22 First Subjec (2/2)
The kneeling knight suddenly stood up with eyes which expressed intense loathing and rage.
”As expected! You truly are wicked. A piece of s.h.i.+t who is only alive because of royal blood. I-”
Before the knight could continue ranting, Atlas interrupted with a simple statement which was accompanied by a facetious smile.
”I am. And?”
Taken aback by the blatant display of indifference, the knight roared in anger. Charging at the former king with the sword of the Royal Guard, he had no intention of sparing the monster in front of him.
Unleas.h.i.+ng a tremendous slash, the air trembled and even generated heat. However, it did not slice through flesh. Atlas negated the attack with the jewel from his crown and disarmed the knight. In the next moment, he struck the knight with so much force that the armor dented and was warped to the point that only legendary blacksmiths could repair it.
”Tch. My weak bones ache from this”, Atlas stated as he held his bruised fist.
He then took the sword of the Royal Guard and spun it in a playful and carefree manner.
”I wonder if this will last long when subst.i.tuting a cleaver”, he spoke out aloud with a sinister grin.
”To use the sword for slaying the innocent... You monster!”
[Trial of Pride Transcended]
Atlas pa.s.sed the Trial of Pride as he was someone who did not care about reputation. His ego was directly proportional to his strength and even then, he did not carelessly flaunt it. The Trial would attempt to chain people down through their perception of righteousness and desire for proper recognition but that would not work on Atlas. After all, he was someone who couldn't care less about upholding justice or being lauded as a Good Samaritan.
Somehow, this had reminded him of the time when he used to force his secretary to run the company in his stead back in his original world. She had complaints which he ignored and barely tried to compensate for.
”Sir, as the CEO, you need to be more involved with your company!”
Atlas raised his head from the book he had been reading and stared at her for a bit. She subconsciously reacted by blus.h.i.+ng but tried to stand her ground.
”You-”, she began but was immediately stopped by Atlas.
”I'll treat you to dinner later”, he said before returning to the page he had been interrupted at.
Returning to reality, he felt contentment from pa.s.sing so many of the Trials of Sin.
”Are there anymore Trials left?”, Atlas asked expectantly.
Revel was surprised by his enthusiasm towards Trials but laughed it off.
”It can be arranged as the Duke of Sloth prefers peace.”
He seems to be prepared for my arrival. There must be a prophecy or divination for him to have knowledge of events a decade in advance, Atlas thought.
”What is your second request?”
”To be a retainer in your entourage”, Revel said after a moment of silence.
”Are you sure?”, Atlas asked as he was unfamiliar with the workings of the Follower Subsystem and was hesitant to use in case of complications.
The Duke of Pride merely nodded in a solemn and final manner.
”Very well”, Atlas said before hovering his hand in front of the Duke of Pride's head.
[Induct]
For a moment, the world was encompa.s.sed in light and when it dissipated, Revel could only look towards Atlas in astonishment. He did want to join the World Traverser's entourage but did not expect immediate benefits. As soon as the Induction was completed though, he could feel overwhelming strength course through his very being and he knew he was on par with the Diabolic One now.
Other than the obvious increase in strength, the only physical change was the appearance of an enigmatic symbol on the top of his right hand which signified the System.
Seeing his brilliant radiance, the Holy Supremacy knelt down in acknowledgement of something greater than himself and so did the Duke of Sloth who had just arrived.
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