Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

“It wasn’t simply because of the matter involving that stolen world. It was because the power of a Sovereign encompasses the Laws of Reality.” The moment those words left her mouth, five differently coloured ropes, each made entirely from laws, materialized around Atlas.

In an instant, they wrapped around his entire body, and before he could move even an inch, his body stopped in mid-motion.

‘Huh?’ A question formed in Atlas’s mind as he wondered what had suddenly happened, ‘Did she-?’ Before he could even conclude what had taken place, Trelisa spoke again,

“You can hear me even though I have stopped time for your body and soul, so listen carefully.” She lifted her index finger, placed it at the centre of his forehead, and continued speaking.

“From now on, you are the loyal servant of my liege, Demious.” Her words echoed throughout the empty space as the laws of reality around them responded to her command, attempting to turn Atlas into nothing more than a servant who would obey her orders.

“You will obey every command I give you-!” Before she could finish her sentence, Atlas’s voice suddenly rang out, even though he remained completely motionless.

“Is that so?” The moment he questioned her, the ropes binding Atlas completely disappeared as the Flames of Nothingness erased them. In an instant, his body returned to normal, and he absorbed the entire event of the laws affecting him. Although doing so consumed a considerable amount of energy, Atlas didn’t care, as he still had more than enough Aether Energy remaining.

Trelisa’s eyes widened as she instinctively flinched backward.

‘What? He erased the effects of the laws?!’ She couldn’t believe what she was witnessing, even with the evidence directly in front of her. ‘T-Those flames… what the hell are they?!’ She focused her gaze again, and her eyes turned slightly golden as she attempted to perceive the origin of those flames.

However, the moment her eyes locked onto the flames, Trelisa frowned as she saw nothing but an abyss. It was a deep abyss of Nothingness, containing not even a single speck of dust. ‘Huh? What kind of place even is that?’ Just as she attempted to perceive more, Atlas’s voice rang out again, “I suggest you stop trying to perceive my ability, or the result will be bad.”

As he spoke, Atlas had already figured out what had happened to Melina when she used her Eyes of Death on him. It was none other than his Metadata Axiom Trait, which remained passively active and prevented others from perceiving him. However, he now suspected that the trait’s effects went beyond simply preventing others from examining him or his abilities.

‘It doesn’t just prevent perception like some defensive ability. It also has some kind of offense when someone tries to perceive me or anything about me.’ The moment that thought formed in his mind, Trelisa felt the consequences. Her eyes burst apart in the same way Melina’s had when she attempted to perceive Atlas, leaving her unable to continue using them.

Atlas observed her reaction and smiled slightly, ‘This confirms it, there is some kind of hidden offense.’ He didn’t waste any more time thinking about the trait, as he had already obtained the confirmation he needed. ‘I better kill her quickly rather than dragging this out, It will also be a good experiment for my Domain.’

With that thought, he prepared to end the fight while Trelisa regenerated her eyes, trembling from sheer fear.

“Astral Domain – Domain of Nothingness.”

Immediately, his Domain extended outward from his body as his voice echoed through the surrounding space. Everything in the path of its expansion was erased in an instant, and the darkness continued spreading until it covered Trelisa as well. Her eyes widened as she felt an invisible force acting upon her body, attempting to erase her very existence.

She reacted at that same moment, “Law of Time — Chronostasis Barrier.”

At her command, time particles gathered around her and formed an apparently impenetrable barrier before the Domain could fully envelop her. Any force that touched its surface was dragged into the fabric of time, where its moment of impact was displaced into the past, causing the attack to vanish from the present before it could reach her.

Atlas didn’t care what technique or ability she was using. He continued spreading his Domain by supplying it with more and more Aether Energy, allowing the darkness to expand until it reached a radius of around a hundred kilometers, covering both him and Trelisa.

‘It cost me almost the same amount when it was around a million kilometers. She is strong, really strong, but…’ After assessing the situation, he finally spoke.

“Your Barrier won’t be able to protect you, regardless of its mechanisms. It is time for you to go to hell.” Without a shred of hesitation, Atlas imposed his will upon the entire Domain, directing its power toward the barrier protecting Trelisa. The moment he did so, the barrier began to show signs of damage under the force acting upon it.

CRACK!

Trelisa’s eyes widened as she watched the barrier, which had been formed through the power of a law, begin breaking apart like glass.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” she shouted, unable to accept what was happening before her eyes. Before she could say anything else, the force of Nothingness spreading throughout the Domain reached her bare skin, and her body began disintegrating into Nothingness in a single instant.

“NOOO!! S-STOP!!! I BEG YOU!!!” Trelisa finally reached the end of her rope and began begging for mercy. She could feel her entire being, including her soul, being erased without resistance, leaving her with almost no time to react. Even if she tried to move at that moment, she doubted she would be able to do so before the erasure consumed the rest of her existence.

Atlas watched her fading body as tears slipped from her eyes, his expression remaining indifferent. “I told you not to target me, it’s your own fault for realizing it too late.”

He looked at her fading form one last time as she finally shut her eyes completely.

‘I… am sorry, my King.’ Those were Trelisa’s last thoughts before they faded away along with her existence.

– – –

[A/N: First of all, Thank you a lot Boqorliban for your support from several different accounts, they help the Book and me, the author to stay motivated a LOT.

I also Thank the others, every single bit of support means a lot to me, be it through PS, GT, comments. I am very happy to see you all sticking to the story till now!!

REALLY THANK YOU ALL!!

And I really hope that you all stick to the rest of the story!

Second is that you all already know how much of an anomaly Atlas is, so every match against these powerful beings ending in a span of some minutes is obvious. Do not worry though, there are some real twists coming on the way~]