CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 266: ANOTHER WAY

Atlas smiled.

That voice. That oh-so-familiar rasp that carried both defiance and desperation. It cracked against his ears like a whip and yet—he savored it. A shard of recognition in the abyss.

And within the span of a heartbeat, he moved.

No hesitation. No ceremony.

A streak of gold tore through the palace halls, faster than the chandeliers could rattle, faster than the demon guards could even blink. His hand clamped around the demon lord’s throat. Her velvet-red hair whipped back from the sheer violence of his speed.

Then they were gone.

Atlas blasted past the walls, carrying her like a ragdoll, his grip unrelenting. Stone cracked beneath his boots, and the city below blurred into smears of rust-red roofs and broken towers. The air seared against his skin, dry as bone and heavy with sulfur.

"...I thought you got scared," Atlas said, his voice calm, almost conversational. But his golden eyes gleamed with something sharper—mockery, cruelty, hunger. His words struck harder than his grip, his tone almost tender, yet barbed.

The demon lord’s hands clawed at his wrist, her nails carving shallow grooves against his skin. Her legs kicked wildly against nothing but wind.

{{{...Wai—}}}

"I thought you wouldn’t come back."

Atlas spun her effortlessly, one hand shifting from her throat to her ankle. He flung her up into the air, body twisting like a doll tossed by a cruel child. His smile widened. His strength was not a weapon—it was theater.

The world wheeled as he spun her again, then hurled her body beyond the city, beyond its crumbling walls, beyond the scorched streets where people looked up in silent terror.

SUUUU—

BOOM.

She slammed into the earth outside the gates, the sound like the breaking of bones magnified across the wasteland.

Her scream caught in her throat. Blood splattered.

{{{...what the fu—}}}

But before her words fully formed, Atlas was there. Already descending. His knuckles coiled with golden fire, his body a spear of wrath.

BOOM.

The ground detonated beneath his strike, cracks snaking out like veins of lightning across the barren plain. Dust and black gravel sprayed into the air, a storm of stone and sulfur.

Atlas straightened, peering through the haze.

She wasn’t broken. Not yet.

She spat blood into the dirt, her crimson hair plastered to her face. And when her eyes lifted to meet his—still defiant, still alive—his grin grew savage.

Good.

He wanted this. He wanted to lose himself. To drown in the feral ecstasy of power. Every fiber of his body ached for release.

His leg rose high, the muscles trembling with mana. He could feel the resonance crawling up his bones, vibrating in his teeth.

Skill: Spear Shot.

The air shrieked as his leg cut through it, descending like a guillotine.

BOOOOM.

A crater yawned wide beneath her, fire bursting from the soil. The ground itself seemed to recoil from him.

Atlas crouched, grabbing her by the collar, lifting her ruined body like it weighed nothing. Her feet dangled inches above the shattered earth. Blood dripped from her lips.

"You’re still fine," Atlas breathed, his words a mixture of admiration and hunger. "Oh, gods—you’re strong..."

He pulled back his fist, mana pooling into it, veins glowing with raw energy.

The earth trembled at the weight of it.

Skill: Iron Fist.

The demon lord’s heart seized. She could feel it—her death waiting at the edge of his knuckles. No clever words, no symbols, no armies could shield her from it.

Her mind raced. She tasted copper and terror. She, The Guide, the strongest of the first layer, the one meant to command and bind others beneath her shadow—was being held like prey.

And then, desperation carved clarity. Her arm shot up. A symbol of binding flared across her skin, pulsing with dark red light.

{{{If you attack me anymore... Aurora will face the same.}}}

The words snapped like a chain.

Atlas’s fist stopped.

Millimeters from her face.

The air pressure alone split her cheek, blood splitting out. Her velvet-red hair whipped back from the shockwave.

The world seemed to pause. Even the wind held its breath.

Then Atlas exhaled, a sound low and disappointed.

"...Haaa. You bore me."

He opened his fist, dropped her collar.

She fell like a puppet with cut strings, hitting the broken ground hard. Dust puffed up around her, clinging to her blood-streaked skin.

Her chest heaved. Her eyes were wide with a terror she tried to disguise as dignity. Her body trembled, but still she managed words.

{{{...I... I just came to talk.}}}

Her voice cracked. The admission was a wound.

She tried to rise. Her knees buckled. Her hands clawed weakly at the dirt. The demon lord—Guide of the damned, she called herself—looked like prey.

Monster.

The word repeated in her mind, painted in his shadow.

For centuries, she believed herself chosen, destined to guide. The strong lead, the weak obey—that was the law of hell. And yet... this thing before her, clothed in flesh but heavier than mountains, had reduced her to rubble in seconds.

Her breath caught. Her body screamed that this wasn’t power—this was calamity.

And from the horizon, she saw movement. A streak of light, slicing the sulfurous air. Aurora descended with frightening speed, though not as fast as Atlas. Her body shone faintly with her contracts, but there was a cut on her cheek—fresh.

Her boots touched the earth gently, but her eyes were sharp.

"...What is this?" Aurora said. Her gaze swept from Atlas to the demon lord. "Why the fuck are you here—both of you? Especially you, Lidia. I called you to talk, not to fight."

{{{...I CAME.}}} the demon lord gasped. Her throat rattled. {{{But he started punching me again. Like I was a toy.}}}

Aurora’s eyes flicked toward Atlas.

"What the fuck are you looking at me for?" Atlas said, voice flat. "She attacked us before with a legion of titans. What did you think I’d do? Invite her in for tea?"

Aurora sighed, exhaustion etching into her features. She moved closer to the demon lord and offered her a hand.

"...Are you really a demon lord?" Aurora asked.

The woman blinked. Slowly, trembling, she accepted Aurora’s hand, pulling herself upright. Her lips trembled, but she forced the mask of pride back onto her face.

Atlas crossed his arms, watching with that golden-eyed boredom that made her shiver worse than his fists.

Aurora revealed her arm, a glowing contract seal etched upon it. "Fun fact....I didn’t make this contract here. I made it in the third layer."

Atlas’s gaze sharpened. Adding the numbers.... "So. You’re not from here." He muttered, looking at the quaking demon lord.

{{{No.}}}

The realization struck him like a spark: she wasn’t just a Guide of this layer—she belonged to the higher hells. His grin returned.

"So we can torture her, force her to lead us there?" Atlas asked, blunt.

Aurora shook her head. "Not exactly. She’ll become a medium. A conduit. She can summon us through—but only if she complies."

Atlas stepped closer. His shadow fell across Lidia’s broken form. His hand landed on her shoulder, heavy as stone. She flinched, her breath stuttering. That single touch told her everything—connected or not, if he lost patience, her bones would scatter across this wasteland.

{{{...It’s not that easy,}}} she said quickly. Her words tumbled over themselves. {{{I don’t own any lands in the third layer anymore. The Seven Demon Lords control everything. That’s why I came here... why I fled.}}}

Aurora frowned. "Huh...I thought the Seven still reigned in peace, not antagonizing each other for lands and shit...."

{{{That’s old news. After you left... the peace crumbled. Centuries ago.}}}

Aurora’s jaw tightened. She glanced toward Atlas, who was already winding mana into his fist again.

{{{Wait! Wait! I didn’t say no. I can take you—but only one of you. I’ll have to sacrifice one of my hearts to open the path.}}}

The air grew still. Even the sulfuric winds seemed to pause, waiting.

Atlas’s eyes flicked to Aurora. His grin never wavered.

Aurora met his gaze, her voice steady despite her cut cheek. "You’re strong, Atlas. But listen to me—the lords, the kings, the queens of the third layer... they aren’t things you can just punch through. Not even you....so Take this."

She pressed a seal into his palm. Its surface pulsed faintly, the foundation of every contract she had ever woven.

"If you meet them, tell them you are my ally."

Atlas raised an eyebrow. "And they’ll listen?"

"No."

"...?"

"It won’t make them obey. But it will give you a voice. A crack in the door. Sometimes, that’s all survival is."

Atlas weighed the seal in his hand. His lips curled. Humbling himself had never been his style—but a part of him... wanted to feel resistance.

Wanted to be broken, just to see if it was still possible.

His gaze returned to Lidia. His grip tightened on her shoulder, pain shooting down her body like fire.

"You know what to do now."

She swallowed hard. {{{...The ritual for a partner requires sacrifice.}}}

Atlas tilted his head. "...What kind of sacrifice?"

Her eyes lowered, shame prickling at her skin. {{{For you to come with me there... the third layer must recognize you as part of me. And me as part of you. In every sense.}}}

Atlas’s eyes narrowed. He already knew where this was going. He turned to look for Aurora—

But Aurora was gone. Already flying away.

A bitter laugh broke from his lips.

"...Fuck. She knew." He voiced as he turned to her. "So it means..."

Lidia didn’t look at him. Her voice was thin. {{{ yes. It’s very simple....You must plant your seed inside me. That is the price. The sacrifice that will make us one.}}}