The imposing woman's body radiating raw power let out a primal scream as she launched herself from another direction at Atticus, attempting surprise him.
Her fists crackled with energy as she threw a punch that could shatter even the strongest materials. "I'll tear you apart!"
However, Atticus simply blurred and met her attack head on, his blade clashing against her fist in a shower of sparks.
The force of the impact cracked the floor beneath them, but Atticus didn't flinch. He twisted his body, redirecting her momentum and sending her crashing into a nearby wall.
"Erion, now!" Lucy's voice echoed in their minds, its urgency clear.
A figure suddenly appeared behind Atticus, causing his gaze to immediately narrow. 'I didn't sense him until now,' he thought.
Erion closed the distance, his mana-forged swords slicing through the air as he aimed for Atticus's back.
However, unlike what everyone had been expecting, the opposite happened.
Blue mana chains suddenly erupted from Erion's swords, snaking through the air toward Atticus, who was momentarily baffled by the situation. The chains wrapped around Atticus, tightening with every second as Erion closed in.
Erion's teammates, along with the others, felt a surge of hope. None of them had forgotten Erion's earlier display of power.
If he could drain Atticus's mana, the exosuit would cease to function. Excitement coursed through them as they thought they might finally overpower this intruder.
'He's draining my mana?' Atticus noted, but he didn't panic. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh. He could feel the mana being siphoned from him, but did this fool actually think he could take something of his that easily?
Atticus's gaze turned crimson, his figure erupting in a glow of the same hue as he unleashed his will.
Erion's eyes widened in shock as the unexpected occurred.
"Impossible…!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief.
Atticus's gaze turned cold as he suddenly flicked his sword, shattering the chains around him. His figure blurred as he closed the distance between himself and Erion, his sword aimed directly at Erion's neck.
In that split second, a figure suddenly appeared between Atticus and Erion.
Erion immediately screamed as he saw Lucy, the petite gothic girl, appear in front of him. However, he couldn't react in time as Atticus's sword cleaved through Lucy's neck, severing her head from her body in an instant.
Erion froze, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched Lucy's body crumple to the ground, blood pooling around her.
His mind went blank, unable to process what had just happened. His relationship with his crew members was different from that of the other Order members. They shared a deep camaraderie.
Lucy had been with him for years, and now she was gone in the blink of an eye.
The other crew members, seeing Lucy's death, erupted in intense rage. The bestial man charged at Atticus with fury, his massive fists swinging wildly.
But Atticus simply sidestepped the attacks with ease, his sword slicing through the beast's neck, sending his head flying.
The imposing woman, her body now glowing with a blinding yellow light, launched herself at Atticus with all her strength. "You'll pay for this!" she screamed, her fists crashing down on him like meteors.
Atticus didn't hesitate. He blocked her punches with his morphed sword, his movements precise. Atticus current strength coukdnt be measured in the level of Master-ranks anymore.
With a swift counterattack, he slashed through her defenses, cutting deep into her torso.
She staggered back, blood pouring from the wound, before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
Kellack, the last of Erion's crew, charged at Atticus with a roar, his katana glowing with azure light.
"Katana Art: Final Explosion!"
He unleashed his ultimate attack, his body erupting in a series of devastating explosions that sent shockwaves through the hall.
However, Atticus dodged each strike with inhuman speed, his hand gravitating toward his katana hilt that appeared outside his exosuit.
"This is taking too long," Atticus muttered, his voice cold and detached. "Katana Series…"
In that moment, time seemed to stand still. One second, the hall was filled with chaos—men charging at Atticus, bloodlines flaring, and weapons clashing.
And in the next, it was over.
Atticus moved with blinding speed, his katana flashing through the air in a series of deadly slashes.
The entire hall went silent as close to three hundred men and women were cut down in an instant, their bodies splitting into pieces, blood spraying across the walls and floor.
Erion stumbled back, sinking to his knees. He had wanted to join Kellack in attacking Atticus, but he had heard Atticus's cold voice, and in the next instant, he lost the connection to every single one of his limbs.
He barely had the strength to lift his head, but he forced himself to look at Atticus, his vision blurred by blood and tears. But he had to ask—no, he needed to ask—just who was this monster?
"W-who… are you?" Erion managed to choke out, his voice weak and broken.
However, Atticus's face remained covered in the crimson shroud, cold and indifferent. He sheathed his katana, the blade disappearing into his exosuit.
Then he walked forward, stepping over Erion's broken body without uttering a word.
The entire hall was drenched with blood. Every single member of the fighting force of the settlement—battle-hardened warriors brimming with energy—now lay lifeless and in pieces on the ground.
And yet, the one who had caused all this devastation walked away from the scene as though he wasn't related to the carnage.
However, before Atticus could leave the hall, an overwhelming aura descended upon the entirety of the inner section building, and Atticus immediately felt the air barrier surrounding the building pop like a balloon.
The whole building trembled as an overwhelming force ripped out a large portion of the top of the building.
Atticus's gaze immediately locked onto a man floating in the sky. He was clad in a Chinese robe and exuded an unsettling aura.
But Atticus wasn't focused on the man's appearance. Only one thought came to mind as he noted the Grandmaster+ rank figure in the sky.