Chapter 329: Joking?

Atlas raised an eyebrow at Seraphiel’s excitement before nodding. "Yes, it definitely looks like one of them."

He had already observed several worlds during his previous arrival in the outer space, so the sight wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to him. However, he could understand why Seraphiel was so fascinated, considering that this was her first time seeing the Galaxy.

"But it seems not all worlds have living beings similar to us inside them. Some have completely different races, while others are either entirely empty or filled with nothing but insect-like living beings." Atlas explained this as he remembered his own observations from the time he had ventured into outer space to integrate Aether energy into his body.

Seraphiel nodded as she turned her attention toward the distant worlds once again. Some supported civilizations resembling those of Eliomor, while others contained life that was difficult to compare with anything she had ever encountered.

She continued admiring the scenery until something else caught her attention, causing her to point toward a distant part of space.

"What is that, Atlas?" Atlas followed the direction of her finger and noticed something nearly two hundred thousand kilometers away from their current position. He narrowed his perception to examine the object, briefly wondering how Seraphiel had managed to perceive something at that distance when she had never possessed the same level of perception as he did.

Before he could finish wondering about it, however, he finally saw what she had noticed.

A massive black swirl hung in space, with the surrounding light bending unnaturally around it. Atlas frowned as he tried to understand what he was looking at, finding the structure strange enough that he wanted to examine it more closely.

’Let’s take a closer look—!’ The moment the thought of approaching it formed in his mind, however, his instincts suddenly screamed at him, forcing him to stop before he could act.

’Huh?’ Atlas’s extended hand trembled slightly as something registered throughout his entire being. It wasn’t pain, nor was it an attack that he could identify, but the sensation was unmistakable. His instincts were warning him of danger, and the realization made his expression change as he stared at the black swirl.

For the first time in a long while, something he had merely observed from a distance had made him hesitate before approaching it, ’Danger?’

Atlas frowned as he tried to understand what he was feeling, ’Me? Sensing danger? But I can’t die from external threats...’

He had become accustomed to relying on his abilities and the strength of his existence, so the sudden warning from his instincts was something he couldn’t easily dismiss. After a moment, he retracted his extended hand and continued examining the strange structure from a distance, unwilling to approach it without first understanding what had triggered that reaction.

Seraphiel noticed his unusual behavior and frowned slightly. "What happened, Atlas?"

Atlas came out of his reverie and turned toward her before answering, "...It’s nothing. We should stay away from that, that thing is dangerous." Seraphiel raised an eyebrow at his response, since this was the first time she had heard him describe something as dangerous without immediately explaining how he intended to deal with it.

However, she quickly nodded, understanding that if Atlas himself considered something dangerous, then it had to be on an entirely different level. She didn’t know what he had sensed, but she trusted his judgment enough not to question his decision.

Just as Atlas was about to tell Seraphiel that they should return, a voice suddenly echoed from behind the separate space he had created.

"Well, well, well. Someone like her is roaming around the Galaxy? And what’s this? A Human is beside her?" The unfamiliar voice carried a hint of amusement as the speaker seemed to take an interest in the pair standing inside the transparent space.

Before Atlas or Seraphiel could respond, the voice continued with a cold command, "Gerad, get her and kill the Human."

Atlas’s eyes widened for only a moment before he suddenly felt the space he had created through his logic alteration beginning to break apart from the outside. He couldn’t believe that someone had managed to detect him inside a space where he had completely altered the logic of sense and perception, preventing others from perceiving their presence through ordinary means.

Nevertheless, he had no time to wonder about it, as the separate space was already being breached.

In the next moment, both he and Seraphiel disappeared from their positions and reappeared far away from where they had been standing. Atlas immediately examined the individuals responsible for the disturbance, narrowing his eyes as he saw a man with two horns and a bare, ashen body floating alongside a stone-like creature.

The latter held a massive greatsword in its hands.

The ashen-bodied individual frowned as he looked at the stone-like creature in confusion. "Huh? How were you able to avoid Gerad’s sword? It’s impossible to avoid your sword, right, Gerad?"

At his question, the stone-like creature nodded before responding in its heavy voice through its unnaturally shaped mouth, "Yes, Young Master. I am wondering the same." Neither of them seemed to understand how Atlas had escaped the attack, despite the fact that Gerad’s sword was apparently supposed to be impossible to avoid.

Atlas heard their conversation clearly, having already created another separate space around Seraphiel to keep her safe. He narrowed his eyes as he felt the same eerie sensation he had experienced when encountering those three individuals in Frostars.

’Are they on the same level as those three?’ he wondered, unable to sense even a single ounce of strength from either of them despite the increase in his own strength over the past ten days.

The sensation was identical to what he had experienced with the three individuals in Frostars, making him suspect that these strangers might possess a similar means of concealing their strength.

Before he could investigate the matter any further, the ashen-bodied man spoke again. "You are an interesting Human. Well, it still doesn’t matter, though. That girl is someone very special, and I mean extremely special. Her existence in this Galaxy is such a coincidence that I am having difficulty believing it."

Atlas frowned at his statement before turning toward Seraphiel, who now wore an expression of worry. He immediately sent her a telepathic message to reassure her, ’Do not worry, Seraphiel. Even if they are strong, neither you nor I will get hurt. I promise.’

Seraphiel immediately turned toward him upon receiving the message, and Atlas gave her a small smile before returning his attention to the ashen-bodied man.

"I do not know who you people are or why you want Seraphiel." Atlas paused for a moment before continuing in a cold voice, "And I do not care about any of that. If you continue with your attempts, then both of you will die."

His expression remained indifferent as he delivered the threat, showing no interest in hearing their explanations or learning why they had targeted Seraphiel in the first place.

The ashen-bodied man narrowed his eyes for a moment at Atlas’s statement before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahahaha! You, kill us? I have never heard a more pathetic joke—!" He seemed thoroughly amused by Atlas’s threat, as though the possibility of a Human killing either of them was too ridiculous to take seriously.

However, before he could finish his sentence, something unprecedented happened.

Something that immediately sent chills down his spine.

The next instant, he found a man standing just an inch away from him. In his right hand hung the severed head of the stone-like creature, whose massive greatsword had been rendered completely meaningless as it turned to dust behind him.

Atlas tilted his head slightly as he looked at the ashen-bodied man, his expression remaining calm as he spoke.

"Oh? You think I was joking? Must be because you have never met me."