Spineus had spoken in perfect human language without any ripples or weird accents in his voice. One would think he was human if not for his distinct features.
Vertebrae had made sure to train Spineus in every single aspect from his childhood. Despite speaking in the human language, it was an entirely different sound that reached the ears of the civilians.
It was as though the artifacts were automatically translating every single word he said into the bone race's language, which the majority of the civilians would understand.
It was very clear that Vertebrae had thoroughly prepared for this event.
"Human," the fronts of each hover car suddenly ignited in unison, their lights shining directly on Atticus. Despite the sun's intense light, the golden lights were still very visible.
If it hadn't been clear before, it was now evident that they were here for Atticus.
"You killed our third prince, Zekaron the Unyielding. That affront will not go unpunished!
"I stand before you as a warrior. You have killed an important member of our race; you must face the consequences. None of these able warriors will interfere. Fight me, and the winner will take the loser's head."
Spineus suddenly stretched out his right hand, a golden folded paper appearing in it.
Atticus' gaze narrowed slightly as soon as he saw the item that had just appeared, but he wasn't the only one. The gazes of the students watching, especially the tiered, also narrowed in shock. That paper… it was a mana contract!
A wide smile marred Vertebrae's face as he fixated his eyes on the screen in front of him.
He was still at the top of a high and imposing skyscraper, hands still clasped behind his back.
Words could not begin to express how happy and proud Vertebrae was of Spineus. His words, his actions, his demeanor, the intensity in his voice—it was all perfect!
What made him even more excited was his declaration at the beginning.
'It's a good thing he declared it now. The masses, whether willingly or unwillingly, will have the subconscious notion that he is the apex of our race. It's perfect!'
This was exactly what they needed to kick-start their takeover! Vertebrae had made sure to keep Spineus away from Mortrex's eyes over the years, but it was very obvious that this would reveal practically everything to him, including Spineus.
However, after this, Spineus would become far too loved by the masses for Mortrex to do anything. This wasn't the human domain where anyone with power could just do whatever they wanted.
For the bone race, the majority of them would rather die than be forced to serve a person they didn't want to serve. This had been one of the reasons for their numbers being whittled down to this extent. If not for the emergence of higher-ups who chose to accept the humans' terms, they would have gone extinct already.
"So this is your replacement, huh," Mortrex said, drawing Viviana closer and planting a kiss on her cheek. Both of them were still at the top of the massive skull, a large screen showing Spineus and Atticus facing off.
However, Viviana's expression remained impassive, not even responding to the kiss. Her eyes were fixed directly on Spineus on the screen, her expression unreadable.
Mortrex sighed. "Why don't you just go introduce yourself to him?"
Seeing no response, Mortrex shook his head. 'I really fell for a weird one.'
…
The eyes of the academy's instructors shot up, many of them immediately standing in protest. "This is outrageous! How dare mere slaves try to use a mana contract on our youths!"
The majority of the protesters were first-year instructors, who were the most supportive of Atticus. The other years were also enraged but eventually decided to keep quiet.
They each turned their gazes towards Isabella, expecting her to be even more incensed by the unfolding situation, but were immediately shocked to see her looking at the screen calmly instead.
Many were baffled but didn't ponder on it for too long. They turned towards the second person they felt would be in support of them and instantly regretted it.
Jared had already sat back down. He had somehow found another cart of food, a wide grin on his face as he started munching. His gaze was fixated on the screen, and it was clear to everyone watching that he had absolutely no intention of interfering.
Many turned away from the lost cause, focusing on Isabella once again, but as they were about to speak, they discovered the reason for her silence.
"Stand down. No one is allowed to interfere," a voice suddenly resounded across the room, causing the instructors to pause. The voice left no room for argument; it was straightforward and succinct.
Hearing Harrison's command, despite feeling reluctant, they settled into their seats. Isabella remained unfazed throughout the scene as though she had already expected this to happen.
'Of course he was planning something,' she pondered.
…
The entire space was enveloped in another palpable silence after Spineus's declaration, broken once again by him continuing to speak.
"Yes, your lives aren't actually in danger, so why should you sign this?"
Spineus unfolded the paper, swiftly biting his finger and drafting a contract.
"It's admirable, having people that would stand by you even during the worst of situations."
As he finished, he folded it back and created a small platform made of bones beneath it. With a thought, it started moving slowly toward Atticus.
Spineus's voice suddenly took on an icy tone.
"You have two options: sign this and fight me one-on-one, or watch as I torture each one of your companions until they beg me for mercy."
Spineus's words were followed by the warriors of the Ossara family each unleashing their thick auras in a collective and resounding show of force.
The message was clear: sign or face the consequences.
Ember held her spear tightly, the temperature of the surrounding area decreasing rapidly. She stood in front of the group like a silent goddess of ice.
Zoey instead wore a baffled expression as the sound of Lumindra's laughter echoed in her head.
'Hahahahahaha.'
'What the hell?' She just couldn't understand why her petite spirit was laughing during this situation.
Aurora had long since joined in, her whole body enveloped in searing flames, with Orion standing just beside her, gripping his two swords tightly.
Kael's clothes tore as he suddenly grew in mass and height, the red aura enveloping his figure exploding.
Everyone was watching. From Magnus and Oberon, with the latter sipping a small cup of tea ever so slowly, to Mortrex and Viviana, to the civilians of the bone race, to Vertebrae.
They were all focused on one individual, Atticus, each of them curious to see what he would do next.
Everyone watching expected him to react in a multitude of different ways:
Explode in anger.
Immediately attack without even caring to speak.
Try to escape or talk his way out of the situation.
Some even assumed he might commit suicide so he would get teleported away.
However, Atticus did none of these.
Instead, everyone watching the screen couldn't help but be baffled as Atticus simply raised his arm and tapped his artifact, not uttering a word.