One couldn't blame the people too much; they were all simply far too used to the cold and detached Viviana Ossara.
From the way Illa had behaved just before his death, it was very obvious that Vivian was feared even more than Mortrex himself.
Mortrex turned his gaze towards his wife, Viviana, his expression turning soft. "You really have to find a way to curb your violent tendencies, Vivi. You're being seen as a psychopath by everyone," he remarked.
"Even you?" Viviana turned and met Mortrex's gaze. Her expression didn't change at Mortrex's words, but instead, she locked her intense gaze as she asked.
Mortrex shook his head. "You are a psychopath; there's no lie there," he said, turning and closing the little distance between them. He placed his hands around her waist, bringing her petite figure closer to him.
Viviana didn't resist, but she didn't react either. Her hands were still placed firmly by her sides, her intense gaze looking up at Mortrex.
Mortrex suddenly gave out a charming smile. "But you're my psychopath," he added.
Viviana's expression still remained impassive, not a single ripple. But the red tint on her cheeks was evident.
Many would be baffled; the great Ossarch of the bone race, one in which many respected and feared, along with the ice-cold queen, was currently acting like a normal husband and wife, which was a stark contrast to how they usually acted while in public.
"Try to tone it down a little bit. A woman as beautiful as you shouldn't be this brutal," Mortrex traced his fingers through Viviana's white hair, causing her to audibly clear her throat, her cold ice facade crumbling.
"He killed our son," she muttered.
"Yes, but he did so fairly. No, it wasn't fair; if anything, Zekaron was cheating, and he still lost," Mortrex replied.
Viviana released a deep sigh as she heard her husband's cold words. The two of them were far too different; she couldn't help but wonder how she fell for him.
Her falling for Mortrex was the real reason why Viviana had abandoned her father's cause. She had never cared for it in the first place and had only been going with the flow.
The world might deem her as cold and psychotic, but she knew herself well. She loves what she loves and kills what she hates. She was simple, and so was Mortrex.
Mortrex followed a set of ideals to the last detail. And he imposed these ideals on his kin the most.
Even if his whole children were killed, he wouldn't seek revenge as long as it was done fairly and by someone in their generation.
Mortrex sighed seeing the look on his wife's face. He had no idea what was going on through her head; she couldn't even kill Atticus!
With a soft kiss, he turned away from her, returning his gaze back towards the unfolding scene.
…
The students' screams were deafening and intense, suddenly increasing in intensity as they watched the screen.
Something that was once two large screens had suddenly merged into one. This was a confrontation that every single one of them had been anticipating for a very long time, ever since the competition began!
The crowd had seen what the students had been planning behind the scenes; they had seen everything they had done. They had even gone as far as hearing all their important talks and plans.
And now, it was finally time for the big confrontation. Their blood was pumping!
"FINALLY!!!" Gon screamed at the top of his lungs. "IT'S TIME FOR THE BIG SHOWDOWN!!!!"
The students cheered loudly as the coliseum quaked.
"KICK THOSE COWARDS' ASSES!!!!" Nate screamed at the top of his lungs, earning a smack on the back of his head from Lucas who heard his bad language.
Not only Nate, but the rest of the Ravensteins youths from first to the third years screamed at the top of their lungs.
"GET THEM!"
"SHOW THEM WHO THE RAVENSTEINS ARE!!"
"KILL THEM!!!"
The screaming Ravensteins couldn't help but pause, their baffled gazes turning towards the one who had spoken the last words: Chubby.
But he didn't seem to care that he was being looked at by the others. The only one who could make Chubby scared was currently participating in the competition; he was free to do whatever he wanted!
"MURDER THEM!!!" He continued screaming whatever he wanted.
But amongst the screaming crowds, the location where the loudest cheers were coming from was where the members of the White omen Division were seated!
Their leader was dominating the leader's summit; how wouldn't they be insanely proud!! The more than a thousand students screamed.
A slight tension engulfed the entire booth where the instructors were watching the competition. Unlike the Enigmalnk instructor who didn't actually care about the results and were only following instructions, the rest of them were feeling nervous about the outcome of this confrontation. They actually wanted a higher year to win.
To this effect, none of them even cared about how cowardly the students were to be doing what they were currently doing.
Atticus and Aurora streaked through the air at blazing speed. He had been able to put a lot of distance between himself and the hover cars hot on his trail, but he could feel them closing in fast.
Of course, as soon as he left the city, Atticus had tossed away the sigil he suspected they were using to track him, along with a dead body, before changing directions, hoping to lose them. But he could see that it didn't work.
'This fire is a dead giveaway; I have to change the way I'm moving,'
Atticus had always made it a necessity to remain calm in any situation, especially in dangerous situations.
With a calm expression on his face, his thoughts spun, multitudes of scenarios appearing in his head as he pondered on the different ways he could escape this situation.
'Should I unlock earth and go underground?'
Before Atticus could continue this thought, he suddenly noticed something up ahead.
It was the same thing the millions of students watching the screen had noticed a while ago.
On the path at which Atticus was flying, just a few hundred meters away from him, suspended high above the air were multiple individuals.
These were individuals each of the students watching the screens knew all too well and had been following their movements since the beginning of the competition:
Zezazeus Enigmalnk, Gerald and Seraphin Stellaris, Sonorous and Harmonic Resonara, and lastly, the first ranker of the third year, the Starhaven youth that Atticus had seen before the start of the competition, Dante Starhaven.
Each of them stood at the frontlines, and just directly behind them were the figures of each of their respective subordinates.
Zezazeus' eyes were glowing, the air around him and the rest of the students appearing weightless.
The Enigmalnk had a bloodline related to intellectual prowess. And amongst their abilities was what he was currently using, telekinesis.
His two hands gripped the handles of his chakrams tightly, his demeanor firm and his expression the personification of focus as he fixed his gaze on the incoming Atticus.
He was ready for battle.
"Finally! I've been waiting for 9 months already!" The excited exclamation of Seraphin sounded, followed by him pumping his fist together with an excited grin on his face.
"Easy, little bro. Stick to the plan," a large hand suddenly ruffled Seraphin's hair, prompting him to turn his gaze to his side to see Gerald looking at him with a small smile.
"I know, big bro. I'll follow the plan, but I'm going to make sure I pummel the hell out of his stupid face,"
Gerald simply shook his head and turned towards Atticus' approaching figure, his gaze turning serious.
Sonorous, who was beside him, seemed to notice his serious gaze but said nothing to calm him down. They had each seen the video clips of Atticus' rampage in the academy.
Many would deem it incredibly cowardly that they had banded together to face off against one first year, but at this point, none of them cared anymore.
They weren't willing to take any chances and had decided to join their forces together. The number of insults they would receive from doing this wouldn't be small, but regardless, they were doing it.
Only the victors had the authority and privilege of writing history.
Sonorous had been fascinated ever since the first time he watched Atticus battle with Gerald, and that fascination turned into slight fear when he saw what he did to the second years.
None of the third years could follow his
movements; it had been that mind-blowing.
But now, gazing at his restricted and weakened figure, he couldn't help but feel a slight excitement.
"Don't forget your side of the deal," Dante Starhaven turned towards Zezazeus and spoke, but the latter didn't even bother to turn towards him or offer a response.
His thoughts were racing fast, thinking about everything that had happened so far. Before, it had been just a small grudge; he had simply wanted to put Atticus in his place, but now it had spiraled into something more.
'He's watching,' the grip on his weapon's handle tightened. He couldn't afford to lose.
Words could not begin to describe the current tension of the situation.
More than half of the third-year students gathered had seen with their naked eyes the brutality that was Atticus.
Now they were standing as the enemies of this same monster. It couldn't be helped; a few of them, especially the subordinates, had their hearts beating fast.
Atticus' figure neared, and they each brought out their weapons, their aura exploding.
The sun shone brightly as Seraphin, Gerald, and other Stellaris students suddenly erupted in a blinding radiance, a bright golden light engulfing their bodies in an instant.
Zezazeus' gaze narrowed, his mind the epitome of clarity.
But unlike what they were each expecting, there was not a single shred of panic in Atticus' gaze.
The one against whom each of their enmity was directed had his lips curled up into a huge grin as his gaze landed on each of them.
Atticus' speed exploded, his perception ramped up to full throttle.