NOVGO.NET Chapter 1582 Assessment
Chapter 1582 Assessment
Atticus didn’t visibly react. He couldn’t deny her usefulness, her insight had been far too valuable during this crisis to the point where he found himself wondering about her origins. Yes, she was the exo suit, yet her personality felt too complete, too deliberate, to believe it had emerged from nothing at all.
Why did she care so much about teaching and correcting him… He was pulled from those thoughts by her sudden question.
“My student… now that we’ve reached this point, how do you intend on proceeding?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is the Span,” she said calmly, “and you’ve made far too many enemies to keep count of. This abyss god was merely one of many. How do you intend to deal with them?”
Her silence afterward weighed heavier than the question itself. Atticus could feel the scrutiny in her gaze, laced with anticipation, as though she were waiting to see what kind of answer he would give.
His eyes drifted to the Willguard, his expression still calm, still detached. She had been right earlier when she said the time hadn’t been appropriate. Even now, beneath the stillness he projected on the world, something churned quietly within him.
No matter how careful he’d been, no matter how much effort he’d poured into strengthening his family so they could survive against their enemies, it had always come down to the same moment. Again… again he had come terrifyingly close to losing them, all because he hadn’t been strong enough.
In the past, those moments had always left him with the same two emotions: anger and resolve. Anger, blaming himself for his weakness, and resolve, swearing that it would never happen again.
Yet it always did. Without fail. Time and time again. And now, standing here, it was impossible to deny the truth any longer. If things continued as they were, it would keep happening, again and again… unless something fundamentally changed.
His fingers slowly curled into tight fists.
This time was different. After everything he’d endured, everything he’d lost and nearly lost, there was only a single emotion roaring through him, drowning out all others.
His heart hammered violently against his chest and his will churned, wisps of smoke bleeding from his body while an intense heat burned behind his eyes.
What he felt wasn’t resolve. It wasn’t even anger at himself. It was hot, boiling rage. At the Willguard, at the Abyss faction, at the entire cursed expanse of the Middle Planes.
He was done tearing himself down and swearing to do better. Done drowning in guilt over every failure to protect those he cared about.
Because there had always been only one true cause behind these recurring crises: his enemies. If they didn’t exist, none of this would ever happen. His family would never be in danger. He would never have to live while constantly watching over his back, fearing for their lives or his own.
If they didn’t exist… there would finally be peace.
Atticus gradually approached the Willguard and stopped before him, watching the man squirm as his eyes trembled, before calmly placing his palm over his face.
Passiveness had always been the root of these crises. If he had made it his purpose to actively hunt down his enemies instead of waiting for them to come to him, then perhaps none of this would have ever happened. But that was over now. He was done being passive. The Span came with new rules, and so did Atticus. No more merely growing stronger and killing whatever obstacle happened to stand in his way. No more waiting. No more restraint.
Now… it was war.
“I will kill…” he said quietly, his eyes burning a deep crimson, “every single one of them.”
His will surged outward and engulfed the Willguard completely, searing and burning him until his body disintegrated into drifting ash, leaving behind only a single hovering purple fragment.
The fragment fired into Atticus a moment later, and he felt it slam against his will and mind, grinding violently before finally settling into place.
Atticus exhaled heavily as Solvath’s emotions crashed into him in a suffocating wave. He slipped into Logoth, allowing the chaos and noise to wash over him until it dulled into distant echoes.
Only then did he feel the approving gaze of the strange woman within him. In the endless silence that now blanketed the new world, he asked,
“What should I call you?”
…
The day passed in the blink of an eye. In that brief span, the gloom that had clung to Eldoralth was swept away. Soldiers returned home roaring in celebration, while the people of Eldoralth, both new and old, gathered in the streets to celebrate their victory over the invading energy and the safe return of their loved ones.
It wasn’t long before news of Atticus’ return spread across the world. He witnessed firsthand what the majority truly thought of him. Crowds flooded the streets, cheering and roaring at the return of their god, while others dropped to their knees, weeping openly as they offered thanks.
Atticus was by no means… shocked. He had always believed he was deeply hated by the people. After all, it was no secret that he didn’t give a damn about any of them. His multiple genocides were proof enough of that.
And yet, standing there and watching all of this, it became harder to believe that hatred was the whole truth.
“Oh please. Don’t let their acting fool you,” Whisker laughed as Atticus idly shared his thoughts. “They’re just happy you’re here to protect them from other territories. Give it a week, they’ll show their true colours.”
A deep frown settled onto Atticus’ face as he stared at the trillions cheering wildly below, quietly wondering how much of that statement was true.
For the rest of the time, Atticus wandered across both the new and old territories, moving methodically, making sure that nothing had been overlooked.
He moved throughout the territory with Noctis snuggling tightly atop his head, meeting with those he considered important along the way The three apex still alive who had fought in the war, as well as the leaders of the lower plane worlds he’d trapped at the base of the Veilroot Tree, leaving them to be tortured for as long as they lived. Alongside that, he made certain that every bond, oath, and contract remained intact.
A full month of absence had left him feeling uneasy, and he needed the reassurance that no unseen threats had taken root within his domain while he was gone.