Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Atlas stood on the ground as he stared at the man’s new appearance. Throughout the entire time Kael had been fighting the man, and even after the Dragon Emperor finally made his move, Atlas hadn’t moved an inch.

There were two reasons for that.

The first was that he needed to carefully observe the man before making any move of his own. He had already been careless once because the rage of revenge had consumed him, and that mistake had almost cost him his life only a few minutes ago. If Seraphiel hadn’t intervened at that exact moment, he would have died.

The second reason was that Atlas was still comprehending and practicing the Flames of Nothingness inside his own mind using the knowledge he had received. That knowledge had revealed something extremely important about the Flames of Nothingness.

They could be woven into any type of Martial Art, Technique, Skill, or even Ability itself. This was one of the greatest advantages of the Flames of Nothingness because, until now, Atlas had been unable to directly weave his Null into most of his Abilities. The only exceptions were its own Active Vector and the abilities granted by the Shadow Title.

Whenever Atlas used Null, he couldn’t simultaneously use his Traits because his Traits relied on Spirit Energy, and trying to use both at the same time placed a tremendous strain on his body. Null itself was strange enough, being an energy and an energy at the same time, but the Flames of Nothingness were fundamentally different.

They didn’t rely on any type of Energy or even Null to function. It was as though the Flames themselves were an entirely different type of force, something that clearly wasn’t an Energy in the same way Null was.

Because of that, Atlas had spent all this time practicing most of his Traits both internally and practically with the Flames of Nothingness while quietly observing the man. He was still shocked by what he had witnessed when the man suddenly pierced his own stomach, but that strange action had only made Atlas more cautious.

He didn’t know what the man was capable of yet, and after everything that had happened today, Atlas wasn’t willing to make another careless assumption.

Now, after seeing every single person around him being forced to their knees simply by hearing the man’s Name, Atlas narrowed his eyes. Without saying anything, he coated his entire body with the Flames of Nothingness. The moment that strange force approached his body, the flames erased its effect completely, preventing it from affecting him in the slightest.

Zaakrax, who was gritting his teeth as he struggled to remain standing, immediately sensed that Atlas was still on his feet. However, he wasn’t surprised in the least. He already knew that Atlas was the ”Variable,” and he had deliberately placed that leverage on himself moments ago precisely because he knew this kind of absurdity could happen. A faint smile appeared on his face before he closed his eyes.

’Creation—Barrier of Negligence.’

The moment Zaakrax uttered the words internally, a round barrier immediately formed around his body, but that wasn’t all. Another enormous barrier simultaneously formed around the entire Dragon Continent.

The moment the barriers appeared, the force acting upon Zaakrax and the entire continent was completely neglected. It was as if the force itself failed to recognize the barriers as something it could act upon, causing its effects to be ignored entirely.

With that, Zaakrax floated upward again with calm ease. His expression became serious, but the calmness he had displayed earlier had returned to his face, unlike the sudden sweating and tension he had shown moments ago.

He then turned toward Kael and saw that the boy wasn’t even paying attention to the force acting upon him. His body had been buried roughly two centimeters into the ground, yet he remained in a sleeping position with his arms and legs stretched out and his eyes facing the sky.

It was as though the immense pressure didn’t bother him at all.

Zaakrax could only shake his head after seeing such an unbelievable sight. Kael, on the other hand, was actually laughing as he stared toward the sky.

’Haha, one absurd thing after another. System, are you sure you wanted me to stop Azarion? Or is this the one you wanted me to stop?’ The System responded without hesitation.

[Host, the body is the same. You need to stop him nonetheless to fulfill the Quest.]

Kael sighed as he looked toward the dark clouds that continued to loom above them, making the entire world look as if it had reached the end of its existence. ’Sigh, my Master is struggling there, and I suppose this is happening throughout the whole world, including the Elven Continent, right?’

He didn’t need to wait for a response before making his decision, ’Alright, use Uriel’s Absolute Defense over the Elven Continent and all its people.’

Kael gave the command without hesitation, but the System’s response sounded almost reluctant.

[Host, this Ability can only be used once a year. Are you sure?]

’Yes, I am sure. We need to live to even use it next year, after all.’

The moment Kael finished speaking, the System activated the Ability. However, unlike the Dragon Emperor’s Barrier, there was no visible barrier or grand display of power around Kael, his Master, or the Elven Continent. Nothing seemed to happen at all because the defense was completely invisible.

The next moment, Eliana, who was still on her knees and had been constantly trying to stand up by using her Spirit Energy and even the power of the World Tree, suddenly felt the force acting upon her completely vanish. She froze for a moment, unable to understand what had happened, but before she could think about it any further, Kael appeared behind her.

”You seem to be forgetting how much of an anomaly I am, Master?”

Eliana turned toward him and could only smile as she said, ”Shameless, Hmph!” as she heard his shameless self-praise.

Even in a situation where the entire world was being affected by an overwhelming force, Kael still somehow found the opportunity to praise himself.