As soon as Vorlock saw Astrion's head falling from the sky, his heart immediately constricted in utter shock. It was as if his whole world was falling apart.
Astrion losing to a child? He didn't think such a thing was possible.
It should be noted that Astrion was known as a genius amongst geniuses in the expert rank. Vorlock could count on one finger the people in the human domain in the expert rank who could fight him head-on and not lose instantly.
Astrion's space bloodline was just that overpowered.
But to lose instantly to a child? Vorlock gave himself a little slap on the cheek to see if he was dreaming, but the slap seemed to bring him back to reality and out of his thoughts, as if his brain had just started working.
'What the heck am I still doing here!?' he thought frantically, suddenly realizing the dire situation he was in.
'Who cares if he's a child? What matters is that if he was able to kill Astrion that easily, what would happen to me?!'
Despite how deranged an individual could be, there was always the instinct for survival in everyone.
Without wasting any time, Vorlock turned and started moving away from the scene at fast speed. His intention was clear: he was running away for his life!
But would Atticus allow that?
At a speed Vorlock could barely fathom, countless azure slashes suddenly sliced through his body. The slashes were so fast that he didn't even feel a thing.
They continued onward, cutting the trees in front of Vorlock.
'What was that?' he immediately thought as he saw the slashed trees in front of him, but only silence greeted him.
And then suddenly, he heard the sound of a voice that sent shivers through his whole being.
"Katana Series, 2nd art: Endless Strike,"
And as if that was the initiator, Vorlock wasn't able to react as his form started splitting, beginning with his head, then his torso, hands, legs. Vorlock fell down in pieces, lifeless.
Atticus sheathed his katana coolly.
He suddenly let out a very deep exhale. Although the battles had been short, they still took a lot from him. Every single inch of his body was being stressed trying to contain that huge amount of energy.
He was sure the only reason he still felt full of life was because of the energy still coursing through him.
Atticus knew that one of the main reasons he was able to handle this energy was because of his Mythical talent. Handling this power without an exceptionally adaptive body was suicide.
Talent simply meant how well an individual could adapt to mana compared to the rest, while ranks indicated the level of mana one's body had already adapted to.
And at each rank, regardless of talent, each individual basically had the same mana levels in their body.
Although this energy coursing through him wasn't just mana, Atticus knew his talent played a big role in containing the power.
He had instinctively known that if the energy was a little higher, his body wouldn't have been able to handle it. It was as if the source of the energy knew exactly how much he could handle.
His katana, suddenly letting out a bright glow, drew his attention. And as if a vacuum was quickly siphoning something away, Atticus felt the power coursing through his being being drained.
In less than a minute, he was left utterly drained.
It was as if his 'batteries' were suddenly taken out. He felt tired, his entire body ached, and the mana in his core was completely empty.
He was using only sheer willpower to remain standing. Atticus couldn't help but gaze at his katana. 'Was it Cedric?' he pondered.
Cedric had told him to expect something before he left the Life Weapon's realm, so it made sense that he would be the one who gave him the boost in power.
But Atticus couldn't help but wonder, that sudden gain in strength... it couldn't be without consequences, right?
Atticus was well aware of Cedric's situation inside the Life Weapon. He was basically a prisoner, and the fact that only his soul was in the realm made it even more mysterious.
How had he managed to give him such an extraordinary boost in power, and at what cost?
Atticus's gaze bore into his katana as if searching for answers, but the latter simply let out a subtle vibration.
Atticus, who was bound to it, immediately knew what it was feeling—it was feeling shy.
The revelation made Atticus chuckle, which sent a wave of pain through his body. For such an all-powerful weapon that basically enslaved the souls of its wielders, its reactions were surprisingly innocent.
The situation seemed to make Atticus relax a bit, but his mood seemed to change completely as he gazed at Vorlock's mutilated body.
That's right, he had killed 4 people today. Atticus couldn't help but take in a deep breath.
Earlier, when he had killed that man to save Ember, Atticus had felt sick and disgusted at his actions.
Regardless of how cruel and indifferent he was to others, regardless of how cruel and brutal he could be to others, taking the life of another human being was profoundly different.
Ending the life of a human being who had dreams, goals, and aspirations wasn't something one should just ignore, no matter how evil the person might be.
Only a deranged psychopath could end a life and not even think about it again, something Atticus clearly wasn't. Despite having a burning desire to have his revenge on the being that sent him here, Atticus had actually never thought of killing him.
But all of these feelings were discarded when he had almost died and was sent to the Life Weapon's realm. In the realm, for months, Atticus constantly trained and trained until he couldn't lift a finger.
He was constantly alone in his thoughts. Apart from constantly worrying about what was happening outside, despite knowing that time was moving slowly outside, it was during that time that Atticus was able to calmly think about everything.
Was murder wrong? Was taking the life of another human being wrong? Does having a good justification make it right? After pondering these questions for months, Atticus finally reached one answer: it doesn't matter.
He could say he killed that man because he wanted to protect Ember. He could say he killed Astrion and Vorlock because he was only defending himself and trying to protect everyone.
But that, in the end, was just an excuse. It didn't change the fact that he took another human being's life. It didn't change the fact that he took the life of a person who could have loved ones waiting at home.
Atticus was a lot of things, but he was never a hypocrite.
He had accepted these facts. He had accepted that he was selfish. He had accepted that he was a murderer. He had accepted that he would do whatever it takes to protect himself and his loved ones, no matter the cost.
Yes, he had killed those men. Yes, he had taken another life.
If the same situation ever arises again, would he still take the same approach? Would he still take the life of another human being? Yes, he would do it again without any hesitation!
Atticus's eyes seemed to blaze with intensity as his resolve firmed. "To protect myself and loved ones, I'll become selfish."