Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Kaelion’s hand resting around the hilt of the sword froze the moment he felt the transparent white blade touch his neck. His pupils slowly shifted downward, landing on the Spirit Blade that rested only a hair’s breadth away from his throat. Before he could even think of moving, the cold voice behind him echoed throughout the silent room.

”Who are you?...And why are you searching for me?...Speak or I will kill you.”

The transparent blade pressed slightly deeper against his skin, the heat carried by the condensed Spirit Energy becoming even clearer. A bead of sweat slowly slid down Kaelion’s temple before falling onto the floor.

It wasn’t merely because a weapon was placed around his neck, but because the voice behind him carried no hesitation whatsoever. There was no anger, no excitement, nor any attempt to intimidate him. Atlas spoke as though killing him was simply the next logical action if he refused to answer.

Kaelion had encountered countless enemies during his years as one of the Rosaria Household’s personal knights. He had crossed blades with assassins, criminals, and powerful monsters alike, and he had long learned to distinguish between empty threats and genuine resolve. The Human behind him was not pretending...He truly intended to kill him if he remained silent.

Atlas himself had never taken another person’s life before, but that did not mean he lacked either the resolve or the mental strength to do so. In fact, the exact opposite could become more dangerous. Having never experienced the consequences of killing someone, Atlas had no hesitation born from past experiences.

Although Kaelion knew nothing about Atlas’s past, he could clearly feel the hostility radiating from behind him. It wasn’t ordinary killing intent, Rather, it resembled accumulated caution and distrust directed toward anyone who appeared as a potential threat. The intensity of that hostility made Kaelion’s thoughts turn serious.

’How can someone possess this much hostility?...Though...it also proves he hasn’t killed anyone before, His killing intent hasn’t fully formed yet, but even without it...this much Hostility is already overwhelming.’

He carefully considered every possible option without making the slightest movement. Drawing his sword first was impossible. The blade would cut through his neck long before he could unsheathe it. Turning around was even more unrealistic, Even attempting to gather Spirit Energy carried too much risk with the weapon already pressed against such a vital point.

Just as he reached that conclusion, a sharp sting suddenly spread across his neck.

The Spirit Blade moved only slightly, A thin line appeared across his skin before several drops of blood slowly trickled downward.

Kaelion’s pupils contracted.

’Shit!...He really is going to kill me!’

Atlas’s voice sounded once again, still carrying that same emotionless tone, ”Who are you? Speak quickly or you will be dead. I will give you only one second to speak.”

While issuing that ultimatum, Atlas himself remained surprisingly composed. His attention wasn’t focused solely on the Angel before him. Instead, another thought quietly crossed his mind as he observed the complete lack of interference from anyone else inside the Inn.

’Whoever owns this Inn certainly knows only powerful individuals rent rooms here because of the price. That might be why no one bothers interfering when an assassin or an intruder enters...just like this one.’

Atlas had already sensed numerous powerful presences throughout the building when he first arrived. Even now, he knew several individuals stronger than ordinary S-rank cultivators had undoubtedly noticed the disturbance inside his room. Yet not a single one had attempted to investigate.

That alone told him enough, Although Atlas had never saw the owner of the Inn while he entered, he doubted they were any weaker than the Guildmaster of Solara.

The single second Atlas had granted finally passed and Kaelion still gave no answer. Without another word, Atlas made his decision...His Spirit Blade moved.

Unlike the earlier warning, this strike carried no restraint. The blade immediately swept across Kaelion’s throat with enough precision to slit it completely before the Angel could react.

However...

The instant the blade should have cut through flesh...

Atlas felt no resistance.

His Spirit Blade sliced through nothing but empty air.

The unexpected sensation caused Atlas’s eyes to widen for only the briefest moment before his instinct immediately took over. Rather than continuing the slash, he forcefully stopped his arm only an inch farther ahead while his perception spread throughout the room.

Then...He sensed it.

The wind.

It wasn’t ordinary wind drifting through the open window.

The flowing currents themselves carried a living presence.

A person had become one with the wind itself.

Atlas’s gaze sharpened immediately as the surrounding airflow entered his perception in its entirety.

’A Unique Ability...so that’s how he escaped.’

Even so...

Atlas was not surprised in the slightest after realizing the Angel had transformed into wind. After witnessing the Guildmaster with that ridiculous Unique Ability, this one did not seem nearly as unbelievable.

But...Atlas had to admit one thing. For escaping an opponent at close range, especially when a blade already rested against one’s throat, this Unique Ability was almost perfect. As long as the user could react in time, most attacks would simply pass through empty air without ever touching their real body.

’Even then...your Ability won’t be enough to save you from me.’

That single thought crossed Atlas’s mind as another memory surfaced almost immediately. He remembered the assassins who had escaped from him back in Ormolio. At that time they had managed to flee because he simply wasn’t strong enough to stop them.

He still didn’t know what consequences their escape had caused afterward, but one thing was certain. He had no intention of allowing someone to disappear before his eyes again, especially someone who had entered his room while clearly searching for him.

The instant Atlas finished that thought, he moved.

His figure blurred from its original position before appearing near the side of the bed almost instantly. His eyes never left the constantly shifting flow of wind moving throughout the room.

To anyone else it would have appeared no different from an ordinary breeze entering through the open window, but Atlas’s heightened perception clearly distinguished the difference. Every movement of that wind carried Spirit Energy. Every current changed direction with intention rather than nature.

At the same time, a faint layer of Null quietly spread over Atlas’s right hand.

It coated his palm like a thin invisible layer, quietly distorting the space around the hand. Atlas had no certainty whether it would work, but after seeing the monster’s Null erase ordinary Spirit Energy earlier and after observing the strange interaction between Null and other abilities several times already, one possibility naturally formed inside his mind.

’If his body has truly become wind through Spirit Energy or ability...then Null should interfere with it.’

Without hesitating further, Atlas thrust his open hand forward, He wasn’t aiming randomly.

His perception had already followed the flow of Spirit Energy hidden inside the wind itself.

The next moment...

”Khuk!”

A painful sound escaped from Kaelion’s throat.

The scattered wind violently dispersed in every direction as though something had forcefully torn it apart. Within that same instant, Kaelion’s body was forcefully pulled back into its original form before Atlas’s fingers completely wrapped around his neck.

The room fell silent.

Atlas stood there with one arm fully extended, effortlessly lifting Kaelion’s entire body above the floor using only a single hand. Kaelion instinctively grabbed Atlas’s wrist with both hands, trying to loosen the grip around his throat, but despite pouring strength into his arms, Atlas’s hand did not move even the slightest.

Kaelion’s pupils shook violently.

’How...did he catch me?!’

His thoughts became chaotic for the first time since entering the room.

His Unique Ability had never failed him like this before. Once his body merged with the wind, ordinary attacks simply lost their target altogether. Yet Atlas had not only located him, he had somehow forced his body back into its physical state before grabbing him directly.

’This...this must be why the Patriarch suddenly reacted like that, he knew something was wrong with this Human...Damn it! Do I really have to use the Relic?!’

The realization struck Kaelion harder than Atlas’s grip itself.

Until now he had believed Dravenson had merely become overly cautious after connecting several strange incidents together. But experiencing Atlas’s abilities firsthand completely changed that opinion. This Human possessed methods that ignored common logic altogether.

Even then, Kaelion forced himself to remain rational.

The Relic.

That was still his final option.

He did not wish to use it unless absolutely necessary, especially when the Patriarch himself had entrusted it to him only for emergencies. However, if he truly reached the point where death became unavoidable, he would have no other choice.

But...

There was one problem.

To activate the Relic, he needed enough freedom to move.

Atlas’s grip continued tightening around his throat with every passing second, slowly cutting off both his breathing and the circulation of Spirit Energy throughout his body. At this rate, he would lose consciousness before he ever had the opportunity to reach the Relic.

Atlas looked directly into Kaelion’s eyes.

His expression remained completely calm.

”Last chance.”

The grip tightened another fraction.

”Speak...or die.”

Kaelion immediately realized there was no room left for hesitation.

”I will speak!...I will speak!”

Only after hearing those words did Atlas loosen his grip slightly, just enough for Kaelion to breathe properly without releasing him completely. His Spirit Blade still floated beside him, ready to move the instant the slightest suspicious action occurred.

Atlas narrowed his eyes.

”Are you really going to though? You just tried to escape from here. What if you try again?...Though you won’t be able to.”

Those final words made Kaelion’s pupils contract once again.

Atlas had spoken with complete confidence.

As though he was absolutely certain that no matter what Ability Kaelion possessed, escaping a second time would be impossible.

Kaelion immediately abandoned every remaining thought of resistance, ”N-No...I will speak, really! I am Kaelion...a personal Knight of the Rosaria Household!”

The moment those words left his mouth...Atlas’s eyes widened, His fingers loosened on their own before he unconsciously spoke.

”What?!”