Ever since they separated while defending against the blast, Aurora had been worried sick.
It wasn't only Atticus; she had also been looking at and mapping where he would crash with the intention of rushing to him as soon as possible.
Unlike Atticus, she hadn't been burnt by the fire, and this was all thanks to him, but she had been able to see everything.
From how Atticus had protected her and, in turn, how intense the fire that had ravaged his body was when he had been blasted back.
It was all because of her! This thought kept playing inside Aurora's head. She had tried countless times, and no matter how many times she tried, her fire bloodline wasn't responding.
Not even a spark. And considering the way Atticus had defended against the flames, it was clear the same thing applied to him too. He couldn't use any of his elements.
There was only one thing that came to her head as she saw those flames ravaging his body: he was gone. But no matter how long she looked, there was no golden light.
That fact had completely sunk her heart, hoping that he hadn't died for real.
Despite suffering some injuries from her fall, she had immediately wanted to head towards where she suspected Atticus had fallen, but she unfortunately met those men in purple suits and had ultimately been captured.
"I'm glad you're okay," Aurora whispered softly, tears welling up in her eyes as she held Atticus tightly, as though she wouldn't see him again if she let him go.
"Me too," Atticus smiled warmly, patting her head softly for a second before his gaze turned cold once more. "We have to leave now."
Aurora seemed to notice the urgency in Atticus's tone, and she released him from the hug and immediately tried to stand up but failed miserably as her legs trembled, unable to hold herself up.
Atticus grabbed her and supported her before she could fall.
Atticus gazed at Aurora, noticing the scorch marks on her body along with dried-up patches of blood. Hell, even her hair was the roughest he had ever seen it before.
Taking out a healing and stamina potion, Atticus instantly fed it to Aurora, waiting for a few seconds for it to take effect.
"H-hey! A-Atticus, right?! Help us too!"
Atticus's gaze snapped to the side, focusing on one of the other prisoners who had just spoken. He recognized the youth; he was among the second years, the 10th rank to be precise, as Atticus remembered seeing him at the back of the line.
Because of his happy reunion with Aurora, Atticus had almost forgotten there were other students present in prison.
Gazing around him, there were about just 12 in number. 'The others had most likely been transported elsewhere. Lucky bastards.'
Just as he was about to walk towards the one who had just spoken, another student suddenly spoke up,
"Y-yes! You have to help u-us!" one said.
"We have to stick together in order to survive!"
It was as though they had all realized something. Atticus was under no obligation to help them. In fact, it made more sense for him to abandon them.
They were all competitors; why would he help them? They realized this fact and they each decided to speak up and plead immediately.
But none of them could have ever expected what happened next to happen, as before the others could speak up, the sounds of two brutal thuds suddenly resonated in the space.
Each of them turned their gazes to see the heads of the two guys who had just spoken snap to the right, their left cheekbones deforming beneath the weight of a heavy force.
Atticus had hit both of them with such force that they had immediately lost consciousness, their forms slumping on the floor.
Atticus's cold gaze landed on the forms of the chained-up youths, the intensity in his gaze causing them to involuntarily gulp.
Despite the fact that they were all more or less the same level of strength, none of them could ever forget the monster that was Atticus Ravenstein. His actions at the academy were ingrained in their minds.
They all shut up, none daring to make any sounds again.
Seeing that they had gotten the sentiment, Atticus walked towards them and started freeing them one by one.
This had been his plan from the outset; the only reason he knocked out those two was that they were each about to start making noise and in turn attract unwanted attention to them.
After freeing them, Atticus brought out a healing potion from the main space storage and shared one between the two he had knocked out.
He had no idea if this was real or still a game; he had no intention of having teenage blood on his hands, especially when they hadn't done anything to him.
"Are you ready?"
Aurora clenched her hands and turned to face Atticus, responding with a determined nod. Before she could react, Atticus suddenly scooped her up in a princess carry, making Aurora turn flustered.
"Bear with me until we leave here; the escape has to be fast. Hold on tightly," Atticus advised, placing Aurora on his back. Compared to Atticus, Aurora was more or less petite in stature. Carrying her was effortless.
Aurora came out of her flustered state and held Atticus tightly, her expression turning serious.
Without uttering a word to the students who were still trying to regain their bearings, Atticus coated his feet with mana and exploded with speed, running towards the wall and scaling it easily.
Seeing this, the students all acted fast and started following him, none having any intention of remaining behind.
Atticus had gotten into the camp; they were sure he had a way to get out.
But Atticus had no intention of waiting for anyone. He had done his best for them already, freeing them. Asking them to follow him would be nothing more than shooting his own foot.