To Atticus, the seconds ticking by seemed like days.
Time moved slowly, and every moment felt like hell.
Atticus lost count of the number of times he felt his spine tingle during this battle. He was fighting for his life, and it was draining—not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It was everything.
Atticus had to muster up every fiber of his being just to prevent himself from getting killed.
Niall was relentless. Until now, Atticus had no idea why the man—or beast—was this angry at him. He knew it was because of the way he addressed the sovereign, but… why the hell would he want to kill him just because of that? At best, he should be teaching him a lesson.
Niall's movements were deadly. For a beast resembling a man, he sure knew how to battle like one. His movements were swift, each of his attacks lethal.
The thick roots whipped around him, following his every movement. Every attack he unleashed was accompanied by roots with pointed ends shooting forward from every angle.
Atticus found himself overwhelmed at every turn. The entire pit was engulfed with roots, and his fire couldn't burn them. The only things that had the slightest effect were his light element and katana.
Eventually, Atticus had to run on the walls. But that soon turned out to be a dead end as thick, blackened roots erupted from the walls too.
Atticus had felt the threat of death more times than he could count. He got punched, smashed onto the ground and walls, his bones broken countless times, but he kept moving.
He had used the water and light elements to heal himself more times than he could count. His breaths were heavy, and his heart was beating so fast that he felt it could burst at any moment.
In conclusion, Atticus was thoroughly exhausted and was forcing his body to move. He had long since unleashed his space element; this element was the only reason he was still alive—rapid teleportation.
He could move instantly with far less energy than his other powers. Despite the terrible situation, he wanted to go back in time and torture his past self for not using the space element from the outset. He could have conserved his energy better!
Regardless, it was in the past already. He could only accept his current situation. It went without saying that Niall had been thoroughly shocked when Atticus utilized the space element. To think the boy still had so many things up his sleeve.
This only increased Niall's desire to kill Atticus as quickly as possible. But as the seconds ticked by, only amazement remained in Niall's thoughts.
'How is he still alive?'
Niall wondered. He had been true to his word and had limited his power and abilities to the grandmaster- rank.
When he first received the orders from the sovereign, Niall had been elated. In his thoughts, it would only take a few seconds to kill the boy. A grandmaster- versus a master-? The result was obvious.
However, since the battle began, he had been baffled more times than he had since his birth.
He could feel it in Atticus's aura that the boy was at the master- rank, but he seemed to be able to exhibit strength and power just one level below a grandmaster-.
Niall couldn't even begin to fathom how the hell this was possible.
Regardless, he had decided to take the battle seriously and use his abilities. The outcome should have been decided then, but it only led to even more bafflement.
'Is this really a child?'
Niall also knew Atticus couldn't be more than 17 years old. It had been hard for him to accept the boy's power, but he eventually did. However, Niall found it difficult to accept his battle sense.
The number of times Atticus had come an inch from death had been numerous, but the boy always seemed to pull through! It was as though he instinctively knew how to differentiate between deadly attacks and lesser ones the moment they were unleashed.
He never once took or blocked any of the attacks meant to kill him. Instead, he was always taking on the ones that weren't as much of a threat.
Niall felt exposed. He felt vulnerable, despite being the one who had the upper hand. It was as though Atticus had analyzed every part of his body to the last detail. At every tense of his muscle, the boy had already acted.
At every gesture, the boy had already acted.
At every movement of his eyes, the boy had already acted!
It was unnerving, as though he were facing a veteran who had been battling for years.
These situations kept getting to Niall, making him even more determined and serious about killing Atticus. The thought that the sovereign was currently watching this battle unfold made matters worse. His pride felt wounded, and he wanted nothing more than to rip Atticus to shreds.
The red aura that engulfed Niall suddenly erupted, becoming even more crimson. The air became heavy as the whole pit trembled.
The thick blackened roots around him suddenly combusted and splintered. They swirled around him with speed before converging on him, forming a thin layer of armor that hugged his body like a second skin.
Niall's entire body pulsed with energy, brimming with uncontained power. His red eyes glowed with sudden brightness. And then, he moved.
The ground within a 100-meter radius buckled, snake-like cracks spreading outwards before it imploded. But Niall wasn't there anymore!
Atticus's exhausted gaze narrowed to pinpricks. This speed—it was faster than anything he had encountered before!
His grip on his katana tightened, but he had already lost the ability to use the katana arts; he was completely drained.
However, it didn't matter.
A crimson fist covered the entirety of Atticus's vision, his mind going blank. He felt the fear of death once more, but this time, he couldn't do anything!
His eyes closed, expecting a blow that never came.
Atticus slowly opened his eyes, only to see the same crimson fist stopped inches away from the bridge of his nose.
W-what happened? Atticus wondered.
Niall suddenly retracted his fist and stood straight.
"The 10 minutes have elapsed. You will be given 4 hours to rest before we fight again. I suggest you use it wisely."