The hall was filled with tension, every delegate listening as Atticus's voice rose. Calm, steady, but expansive.
"Then let me ask you something," Atticus said, titling hus head to the side slowly, "How would you deal with pests? Pests that keep pestering you even though you've made it clear they're not wanted?"
"In case you've forgotten, this is the human domain."
His aura surged like a storm, rippling across the room. The walls groaned under the pressure, the sound echoing ominously.
"You have no demands here. You have no voice. I will treat you as you are: pests," his gaze sharpened,
"what are you going to do about it?"
The room froze, the weight of his words sinking in.
In the control room, silent excitement filled the air as the Ravensteins watching the live feed grinned widely. None of them spoke, but their clenched fists and proud expressions said it all.
He said it.
Atticus had voiced exactly what they all wanted to say. Those arrogant delegates had overstepped, and he had put them in their place.
He was a true Ravenstein.
Avalon allowed a small smile to cross his face, despite the current tension in the hall.
But the delegates weren't smiling.
The Dimensari and Vampyros delegates froze.
A human child had just called them pests.
Their blood boiled, their pride shattered.
The atmosphere darkened, a suffocating killing intent exploding from the two delegates. It washed over the room like a tidal wave, oppressive and heavy.
The Dimensari and Vampyros delegates shot up from their seats, their auras flaring like wildfire. The tension reached its breaking point.
Then, it happened.
Atticus's aura erupted like a nuclear explosion.
The force of it cracked the circular table, spreading fissures through the polished stone. The entire room shook violently.
Both delegates, mid-motion, were slammed back into their seats as though an invisible hand had forced them down.
The weight of Atticus's aura crushed them, smothering their killing intent like a fire being doused.
The Dimensari and Vampyros delegates locked eyes with Atticus.
His glowing purple gaze burned into them, unyielding, as if daring them to move again.
Their hearts trembled.
Fear.
The Vampyros delegate despised the feeling. He had spent centuries being the one to inflict fear, never the one to feel it. And now, this boy, this human, had made him feel small.
His anger surged.
Blood red veins crawled across his face, his crimson eyes glowing fiercely. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as a faint pull tugged at everyone's veins, as though their blood was being summoned.
The room grew colder.
Then, the Vampyros delegate moved.
The world seemed to freeze.
In the control room, the Ravensteins watching the live feed froze, their eyes widening in shock.
"He wouldn't dare…" Lyanna muttered, her voice trailing off.
But he had.
The Vampyros delegate lunged, his movements faster than the eye could follow. His killing intent spiked, sharp and deadly, filling the hall with a chilling intensity.
But before he could reach Atticus, everything stopped.
Atticus didn't react.
His expression remained cold and indifferent, as if the delegate's approach wasn't worth acknowledging.
The air changed, charged with electricity. Thunder rumbled.
Then, in a single, decisive moment, it happened.
A bolt of lightning struck down from above, instantaneous and blinding. It pierced through the Vampyros delegate, enveloping his body in an electric glow.
There was no explosion, no dramatic shockwave.
The lightning and the Vampyros delegate vanished together, disappearing without a trace.
The hall fell into absolute silence.
The delegates froze, their shock palpable. Even the Dimensari delegate, who had been supposed to join the Vampyros in attacking, immediately sat back down. His face was pale, his previous arrogance gone.
Everyone in the room knew exactly what had happened.
Magnus.
The Ravensteins didn't need to say a word. The energy left behind was unmistakable. The Vampyros delegate wasn't dead; he had been transported, removed from the human domain entirely.
It was a warning.
A loud, clear, unmistakable warning.
The Dimensari delegate's jaw clenched tightly as he stood again, but this time, he didn't attack. His cold gaze lingered on Atticus, filled with hostility. Then, with a sharp turn, he began walking toward the exit.
The other delegates exchanged uneasy glances.
They had come to the human domain with a purpose: to confirm the rumors about Atticus. Was he truly a paragon-level force? From what they had seen, it was clear he wasn't. But something else was at play, and it left them deeply unsettled.
Having confirmed their agenda, staying any longer felt foolish.
One by one, the delegates followed the Dimensari representative. Some exchanged whispered threats about informing their races of the humans' audacity.
But not all of them left with hostility.
The dragon and Aeonian delegates maintained their diplomatic poise, nodding politely toward Atticus and the Ravenstein representatives as they departed. Their smiles were calm, their words courteous, but their wariness was clear.
The hall emptied slowly, leaving behind a heavy silence that was shattered in the next second.
.....
Avalon's loud laughter broke through like thunder.
"My boy!" he exclaimed, his voice booming. He walked over to Atticus and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You, my boy, are a Ravenstein through and through! You didn't just put them in their place; you buried them under it!" Avalon clapped him on the back.
Atticus allowed the embrace, his expression softening slightly as a smile appeared on his face.
Anastasia approached the duo, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She seemed happy and at the same time she felt a hint of unease.
Atticus had been incredible but he was completely different compared to the way he addressed her and the other family members. It was as though though he was a different person.
In the control room, the Ravensteins watching erupted in cheers and grins.
Atticus had put the delegates of the other races in their place, and while it was certain there would be consequences, none of the Ravensteins cared about that for now.
They were focused only on the satisfaction of asserting their strength and dominance. The future could bring whatever challenges it wanted, they would deal with it when the time came. For now, they were content, knowing they had shown the other races exactly where they stood.
The day passed quickly, and life within the Ravenstein estate returned to its usual rhythm.
Atticus resumed his rigorous training.
He observed the Ravenstein youths sparring and honed his Omnicognition further, pushing the limits of his ability to replicate mana signatures. At the same time, he continued refining his spiritual eye, growing more precise and efficient with every passing day.
Time moved swiftly, and soon the consequences of the meeting with the delegates began to manifest.
Trade agreements with other races were halted, one after another. Goods that once flowed freely into the human domain stopped. At the borders, tensions rose to dangerous levels. Patrols became more frequent, and the risk of petty skirmishes increased.
The superior and mid-tier races made it clear, they were attempting to isolate the human domain.
Despite the growing unrest, Atticus remained unbothered.
His focus never wavered.
To him, power was the only solution to their problems. Strength would protect humanity. Strength would answer every challenge.
Months passed.
Atticus stood in the center of the Aegis airship's control room, his presence commanding. Beside him were Amara and several crew members, each busy with their tasks.
Through the large glass window, a towering fortress loomed on the horizon, its spires piercing the sky like jagged blades.