It was as piercing as it was painful.
As Atticus felt the massive, piercing pain hit his head, he abruptly lost control of his whole body.
The red shroud covering his face followed suit the next instant, its form fading into the air, enabling Atticus's exposed face to feel the intense and staggering amount of heat radiating out of robot Jared's blazing hammer, inches away from hitting his face.
Atticus didn't get the chance to assess his situation and find out what was going on; he didn't even get the chance to think.
His body was out of his control, and a massive, scorching hammer was about to hit his face.
It went without saying that he was screwed.
But the only thing that was still in Atticus's control was his eyes, which never once wavered.
Atticus wasn't sure what exactly was going on; he had a few assumptions but didn't have any time to ponder about it.
But there was only one thing Atticus knew: he had felt this feeling before.
This feeling of being watched, having your every movement and thought under someone's control.
No matter how long, it wasn't going to change. The fact that Atticus hated being used or controlled to his very core.
It doesn't matter who was responsible; there was only one suspect currently anyway. Atticus immediately acted before his whole form could get taken over.
His piercing blue eyes suddenly turned crimson as he immediately unleashed his will. It felt as though a wave of scorching fire spread throughout his body, obliterating any form of hold the suit held over him.
Atticus gradually regained control over his body in time to hear the intense and devastating screech that sounded inside his head.
But that was the last place his focus was. His gaze didn't even flicker; as soon as he felt the control over his body was back, with a slight narrow of his eyes, Atticus's form seemed to distort as his whole being seemed to defy containment.
Before the massive hammer could turn his face into a bloodied mess, Atticus's form abruptly vanished, the hammer hitting the earth in a cataclysmic impact that sent a wave of scorching heat spreading outward for hundreds of meters.
Without missing a beat, the air above the bent robot distorted as the atmosphere fissured.
The form of Atticus appeared in the next instant, his right leg, infused with staggering amounts of mana, raised skyward.
With an explosive impact, Atticus's right leg hit the back of robot Jared's head, the force of the kick sending it's face deep into the earth in another apocalyptic explosion, deep cracks and fissures spreading in a two hundred meter radius from the point of impact.
"Stop the simulation!" Atticus instantly instructed the AI just in time, before the robot could go supernova.
With focus, Atticus's form abruptly teleported away, intending to move away from the wreck and devastated earth.
After his advancement of his space bloodline, a whole new world of powers had unlocked itself to him.
Atticus had initially been sad when he first unlocked the space element because of his inability to utilize the space element outside his body.
But this had changed when he advanced to level 2 of his space bloodline. Here, he had been able to project the space element outside his form, but unfortunately, just like his other bloodlines in level 2, he couldn't control the elements when he wasn't in contact with them.
However, Atticus had been elated to find out the space element was widely different. In level two, Atticus was able to project outward and control any element he was in contact with, so he had attempted something.
Atticus simply projected the space element to encompass about 5 meters away from him, and after a few trial and errors, he had been able to control the space around that area, and in turn, Atticus had been able to teleport within said area.
But unfortunately, Atticus had just reached the second level and hadn't really had the time to unlock other powers.
There was one he was looking forward to using: gravity control. It went without saying that if not for the exosuit he was testing out, he would have been completely focused on achieving that.
However, after what just happened, with the intense frown on Atticus's face as he stared at the suit's core in his chest, it was obvious that achieving gravity control with the space element was the least of his worries.
Atticus gazed at the suit's core with an intense frown, his thoughts racing.
Although he had suspected it before, when he unleashed his will, he had confirmed that it had indeed been the suit that had attempted to take control over him.
'But how? Didn't it learn its lesson the first time?' Atticus pondered.
This time around, he hadn't been called into his mindscape. The attack had happened abruptly and when he had least expected it. It was as though it had been waiting for the perfect moment to catch him off guard.
Atticus took in a deep breath and released a huge sigh in the next instant. 'I knew it, it was too good to be true. All things come at a cost.'
Atticus might have just discovered a huge weakness when it came to using the exosuit.
Although it was laying completely low and listening to him currently, Atticus still felt as though he was being watched.
It was very obvious that it was currently quietly observing Atticus with rapt attention, waiting for even the slightest hint of him being distracted for it to act again.
It felt like a very stubborn goat. No matter how much Atticus scolded, flogged, or tortured it, it was only going to come back again the moment it saw the chance.
This… this was a huge problem.
During battle, especially if it were life and death, there was no helping it; Atticus would have his full attention on the battle.
It went without saying that getting his body taken over at any moment during a life and death battle would be a death sentence.
And Atticus had no intention of forfeiting his life.
'Looks like it could only attempt to take control over my body if I am actively using the suit,' Atticus was trying to find some sort of silver lining in this situation.
If the suit's consciousness could attack him even when he wasn't donning the suit, then he would have to either figure out a way to passively utilize his will to keep it in check, or he would have to find a way to separate from it.