Atticus stood, facing Cedric in the middle of the pristine white room.
Cedric examined him and said with a smile, "Looks like you're ready."
In response, Atticus gave him a resolute look. Cedric recognized the determination in Atticus's gaze, and his smile widened. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for how far Atticus had come.
However, Cedric knew he needed to offer a dose of reality. "Regardless of how powerful you've gotten," he began, "From what you told me, those people outside are Expert rank, one entire rank above you. That isn't something you can easily bridge, even with the second art."
Atticus couldn't help but agree with Cedric. He knew that facing three Expert-ranked individuals was an incredibly challenging task. But he had to try, at least to hold on until help arrived.
Cedric pondered for a moment. He knew why the Katana had brought Atticus here, despite knowing that the second art alone might not be enough to overcome the situation.
Each time a life weapon's wielder died, their souls were stored within the weapon. This was both a form of punishment for their failure and a way to train the next wielder. The trapped souls could only find freedom if the new wielder accomplished what they couldn't.
Cedric had a solution in mind, though it came at a significant cost. But he had already made his decision.
Looking at Atticus, he assured, "Don't worry, there'll be a surprise waiting for you when you get to the other side."
Atticus was taken aback. "A surprise?" he began to ask, but the scene started to recede abruptly.
Everything around him suddenly darkened, and an unimaginable surge of power welled up within him.
**
"No, stop!" Aurora's voice thundered as she shouted at the woman approaching Atticus, who lay motionless on the ground.
"Don't you dare touch him!" She yelled, her fiery aura intensifying. Aurora managed to stand, and with flames blazing around her, she dashed toward the woman, who had turned to face her with a sinister grin.
The woman effortlessly caught Aurora's hand and delivered a punch to her abdomen. Aurora gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of her.
Just as the woman was about to strike again, she swiftly moved her head to the right, and an ice spike pierced the space where her head had been moments ago.
In the blink of an eye, the woman vanished from her position and reappeared in front of Ember. She executed a sidekick, sending Ember tumbling through the air, crashing into a tree.
"Hahahah, this is so thrilling! Come, come, come! Hahaha!" the woman gleefully shouted, touching her face with an eerie glee.
Up in the air, the two remaining men hovered, suspended. The one with a sinister aura, Vorlock, spoke with a chilling smile, his voice sounding inhuman. "Kekeke, Malora is going through her fits again," he crackled.
The Obsidian Order had always attracted the most sinister and deranged members of society. Only those truly unhinged would worship an alien race that clearly sought to dominate their planet, and most members of the order reflected this insanity.
The man floating beside his giggling companion maintained a serious expression.
"Oh, calm down, Astrion, she's just having some fun, kekeke," Vorlock said, jokingly.
Astrion's cold eyes turned to his companion. As their gazes met, a shiver ran down Vorlock's spine, and it felt as though he were being observed by a predator. Beads of sweat formed on his brow.
Astrion quickly averted his gaze as if he were an inconsequential ant.
Taking a deep breath, Vorlock exhaled heavily. Despite being an Expert-rank like Astrion, he knew he couldn't hold a candle to him.
In the Obsidian Order, strength and talent were everything. Although they recruited almost anyone who sought to join, one's progress within the order depended on their strength and potential.
Astrion possessed one of the rarest bloodlines in the human domain—a space bloodline. He was invaluable to the order and was immediately taken as a disciple of Alvis upon joining.
He knew Astrion's character well. Since Malora was preoccupied with fighting the others, any of them could have gone after Atticus.
However, Astrion was proud—incredibly so. He disdained the idea of killing a 10-year-old pulp, not because he considered it morally wrong, but simply because he believed it beneath him to perform such a task.
Vorlock cleared his throat quietly and turned his gaze back to the battle below. 'I'll just leave Malora to handle it,' he thought.
At this juncture, the rest of the trainees had all joined the fight. They all knew that there was no escape, especially under the two menacing gazes of the men floating above.
For the Ravensteins, courage and resilience were ingrained in their blood. They would rather perish in battle than die as cowards.
But not everyone shared this sentiment.
Some remained at the back, cowering and writhing in fear. Among this group, one could spot Helodor, hidden behind a tree, bent down with his hands on his head, shaking while muttering incomprehensible words.
Hella and Orion, on the other hand, moved with astonishing speed, utilizing the power of air and elemental mimicry to enhance their swiftness. Both armed with swords, they simultaneously attacked Malora from different angles.
However, with minimal effort, Malora gracefully evaded their attacks. She sidestepped, watching with a sinister grin as both swords sliced down on her left and right.
The momentum of their strikes carried them forward, but before they could get far, Malora swiftly grabbed their faces. With a sudden spin, she slammed them brutally into the ground.
The other trainees also unleashed their powers, filling the air with an array of dazzling colors. Sophie, Aria, and other archers positioned themselves at the rear, releasing arrows at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, Nate and the other trainees with various abilities launched their attacks. Yet Malora's grin widened as she weaved through their assault effortlessly, her speed defying tracking.
In an instant, each of the trainees received brutal blows to their faces, leaving some with mushy, crushed features, while the more resilient ones teetered on the edge of consciousness.
Malora reveled in her rampage, inflicting torment upon the trainees with sadistic glee. In an instant, she incapacitated them all, leaving them sprawled on the ground.
"Ahh, that was refreshing," Malora purred, savoring the thrill of her actions.
Just as she contemplated extending her torment to those who still retained consciousness, she suddenly felt an icy gaze upon her.
She looked up, her gaze meeting Astrion's chilling stare.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath and started making her way toward Atticus.
'They've been floating up there all this while, why couldn't they just do it?' she thought in annoyance.
As she advanced, a girl with an aloof expression and a spear, followed by another girl with blood-red eyes, stood in her path.
"I won't let you hurt him," Aurora said, her voice sounding weak, her legs trembling underneath her, blood seeping from her mouth.
Ever since Atticus had helped her, they had grown very close. He was her first friend, something she held very dearly.
After being alone for so long, there was no way she would let someone take that away from her!
She mustered all her strength as her fire blazed, taking a stance that seemed to scream, "I won't let you pass!"
Ember stood beside her, using her spear as support. She had taken more damage than Aurora, and coupled with the fact that she was already injured to begin with, she was barely hanging on.
Her body was covered in frost, and a cold mist had formed around her as she gazed at Malora with an even colder expression.
Ember was angry. She was angry at her own weakness. If only she were more powerful, would they dare to do all of this? Would they dare to stand in her way?
These bastards had taken her father from her, and now they wanted to take away another member of her family? Like hell she would let that happen!
She mustered up the last of her strength and got into a stance with her spear, the cold mist seeming to grow even colder.
Malora's smile widened even more, stretching her lips to an unnaturally grotesque extent, revealing her teeth in a sinister grin that sent shivers down anyone who saw it.
"Ahhh," she moaned in ecstasy. This was it. This was what she loved to see. The determination to not give up and the expressions on their faces when she took it away from them!
Before Ember and Aurora could react, she disappeared, and they immediately felt a powerful force grabbing their faces and slamming them into a tree, causing them to cough up blood.
Malora repeated this action, hitting them against the tree again and again, each impact breaking bones in their bodies, causing them to let out piercing screams of agony.
In the midst of the forest, Ember and Aurora's screams pierced the night, drowned out by Malora's insane, madwoman-like laughter.
Within this relentless onslaught, the counternance of a white-haired boy within a small crater went unnoticed as his piercing blue eyes flickered open.