Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

On the other hand, what Seraphiel had seen through the manifestation of her Unique Ability could be said to have been almost completely accurate. She had seen a possible future that was rapidly becoming reality, and Atlas was already approaching the same fate she had witnessed through her vision.

The events had progressed almost exactly as she had seen them, reaching the moment when the unknown man who had taken control of Azarion’s new body stopped Atlas’s wrist and prevented him from completing his attack. The very next moment, he shattered the entire structure of Malbreat’s Glacial Singularity just as he had done in the future Seraphiel had seen.

Atlas’s eyes widened at that exact moment, and every reaction that followed continued along the same sequence of events Seraphiel had witnessed. The unknown man moved toward him, his presence remaining completely different from Azarion’s, and Atlas still had no idea what had happened to the Human King or who this new individual actually was. Then came the final moment of the vision, the point where the man raised his hand and shaped it into a claw before moving toward Atlas’s chest.

But before the claw could reach him, something completely unexpected happened.

The unknown man suddenly frowned as another figure appeared directly in front of Atlas. The movement was so sudden that even he didn’t seem to understand what had happened until the claw had already pierced through the woman’s abdomen instead of Atlas’s chest. A terrible scream immediately escaped from her mouth as the unimaginable pain spread through her entire body in waves.

”AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Atlas’s eyes widened as he stared at the person standing in front of him. Blood immediately began spreading across Seraphiel’s body, but Atlas barely noticed it as his mind struggled to understand how she had appeared here, ’Seraphiel? What is she doing here?! And how did she even appear here?’

Those questions rang through his mind as Seraphiel slowly turned her head backward despite the pain that was already overwhelming her senses. Her entire body trembled from the wound, yet when her eyes met Atlas’s, she still managed to smile. There was no hesitation in that smile, only relief that she had managed to reach him in time.

’I did it... I saved him.’

Before Atlas could understand what she was trying to convey with that expression, another figure suddenly appeared beside Seraphiel. Solaris had arrived almost instantly, and the moment she saw her friend lying injured, her expression changed completely. She immediately grabbed Seraphiel’s body and disappeared from the battlefield before Atlas could even react.

Atlas shifted his position using Mu-Ho and reappeared several meters away from the unknown individual. His eyes immediately moved toward the location where Solaris had taken Seraphiel, and he could see the Angelic Queen already using a technique to stabilize her friend’s condition. Atlas narrowed his eyes as he looked between Seraphiel and the unknown man before finally understanding that several things didn’t make sense.

’I already have the Golden Bead, and it seems this person isn’t the Human King at all.’ His gaze remained fixed on Seraphiel, ’I need to find out why she appeared here, how she appeared here, and most importantly... why did she save me?’

Atlas didn’t waste another moment. He immediately appeared beside Seraphiel, where Solaris was desperately trying to heal her. The moment Atlas appeared, Solaris snapped her eyes toward him with an intense bloodlust. Seeing someone approach her friend while Seraphiel was in this condition was already enough to anger her, but seeing Atlas, someone she believed had indirectly contributed to everything that had happened, made that anger even stronger.

”What the hell are you doing here?! You shouldn’t care about others! Remain selfish and chase your own goals! Get away from her!” Solaris shouted while immediately turning her attention back toward Seraphiel.

Her hands trembled as she continued channeling Spirit Energy into Seraphiel’s body, but no matter how much energy she used, the wound refused to heal. Her highest-level healing technique was doing absolutely nothing, and the realization caused panic to spread across her face.

”No, No, NO!! this can’t be happening! Why isn’t her body healing at all?!”

Without wasting any more time, Solaris immediately took out a spherical wooden Relic. She channeled her Spirit Energy into it, and the Relic floated upward in front of her before its wooden outer structure slowly began peeling apart, almost like the layers of a fruit being removed one after another. Once the outer shell opened completely, a single drop of gleaming liquid emerged from within and fell directly onto Seraphiel’s wounded abdomen.

Solaris expected the wound to begin healing immediately. The Relic she had just used was a Divine Rank Relic, the highest grade of Relic known throughout the entire World, and she had used it without even the slightest hesitation simply to save one person. She didn’t care about the value of the Relic or what consequences might come from using it here. Her actions showed exactly how much Seraphiel meant to her, not merely as someone she valued, but as one of the people she genuinely cared about.

But the result was completely different from what Solaris expected.

The moment the gleaming drop touched Seraphiel’s abdomen, the strange substance surrounding the wound reacted. The drop of liquid was immediately erased before it could produce even the slightest healing effect. Solaris’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the place where the Divine Rank Relic’s power had disappeared.

Atlas watched the entire scene silently, dismissing Solaris’s earlier criticism without responding to it. He also wanted to understand why Seraphiel had sacrificed herself for him, and more importantly, he needed to know what was happening to her body. He crouched beside Seraphiel and extended his hand toward her abdomen, intending to examine the wound before deciding which method could actually be used to save her.

Before his fingers could touch her, however, Solaris spoke again in a chilling voice.

”I already told you not to touch her. Do you want to disregard my warning?”

Atlas didn’t stop. His eyes remained on Seraphiel as he answered calmly, ”That’s not it. I have several methods that might be able to save her, but before I use them, I need to examine what is actually happening. I can already tell that a Divine Rank Relic failed to heal her, but I have other methods that might work.”

Solaris’s eyes widened at his words before her brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. If even a Divine Rank Relic, the highest grade of Relic in the entire World, had failed to affect Seraphiel’s wound, then what exactly did Atlas think he could do? She wanted to question him, but before she could say anything, Atlas had already placed his hand against Seraphiel’s abdomen and closed his eyes.

The moment his hand touched her skin, Atlas felt a massive jolt of information rush through his mind. It was similar to the sensation he had experienced when he permanently assimilated his Bloodline and received information directly through his mind, except this time the information was far more specific. Images and memories rapidly appeared inside his consciousness, and Atlas immediately realized that he wasn’t seeing ordinary memories.

He was seeing the future.

His own future.

Atlas saw himself fighting the unknown man above them. He saw the sequence of events that had just happened, including the moment when the man stopped his wrist, shattered Malbreat’s Glacial Singularity, and finally moved his claw toward Atlas’s chest, and finally the moment where he realized that Seraphiel...had fallen in love with him long ago.