Atticus’s Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground - Chapter 1551

Capítulo 1551: Dread

“Congratulations on reaching the center, Marquis Atticus Ravenstein. The Great Verge welcomes you. A hidden rule has been triggered. The center domain’s penalty is mandatory.

“Domain penalty: You must wait one full round to claim your prize. During this time, any god may challenge you without contest.

“You will claim the domain when your turn comes again.”

The world blurred around Atticus’ eyes as he stared ahead with a distant and unfocused gaze.

‘I… failed?’

It didn’t matter that any Marquis across the board could challenge him during the round. The domain penalty required him to wait one full turn before he could claim the domain. Which meant… the turn was forfeit. Raziel could still get to Anorah without interruption.

Atticus clenched his fist so hard that blood dripped down his arm. He reached out with his mind immediately.

‘Anorah…’

He gritted his teeth when he received no response.

‘Anorah… don’t.’

A moment passed, and Atticus exhaled as he finally received a response.

‘Don’t ask me to be someone I’m not.’

Atticus swallowed. Though it had gone unsaid, one of the reasons they had gotten so close was because of how similar they were.

Anorah was the kind of person who would never back down from a threat against her loved one, no matter what.

‘I’m not asking you to change… I’m asking you to live.’

‘If I run now, I lose more than my life. I wasn’t raised to run from a fight.’

Atticus bit down on his lip.

‘You’ll die.’

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

‘I’m not afraid. Thank you… for trying.’

‘An—’

Atticus felt the connection vanish. He tried to reach out several times, only to receive no response.

‘Fuck!’

Atticus’ eyes cut across the board and landed on Anorah. Despite his obvious attempts at reaching out to her, she still had her back turned toward him.

“Anorah—!”

His sudden scream drew the eyes of the other Marquis immediately. They stared at him with narrowed eyes, whispers spreading.

Ordan and Dravek’s eyes were on him. Atticus knew he’d revealed a lot from his outburst, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to stop this fight from happening.

His burning eyes fixed on Anorah, but all he received was her cold back.

Atticus felt his heart hammering in his chest as the round continued, many Marquis rolling. He was challenged by a few gods who felt the need to end his reign, but Atticus barely paid them any attention.

He realized the truth of his assumptions the moment the domain penalty was announced. A round where one could be challenged by all gods across the board.

Someone had gotten to the middle before he arrived, but had been killed before the round was over. That fact explained the hesitation of the others to reach the middle.

Still, Atticus ended every fight as soon as it began, carving each god into multiple sizzling parts.

His katana made it possible to slice through any will, and his true will allowed him to stand even against stronger gods.

The fights ended, and Atticus absorbed more will, growing steadily more powerful. By now, the eyes of the other Marquis were trembling with fear.

“M-monster…”

Still, his eyes never left Anorah’s cold back.

Even now, he continued trying to reach out to her, hoping to stop her, but somehow, he knew how futile it was.

Eventually, the dreaded turn came, and laughter rumbled across the board as the die snapped into Raziel’s hand.

He stared at Atticus with an amused look.

“That was almost touching. For a moment, I thought you’d change my mind.”

He grinned.

“Almost.”

He rolled the die and chuckled when it landed on a three.

“See? Even the universe wants this to happen.”

Raziel’s words barely reached Atticus even as he made his move.

“Two domains forward. One left.”

Raziel appeared in the selected domain in the next moment, his smile widening as he took in Anorah’s cold glare.

“That look…”

He leaned back, casually resting his staff across his neck.

“You stayed. I wondered why… Now I see.”

“This domain has already been claimed. Do you wish to claim or deny?”

“Claim.”

“Marquis Anorah, do you choose to accept or contest?”

“I accept.”

Atticus swallowed hard. He had tried everything, but to no avail. Somehow, he had known from the beginning how much like him she was. She wouldn’t back down from this fight. But… the thought of losing her made his heart race and his blood boil.

“Marquis Anorah has accepted the challenge. Three mandatory power points each have been staked on this fight. The battle may begin now.”

“Let’s not drag this out—”

Raziel’s words had barely settled when Anorah appeared before him in a blur of light, her golden will blazing with radiance as her blade crashed down on him.

He barely managed to bring his staff up before the attack landed. A violent explosion tore through the domain.

A moment later, Raziel was hurled back across the terrain, his will flickering weakly around him. His arm flailed uselessly in the air, blood trailing behind it.

‘She broke through.’

Raziel had only just arrived and hadn’t even battled another Marquis yet. Compared to Anorah, who had already killed one, the difference in will strength was clear.

‘But…’

Atticus curled his fists. Raziel was dangerous because he was more like him. Strength didn’t always decide the outcome.

Anorah tore through the haze and appeared above Raziel. Her will converged around her blade as she thrust at him with all her might.

But Raziel only chuckled, his eyes flashing cold.

“Logoth.”

His eyes lit up in blinding purple as the attack landed, the resulting explosion swallowing the horizon in a thick haze.

Within it, streaks of purple tore through, colliding rapidly at different points, each impact sending out explosions that blasted the air apart.

Atticus fixed his eyes on them. Purple trailed their every movement, their eyes emotionless.

Anorah had also slipped into Logoth and activated Solvath’s power. Their movements had tightened to the point where there were no wasted motions. Each strike was lethal, each evade deliberate, each counter swift.

The whispers of the others drifted into his ears.

“Ah! Purple… are they both marked!?”

“This is insane…”

“They’re on another level.”

Atticus paid neither any attention. The dynamics of the battle had changed entirely. Logoth had turned the clash into one of monsters, but there was something more going on.