Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground - Chapter 1622 Echoes

Chapter 1622  Echoes

One moment Atticus stood across the clearing, and in the next, he appeared before the startled butler, his katana thrusting forward with such force that the air tore apart in its wake.

Clash!

An invisible force abruptly parried his thrust to the side. Atticus twisted with the deflection, then immediately lunged back to create distance. Ozeroth, who had experienced the same interference with his twin hammers, now stood cautiously beside him.

‘Bond.’

‘I know.’

Atticus fixed his narrowed gaze on the butler.

‘He didn’t move.’

“He attacked without warning!”

“How did he move that fast!?”

At Atticus and Ozeroth’s sudden assault, the gods and champions gathered along the edge of the clearing immediately stiffened, staring at them in shock.

“Ah… I thought you were at least somewhat civilized. To attack so suddenly…”

The butler’s earlier surprise faded, replaced by a faint, composed smile.

“You…! How dare you!”

Unlike the butler’s calm composure, the chubby prince pointed at them with a furious expression. His limbs were trembling, clearly shaken from the sudden attack.

“Prince.”

“I will teach you a lesso—”

“Prince.”

“Y-yes.”

The prince froze instantly as the butler placed a firm hand on his shoulder. His fury dissolved into an obedient expression.

“You’re raising your voice. A prince should never conduct himself in such an unsightly manner.”

“…I understand.”

“Mhm.”

Giving a satisfied nod, the butler returned his attention to Atticus.

“I’ll ask you once more, Atticus Ravenstein… are you certain you wish to continue this? You already carry more enemies than most could survive. We are not among those you should provoke lightly.”

The butler calmly raised his arms, and the other four butlers behind him stepped forward in perfect unison.

“Hm, this looks interesting. Don’t leave us out of it.”

Whisker excitedly spoke. Atticus sensed as he, Ozerra and the siblings quietly moved into position beside them, cautiously staring at them. Their numbers now matched those of the Queen’s Guard, but with the cold looks coming from the surrounding gods and champions around them, it was obvious they were heavily outnumbered.

‘Was that his aspect?’

Even so, Atticus’ attention remained fixed on their earlier exchange, rather than the other gods and champions who were beneath his concern.

An unseen force had deflected his and Ozeroth’s surprise attack, and he was still unable to discern its origin.

“…”

At Atticus’ continued silence, the butler released a quiet sigh, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Hah… how unfortunate. After watching you during the ascension games… I had begun to admire you, somewhat.”

“…!”

Atticus threw himself aside without hesitation, a violent gust whipping past his hair where he had stood moments before. The others beside him reacted immediately, retreating with caution as they created distance.

“Oh? You avoided that?”

The butler seemed genuinely surprised that Atticus had avoided the attack. ‘Another invisible attack.’

Atticus tightened his grip on his katana. After the first exchange, he had activated Omnicognition in hopes of perceiving the source of the butler’s aspect power, but he hadn’t seen anything. He had only sensed the killing intent at the final instant, allowing him to barely evade the strike.

‘The others wouldn’t be so fortunate…’

Atticus dared say his senses surpassed those of the others. If even he was scarcely evading despite remaining on full alert, he could not expect the same from them.

“I’ll handle him.”

Atticus advanced forward. Their brief exchange had already confirmed what Atticus suspected.

The butler was the most dangerous among them. “Hmm… how arrogant. Do you truly believe you alone are enough?”

The butler frowned. His eyes suddenly emitted a cold golden glow, but Atticus remained calm as he spoke.

“Endless Blade.”

Streaks of crimson light spiraled around him, and in the next instant, an incalculable number of razorsharp slashes erupted across the skies.

“Ah! So many!”

“What do we do!?”

The surrounding gods and champions immediately panicked. The clearing was kilometers wide, but an attack of such magnitude would inevitably affect everyone present.

They stared at Atticus with wide eyes. But his expression was cold as the slashes descended, bombarding the clearing in an unrelenting storm that sent explosions rippling everywhere and plunged the clearing into chaos.

‘Another.’

Amidst the chaos, Atticus threw himself aside once more, narrowly evading another unseen strike.

‘Hm?’

His eyes narrowed as he briefly caught sight of a faint outline resembling the butler, only for it to vanish again. A spike of killing intent surged, and Atticus immediately maneuvered, evading the invisible attacks in rapid succession.

Ozeroth, Whisker, and the others had already separated from his side and were engaged in their own battles, leaving only Atticus and the butler facing one another. Atticus could sense that the man was just ahead of him, using his will to form a barrier that shielded him from the endless slashes, yet he was here.

‘A replica…’

This wasn’t an ordinary invisible attack, but another copy of the butler was attacking him. Atticus could infer that the man’s aspect existed on a level beyond what his current Omnicognition could fully perceive, especially considering it was not even a will art that he could analyze, and that he originated from the higher levels of the Span. The only reason Atticus had managed to briefly see the man at all was due to the spatial instability caused by his endless slashes. But it was useless to try and keep it up.

‘My will can’t affect it.’

The slashes he unleashed passed through the replica as though it did not exist. ‘Hmm.’ Sensing another surge of killing intent, he vanished instantly, evading the incoming strike.

His bare katana flashed forward in the next instant, and Atticus felt the faint resistance of steel severing flesh.

‘It worked.’

Atticus furrowed his brows. Flickering into existence before him was an exact replica of the butler, its severed head striking the ground. But its body dissolved into drifting particles the next moment. “You destroyed it…?”

Through the haze of smoke and destruction, Atticus saw the butler’s widened eyes fixed intently on his weapon.

“I see… so that is your weapon.”

He nodded slowly, as though everything had already been confirmed in his mind.

“The reports were accurate. But it seems it can sever not only will… but even that which should not be touched.”

The butler raised his arm, his eyes flashing with golden light.

“But in the end, it is still only a weapon. What will you do when you can no longer use it as you please?”

Atticus frowned as he sensed multiple killing intents emerging from different directions.