The shock that enveloped Atticus at that moment was hard to describe.
A paragon had attacked their sector!?
The citadel and many parts of the city had been destroyed because one of these beings released his aura slightly!
Atticus's thoughts suddenly shifted towards something that frightened him to his core—his family! Aside from Magnus, they were all in Sector 3!
Atticus's actions were immediate. He turned and, just as he was about to speed toward the Aegis ship, Vector stepped in his way.
"Pardon my rudeness, young master, but Master Magnus insisted that you remain here where your safety is guaranteed—"
"Move out of my way," Atticus interrupted before Vector could finish speaking, his tone cold. Just as Vector was about to respond, Atticus's hand gravitated toward his katana, and Vector felt a heavy, potent killing intent press down upon him.
The fact that such a young boy could possess such intense killing intent shocked Vector, but he quickly recovered. He had been there when Magnus was training the child; he, of all people, knew what Atticus was capable of doing.
At this point, Yotad had already gripped the hilt of his scythe behind him, glaring coldly at Vector. He knew Atticus's actions were wrong, but his master's will was his will.
"Your emotions are all over the place. You should never lose control of yourself like that," Oberon's voice suddenly interrupted the situation, his figure landing gently to the side.
Atticus turned toward Oberon, the coldness in his eyes not wavering.
Oberon sighed. The Ravensteins could be incredibly smart and, at the same time, incredibly reckless.
"Take a breath and think this through. You're in Sector 6, thousands of miles away from Sector 3. It would take seconds for your grandfather, a paragon, to reach there—but what about you?"
Atticus's expression changed. It was true. Even if he left now, it took him almost a day to travel from Sector 3 to Sector 6. There was no way he was going to make it in time.
Atticus turned toward Oberon, his gaze firm.
"Take me there."
"No."
"I'll—"
"While I am just dying to take advantage of this situation, you're no use to me dead. If you know your grandfather well, then you know there's no way in hell he's going to let Luminous walk free. In simple terms, Sector 3, along with the surrounding sectors, is a ticking time bomb. That's the last place anyone would want to be."
"But you can protect me from all that. I just want to make sure my family is safe."
"While it pains me to do this, child, I'm going to have to refuse once more. We paragons, especially me, will be too busy trying to stop and separate the two. If left unchecked, the whole human domain could end up in ruins. It's best you stay here."
Oberon finished speaking and started floating upwards, but a serene voice suddenly sounded.
"I can take you."
The group turned to see Seraphina landing gracefully beside them.
"Seraphina, what are you—"
"It's fine, Oberon, sweetie. My abilities aren't suited for separating and managing fights in the first place. I can watch over him. But only if he answers my question satisfactorily."
"What question, Lady Seraphina?" Atticus asked, bowing slightly as he addressed her.
Seraphina smiled, finding the sight cute. The boy had been all domineering when addressing them earlier, and now he was obedient when his family was in trouble.
'Looks like you found a good one, kid,' she thought to herself.
"What are your intentions with Zoey?"
…
**A few hours ago:**
The borders of each sector in the human domain were marked and separated by two massive distinct walls.
Each wall enclosed the sectors, spanning thousands of miles in every direction. The walls were incredibly tall and made of dark, reinforced materials. Sector 3 and Sector 4 followed the same design, creating a large space between the walls of each sector—a kind of buffer zone.
On one side, where the massive wall was covered with overgrown vines and greenery, a vast fleet of massive airships floated over the wall. They numbered in the thousands, with each large airship surrounded by smaller ones, all arranged in an orderly horizontal formation spanning miles in each direction.
At the center of this fleet was an airship larger than all the others. Inside the airship's control room, a meeting was currently ongoing.
"Our first wave must target their outer defenses. The buffer zone between the walls will be critical in minimizing losses. We should deploy the smaller airships to create a diversion while our main fleet breaches the central defense points," one of the division heads standing on one side of the display table suggested.
"Agreed. We'll need to use our aerial advantage. The Leviathan can lead the charge, focusing on the weaker points in their formation identified by our scouts," another division head concurred.
"We've equipped the Leviathan with our latest artillery. It will be able to pierce through the reinforced materials of the wall. We'll need to deploy them strategically, focusing on weak points to maximize damage," added another.
While the division heads were busy discussing their course of action, one man at the head of the table was lost in contemplation.
He had a crown of red hair and a long beard that reached his chin. He was none other than General Ferro, the war councilor and the person whom Eleanor had put in charge of the war with the Ravensteins.
"How should we proceed, Councilor?" one of the division head turned toward Ferro and asked.
Ferro remained silent for a few seconds, causing the room to descend into silence.
"Who's in charge of the opposition?" Ferro finally asked.
The other division heads paused before one of them responded. "We've yet to determine that, Councilor, but why should it matter?"
"Knowing who you're facing is the first step toward victory. Find this out before you make any moves," Ferro ordered.
The expressions of the other division heads shifted. By now, they were supposed to have attacked already according to their plans. However, Ferro was asking them to hold off until they knew who was leading the opposition?
"Councilor, we ha—" one division heads began, but was cut off.
"I will not repeat myself," Ferro said firmly.
The division head who had been about to speak paused and remained silent. The order might have seemed absurd, but Councilor Ferro was well respected among the members of the council and was known for his direct and unusual approach to things.
The division head nodded and each left the control room, leaving Ferro deep in thought.
'It will be one of the four stars,' Ferro deduced. An attack of this scale could only be countered by one of those monsters.
'We'd be lucky if we get those three, but that witch…' his thoughts trailed off ominously.
…
The sound of heels striking the metal floor echoed as a woman walked through a pristine white hallway.
She had flawless white hair cascading down her back and wore a small smile on her face. It was clear she was excited about something.
The woman soon reached a door to a room, and as she walked in, everyone inside instantly stood up from their seats, paying their respects.
"Mistress Lyanna!"
Lyanna nodded slightly, then approached and sat down at the head of the table. As she looked at the display screen in front of her, a frown appeared on her face, causing every single person in the room to tense up.
"Battalion commanders."
"Yes, Mistress!"
"Remind me again, when did the Alverians declare war on us?"
Every commander in the room hesitated, none wanting to be the one to respond and risk earning her ire.
The people in the room held a very high standing in the Raven Vanguard and within the family.
The Raven Vanguard's main fighting force was made up of elemental battalions, each specializing in a specific element. There were a total of nine elemental battalions in the Raven Vanguard, hence the nine commanders in the room.
The eight battalions were focused on the eight elements, while the last one was a battalion with a mixture of members wielding different elements.
Although the battalions were further divided into smaller groups and units, the men and women in the room were the overall heads of each battalion.
However, despite holding such high standing, they were each still frightened of Lyanna. Only a handful of people in the family were an exception to this.
None of the men wanted to be the one to respond, but not answering Lyanna would earn them an even worse punishment.
The fire commander finally spoke up. "F-four hours ago, Mistress."
"Four hours, hmm. That's a long time. So tell me, why is it that I'm not seeing or hearing the screams of people being cut into pieces?"
"T-the Alverians hav—"
"We were waiting for the Mistress before we launched our well-thought-out attack!"
The air commander suddenly interrupted the fire commander before he could make the worst mistake of his life. They were waiting for the Alverians to attack first? If he had been foolish enough to say that, Lyanna would have ended him right then and there.
"Oh!" Lyanna clapped her hands together, startling everyone in the room. "For a second there, I thought you were waiting for them to attack first, haha."
Lyanna finished speaking with a chuckle, causing the other commanders to take large gulps and laugh awkwardly in response.
"Hahaha, that's funny! There's no way we'd be so stupid…" the fire commander quickly responded.
"Hm. I haven't had a good laugh like this in years," Lyanna said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Then, like a switch, her expression suddenly turned cold, and the temperature in the room dropped.
The commanders gulped.
"Would you like to hear our plan, Mistress?" the air commander asked cautiously.
"No. Just attack and kill them all. No survivors."