Atticus had walked a significant distance into the cave already, but he just couldn't shake this terrible feeling; something about the current situation was wrong.
Magnus' words replayed in his mind. 'Trust your instincts,'
Atticus repeated those words and suddenly stopped moving. He should not ignore the fact that his instincts were screaming at him.
Atticus turned his gaze up and focused it on the ceiling. 'In a setting like this, the problem will always come from here,'
Atticus maintained his stare even after some minutes had passed. And just when he thought that it might have been a false alarm, Atticus saw movement.
It was very little, very subtle, but it was definitely movement!
A small part of the darkness on the ceiling had moved, briefly showing the glowing fungi on top of the ceiling.
Atticus turned his gaze downwards slowly and noticed the large number of fungi on the floor and then upwards to see the completely pitch black ceiling.
Atticus froze, a frightening realization setting in. The ceiling and walls were also supposed to be covered with glowing fungi; however, something or an army of somethings was currently covering them.
The huge fact that there was an army of beasts around him made his skin crawl.
'I have to run,'
Atticus made sure not to make any major movements and carried his gaze away from the creature that had just moved.
However, the creature's eyes suddenly snapped open as though it could feel the tension in the air. Its eyes immediately landed on Atticus, easily seeing through his darkness.
Both their gazes met, and it was as though the quiet cave became even quieter.
Atticus immediately knew he had been spotted, and the next course of action naturally followed.
Atticus placed his whole concentration on the air molecules in the atmosphere and formed an invisible barrier that covered an area of 30 meters around him, even the ground.
He made the barrier as thick as possible just in time for a loud screech, intense and guttural, to echo through the air.
Atticus' barrier held, not a single vibration or noise leaving the space. However, every single beast within the barrier heard it loud and clear. Their gazes snapped open, turning the intense black ceiling and wall into countless dotted crimson lights.
They each screamed in unison, causing an intense wave to spread through the barrier. However, it held.
'I have to fight,'
Atticus calmed his beating heart, turned his focus to the darkness molecules, and enclosed the whole barrier in darkness to stop any visual effects from waking up the other creatures. He had to end this fast and make sure not to wake the other creatures.
Drawing his katana, Atticus braced himself, fixing his gaze on the beasts.
Their bodies were covered in thick, mottled hide that seemed almost like stone, tough and impenetrable.
Muscles rippled beneath their skin, giving them a hulking, intimidating presence, and their limbs were long, ending in razor-sharp claws.
They each had a broad, flat snout filled with rows of jagged teeth, nostrils that flared with each breath, and eyes that glowed a sinister, blood-red. They each radiated a Master rank aura.
The first beast that had screamed lunged at him, claws slashing through the air.
Atticus deftly dodged to the side and countered with a swift strike, cutting the creature down.
As its body crumpled to the ground, the others took that as the cue to attack.
From every direction, they lunged towards Atticus, their numbers overwhelming.
Atticus held his katana tightly and moved.
His movements were silent and unreal—swift and deadly. Streaks of red and silver flickered on and off across the dark space before the heads of more than ten beasts fell.
Atticus was utilizing Aerokinesis and Burst in order to handle these beasts. They were each Master rank, and given their numbers, he couldn't afford to hold back.
Utilizing both abilities gave him the strength of Master+ rank individuals, so it was no shock that he could easily defeat them.
'It's a good thing they don't have any elemental powers,'
Atticus initially believed they could control the darkness since they had easily found him, but he hadn't seen them use any abilities so far.
Seeing Atticus easily killing their brethren, the beasts screamed before lunging at him with more fervor, attempting to overwhelm him. However, he wasn't done.
The molecules of the elements swirled around Atticus in a harmonious dance before coalescing together with their respective forms.
The air became heavy as the earth molecules acted in the atmosphere.
Air blades formed before shooting forward and slashing through numerous beasts like a hot knife through butter.
Ice spikes formed around him, each one piercing and freezing multiple creatures.
The darkness enveloped the space, multiple beasts finding their heads separated from their bodies before they knew what was happening.
Atticus fought with finesse, his elemental powers flaring as he struck down beast after beast.
'My elements are stronger,'
Atticus could feel the increased strength in his elements. The weeks spent training in the elemental sanctum were showing themselves. His elements were stronger than ever, and the transitions before each use were non-existent.
He conjured flames to sear their flesh and created barriers of fire to hold them back. Little by little, their numbers diminished.
Atticus' eyes suddenly caught sight of a beast running towards the barrier.
'No, you won't!'
He disappeared from his position and abruptly appeared by its side, a streak of silver cutting through its neck.
The beast fell as its head separated from its body, rolling forward and stopping just before the barrier.
Atticus released a sigh of relief.
'That was close,'
If he hadn't acted fast and without hesitation, that first beast would have awoken the rest. The battle had only taken a few seconds.
Atticus caught his breath before burying each body into the earth. He couldn't afford their scent waking up the others.
Afterwards, noting that there was nothing else, he released his barrier but hadn't taken even a single step before a scene that made his spine tingle came into view.
In the path forward, as far as his eyes could see, the intense crimson gazes of each initially sleeping beast were staring at him.
Atticus instinctively knew what had happened. They didn't hear his battle or see the brightness of his elements. However, they could feel when the darkness element was being used.
A guttural roar echoed through the entire cave, one that sent a shiver down his spine.
'Fuck,'