Saga of Atlantis

A burning crimson flame started to engulf the entire place.

"THEN WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

I raised my empty hand to cover my squinted eyes from the blazing flames.

The man, with his entire body stitched weirdly, raised both his hand above.

A dark eerie light shone from the book hovering beside him.

A figure slowly started to creep out of the book.

Shifting my gaze, I could clearly see "him" grinding his teeth until they broke under the pressure.

The anger and frustration were clear with the burning flames.

"You mocked my faith in you by acting like you did nothing wrong!"

The man snarled, his voice booming within the large hall.

And even though I should listen to what he had to say properly, I gritted my teeth, ignoring his words.

I knew that in some way "I" had wronged him, but I didn't want to think about that now.

Using Star Sense, I connected to a node at the ceiling of the room.

The world around me twisted, and I found myself looking down at everything from above.

BOOM!!!

Stay tuned to empire

The ceiling beneath me broke as I used it as a base to propel myself down like a bolt of lightning.

Raising the Draupnir, I thrust it at the figure creeping out of the book.

CLANG!!!

My body halted abruptly as the tip of Draupnir clashed with something hard.

I quickly used Star Thread to connect to a node far away as a blurry weapon lunged toward me.

My body returned back to its original place while the being came out of the book.

'A summon?'

I wondered as I looked at the being.

It was a humanoid insect with a large body and a dark exoskeleton that reflected the burning flames.

Sharp crimson blades, slightly curved, emerged from its elbows.

A pair of insect wings fluttered behind it, while its face was covered with something that looked like a mask.

The hair on my nape rose as the insect's body blurred with a thunderous shockwave.

My head twisted as it reappeared behind me, ready to plunge its elbow blade into my side.

I once again used Star Energy to vanish from the place.

But before I could even get a grip on myself, the insect appeared in front of me again.

Instinctively, I parried its blade with my spear, stopping it as it tried to cut my face in two halves.

The insect raised its knee to lodge it deep into my stomach.

"Elemental Aura."

I whispered as I lowered my free hand, blocking its knee.

"Strength of fire."

The muscles in my hand strengthened as I punched the insect's chest with full force.

Its body flew back before crashing into a wall, cracking it like lightning had struck.

Star Sense.

Not letting the upper hand go, I made a connection with the node just beside it before my vision blurred.

I burst my hand forward, thrusting my spear into its chest.

Its blade raised to block the strike.

We crashed together.

Then I propelled back, observing the place, the insect prowling toward me.

It slashed again and again while I kept blocking and parrying its attacks.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the limping man.

'Killing the summoner is better than fighting the summon.'

With that thought, I deflected the attack before I turned on my heel.

A space node beside the "man" brought me inches away from him.

But the insect was also fast, the wings giving it an edge.

It blocked my spear aimed at the man before shifting its body lower.

Fuck.

"Urghh!"

Its hard head made of exoskeleton hit my stomach, hurling me far away.

My body flew in the air like a broken kite before I rolled on the ground. I adjusted myself before I rose back to my feet.

My stomach hurt, but I didn't have the time to check the damage.

"Why...."

The stitched-up "man" whispered.

"Why would you do such a thing....?"

His broken, almost betrayed voice echoed, cutting through the sizzling flames.

"Why would you let us poor souls go through such pain...?"

I felt chills down my spine as his hollow eyes turned toward me.

"You burned everyone in your flames of ambition...."

The pages of the book beside him turned once again before abruptly stopping.

A greenish light shone from the book, another creature creeping out of it.

"Never again!"

The man yelled as the insect prowled toward me once again.

'He's a tricky one.'

Even though barely, that thing could keep up with my teleportation, and for someone so big, it was surprisingly fast.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

...And to catch him properly, I needed to be faster.

"Elemental Aura."

I whispered as I lowered my body, half-squatting.

"Swiftness of wind."

An aura of wind rushed through my muscles, and another layer covered my body.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed both Nadya and Elysia rushing toward their mother.

'Good.'

My body blurred as I appeared in front of it, blocking its blade with my spear.

Draupnir multiply.

The spear shivered before replicating itself into three different spears that fell down.

I grabbed one with my free hand, thrusting it forward.

With both spears in my hands, I burst faster, unleashing a flurry of cuts and thrusts at it.

Finally, it showed signs of fatigue as the sharp point of Draupnir started to break its blade.

And just as I gained the upper hand, a bolt of lightning rushed toward me.

I twisted my body slightly, letting it rush past me while making Draupnir return to its ring form.

The insect tried to fly away, but I grabbed its foot before slamming it back on the ground.

My gaze shifted upward as I noticed a being that looked like a huge, limbless lizard hovering in the air.

Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, opened up before another bolt of lightning rushed toward me.

I raised the insect by its leg, which tried so hard to run away from my grip.

The bolt of lightning hit its body while I connected with another node to the space beside the lizard.

Using the insect like a weapon, I hit it with full force.

The lizard's huge body crashed onto the ground.

Cracks appeared below it while I loomed over it once again.

BOOM!!!

Grabbing the insect's leg with both hands, I raised its body high before slamming it onto the monster.

My grip tightened on its leg as I raised it again before slamming it down.

I did it again and again.

Until I was left with half of the insect's body, its internal organs spilling onto the ground.

A deep hole was also in the stomach of the lizard, which wasn't left alive as well.

I threw the remaining body away before I turned toward the summoner, my breath steady, but I felt exhausted on the inside.

The man had his gaze fixed on me as I walked toward him.

"Star Sense."

I whispered softly as I gazed at the book whose pages were flipping once again.

My brain throbbed with unimaginable pain as eight vertices of space nodes conjured around the book.

A cube emerged around it, sealing it away from the man's reach.

"Ah...."

The man let out an anguished, pained voice as he fell to his knees.

Blood dripped down his hollow eyes as I walked toward him.

The man lazily raised his head to look at me.

"Did our sacrifice ever mean anything to you?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

And now that I focused on it.

There was only sadness and betrayal in his voice.

"...Were we nothing but worthless puppets?"

He asked as I loomed over him.

Draupnir conjured in my hand once again as I took deep breaths.

"You shouldn't have trusted 'me.'" I said as I raised my spear up.

"Ahh."

He let out an indistinguishable voice before his lips curled up slightly.

"....I will see you in hell, mast—."

Before he could finish his words, I cleaved his body in half, ending his miserable life.

"..."

But I didn't feel a sense of accomplishment.

All I felt was pity.

Pity for what he had to go through.

'Edda.'

[Yes?]

'...Am I a monster?'

[Depends. What type of monster are you talking about?]

'Which one do you think I am?'

[Horny one.]

I chuckled at her words as I shook my head before walking toward Nadya and Elysia.

The crystal that covered their mother's body broke as soon as "he" died.

Both sisters were trying to examine their mother's condition.

"How is she?" I asked as soon as I reached closer.

"She seems fine," Nadya replied, checking on her emotions with her abilities. "....I will try waking her up."

"...Hmm, try it." I mumbled as I looked at their mother.

She had the same pink hair as her daughter, with a mature face that didn't match her age.

Elysia quickly blocked her body as my gaze moved down.

....And for some reason, I felt offended.

"Cough, cough!"

She coughed violently as she started to gain back her senses.

Her pink eyes slowly opened up, gazing everywhere confusedly before they fixed on me.

"Mother," Nadya whispered softly, her voice trembling.

But her mother ignored her and continued to look at me.

....Her gaze slowly morphed from confusion to horror.