A sudden scream tore through the air, snapping Atticus' head to the side.

"You fucking bastards!"

The pressure came down upon him without warning. Atticus reacted instantly, space folding around him as he canceled the power, but the others weren't so fortunate.

All around him, Marquis staggered and collapsed, some driven to their knees while others struggled just to remain standing.

Raziel stepped forward slowly, dark, oppressive energy coiling around him in violent currents.

He cast a glare at the surrounding Marquis before turning it on Ordan.

"He's mine! Mine alone! No one is fucking allowed to touch him."

Darkness surged outward from Ordan in response, colliding head on with Raziel's pressure as he straightened fully and pierced Raziel with a cold, unwavering gaze.

"You brainless fool. It changes nothing. You want him. We want him. We all want the same thing."

Raziel's aura thickened further, pressing down harder and forcing even more Marquis to the ground.

"He's mine."

Ordan and Raziel's gazes snapped toward Atticus at the same time, their eyes narrowing. Atticus felt the heavy tension settle in the air as they locked eyes, only for the moment to be broken by a sharp click of the tongue.

He turned to see the white haired woman approaching, a deep frown marring her flawless face as she shook her head.

"Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. You have the power of the universe in your grasp, yet you limit it in such a disgusting way. You disgust me."

Atticus blinked, completely at a loss. He was fighting for his life, and this was what bothered her?

Even Ordan and Raziel weren't spared. Both stared at the strange woman, brows lifting in confusion.

"Who's this chick?"

Atticus would have been grateful for an answer, but he had long since learned not to expect one from her.

The strange woman turned away from him and faced Ordan and Raziel instead. In that instant, Atticus felt every elemental molecule across kilometers grind to a halt.

Fire, lightning, space, water, everything that had wrapped around his body simply stopped responding before vanishing entirely.

Ordan and Raziel sensed the change immediately, their eyes narrowing in unison.

The woman's body rose slowly from the ground, lifted by an unseen force, her flowing hair trailing freely against gravity as she hovered.

"The elements make up the entire universe. They are everything. As a being granted the privilege of controlling them, it is your duty to utilize them to the fullest extent of their divine status."

Though she faced Ordan and Raziel as she spoke, Atticus knew without doubt that every word was meant for him.

Like the elements themselves, he found his body frozen in place, as though even the thought of interrupting her was forbidden.

"Peel your eyes open. I'll show you what it means to be an Elemental Arbiter."

She raised her hand.

"All motion… cease."

Raziel. Ordan. Every Marquis, and even Atticus himself, were locked in place. No matter how hard he tried, space refused to respond.

'H-how is she doing this?'

There was only one way to impose one's will on the world, and yet there was no will here. The only alternative was to accept her words, but they made no sense to him.

How was he supposed to believe that all of this had been achieved through the elements alone? The same elements he had wielded for most of his life.

He was pulled from his thoughts as she spoke again.

"All earth within a kilometer radius… detonate."

Atticus' eyes widened as the ground in the distance began to glow. He caught only the stunned expressions on Raziel's and Ordan's faces before a blinding flash swallowed everything.

…

Moments later, Atticus found himself within a dark, expansive space, cautiously watching the woman as she lounged casually on the far side of it, as though nothing of note had just occurred.

The explosion above had obliterated a vast section of the forest and had most likely taken Ordan, Raziel, and the remaining Marquis with it. She had shielded him from the blast, and then, in the same breath, had carried him deep underground.

Now he sat across from her, carefully considering his next move. What he had witnessed above made one thing painfully clear: she was not someone to be taken lightly. Her threat level in his mind had spiked sharply, and every instinct urged caution.

Only now did Atticus fully understand her earlier words. If she had wanted him dead, he would already be gone.

He let the silence stretch for a full minute before clearing his throat, breaking it.

"Above… how did you do that?"

The white haired woman turned her gaze toward him, studying him in silence for a moment.

"Clarification will not be provided freely," she said at last.

'Not this again…'

Atticus exhaled slowly, then paused as a thought struck him.

"If not freely, then what do you want in return?"

"There's no going back after I tell you," she replied. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"…yes."

She nodded and rose slowly to her feet.

"For this, I want your absolute, unfiltered obedience."

"…why?"

"Because you require correction," she said plainly. "You fight inefficiently, failing to make use of your strongest points. You possess such power, yet choose to wield it in an unremarkable way. You need to be corrected."

"You're talking about my elements?" Atticus asked. "Was that what you used earlier?"

She tilted her head slightly.

"…your answer?"

Atticus frowned. His mind was still drawing blanks when it came to who this woman truly was. Yet despite her refusal to offer direct explanations, everything she had said so far pointed back to the elements.

If she had truly accomplished what he'd witnessed using nothing but elemental control, then it was something he needed, especially now, when his will and katana were beyond his reach.

He studied her for a moment.

"Why do you care about… correcting me? You don't even know me."

"But I do," she replied calmly. "I know everything about you. We've been together for years, after all."

Atticus' eyes narrowed.

"But that's irrelevant," she continued. "When you see something with immense potential being dragged through the mud, it's only natural to want to correct it."

'Her eyes…'

Her expression remained stoic, making it impossible to tell whether she was lying, but the faint trace of disdain in her gaze was unmistakable.

Whether it stemmed from his supposedly disgusting use of power or simply from her belief that she stood above him, he couldn't say. Either way, the last thing he needed was to become a servant to some strange woman.

"You're asking for obedience," he said slowly. "In what aspect?"

"In every aspect that pertains to correcting your disgusting habits."

"And if I accept now… what happens when I refuse an instruction?"

"Then our deal ends."

"Just like that?"

"…what else would there be?"

Atticus studied her carefully, searching for any sign of deception. He wasn't about to bind himself to some deranged woman, was he?

'It doesn't matter. If I don't like whatever she says, I can refuse.'

"…Alright," he said at last. "I accept."

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