Gardener? Who was that?
Regardless, even they understood they hadn't attacked yet. Eletantron and Jezenet weren't stalling.
They wanted to see Atticus break.
To watch the cold, indifferent mask he always wore crumble when faced with overwhelming odds.
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