Lucas voice rang out into the still night, uncaring about the weight crushing him.
"Everyone respects you! People follow you without hesitation! Even the air around you feels divine!"
As his laughter continued, tears began to streak from his eyes. Yet, his smile remained. His glasses slipped, falling from his nose, but he couldn't adjust them.
Still, he laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
Like a man who had completely lost his grip on reality.
Then, his voice dropped to a whisper, still smiling as he spoke.
"Your life is so envious, Atticus. I envy it so much. It's so—"
Before he could finish, Atticus's voice cut through his words.
It was not a question.
It was a demand.
A weight heavier than the world itself.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
"What are you up to?"
Lucas's laughter stopped, and his face settled into a quiet sigh.
'He knows.'
It was obvious now. Atticus already suspected him.
Lucas smiled wryly.
"Has anyone told you that you're too smart for your own good? I—"
The pressure intensified.
Lucas's knees slammed into the ground with a thud. A grunt escaped his lips, but his body still refused to move. His mana still refused to respond.
He felt pain emanating from his knees, but he wasn't given a chance to focus.
Atticus's voice came again, colder than ice.
"Who are you?"
"What are you up to?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind.
"A-Atticus? L-Lucas?"
Lucas's gaze flickered, but Atticus remained still. He didn't turn back as he had already felt them approaching.
He had already seen them coming before he even reached the clearing, but he had allowed it. It was better for them to be closer than farther. At least now, he could protect them better.
The voice belonged to Nate, who stood at the edge of the clearing behind Atticus, his expression filled with shock and confusion.
And he wasn't alone.
Aurora had been the one to tell Nate to take her. She had wanted to find Atticus, intending on giving him an earful for leaving her behind with those vixens.
And since they had nothing else to do, the others had chosen to follow.
Aside from Aurora and Nate, Zoey, Kael, and a handful of Ravensteins were also present.
They each stared at the scene in utter shock.
Lucas Ravenstein, the one they had always seen as quiet, reserved, and an intelligent individual, was currently being held down by Atticus. The one they all respected. The one they all followed.
What was happening?
Lucas forced a smile.
"Nate."
Nate blinked.
"Yo bro… what the hell did you do?"
Nate could feel the current mood. He could feel Atticus's aura, and it wasn't good.
Atticus wasn't the type to get angry over trivial things. In fact, unless someone was actively trying to harm him or someone close to him, Nate had never seen Atticus get this way.
Yet… he was, to Lucas?
Lucas chuckled.
"Why did you automatically assume that I was the one who did something?"
Nate frowned.
"Atticus wouldn't do this unless there's something…" He sighed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure—"
But as Nate was about to take a step forward, he froze.
He couldn't move a single muscle.
He had been immobilized.
His eyes shifted to Atticus, the one responsible, only to see that Atticus wasn't even looking at him.
His focus remained completely on Lucas.
A chill spread out, subtle at first, then an intense killing intent flooded the forest.
At this point, Atticus's killing intent had become a force of nature.
The breeze stilled.
Even the trees and leaves didn't dare to move.
Aurora, Kael, and Zoey's eyes were serious.
The trio trusted Atticus with their lives, and more than anything else, his judgment. If he said something was wrong, then something was wrong.
Atticus's voice sounded again, deeper than before.
"This will be the last time I speak to you."
Killing intent crashed onto Lucas, so intense that his entire body trembled in fear.
Lucas's expression changed, turning serious.
'He means it.'
He instinctively knew, this was no bluff. It was a threat. And Atticus wouldn't hesitate to cut him down.
Lucas sighed.
"Alright… I'll tell you. But in return, I have a favor to ask at the end of this."
As he said this, everyone listened carefully.
"When I was six, my home was attacked. My entire family was captured. It happened at night, silent and quick, and no one noticed.
"But we weren't killed. We were taken to some unknown place. There, I was separated from my family and put together with numerous other children.
"There were so many of us, and I realized it wasn't just the Ravenstein family that was targeted like I initially thought. No… everyone was there.
"Children from every family in the human domain. We were kept in that place for days until we were finally moved. And then I made another discovery…"
"We humans weren't the only ones kidnapped. They even took children from the other races too. Although I was young, I knew then… it was probably the end of my life."
His voice grew quieter.
"Then they started coming for us, batch by batch. Each day, our number dwindled. We didn't know where they were being taken to, until my turn came."
"I was taken to a lab. I was experimented on. Constantly. For days. Weeks."
Lucas smiled faintly, bitterly.
"Apparently, the only reason no one ever came back… was because everyone else who had gone in died due to the experiments.
It went on for months. And eventually… only a handful, hundreds out of thousands, survived."
The forest remained eerily silent as Lucas spoke.
Everyone listened, their expressions filled with varying degrees of disbelief and unease.
Nate was speechless. He could feel the pain in Lucas's voice. The thought that he had gone through something like that… it shook him.
The others were more level-headed.
None were as close to Lucas as Nate, and so they could think clearly. And they all came to the same conclusion, he was a traitor.
But Atticus's mind was elsewhere.
The moment Lucas mentioned experimentation, Atticus's purple eyes had glowed.
He scrutinized every inch of Lucas.
By now, even Lucas's spatial ring had been removed. Atticus had flung it far from the area. He hadn't even touched it, as he wanted to avoid any risk.
And still, as he scanned Lucas, there was nothing.
Aside from the ring and a few engraved slates he had already discarded, there was nothing else.
Atticus had even examined his clothing and glasses.
Still nothing.
'So why?'
Atticus's caution intensified.
He couldn't understand it.
He had immobilized him. He had suppressed his mana. Lucas couldn't make a move.
So why… why was he still feeling regret?
'It increased.' Atticus's gaze sharpened.
It was now stronger than before. More intense. He could feel it.
A powerful, overwhelming regret radiated from Lucas.
Atticus's fist clenched tightly. There's only one way to end this.
Death.