Chapter 1337: Back

Atticus’ talk with Lazio was brief.

Though they didn’t speak for long, Atticus had decided a few things from their interaction.

First of all, the man wasn’t as he seemed. There was a sharp glint in his gaze, one that warned Atticus he was clever and thought more than he let on.

As Atticus observed him, he also discovered that he was being silently observed in return. The second thing he decided was that the man wasn’t to be trusted.

He was a stranger who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, acting all friendly.

Naivety had never been Atticus’ trait.

Though he had defeated Kale, it wasn’t enough to make any god want to go against a freaking major faction and stand with him.

Regardless, Atticus couldn’t deny that he had gotten some useful information.

’The burning, huh,’ Atticus thought as a bright light suddenly engulfed him.

Lazio waved as he began teleporting away. "Till we meet again, Atticus Ravenstein."

Atticus didn’t say anything. He only spared Lazio a glance before turning his gaze towards the foggy castle below the hill.

He had just found out about the burning from Lazio. It was the earth equivalent of placing a hit on him. That alone turned almost half of the Redflame faction population in the Verge into his enemies.

Atticus’ eyes were glacial.

’Looks like I have to take care of them first.’

As the light engulfed him and he vanished, Lazio couldn’t help but stare at the spot he’d been standing on, both eyebrows raised.

’What was that?’

The killing intent hadn’t been directed at him, but he had felt it regardless. Lazio clenched his fists.

’It’s insane.’

Its magnitude was so immense that it chilled him.

’How is that a newly ascending god?’

The thought made him uneasy, but he shook his head in the next moment, clearing it.

’It doesn’t matter. What matters is the cause.’

...

Atticus appeared in the familiar skies of Eldoralth, deep in thought. He had already begun using all the information he had to formulate a way to deal with the Redflame faction after him.

As his eyes cleared, they narrowed in the next moment.

’What’s going on?’

It was far from the scene he had been expecting. At the very least, he expected a quiet world, just the way he left it.

The Eldorians were supposed to be in serious training, trying their best to awaken their wills.

Whisker was supposed to be in charge of them. And Ozeroth... well, he was supposed to be doing whatever.

But they were all somehow in the skies, and the mood was far from peaceful. Most of the Eldorians were holding Ozeroth back, with some blocking his way upward. Whisker watched with an amused smile from the side.

"Let me go!" Ozeroth bellowed. "I’ll teach that fucking bastard a lesson his mother forgot to teach!"

"Lord Ozeroth, please, you have to calm down! The supreme ruler instructed all of us not to leave the planet. And it’s clear their purpose is to bait us!" Oberon tried to reason. He, along with Magnus and Aric, held Ozeroth down.

It was unclear if they had actually managed to restrain him or if he simply didn’t want to hurt them.

"I don’t know," Whisker said, popping a corn into his mouth. "The bitch was pretty insulting. He deserves to be taught a lesson."

"Right! Even the lazy man agrees. Let me go!"

"No! Please!"

The trio tried their best, even going as far as transforming, but they were still being dragged along with him.

Ozeroth flared and was about to erupt when a calm voice cut in.

"What’s going on?"

Oberon sighed in relief before even turning to see who it was. Not recognizing the voice felt like a sin on its own.

When they turned, the Eldorians were visibly glad to see Atticus appear before them, eyes fixed on Ozeroth.

"Ah shit, the fun’s going to get ruined." Whisker wined.

"Supreme ruler—"

"Bond!" Ozeroth cut in before Oberon could explain.

"You’re finally back! What took you so long!?"

With Atticus back, they saw no reason to hold him anymore. As they released him, Ozeroth approached.

"I had classes."

"Well, while you were busy attending classes, we just had our entire generation insulted!"

Atticus’ eyes sharpened. Who would insult Ozeroth on Eldoralth and still live to tell the tale?

"I just wanted to teach the bastard a lesson and these weaklings decided to stop me!" Ozeroth sent the Eldorians a glare.

"Atticus."

"Son."

Atticus responded to Magnus and Avalon’s greetings with a smile. He sent a glare at Whisker, who was clearly enjoying the show, before turning back to Ozeroth.

"Who insulted you?"

"Him!" Ozeroth pointed towards the sky.

Atticus raised an eyebrow. ’What’s he talking about?’

He finally turned, and his gaze pierced through the veil around their world, landing on a fleet of warships just outside their planet.

Atticus frowned.

"Another god?"

"I don’t care if he’s a god or a fucking star. I’m going to teach him a lesson for insulting the great Ozeroth!"

The prideful man had already begun radiating a blinding golden light, but Atticus ignored him and turned to Oberon.

"Explain."

"They appeared a few hours ago, looking for you," Oberon quickly said. "Their god, Narrot, claims you killed his brother and is here for vengeance. When he didn’t get any response, he started hurling insults and trying to provoke us."

’Brother?’ Atticus thought of the god he’d just battled and killed at the Willhall. But rather than brother, he had been expecting the viscount.

’Maybe he sent him.’

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Whisker appeared in front of him, shaking his head. "We send you to school for one day, and you’ve already created a cliché situation." He laughed.

"So, who’d you kill?"

Atticus frowned, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. ’Looks like I caused this.’ He cleared that thought the next moment.

The Redflame faction had already targeted him; he hadn’t done anything that wasn’t going to happen.

"Apparently, the son of a viscount."

Whisker burst into laughter, visibly amused, while the Eldorians all looked confused.

"Viscount?" Avalon asked. They were unfamiliar with the term.

"I’ll explain it all later." Whisker waved off the question, clearly eager to get the gist from Atticus.

"Redflame?"

Atticus nodded.

"Neat." He smiled proudly. "So, what happened?"

Atticus briefly narrated the events of his short stay in the Willhall. He didn’t keep anything from them.