DoorBound

Atlas mentally prepared himself to fight other groups. Although there were only two of them, it didn't mean they were weak. With his technique, he was worth at least two people or more, as long as they weren't the best at controlling Aether. He felt like Iris wasn't bad at all, being even more capable than himself, at least when it came to a straight-up fight.

There was one problem with the plan they had to conquer: how to actually close the distance to the other groups. Atlas didn't even entertain the idea of just swimming—that was courting death. Instead, he needed a way to move the slab.

Thinking back, how did the other group move their own slab through the water? Theirs was also a full slab, instead of a fractured one like the one they were currently sitting on.

"It could have been some type of technique to push or move water… or maybe even Near himself somehow using his technique in some unique way."

Atlas couldn't be sure, but he wanted to copy it.

He thought about all the books he had read previously, but it didn't leave him with any new ideas. An oar would be helpful, but that still couldn't compare to the other group's speed. The only logical conclusion was that if they didn't use any tool, it had something to do with Aether.

Atlas had to test. He called Iris over, explained his idea, then stuck his hand in the water. Iris did the same but to the left of him.

Atlas let the Aether from his core build in his palm. Feeling it spin, he made it go faster and faster before finally readying himself. When it was about to almost burst from the energy, he let the Aether release all at once.

The water around them was forced backward, and the slab shot forward at a mediocre speed.

"It worked!" Atlas thought.

They moved a little over ten meters from just that test attempt. He had actually figured out a way to move. Looking at Iris, she was already testing it herself.

This time Atlas could fully see her Aether as it gathered in the palm of her hand. It was a yellow color that looked beautiful, in a way reminding him of a butterfly from back home. While watching her, Atlas's curious mind couldn't help but wonder if the color of someone's Aether had to do with their power, or if it was just random. He had only seen black, yellow, and of course, his own aquamarine.

The Aether in her palm was spinning faster and faster, even more than Atlas's had. He watched it go so fast that the air around it looked like it was ready to sprint away from the power about to be released.

Finally, she let the Aether explode out into the water.

Once again, the slab shot forward, except this time it was at an incredible speed. Cutting through the water, they went well over fifty meters.

This put them closer to a group than normal, and this group had five people, so it wasn't something they wanted to fight. The stares from them made Atlas realize that other groups probably didn't know this was something that could be used. They were inadvertently teaching everyone else how to attack.

With the way it was going, the Aether expended wouldn't be too much to close the distance of one-hundred meters to another group.

Atlas quickly put his hand back in the water and pushed away from the closest group of five. Instead, they shot in the other direction towards a group of three.

They chose this group because it was clear they had supplies on their slab as well as the numbers being more even.

He got up and let Iris be the manual motor to the slab, turning it into a speedboat. As they closed the distance at high speed, they didn't even think about stopping. Instead, when Iris pushed out the last of her energy, sending them on course toward the other group, they simply let it ram them. The two slabs hit, causing a loud crack to ring out across the water.

Atlas saw all three of the people on the slab dive into the water, dodging being hit by his personal slab bullet. The slab they were riding on went under the water, while the new group's slab stayed above but was sent backward.

Atlas instantly warped to the top of it, leaving him the only one on the platform. Iris jumped off the speeding slab at the last second and landed next to the new slab in the water.

He pulled her up and looked for the three opponents.

Each one was already close to getting up, so he had to take advantage of the situation. This was sudden, but it had to be. If they didn't attack by surprise, it would have given their opponent time to prepare.

Atlas grabbed a man who was almost all the way onto the slab by the back of his head and slammed it onto the ground. The sound of teeth breaking rang out, and he didn't stop there.

Atlas raised his leg high in the air, pouring an insane amount of Aether into it—way more than necessary. He didn't know if the man had some way to protect himself, so it was better to be safe than sorry. His leg came down and didn't just break the man's face, but instead crushed his entire skull due to the force.

"You have slain Veiled Winston."

"Your core has grown stronger."

Without even paying attention to the voice, he moved to the next two opponents.

They were already on the platform with weapons drawn. Both were tall and muscular. Atlas still towered over them, but his skinny frame left him in the shadow of these guys.

This didn't matter. For him, the fight was already decided.

Iris engaged with one of them, and Atlas took on the other.

The man's sword was long, curved at the edge, and had a blackish glow coming off it. He swung at Atlas with arms full of Aether, ripping through the air.

The blade was inches away from Atlas's face, ready to instantly kill him. Instead, it met air. Atlas didn't even raise a weapon, using only his fists. He went from standing tall to crouching without actually doing the movement. He pushed Aether into his legs, arms, and shoulders, then hit the man with a powerful uppercut.

The man didn't even realize what happened before his head was sent flying back, almost instantly making him unconscious.

Atlas kept up the assault, blinking behind him, and once again rushing Aether into his arms. He hit him with the back of his fists, right next to his ear.

This time, the man reacted and pushed Aether into his legs, jumping into the air.

His plan was to try and see his opponent and get away from the relentless pursuit. Atlas knew this and could see it clearly. When the man jumped, so did Atlas, but only a half second later. They both flew into the air, and Atlas didn't waste time.

From the man's perspective, Atlas was like a ghost, appearing in one place and then instantly somewhere else. Atlas warped above him and grabbed him by the neck. He rushed Aether into his fingers and fingernails, turning them into claws. Sinking them deep into the man's neck, he felt blood spurt out. Atlas didn't want him to have a chance to fight back, so he also used his legs, wrapping them around the man's arms.

In midair, the two looked like a bird caught by a snake coiling around its body and sinking its fangs into its neck. Atlas ripped and tore at the man's flesh as they fell to the ground.

Before they actually landed, the voice rang out again.

"You have slain Veiled Arthur."

"Your core has grown stronger."

Arthur's body landed with a splat, but Atlas didn't even bother touching the ground. Instead, he decided to help Iris in her fight.

He did not respect the one-on-one, and why should he? If Iris was killed, it would only spell negative things in the future, so he had to intervene. He warped above the man, and this time, he didn't use any Aether. He simply landed on top of him, throwing him to the ground.

The man didn't expect this sudden turn of events. He was so surprised, in fact, that he dropped his weapon. Iris didn't hesitate and sank a blade into the man's chest.

Atlas rolled off and dusted himself off. Behind him, Iris was stabbing the man repeatedly. The cries of the man rang out from the pain. Humans didn't die in silence—most of the time, they would scream about the pain because it was the only thing they could do.

Finally, the cries stopped. Iris raised her sword and flicked it, tossing the blood to the side. Atlas didn't have to say anything more, knowing it was now time to reap the fruit of their labors.