Atticus' laughter could be described with one word, hilarious. He was thoroughly amused.
The Vampyros had sent a letter trying to highlight their dominance, but to Atticus, it was nothing short of a joke.
If he had been on Earth, he would've probably started searching for hidden cameras nearby. It had to be a prank.
Atticus had never seen anyone so high up their own asses in his life. It was as though they were the main characters of this world!
Because why, why in the living universe would the Vampyros think the humans would accept this?
He had never seen such outrageous terms…
But Atticus was the only one laughing. Magnus and Avalon's faces had long since morphed into anger, and even Ozeroth seethed in his mind.
'Those bastards! How dare they!'
The centuries-old spirit was utterly pissed. If there was anything Ozeroth hated, it was a challenge to his person. He took immense pride in himself, and now the Vampyros had dared to challenge that pride.
A quick scan through Ozeroth's thoughts showed Atticus that the spirit didn't care about most of the Vampyros' demands. He didn't care about the human domain as a whole.
Instead, bend a knee? He would like to see who in the universe deserved that action.
Atticus' amusement only intensified as he realized why his spirit was so angry.
'Calm down. This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last. There will always be those too far up their own asses to see reality for what it is.'
Atticus' words had the opposite effect. Ozeroth's anger only intensified. If it were up to him, he would march onto the Vampyros' domain and unleash carnage upon their lands.
Atticus could hear the sound of teeth grinding in his head.
"Enough of this farce. These leeches crawl in the shadows and drink from the throats of the weak, yet they dare to stand before us and demand we kneel?"
"Bond. They can bask in their delusions for now. But when the time comes, I will rip that arrogance from their throats and watch as they choke on the truth."
'Damn. That's intense,' Atticus couldn't stop himself from making that remark.
He had been the one the Vampyros had targeted, and yet, it seemed as though Ozeroth, Magnus, and Avalon had taken it more personally than he did.
Atticus smiled, meeting the gazes of Magnus and Avalon, who had turned to look at him.
"What will you do?" Avalon asked.
At this point, it was clear that the decision lay with Atticus. While the other human paragons might not agree, the Ravensteins were ready to go to war with the Vampyros if it came to it.
Should Atticus accept, the human paragons would have no choice but to follow.
Atticus' smile only widened. "No."
That was the only word he uttered. He didn't bother trying to explain his reason. In fact, Atticus hadn't even shown any signs of anger or annoyance at the Vampyros' audacity. To him, they weren't worth his emotions. He would handle them as one handled an ant.
"Good."
Avalon and Magnus nodded. They were both in support of his decision, but their expressions only grew more tense.
The Vampyros had made a move, and it was clear this wouldn't be the end. More was coming, and the human domain would soon be thrown into chaos.
The parchment suddenly ignited in flames as Atticus burned it. It turned to ashes that scattered into the air.
After burning the parchment, Atticus bowed to Magnus and Avalon before excusing himself to continue his training.
As Atticus entered his training room, only Magnus and Avalon remained in the compound.
An awkward silence settled between them, making the air a little heavier.
Neither of them could remember the last time they were alone together.
Avalon scratched his head. "Um… how has training been, F-Father?"
Magnus turned to Avalon, causing the latter to instinctively look away. He stared at him for a few seconds before nodding.
"Good."
Avalon nodded furiously. "Great, great…"
'This is awkward,' Avalon thought.
What had always brought the two together had been Atticus. But now that the rascal wasn't present, it was as though all the topics of the universe had disappeared.
Something popped into Avalon's head, and he instantly turned to ask,
"The Vampyros sure are insane for making those demands."
Avalon was almost sure this would start some sort of conversation between them. But he couldn't have been more wrong.
"Yeah." Magnus responded, saying nothing more.
Avalon cleared his throat, the awkwardness intensifying. 'Well, I tried.'
"I should get go—"
"Would you like to get a drink?"
As Avalon turned to excuse himself, his body froze at the words he never thought he'd hear from Magnus.
He didn't respond for a few seconds, wondering if he had heard wrong.
"You don't want to?" Magnus asked, staring at the frozen Avalon. Although his voice was as deep as ever, there was a subtle hint of sadness.
Avalon snapped out of his thoughts, shaking his head. "No, no. I want to!"
Magnus held back a smile from breaking onto his face. He nodded and started leading the way, with Avalon trailing behind, baffled.
…
'I'm missing something…'
Atticus' thoughts churned. He was currently inside his new training room, scrolling through its data on the control terminal, all while thinking about his current situation with the Vampyros.
It was odd.
The Vampyros were acting out of character. Aside from Jezeneth suddenly retreating, Atticus had been expecting an all-out war against their race. In fact, he had expected to be on the battlefield.
Yet, they had retreated and sent demands? Yes, it was a demand asserting their dominance, but that wasn't the Vampyros' way. They didn't ask. They didn't demand.
They took.
'There's someone behind the scenes…'
Atticus' thoughts sharpened. It was the only explanation. Someone had stopped the Vampyros from outright attacking the human domain.
Which meant—
'Regardless of our answer, they won't attack.'
The Vampyros were avoiding war.
'For brainless cocksuckers like them, I'm sure they have other things planned.'
'I believe so too. They will take action, just not directly.'
Ozeroth still sounded angry, but his point was valid.
'I'll have to be watchful for now. I can't handle their queen…'
Jezeneth hadn't used her full power during her battle with Whisker. Even while fighting, she had been controlling millions of blood constructs.
The conclusion of the battle might not have changed even if she had used her full power against whisker, but it was still too significant for him to ignore.