Chapter 68: Killing the three Atlantian sages
The word hung in the air like a death sentence.
War.
The students below trembled. Many had never even seen a true battle. They only watched them through ethernet feeds or projection screens. Now they were hearing the threat of an all out war between humanity and Atlantis.
And more importantly, they did not know who these people were. After all, Atlantis was a forbidden subject among humanity. The higher ups always suppressed information about them.
Arthur’s fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. His aura pulsed dangerously, pressing against the three Atlantian Sages like an invisible tide.
Diana did not speak. She simply stepped forward, positioning herself directly between Victor and the enemy Sages. Her message was clear. You will not touch him.
Elyndros drew his weapon halfway. It was a wand. He was ready to unleash his mythical grade spells at any moment.
Yet the three Atlantian Sages did not flinch. Their confidence was absolute. They believed they could each handle at least two human sages alone.
The leader tilted his head mockingly.
"Decide quickly. We do not have all day."
Then he looked at Diana.
"What a fine woman you are. You should serve our royal family as a concubine. We Atlantians will treat you well and you will not have to die."
Lust dripped from his words.
Victor watched the exchange with an unreadable expression. His eyes moved from the leader to the assassin who had tried to kill him, then to the third Sage who had remained silent the entire time.
But now, the leader had crossed the final limit.
Diana felt so angry that her ancient bloodline stirred inside her. She was about to lose control.
But suddenly, Victor laughed.
It was a quiet laugh at first. Low and soft. But it grew louder, echoing across the training ground.
Everyone turned to look at him.
The Atlantian leader narrowed his eyes.
"What is so amusing, insect?"
Victor stopped laughing. His face became calm again, but his eyes held something dangerous.
"You come to my academy. You threaten my students. You try to kill me. You demand that I hand myself over. And now you insulted my woman?"
He shook his head slowly.
"Do you fish have any idea where you are standing?"
The leader’s aura flared.
"Insolent brat. You survived one attack through luck or some hidden artifact. Do not mistake that for power."
Victor smiled.
"Luck?"
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
"President, humanity is surely going on a full scale war against those fishes. I am sorry about this. But these three motherfuckers cannot leave here today with their dog lives."
Arthur looked at him with wide eyes. Elyndros did not know where Victor was getting his confidence from. Was it his sword?
Diana, who was about to unleash her attack, looked at Victor.
Even she did not know what Victor was thinking.
"Victor, do not do anything rash. They are sages. Five realms above you. There is nothing in the world that can cross that gap. It is the law of the world."
Arthur tried to reason with him when he saw that madness in Victor’s eyes.
But Victor had already taken out his crimson blade and activated it with his mana.
"Victor, no..." Arthur roared.
The three sages eyes widened.
"What is that blade?" Their drool almost came out.
"Oh man. This human is a walking treasure vault. Hahahahahaha," the third sage laughed out loudly.
Boom.
Suddenly the three released a tremendous pressure. Somehow they combined their pressure. And it was one plus one plus one greater than three.
Elyndros and Arthur’s faces changed drastically.
Diana’s instinct screamed violently.
The three Atlantian sages ran toward Victor with their full force.
Diana and Arthur ran toward him as well with supersonic boom.
Elyndros fired his mythical spell, Extinction Infernal Ray.
Victor smiled. He knew exactly what kind of situation he was in.
"Victor, use teleportation. You will die," Nova screamed. Even she did not understand why Victor would do something this level of madness just because someone insulted Diana.
Everything was happening within one hundred meters around him.
His mouth curled up.
"Time stop," he muttered silently.
Instantly a gray domain gushed out from him. Everything within one hundred meters froze in time.
The six sages stopped. Elyndros’s mythical grade spell stopped mid air.
The five hundred students eyes widened. They could not comprehend what they were seeing.
The six supreme beings of the world stood like statues.
Even Nova, the AI, also stopped.
Victor’s life essence started draining crazily. One second of stopped time cost one month worth of lifespan. He had already lost two months before during the beast tide.
And now he was using it consciously.
He had no time to waste.
Victor stepped forward. The gray domain held everything in perfect stillness. The Atlantian leader’s mocking expression was frozen on his face. The second sage’s hands were extended forward, mid attack. The third sage’s laugh was caught in his throat.
They had no idea what was happening.
Victor walked past Arthur, who stood like a marble statue. He walked past Diana, whose face was twisted in desperate fury. He walked past Elyndros, whose wand had just released the most powerful spell of his life.
The extinction infernal ray hung in the air like a frozen river of death.
Victor reached the three Atlantian sages. He looked at them one by one.
The leader had called him an insect.
The leader had looked at Diana with lust.
The leader had demanded that she serve as a concubine.
Victor raised his crimson blade.
"Die," he muttered.
He swung the sword.
Puchi.
The blade passed through their three necks together. It was a single clean arc. The crimson edge did not even slow down.
Blood did not spray. Not yet. Time was still frozen.
Victor stepped back. He could feel his lifespan burning away with every heartbeat. One month per second. He had already used three seconds. Four. Five.
He deactivated the time stop.
The gray domain vanished.
Sound returned to the world.
The three Atlantian sages heads slid off their shoulders simultaneously. Blood erupted from their necks like crimson fountains. Their bodies stood for a moment longer, then collapsed to the ground.
The extinction infernal ray flew past Victor’s shoulder and struck the empty ground behind him. It exploded into a crater of molten rock.
Arthur stumbled forward. He had been mid sprint. Now he stopped, staring at the three headless bodies.
Diana caught herself. Her bloodline rage subsided instantly, replaced by pure shock.
Elyndros lowered his wand. His hands were shaking.
The five hundred students remained frozen, but now from pure terror and disbelief.
Victor stood among the three corpses. His crimson blade dripped with Atlantian blood. His breathing was steady. His face was calm.
But inside, he felt the cost. Months of his life gone. Years if he counted properly. He did not know how much it was. But he did not regret it.
Arthur was the first to speak.
"Victor... what did you just do?"
Victor wiped his blade on the leader’s robe.
"I protected what is mine."
Arthur looked at the three sages. These were beings five realms above Victor. Beings that could have destroyed entire armies. And they were dead. Their heads lay on the training ground like discarded toys.
"There is no law that can explain this," Arthur whispered.
Diana walked to Victor. She did not say thank you. She did not ask how. She simply stood beside him, her shoulder touching his.
Elyndros approached slowly. He looked at the crimson blade.
"That sword. It is not mythical grade. It is something else entirely."
Victor did not confirm or deny.
"The war has started," he said quietly. "These three came to kill me. They failed. But more will come."
Arthur nodded. His face was grim.
"We need to prepare. The whole academy. The whole human race."
Victor looked at the students. They were still staring at the corpses. Some were vomiting. Some were crying. Some were just standing in shock.
He raised his voice.
"Listen to me."
Every eye turned to him.
"You just witnessed the death of three Atlantian Sages. They came here to threaten us. To enslave us. To kill us. And they died like dogs on our ground."
He paused.
"This is what awaits any Atlantian who steps foot on human territory. This is the price they pay for insulting us. For threatening us. For looking at what is ours."
The students straightened. Some of the fear in their eyes turned into something else. Something harder.
Victor turned to Arthur.
"President, send word to every human leader. Tell them the war is no longer coming. It is here. And tell them that Victor Walker is waiting for them at the battlefield."
Arthur looked at the young man before him. He saw the blood on Victor’s clothes. The sword in his hand. The cold fire in his eyes.
He nodded.
"I will send the message myself."
Victor looked at Diana. She met his gaze without flinching.
"You are mine." he said softly. " And mine alone. And anyone who dares to deny that will become like them."
Diana smiled. It was a dangerous smile.
"I know."
