Zoey smiled slightly at Lirae's words.
'He has someone he likes.'
Warmth bloomed in her chest. Somehow, she knew it was her, and it made her incredibly happy. Although the sight of numerous women flocking all over him made her clench her hands at her powerlessness.
If only she had enough power, she would've put them all in their place.
But then the chill reached her, and her gaze sharpened.
Why did it suddenly feel like Maera was ready to erase 'that' person from existence?
As the tension escalated, Atticus was soon saved by a whisper that came from beside him.
Nate leaned in and whispered something into his ear. Atticus had heard him clearly, and the words were ones that he should think extensively about before taking any action.
Yet, considering the current situation, Atticus had never been more grateful.
Bowing slightly to the ladies, he quickly excused himself.
"I apologize, but I have something important to attend to."
And with that, he turned and walked out of the banquet hall with swift steps.
The hall broke into murmurs as Atticus left, each one talking about the scene that had just occurred.
The Obliteri Apex was interested in the Human Apex?
It was a scene none of them had thought they would witness in their entire lives. Yet, here they were, with front-row seats to it.
Maera's gaze was focused on the direction Atticus had left in, her eyes still intense.
Leaving the banquet hall, Atticus walked towards where Nate had just told him to go.
'Something is happening.'
The feeling he had before had just intensified. Something was happening, but he didn't know what, and that fact made him feel even more uncomfortable.
'He said Lucas wanted to see me.'
Although he had been in a difficult situation earlier, it didn't mean he had let his guard down. Nate had told him that Lucas wanted to see him for something important.
In the seconds that passed, Atticus had thought about an uncountable number of scenarios in his head.
It was a trap.
He was being led away from his loved ones.
There were a number of things that could occur, and Atticus would like to believe that he had thought of them all.
Despite his current feelings, Atticus had still decided to go.
It wasn't anything other than the fact that this was who he was. He was a man of action, not passiveness.
Rather than waiting for whatever plan was unfolding to reach him, he would go to it.
'Good thing I brought them all here.'
His loved ones were all currently at the banquet, which made protecting them easier in case of any eventualities. They might think they were leading him away from them, but a blip was all he needed to reach them.
'What could they possibly have planned?' Atticus wondered.
He had the strength of a Paragon.
No Apex could match him.
No Sergeant could match him.
Whatever they had planned would be seen through the instant he arrived. His insight and perception were beyond measure. It didn't make sense.
If he had been in their position, Atticus would have chosen to plan around him. To use the element of surprise instead.
But they had made him cautious first. That… that was weird.
'Or…'
'Maybe they have a way to hold me?'
Atticus's thoughts sharpened, and Ozeorth's voice rumbled in his head.
'Although I would love to say that the plans of ants do not matter… I can also sense that something isn't right here. I wouldn't put it past them. Be careful.'
Atticus's gaze hardened, and his guard rose to its absolute peak. He would never let his guard down.
'I don't know what's planned, but I should assume it's something dangerous.'
By now, somehow, Atticus had already reached a conclusion. Lucas was in on it.
'I stand to be corrected… but until this is all over and I speak to him, this will be the status quo.'
Atticus knew nothing about Lucas. And right now, in this delicate and dangerous situation, Lucas was acting weird.
Until proven otherwise, Lucas was not to be trusted.
The banquet hall was in the center of the island. And according to Nate, Lucas was waiting in the forest just behind the building.
A desolate and quiet place. Another cause for alarm.
Atticus moved swiftly, his senses on high alert.
Reaching a clearing in the forest, he stopped just before it.
The moon was full. Its silver glow bathed the clearing in an almost ethereal light. And standing in the middle of it was a single figure.
Hair white as snow.
A slender frame.
Glasses, which he adjusted the moment Atticus's imposing form emerged from the distance.
Tension instantly descended upon the area, gripping, intense.
And yet, despite it all, a small smile still graced Lucas Ravenstein's lips.
Lucas spoke, his voice carrying an air of grandiosity.
"Atticus Ravenstein, the greatest genius to ever grace our world," he announced, as though making Atticus's entrance grand.
Silence.
An intense silence.
Lucas smiled. "As expected." He tried to take a step forward.
"Huh?"
His voice came out in a quiet murmur as his body refused to move. His smile froze.
He glanced around, then looked down at himself, confusion settling in.
He couldn't move a single inch.
Not a single muscle twitched.
He couldn't even channel his mana.
A crushing weight pressed down on his entire being, freezing him in place like a statue of ice. Only two things were given freedom.
His pupils.
And his mouth.
And as his gaze slowly returned to the figure standing just beyond the clearing, he understood.
It was as though a god had judged him. Lucas chuckled.
"You've always been careful." His eyes fixed onto Atticus, who remained just outside the clearing.
His mismatched eyes had shifted into a single color.
Purple.
A glowing, ominous hue that pierced through the darkness of the forest. He appeared like a predator, waiting, watching, ready to hunt.
Yet, he hadn't moved.
He hadn't spoken.
And still, his presence had encompassed the entire forest like an unshakable force, pressing down on Lucas with divine weight.
Lucas exhaled sharply, then chuckled again.
"It's funny."
His voice had an edge of something twisted, bitterness, maybe.
"For someone so talented, who had everything basically handed to him on a silver platter, who's had a life so easy, to be this cautious—"
His lips curled.
"It's funny!" Then, suddenly, Lucas laughed.
A raw, open, unhinged laughter.