Chapter 301: Agreed

"For now, you have two choices," Atlas finally said calmly. "Accept the contract and continue living, or refuse it and accept the consequences of what you’ve done." His gaze remained fixed on her as the atmosphere around them became quiet, leaving the decision entirely in her hands.

Several more moments passed as Melina continued thinking while trembling. She had already realized that there was no way out of this situation if she refused the contract. After everything that had happened, she understood that Atlas had no reason to simply let her leave, especially after she had attacked him and revealed information about her people.

The silence continued until she was finally about to speak, but before she could say anything, three different presences suddenly appeared beside and in front of her.

"Lady Melina, who is this man? And why are you kneeling in front of him?" The one standing in front spoke her name while immediately taking a defensive stance, a massive trident already held tightly in his hands.

The other two moved toward Melina and tried to help her stand up, clearly confused by the situation they had suddenly found themselves in. Atlas narrowed his eyes as he looked at the three newcomers before calmly speaking.

"These three must be your subordinates, now all four of you will be accepting the contract." The moment he spoke, Melina’s eyes widened as she looked at Atlas’s cold expression. However, before she could explain anything, the man holding the trident immediately reacted with anger.

"What did you just say, you Human?! How dare you speak with such arrogance?! And how do you even know our language?!" he shouted before immediately vanishing from his position.

His figure appeared behind Atlas in an instant, and the massive trident was thrust toward Atlas’s back with intense ferocity. His speed was so overwhelming that, before Atlas had fought Orivian and Melina, the movement would have appeared almost impossible for him to follow. However, things were different now.

A grin slowly appeared on Atlas’s face as the symbols in his eyes lit up again, ’Is it because of that pill Kael gave me? Why do I suddenly feel excited when fighting someone to death?’

The excitement inside him surged as he immediately altered the logic of speed surrounding the man with the fish tail. The trident’s movement slowed down almost instantly, becoming slower than even a snail’s movements. But it wasn’t only the trident that slowed down.

The man’s entire body became trapped within the altered logic of speed.

Atlas slowly turned around while holding the dagger in his right hand. Flames of Nothingness covered its blade as he swung it toward the neck of the trident. The moment the dagger made contact, the massive weapon split apart as easily as if he were cutting butter with a knife.

The Flames of Nothingness immediately spread across the broken trident and consumed it completely before reducing it to nothingness itself.

The man had already escaped from that position as he had sensed immense danger from that flame, by using some strange spatial technique, his wide eyes filled with disbelief and horror as he stared at the place where his trident had been, ’Wh-What? M-My trident is gone just like that? It was one of the highest-grade artifacts in my world!!’

He looked toward Melina and saw the terror already visible in her eyes. She immediately shouted, "W-Wait, Sir Atlas!! Please don’t kill them, I will convince them!" Tears began forming in her eyes as she hurriedly tried to stop Atlas, while she couldn’t help but wonder what he had just done to completely slow down her subordinate’s movement.

It didn’t take her long to understand the answer.

She suddenly realized that Atlas had been holding back when he fought her, that realization made her tremble even more, "Gyru, Jest, and Utrol, p-please listen to me. D-don’t fight Sir Atlas, J-Just do as I say!" Melina shouted through her tears.

Jest, who had maintained his defensive stance, stopped after hearing her words and stared at Melina for a long moment. The other two also remained silent as they looked at her, and from the tears in her eyes, all three could feel the anguish behind them.

The fear etched deeply into her expression made it obvious that whatever had happened between Melina and Atlas was far more serious than they had initially assumed.

Their guards gradually loosened as they approached Melina and supported her until she was able to stand properly, "N-Now listen to me. We will accept the contract Sir Atlas proposed a-and then answer his questions, alright?"

The other three exchanged glances before turning toward Atlas again. Based on the thermal readings they could perceive from his body, Atlas didn’t appear particularly strong. Yet that observation immediately conflicted with everything they had just witnessed.

Melina was kneeling in front of him despite possessing the ability to control the Law of Death, while Atlas had destroyed Jest’s trident with a single attack and completely immobilized him by some strange ability.

The three finally understood the situation as realization dawned on them.

Melina, the one whose ability could control the Law of Death, was cowering in front of this man. That alone meant Atlas was dangerous, but what frightened them even more was that he was dangerous beyond anyone they had encountered until now. After exchanging another glance, they finally stopped resisting, and Jest was the first to speak.

"What are the terms of the contract?"

Atlas simply stared at them while Melina explained the terms on his behalf. The moment they heard the conditions, all three immediately developed almost the same expression Melina had shown earlier. Their eyes twitched with irritation and anger as the thought of becoming living slaves immediately surfaced in their minds.

Before any of them could reject the contract, however, Atlas spoke, "Let me clear up one thing before you four try to reject the idea and end up dead in my hands. After the contract forms, I won’t be making any of you into some slaves."

"I hate that idea to the very core of my being. I will only be asking questions regarding certain things for now, that’s all, and after that, we will see where things go. Again, I am not making any of you into slaves. Now I have explained and given you enough chances. It is time you accept or die." Atlas spoke calmly as he repeated the same point with complete certainty.

He had no intention of turning any of them into slaves, but he also had no intention of giving them another opportunity to attack him or reveal what they knew to others. He understood their fear of the contract, yet he couldn’t simply allow them to walk away after everything that had happened.

After all, Atlas himself knew the pain of becoming a slave.

He had seen the people in the commoner village being taken away and forced into slavery under one of the Noble houses. The memory was enough to make him dislike the very idea, but it wasn’t something he needed to dwell on right now.

For the moment, he only cared about obtaining answers from them, and Melina was the first to respond, "W-We agree, Sir Atlas!"

The other three immediately turned their heads toward her with wide eyes.

"L-Lady Melina—!"

But before they could finish speaking, Melina immediately began chanting something similar to what the Dragon Emperor had once chanted. As her voice continued, a small petal slowly descended from above, and Atlas immediately sensed the strange nature of the object.

He could feel the terms of the contract being automatically engraved into the petal as it descended. The Law itself was beginning to recognize the agreement between them, leaving no room for either side to misunderstand the conditions once the contract was completed.

Without hesitation, Atlas and Melina placed their hands on the petal.

Melina then turned toward the other three, "Do as I say, I will explain everything later."

The three hesitated for a moment as they exchanged uncertain glances, but after seeing Melina’s expression, they finally accepted her decision. One after another, they stepped forward and placed their hands on the petal.