Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground-Chapter 1159: Noctis

'Generals.'

The thought thundered in their heads all at once.

The generals were flanked by countless Zorvans, each one a size smaller, but still formidable.

Colonels.

The paragons glanced at one another, their expressions grim. None could utter a word.

They had long known of the Zorvan generals. That had been the whole reason the aegis shield had always been considered their ultimate line of defense. What they hadn't known… was how many there were.

Even one colonel was already enough to match a race leader, beings considered the strongest in the alliance.

But a general…

They were utterly screwed.

But before that dread could truly take root, a loud, irritated voice rang through the silence.

"Tch. It's just like that fool to leave me with the menial tasks. How degrading."

Heads spun around, and this time, their eyes widened not in fear, but utter relief.

Standing tall on the ledge of the massive tree Atticus once stood upon… was a blinding figure of pure violet.

Ozeroth.

But a deep frown marred Ozeroth's face as he stared at the kings in the sky. It was the kind of expression one wore after being handed an annoying chore.

"Ozzy!"

A high-pitched, excited voice rang out, and the gazes of the alliance turned upward, toward Ozeroth's head, where a pure white, fluffy creature was perched.

Despite the looming chaos and the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Zorvan kings above, the little beast wagged its tail excitedly, eyes sparkling like a child on their birthday.

Ozeroth didn't share the enthusiasm.

"What's got you so excited?" he grumbled. "That bastard left us with the trash while he went to fight the real opponents."

His voice carried far and wide. It wasn't subtle. It sounded like an old man yelling across a courtyard, and it reached the ears of the kings above.

Their heads tilted, eyes narrowed.

Gone was the pitiful sight of them kneeling before the twins, trembling like insects. Now, floating above the sanctuary, they were beings of pride and absolute confidence; kings.

Their auras detonated all at once, crashing down upon the domain like falling mountains.

The dome Ozeroth had conjured absorbed most of the pressure, but the people still felt it. So did the paragons. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably under the weight of that power.

And yet… the ones that pressure was meant for didn't even flinch.

"Name! Name! Name!" the Soulkin squealed, bouncing on Ozeroth's head.

Ozeroth sighed, shaking his head. "So that's why you're excited? Just because of a name?"

Before Atticus left to battle the twins, he had finally given the Soulkin a name. It was a simple one, but judging by the way the little thing kept nudging Ozeroth, begging to hear it, it clearly meant something.

Ozeroth let out a reluctant chuckle. As annoying as the little creature was… Atticus had been right. It was hard not to like him.

"Alright, alright," he said, rolling his eyes. "Listen well. I won't say it twice."

Instantly, the Soulkin went silent, rigid and still, waiting.

Ozeroth's voice was calm.

"Noctis."

"Kuu!!!" Noctis beamed, eyes gleaming with joy as he wagged his tail even faster. "Noctis! Noctis! Noctis!"

Ozeroth chuckled again. "Heh. I won't lie. Not a bad name."

Noctis nodded rapidly in agreement, still bouncing with excitement.

Then, Ozeroth's tone shifted.

"Alright. Enough horsing around."

Noctis froze.

And in an instant, as though a switch had been flipped, the light in his eyes shifted, from pure excitement to coldness.

Their gazes snapped toward the sky.

A blinding light had begun to gather, growing more intense by the second.

"Pay for your arrogance… with death," the Zorvan King of Destruction declared.

A violent spiral of power coiled around his arm, warping the air and space around him.

In the next instant, he released it.

The beam tore through the skies like a divine lance of obliteration and slammed onto the dome.

The impact was deafening.

A searing flash engulfed the world, blanketing the domain in darkness as the beam exploded across the dome's surface.

Violent tremors rocked the land, and streaks of raw power licked across the sky.

Though Ozeroth's dome had absorbed most of the blast, the domain still shook violently. Buildings trembled. The paragons gritted their teeth as they struggled to mitigate the aftermath.

High above, the Zorvan King of Dominion raised his hand.

A single pulse left him, and with it, a massive shockwave swept across the skies, clearing the haze that had consumed the battlefield.

And when their gazes dropped once more to where Ozeroth had been.. he was gone.

A streak of violet ignited to the side.

Ozeroth.

He appeared mid air, a hammer cloaked in blinding light crashing down with the weight of the world behind it, aimed straight at the King of Dominion.

The king's array of eyes widened to their extremes. 'Such speed—!'

He raised his hand, and the space before him warped violently, distorting into a swirling bend as he manipulated space to shield himself.

But Ozeroth's eyes flashed.

The air around the descending hammer twisted. Space buckled and his hammer phased through the spatial distortion.

The King of Dominion didn't even have time to comprehend what had happened before the hammer collided with his chest.

His body crumpled inward as he was launched like a meteor, crashing through the sky and detonating against a mountain range. Stone and dust erupted for miles.

But it didn't end there.

Before the other kings could react… a flare of white ignited on the other side.

Noctis.

Only… he was no longer the cute Noctis everyone know.

His frame had changed, enlarged into a towering beast. His once fluffy fur now spiked, bristling like jagged blades. Fangs protruded from his maw, and obsidian claws shimmered with deadly hunger.

A black crimson aura cloaked him, trailing as he ripped through the air itself.

He had fused with the four elements.

Noctis roared as his claws tore toward the King of Destruction, space parting before him as though terrified of his advance.

The king's eyes narrowed. Quickly, he raised a hand.

A spiral of pure mana swirled across his palm before exploding forward, hurtling toward Noctis with a force meant to obliterate mountains.

But Noctis didn't blink.

A dark pulse exploded from his body and the aura of negation wrapped around his claws, consuming the light. And when the two forces met, the mana beam split like melted wax.

Noctis cleaved through it without resistance, closing the distance in a flash.

The King of Destruction's eyes widened, but it was too late.

The claws ripped through his armor, carving a deep gash across his torso. Blood burst into the air as the king's body twisted backward from the blow.

The gazes of the King of Genesis and the King of Eternity narrowed to pinpricks.

They turned sharply to their sides, ready to counter… but their eyes widened in the next second.

Ozeroth and Noctis… were gone.