Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground - Chapter 1707 Demon

Ancestor Borun hovered within the smoke-choked sky, a somber expression resting upon his aged face.

 Sprawled beneath him was a ruined city of shattered buildings and severed bodies. The streets were drenched in deep mixtures of gold, red, and blue, while billions of corpses lay strewn across the land beneath a deathly silence.

Borun remained deep in contemplation. After all, his entire lineage had just been wiped clean within seconds. Well… almost.

The demon his youngest had foolishly offended had chosen to leave a single survivor alive. Him. Borun wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly why he had been spared, especially after the demon had calmly declared his name before leaving as though nothing in the world concerned him.

Every hunter who entered the Crown chased the same thing. Influence. Borun wasn’t certain whether he should feel grateful for being left alive… or terrified that the demon had annihilated an entire stronghold, slaughtering billions merely to spread his name.

Ultimately, Ancestor Borun chose the former.

His gaze slowly drifted downward toward his crotch. It had been a long while, but he would need to put it to proper use if he ever hoped to rebuild his lineage from scratch.

A deep sigh escaped him, regret weighing heavily upon his heart. One foolish mistake from a single descendant… had resulted in devastation on this scale. Such was the world they lived in.

With a grim expression, Ancestor Borun turned and departed, intending to fulfill his side of the bargain.

Before the crimson sun fully dipped beneath the horizon, dyeing the world in pale scarlet, the name of the demon hunter spread across the entirety of the First Crown.

Atticus Ravenstein.

The demon hunter who had singlehandedly decimated one of the three major strongholds of the First Crown, and annihilated the great Mosan family.

And just like that, Atticus’ influence soared to an unprecedented level, surpassing even the scale the Crown itself had demanded of them.

…

The blizzard raged violently. Wild winds mixed with biting cold that seemed capable of seeping into one’s very bones.

The cold had no effect on Atticus. The winds themselves parted around him as he moved, while every snowflake that drifted within a hundred feet of his position melted instantly.

The environment had proven itself a dangerous enemy within the Second Crown. Since their arrival, they had crossed lethal forests where the trees and fauna alike seemed hellbent on killing them. Seas whose waters were alive and eager to swallow them whole. And now, a blizzard seemingly determined to bury them beneath endless snow.

Yet they never stopped moving.

Atticus’ eyes still retained their unnaturally wide luster, though the bloodlust within them had become far more restrained. After many days of travel, he had finally begun gaining control over his urges. Though the desire to kill and destroy constantly lingered within him, he had discovered a method to keep himself in check.

Procrastination.

Perhaps for the first time in history, procrastination had become a good thing.

‘They’re still staring.’

Atticus sighed inwardly. After his little genocide in the First Crown, the way some of the others looked at him had changed.

Though people like Ozeroth, Whisker, Azeron, Aurora, and several others showed little reaction, unmistakable fear lingered within Anastasia’s eyes. Avalon looked at him with a complicated expression, while Freya’s gaze burned with resolve.

And lastly, Anorah constantly looked as though she wanted to say something… yet always stopped herself before speaking. The awkwardness eventually led to Atticus walking alone at the very front while the others trailed behind him.

Atticus exhaled softly before shaking his head.

‘Focus.’

They would be fine. And regardless, he still stood by his decision. Destroying that city had shaved years off their journey. To Atticus, they had lost nothing. After all, the billions within that city might as well have been dirt beneath his feet.

Ignoring the stares, Atticus focused on the tall golden-haired woman leading the group ahead. Men and women clad in golden attire surrounded her from every side. It was none other than Unive.

‘How much longer?’

Atticus frowned faintly before increasing his pace and catching up to her.

“Are we close?”

“Heeek!”

Unive nearly jumped out of her skin in shock. Yet the moment she saw Atticus’ furrowed brows, she failed to calm down. If anything, panic flooded her face even more.

“D-do you need something from me…?”

The members of the Queen’s Guard stared at Unive with deep frowns. This interaction had repeated itself countless times ever since they reunited in the First Crown. For a member of the Queen’s Guard to fear another so openly… especially a mere child…

“…how far away are we?” Atticus asked.

“W-we’re almost there! Very close! Extremely close, actually!”

Atticus silently stared at her. The tall woman visibly shrank beneath his gaze before swallowing nervously. A moment later, Atticus simply nodded and motioned for her to continue leading the way.

Unive hurriedly moved forward again, subtly quickening her pace to place as much distance between herself and Atticus as possible. As it should be.

As they continued onward, one of the Queen’s Guard approached her.

“…Unive.” The woman wore a deep frown. “Why are you so terrified of that child?”

Disdain lingered openly within her eyes. For one, it was practically treasonous for a member of the Queen’s Guard to bow before anyone aside from the queen herself. Not even Prince Ozeroth and Ozerra were exceptions. The others also turned toward Unive, waiting for her answer.

“That’s…”

Unive’s eyes darkened briefly, though she quickly suppressed the humiliation within them.

“…you’ll understand once you see him fight,” she finally said in a low voice, as though trying to avoid Atticus overhearing her. “Until then, try very hard not to anger him. He’ll kill you without even blinking.”

Shock and disdain flashed across their faces. None of them feared a mere child. Still, the seriousness in Unive’s tone caused many of them to hesitate. They understood her capabilities better than anyone. If even she was this cautious, then…

Eventually, they nodded with somber expressions.

The journey continued for some time. Then suddenly, Unive came to an abrupt halt.

Atticus’ voice sounded from behind her.

“What happened?”

“…um.”

Unive glanced down at the map before looking toward the raging blizzard ahead with uncertainty clouding her face.

“…we’re here?”

Yet beyond the endless snow and ice, there was nothing else in sight. The other agents frowned deeply as well.