Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground novel Chapter 1667

Chapter 1667: Return

Atticus had just destroyed the Willguard headquarters, decimated their world, and slaughtered every living being in the domain, utterly unfazed. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Yet, as he stared at the swirling portal before him, a faint frown formed on his face. Somehow, returning home made him feel... nervous.

"Relax... old Pounce has you covered." Whisker grinned. "I’ve come up with worse excuses than this."

But it wasn’t that Atticus was a stranger to lying. It should be easy, after all, he hadn’t told anyone where he had been heading.

"...That’s not it."

As he told Whisker what he was truly worried about, Whisker winced.

"I mean... yeah, golden boy can be unpredictable, but he’s not that bad, right?"

Both men exchanged a glance, then frowned.

"...There’s only one way to find out."

He turned toward Azeron, Thora, Thomas, and Tia, who were each watching them curiously. Then he stepped forward and entered the portal.

His vision swam for a moment, then cleared.

Atticus took everything in at a glance. The familiar portal room in Eldoralth, the small crowd gathered before it... then the sight of two figures rushing straight toward him.

Before he could react, his body was pulled into an embrace that was both gentle and crushing at the same time.

"Atticus!"

"Son!"

He stiffened slightly, before his body slowly relaxed. He raised his arms and hugged his mother and father back.

"You’re back... I’m glad you’re safe." Anastasia’s voice trembled as she tightened her hold.

Atticus’ gaze softened as he lifted a hand, gently running it over her head.

"...I’m fine."

A dry laugh sounded from his side as Whisker appeared.

"Oh, wow... I was wrong. I’m actually impressed. He really did it."

"No—mom, dad, don’t do this!" Ozeroth cut in, stepping forward. "This isn’t what we agreed on. He needs to be punished. We said we’d teach him a lesson."

"Hey, relax..." Whisker lifted his hands. "No need to go that far, yeah? I was with him."

Ozeroth turned toward him, his eyes slowly widening as if only just noticing his presence.

"...You." Ozeroth blinked, staring. "Wait... you knew?"

Whisker gave a proud look.

"Of course I knew. My star actor doesn’t keep things from me. We’re tight like that."

Atticus shot Whisker a look that clearly said: why are you making this worse.

Whisker only shrugged in response, giving him a quick wink.

"You—! He’s tight with me too! It’s just... I’ve been busy, that’s why he didn’t say anything—"

"Hah. That’s actually kind of sad." Whisker laughed lightly. "Sorry, but whatever you think you have with him doesn’t compare."

"...You—"

"That’s enough."

Avalon stepped away from the hug, his gaze never leaving Atticus.

"...We need to talk."

It was then Atticus noticed the darkened look on his father’s face. But it wasn’t only him. Everyone gathered, from his parents to Magnus, to his cousins, even Anorah and Zoey, wore the same expression.

Atticus felt a quiet weight settle in his chest.

"...alright."

...

Moments later, they returned to the mansion on the hill. Atticus sat on a single chair, facing what he could only describe as an army of his loved ones.

’What is this?’

This felt less like a conversation and more like the start of an interrogation. He would have understood his parents and Magnus sitting him down like this, but everyone he had deemed relevant in Eldoralth was present.

Oberon, Jenera, the silver siblings Zair and Lyra... his ex, especially his ex. Atticus didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Even worse, the fool, Whisker, who had claimed he would have his back was lounging on a chair behind them, casually tossing popcorn into his mouth.

Azeron, Thora, Thomas, Tia, and even Noctis had also seated themselves off to the side, not hesitating in the slightest to remove themselves from the matter.

They watched with faint smiles, as though this were nothing more than a show.

Atticus let out a quiet breath. He should’ve known better than to trust Whisker of all people.

’No... this is all his fault.’

His gaze shifted and locked onto Ozeroth, who met it without hesitation. If anything, the man’s glare only sharpened, as though Atticus were the one in the wrong...

A long moment of silence stretched between them.

Finally, Avalon cleared his throat.

"Son... why didn’t you tell us anything?"

"I didn’t think it would be that dangerous. I thought it’d just be a quick in and out—"

"Don’t listen to him, mom and dad. That’s crap!" Ozeroth cut in sharply. "Since when is the Willguard headquarters something you just walk into? He knew exactly what he was doing—he just didn’t tell anyone."

"...Is that true?"

"...."

"Why didn’t you tell us?"

What the hell was this man doing? And why did he keep calling his parents mom and dad?

’Ozeroth... what are you doing?’

’What does it look like? I’m telling the truth.’

’I can see that. But why? You know how Anastasia would react.’

’Good. That’s the point.’

’...’

Atticus let out a quiet breath inwardly.

’You can punish me in some other ways. Not like this.’

’You should’ve thought about that before going off like that.’

"...Do you not trust us?"

Atticus was pulled out of his thoughts by Anastasia’s voice, filled with concern. He shook his head almost immediately.

"Of course I trust you."

"Then why didn’t you say anything?"

"I—"

"Isn’t it obvious? He didn’t think we could handle it."

Atticus turned toward Aurora, who was glaring at him. For a brief moment, he considered telling them the truth.

’No.’

He might be emotionally stunted, but even he understood the kind of hurt that truth would bring.

He cleared his throat, then bowed

"...It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I just... didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t think it through... how much it would hurt you. I’m sorry."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

...

After his admission and apology, it wasn’t long before the... interrogation came to a stop.

Anorah’s eyes narrowed slightly. Her strike had landed cleanly, yet not only had it failed to pierce through, there wasn’t even the faintest mark left on him.

Hmph.

Her will flared, as her figure blurred as she struck from multiple angles, each blow landing with explosive force.

Each impact rang out across the desert, sand scattering and the air trembling under the force of her attacks, but Atticus was unmoved, like an unbreakable wall.

Eventually, Anorah halted. She stood there, staring at him in silence.

"...I can’t hurt you."

Atticus’ brows twitched slightly at the faint sadness in her voice.

Was his girlfriend actually a crazy woman?

"...Anorah. Listen, I know you’re angry at me, but I’m sorry, okay?"

"Angry? I’m not angry at you."

"...I can feel it. You’re clearly angry."

"I am."

As he met her steady, unmoving gaze, Atticus frowned.

"...Then what?"

"You went there without telling anyone because you didn’t want us getting hurt, right?"

"I—"

"Don’t lie. I get it. I’ve done the same thing before."

She was a leader of the resistance, it made sense she had kept countless things from her people to protect them.

"...Then why are you angry?"

"Like I said... I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself."

Anorah’s hands tightened into fists at her sides, her expression hardening.

"You didn’t even try to defend yourself... and I still couldn’t hurt you. The gap’s gotten that big, huh."

’Oh.’

Atticus finally understood what she meant. It wasn’t just anger, she was frustrated that he hadn’t considered her capable enough to stand with him.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. Should he encourage her? Tell her it would be fine? What if that only made it worse...?

As his thoughts began to turn, Anorah suddenly smiled.

"...Still, it’s fine. My emotions are mine to deal with... I’m just glad you’re back, Atti."

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly.

Atticus’ expression softened slightly as he lifted a hand, gently tapping her hair.

"...Me too."

Her warmth settled over him. For a moment, it felt like he could remain like this forever.

"But..."

Anorah leaned back just enough to meet his gaze, her eyes locking onto his.

"...If you ever pull something like that again without telling me—"

"...Ugh."

A low grunt slipped from Atticus as her hand suddenly found its way to his... dragon. A dangerous glint flickered in her eyes as her grip slowly tightened.

"...It won’t end this easily. Clear?"

"...Crystal."

"Good."

Anorah gave an innocent smile as she released him and stepped back.