Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

As everyone turned toward Alberion, Alberion himself slowly observed everyone from left to right before his gaze finally settled on Atlas. It happened at the exact moment Atlas remembered those Knights he had seen back in the Human Continent, making both of them notice each other almost simultaneously.

The instant their eyes met, Atlas’s black pupils locked onto Alberion’s blue ones and, for that brief second, the entire Guild Hall seemed to fade into silence as if only the two of them remained. Then Atlas noticed Alberion’s hand moving toward the weapon hanging at his waist, its shape resembling a Katana, and the speed of that movement made even Atlas widen his eyes slightly before reacting on instinct.

Having no weapon of his own, he immediately formed the same Spirit Blade with Spirit Shape Weaver around his right hand, the transparent white blade taking shape almost instantly, and as both prepared to strike, their Spirit Pressure descended upon one another at the same time.

Just as Alberion lowered his stance to draw his Katana and Atlas prepared to move with the Spirit Blade, both suddenly felt every trace of Spirit Energy around them disappear. It was not suppressed or pushed back...it was simply gone, leaving the Guild Hall completely devoid of Spirit Pressure. Before either of them could react to that impossible phenomenon, Alberion felt a hand calmly pushing his Katana back into its sheath while Atlas felt another hand firmly gripping his wrist, causing the Spirit Blade to disperse before it could even be used.

Only then did both of them lift their heads toward the people restraining them, and as they did, the two figures spoke the exact same words in perfect sync. ”There are rules in this Guild, alright? And everyone must follow those rules. When I say everyone...that includes Royal Knights from every Continent as well.”

Alberion merely arched an eyebrow while Atlas narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge the rank of the man holding his wrist, but no matter how carefully he sensed him, he found nothing he could measure. That alone told Atlas enough, because someone below SSS-rank should not have been capable of stopping him this effortlessly.

At the same time, he noticed that Himalton and the other four SS-rank Explorers had not moved from their positions since the confrontation began, as though they had expected someone else to step in from the very beginning.

That left Atlas with only two possible conclusions. Either those five SS-rank Explorers had some hidden objective and deliberately chose not to interfere or...they already knew someone else would step in before anything happened. Atlas reached that conclusion almost instantly before shifting his attention toward the man restraining Alberion. Only then did he notice that both men wore the same style of clothing.

Atlas frowned slightly as he observed them more carefully. Their appearances were strikingly similar, both had their long hair tied into ponytails behind their backs, both carried neatly trimmed beards and mustaches and, more importantly, both were floating a few inches above the floor. It was only the second time Atlas had seen someone levitate so naturally, the first being that Null-pressure Monster inside the Ruin.

A moment later both figures slowly descended onto the floor before releasing Alberion and Atlas at the same time. The man standing beside Alberion spoke first, his voice calm yet carrying unquestionable authority. ”I, the Guildmaster of the Solara Guild, have already been informed by Her Majesty of your arrival and the reason behind it, Alberion the Elven Knight. You are here to participate in the exploration of a Divine-rank Ruin, so that concludes the purpose of your visit to Solara.”

He then turned toward Atlas and continued without changing his expression. ”As for you...both of you sensed something from each other, which is why you reacted the way you did. I won’t ask what you felt, nor will I punish either of you, because nothing inside this Guild Hall has been damaged...yet.”

Alberion silently gritted his teeth as he remembered everything the Angelic Queen Solaris had told him. Delivering the parchment had only been one part of his mission. Hidden within it was another order from Queen Eliana herself, instructing him to remain in the Angelic Continent after completing the delivery. As for the reason...

He was to travel across the different Continents, explore their Ruins, experience their lands and continue growing stronger before eventually returning to the Elven Continent. It was a direct command from his Queen, one he neither had the authority to reject nor the desire to question, even if it meant spending time among Humans, something he disliked from the bottom of his heart.

Yet that was not the only reason his jaw tightened. Even after arriving in the Angelic Continent and seeing countless Humans along the way, none of them had made him react like this one. The moment his eyes landed on Atlas, every instinct within him screamed in warning and, for the briefest instant, he had seen something impossible behind Atlas...a colossal black silhouette twisting into a spiraling monstrosity with its enormous maw slowly opening as if preparing to devour everything before it.

’I don’t know what that thing was...but if I ever get the chance, I should kill him before anything dangerous takes place.’

Then, without any warning, both mysterious figures smiled. In front of everyone inside the Guild Hall, the one who had been standing beside Atlas slowly dissolved into drifting mist until not a single trace of him remained.

Atlas stood there with slightly widened eyes that twitched in shock. It wasn’t just him either, the entire Guild Hall had fallen into complete silence as every pair of eyes remained fixed on the empty spot where the man had been standing only a moment ago. Several mouths hung slightly open while others simply stared, trying to understand what they had just witnessed.

The silence lingered for another moment before a chuckle echoed through the hall.

The Guildmaster looked around at everyone’s expressions before shaking his head with an amused smile.

”Well...that was only one of my clones,” he said casually. ”I honestly didn’t expect all of you to react like this.” His words settled over the Guild Hall, but instead of easing the atmosphere, they only made the silence even heavier.