His voice was deep, laced with quiet understanding as he nodded toward Princess Atlana.
He held Rose's hand beside him, lifting it slightly, feeling the warmth of her skin and how snugly their fingers interlocked. His voice was calm, almost careless, as he spoke.
"So... the Thalassphere Arx of the Atlantian Behemoth Tribes sensed the budding Heart of Thalassara. That's how you found this place, how you tracked me. But why would your Thalassphere Arx feel so threatened by something so far away?"
He said it smoothly, knowing the words would strike a nerve.
Her expression darkened, growing even more solemn.
"Did you hear me?" She added, her tone unwavering. "Two of the Nine Supreme Forces will descend upon everything you hold dear if you don't surrender the Treasure that made all of this possible."
Her gaze remained as cold as the water coiling around her, the pressure of it rising with quiet, crushing intensity.
Still, Achilles didn't flinch. His eyes never left the Princess as he continued.
"Since you mentioned two of the Nine Supreme Forces… that must mean you didn't come alone. There are other Atlantians and Phoenixes watching from afar, aren't there?"
The question struck her like a blow.
For a moment, she trembled.
She believed she had control, power. But she didn't yet realize how little of it remained in her grasp.
And he would show her.
Before she could speak, he turned to Rose and said casually, "Rose, would you be so kind as to slap the cheeks of this Atlantian Princess?"
The words felt like thunder.
Unreal. Disrespectful.
Atlana's eyes flared with fury. Her hand lifted instinctively, golden light flashing as a spear of brilliant energy shimmered into being. The waters around them trembled with the force of it.
She was on the brink of stabilizing her power at the Celestbone Stage of Astral Core Ascension. She believed she stood untouchable. That Achilles was simply provoking her. That sending his woman to slap her was the peak of insult.
Emerald flames ignited around her as she glided across the water, water that should have crushed her with pressure, and appeared within inches of Atlana's face.
The Princess stiffened, gripping her spear tightly as she turned a venomous glare toward Achilles, as if daring him to take responsibility for what would happen next.
"You truly think I will stand here while a lesser being strikes me? Would you really invite a war that—"
Her words snapped in half.
The sound echoed through the water.
Pain blossomed across her cheek, and for a long moment, her mind simply blanked.
She hadn't sensed the strike. Hadn't even seen it coming.
With her level of power, no one should've been able to get close without her knowing, without the water reacting, without her instincts tearing the intruder apart.
And yet… her cheek burned.
Her eyes lifted in stunned confusion, locking with the cold emerald gaze of the Phoenix woman before her. A gaze that looked down at her like she was nothing.
"Lesser being, you said?"
Rose's hand was already rising again, this time, a backhand.
She saw it. She saw it clearly.
So this time, she would stop it. She would react. She would move.
She told her body to act. She screamed it in her mind.
But her limbs never moved.
Her energy never surged.
She stood frozen, helpless, even as the slap connected again.
The backhand scorched across her skin, splitting it open. Blue-gold blood dripped from her cheek.
Her voice was a whisper. Her body, betraying her.
She looked down at her arms, her fingers, her legs.
No matter how many commands her brain gave, her body did nothing.
Achilles watched her quietly, understanding the questions burning through her thoughts.
Why can't I summon my energy?
Why is someone weaker than me striking me, and I can't even react?
These questions surged in her mind.
Because Achilles had already burrowed deep into her essence. He had silently activated Draconian Pathogenicity V, a technique that now spread like fire through her core.
He had access to her memories, fragments of her being unraveling in his grasp. And the things he was uncovering were astonishing.
Yet in front of him, Rose wasn't finished.
She remained composed, merciless, as she raised her hand once more.
"I should keep my mouth shut?"
"Hey. Focus here. I'm slapping an Astral Core Ascension fish woman. At least pretend to care."
Each blow landed with cruel finality. Skin split. Fire sizzled. And all Atlana could do was stand there and take it.
Achilles spoke then, his voice low and unrelenting.
"You must be wondering why your body won't obey. Why your energy lies dormant. The answer is simple. The moment you consumed the Primordium Evolutius Fruits… you surrendered your body, and your soul, to me."
Her eyes widened. Her face, blistered and bleeding, trembled as she stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes, that incredibly pure Primordial Energy and Evolutius Energy, it doesn't occur naturally. I create it. I shape it. And because of that, I now have control of Princess Atlana. Let's see… from your memories… one of the three scouts sent from both the Everburn Aerie Continent and the Thalassphere Arx, am I right?"
He felt it, the explosion within her mind.
Her thoughts were laid bare to him now.
Her shaken eyes met his, wide with horror.
"Yes. I can read your mind. Your memories. Your fears. I know where you live, beneath the sea. I know your father, your mother, your teachers from the Behemoth Depths. I've seen the Long Slumber. I've seen everything."
"I've even seen the prophecy. The one spoken by your Sea Oracle. The one warning of the force that would rise from the Heart of Thalassara."
Each word tore through her like a blade.
But Achilles didn't care.
He had control of a scout. And with that control…
Rose placed her hand lightly on Atlana's chest, her fingers curling, ready to slap again. But Achilles stopped her and asked softly,
"Atlana, tell me. What do you think someone like me could do… with a Princess from the Thalassphere Arx in the palm of his hand? What happens when I feed her false information? When I send her back to the other scouts waiting a few dozen miles away? When I use you to bind them too? And when you all report back to your continents…"
"They'll think they're hearing from you. They'll move when you say move. They'll follow your lead. And every step they take…"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Will be under my control."
Atlana's mind shattered under the weight of his words!