Chapter 231: No Response

On the other hand, Atlas floated in the position where Azarion had been moments earlier, his eyes following the direction in which the seemingly Human-Monster had been sent flying. The distance was already several kilometers, yet Atlas could still sense his presence clearly. He remained silent for a moment as he considered the exchange, especially the amount of force required for his punch to actually injure Azarion.

’If I hadn’t used Reiden to enhance the punch with Null, it wouldn’t have even landed a scratch on him.’

Atlas narrowed his eyes slightly. He had already realized that Azarion’s physical body was far stronger than he had initially expected, and the fact that his previous punch had barely achieved anything without the additional enhancement only confirmed it. The Monster-like appearance was strange enough on its own, but the physical strength hidden beneath it was even more concerning. Atlas didn’t know exactly what Azarion had done to his body, but he could tell that whatever transformation had occurred had pushed his physical abilities to an entirely different level.

He then turned toward Velmira, who was still watching the distant position where Azarion had crashed.

"Lady Velmira, if you want to kill that Human in a Monster’s skin, then you are free to do so. I won’t interfere with it, but I will also be killing him, so you should not interfere with me either."

Atlas spoke calmly, without any hostility toward Velmira. He wasn’t interested in arguing over who would kill Azarion first, and considering that Velmira had already been fighting him before Atlas arrived, he had no reason to prevent her from doing what she wanted. At the same time, Atlas had no intention of allowing anyone to stop him from taking the strange substance inside Azarion.

With that, Atlas turned toward the direction in which Azarion had been sent flying. His perception immediately located the Human King, who was already standing again despite the attack he had just received. Atlas didn’t waste another moment. His figure disappeared from his position, and using Mu-Ho, he instantly crossed the distance and appeared directly in front of Azarion once again.

Velmira stared at the scene in a daze.

She had already seen Atlas move like this before, but even after witnessing it several times, she still couldn’t completely accept how difficult it was to perceive his movements. There was no gradual acceleration that she could follow, nor was there any obvious fluctuation of Spirit Energy before he appeared at another location. Atlas simply vanished and appeared somewhere else as if the distance between the two points had never existed.

However, what concerned Velmira even more than his movement was what he had said earlier.

’He doesn’t know that it’s Azarion who sent him into that Ruin yet.’

Her eyes narrowed as she watched Atlas confront Azarion again.

’He thinks it was some other Noble. If he finds out the truth, that hatred buried deep within his soul might be released completely, and he could end up being consumed by it.’

Velmira had already sensed something unusual within Atlas when she first encountered him. His hatred toward the Human Continent and its Nobles wasn’t ordinary resentment. There was something much deeper connected to it, something that seemed to have existed within his soul long before she had ever met him.

She had no idea what had happened to him in the past, but she understood one thing clearly. If Atlas discovered that Azarion was responsible for sending him into that Ruin, the hatred he had been suppressing might completely overwhelm his rational thoughts.

Velmira slowly narrowed her eyes as another possibility entered her mind.

’So Eliomor really was planning to manipulate me into fighting this Atlas.’

She didn’t like that conclusion in the slighest.

Everything that had happened since her return had gradually begun fitting together in ways that were difficult to ignore. Eliomor had restored her strength, allowed her to return to the Human Continent, and then placed her in a situation where Atlas had eventually appeared in front of her while it did not ask for anything in return, It was difficult to believe that all of these events were unrelated.

Yet Velmira couldn’t completely rule out another possibility, ’But I also can’t rule out the possibility that I’m still playing into its hands...’

Her expression became colder, ’What exactly does Eliomor want?’

The question had remained inside her mind for a thousand years. She had spent countless years trying to understand the intentions of the existence that had interfered with her fate, but every answer she found only created more questions. Even now, after everything she had experienced, she still couldn’t determine what Eliomor ultimately wanted from her.

Velmira shook her head and dismissed those thoughts for the moment. Whatever Eliomor’s objective was, she couldn’t afford to waste more time thinking about it while Azarion was still alive, ’Before Atlas finds out that this Monster is actually Azarion, I need to kill him.’

Her eyes became colder as she looked toward the distant battlefield, ’Enough measuring what he was planning to do with this new appearance. Enough waiting for Eliomor to reveal its true goals. It’s time to release all my restraints and kill him.’

Velmira had not spent all this time fighting Azarion simply because she wanted to kill him. Throughout their battle, she had also been carefully observing the strange substance surrounding his body. She wanted to understand how it worked, how it interacted with different forms of power, and whether there were any reliable methods of countering it.

She had already discovered one.

Soul Force.

Her eyes narrowed as she made her decision.

"Soul Force ─ Release."

The moment those words left her mouth, the enormous amount of Soul Force contained deep within Soul itself began surging outward. She had been deliberately restraining her power throughout the battle, partly because she needed to understand Azarion’s abilities and partly because she wanted to see what Eliomor was planning.

Now, she was removing that restraint. However, the moment her Soul Force began to fully emerge, Velmira suddenly felt something interfere directly with her soul.

Her expression changed.

A restriction that had existed deep within her soul suddenly tightened with overwhelming force, preventing her from releasing the full extent of her power. The connection was unmistakable.

Eliomor.

Velmira’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot as anger spread across her face.

"Eliomor, what are you doing?" Her voice carried through the surrounding area, but there was no immediate response.

Velmira’s Soul Force continued pressing against the restriction, attempting to break through it, yet the restriction remained firmly attached to her soul. She had already spent more than a thousand years trying to free herself from Eliomor’s influence, and now, when she had finally decided to stop holding herself back, it had directly interfered with her again.

Her anger intensified.

Then, just as she was about to speak again, a familiar yet different voice suddenly reached her from somewhere above, "Oh ho, that won’t do. Your interference at your full power will ruin the entire plan, so please restrain yourself, Velmira Ashenworth, the last descendant of the First Human King. Haha!"

Velmira’s expression changed instantly.

She looked upward.

A figure was standing high above the battlefield, watching the situation below with a calm expression. The voice had been familiar, but there was something different about the way it sounded now, something that immediately made Velmira’s instincts become alert.

Her eyes widened as she recognized the figure. For a brief moment, she simply stared at him, "Veyron?!"